Teams have lost basketball games at the charity stripe. They've lost because a referee wearing black and white stripes made a bad call.
Losing partly because of a stripe on their uniforms is a little rarer.
But that's what happened before the opening tipoff Friday at the Illinois 3A state semifinal basketball game in Peoria, where referees assessed a technical foul on North Lawndale College Prep because stripes on the sides of its uniform ******** a National Federation of State High School Associations rule.
Champaign Centennial's Jeff Johnson sank one of two free throws, giving the Chargers a 1-0 lead before the opening tip. Centennial also was awarded the ball to start the game. When the final buzzer had sounded, Centennial had won by one point, 66-65.
