High school hoops team under fire for switching triplets during free throws

Switching siblings on the playing field is often a joke that no one thinks to actually follow through. Or thinks they can truly get away with, outside of cinematography.

That didn’t stop Missouri’s Dora High School, which swapped free throw shooters in a recent game and got away with it. That’s because three of the Falcons’ five starters are triplets. The coach is their father and there was no jersey swap to do it.

Parents of the opposing team, as well as prior opposing teams, are being vocal about the controversy and asked the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) to investigate.

Team swaps triplets for free throws

There are two videos showing a swap during Dora’s 63-61 victory over Licking, the state’s No. 6 ranked team, in the Cabool Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29.

In the first video shared by Ozark Sports Zone, Dora’s Auston Luna, wearing jersey No. 34, is fouled in the corner. He steps into a team huddle near the top of the key, slapping teammates’ hands, as his brother Bryson Luna, wearing No. 20, waits on the other side of the free throw line.

Auston then walks over to Bryson, the two pause, and Auston continues to the bench to talk to coach Rick Luna, their father and the school’s athletic director.

Auston is fouled again in the second video near the 3-point arc as he’s coming back to the ball. After the call he hands the ball to Mason Luna, wearing No. 23, as the official turns around and signals to the score table the foul and jersey number.

Mason takes the shot while Auston stands directly next to the same official after talking to his coach. The three are all sophomores.

A referee told Jason Murray, the Licking parent who shared the videos, that the swap could have happened at least four different times in that game, according to the Springfield News-Leader.

Coach insists it wasn’t planned

Ozark Sports Zone, which covered the entire tournament, contacted Rick Luna and reported the coach had yet to see the videos.

Rick Luna further joked that if it was planned, it was “poorly constructed,” according to the website.

The game was back-and-forth with five ties in the fourth quarter, per Ozark’s game story. The Falcons (11-1) took the lead with 40 seconds left and the referees declared the Wildcats’ last-second shot was too late. It was Licking’s first loss.

Dora side responds

The Dora Falcons Twitter account (which isn’t necessarily run by the school or coach) retweeted a reply to the News-Leader report, asserting this kind of thing happens all the time in the sport.

It also liked tweets applauding it, including one that read “you can’t get mad over a pure genius move.”

What happens now?

Murray, the parent who supplied the videos, told the News-Leader that no one noticed the swap during the game. It wasn’t noticed until they reviewed game tape.

Referees signal the foul and jersey number to the score table, where three book keepers (one for each team and an “official” one) note it. It also gets put on the scoreboard in many upgraded gymnasiums.

The footage is too grainy to tell what number the ref is showing, but somehow it either got mixed up or no one noticed different jersey numbers were taking the free throws even though it’s identical players.

Other parents in the region were quick to say this happened to them as well.

Jason West, MSHSAA spokesperson, told the News-Leader and Ozark Sports the organization is investigating. West said he wants to make sure something similar doesn’t happen again, which includes studying the rules and education referees’ receive.

One thing that won’t happen is a different outcome to the game. The MSHSAA takes wins away from a team only if a player is ruled ineligible.

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