SEC issues statement on clock error at end of Georgia-Texas A&M game

The SEC has weighed in following a bizarre clock malfunction that marred the end of the Georgia-Texas A&M game on Saturday.

The clock stopped at 5.6 seconds to play while Georgia was in possession of the ball down by one point. Yante Maten would eventually be fouled on a layup attempt, leading the Bulldogs to think they had two foul shots to win the game.

Related: Clock malfunction ends Georgia's upset bid of Texas A&M

The officials ruled that Georgia had taken longer than 5.6 seconds to earn the trip to the foul line, thus giving the win to Texas A&M. It's a decision that the conference office says was the correct move.

"With 5.6 seconds remaining in the Georgia-Texas A&M game, there was a malfunction of the Precision Timing system which stopped the game clock while play continued," the statement obtained by Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle said. "Game officials failed to recognize the game clock was not functioning properly during live action. Once the clock stoppage was discovered, NCAA rules were appropriately administered with the use of the courtside monitor for replay and a digital stopwatch to determine that time expired before a foul was assessed to a Texas A&M defender. Because rules do not permit time to be put back on the clock in this situation, the contest was ended."

While the rules may have been followed in this instance, it certainly doesn't make the loss easier to swallow for Georgia.