

Bay State Youth Basketball League (BSYBL)
Game Rules
General Rules
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Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) High School rules are used for all BSYBL games except where noted below
Equipment
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Game balls shall be leather or synthetic leather
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Game balls shall measure 28.5 inches in circumference (standard women’s basketball)
Length of Games
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Games shall consist of two 16-minute halves
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Stop time shall be used for the official game clock (i.e. clock stops on all whistles by referees)
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Halftime shall be 5 minutes in duration
Timeouts
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Each team shall be allowed 3 full timeouts per game
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Each timeout shall be 1 minute in duration
Overtime
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Overtime periods shall be 3 minutes in duration
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Each team shall be provided 1 timeout per overtime
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Timeouts from regulation shall not carry over into overtime
Fouls
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Personal Fouls
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1 and 1 free throws (bonus) shall be awarded on the 10th, 11th, and 12th fouls of each half
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2 free throws (double bonus) shall be awarded on the 13th and succeeding fouls of each half
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Second half fouls shall carry over into overtime periods and count towards the awarding of bonus and double bonus free throws
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Fouls on missed 3-point attempts shall be awarded 3 free throws
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Technical Fouls
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Technical fouls committed by players shall be counted as personal fouls and team fouls
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Any coach who receives a technical foul shall be required to remain seated on the team bench for the remainder of the game
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Ejections
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Coaches shall be ejected from the game should they receive any of the following:
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2 direct technical fouls
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2 indirect technical fouls and 1 direct technical foul
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3 indirect technical fouls
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Any player or coach who is ejected from a game shall not participate in the next league game
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Free Throw Attempts
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Players shall be allowed to take 1 step inside the foul line (approximately 3 feet as determined by the referee) when attempting free throws
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As with regulation free throws, shooters shall not step towards the basket after a free throw until the ball has hit the rim
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Following a missed free throw attempt, the shooter shall not be allowed to be the first player to secure control of the ball, even if it was tapped/touched by another player first
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Shooters shall not be allowed to intentionally miss a free throw attempt in order to tip it to a teammate – referees shall have full authority to determine intent at their discretion
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Shooters electing to shoot from behind the foul line shall follow standard free throw shooting rules
Full Court Pressing
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There shall be no full court pressing allowed other than during the following time frames:
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The last 2 minutes of the 1st half
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The last 4 minutes of the 2nd half
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All overtime periods
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There shall be no full court pressing by any team leading by 20 points or more
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Only man-to-man presses shall be allowed - all zone presses are prohibited
Use of Zones (Offense & Defense)
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No zone defenses shall be allowed
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In the frontcourt between the 3 point arc and the timeline, help defense, trapping, and double teaming shall not be allowed
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Inside the 3 point arc, but outside the key, help defense shall be allowed, but not to the point of trapping or double teaming one player
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Inside the key, help defense, trapping, and double teaming shall be allowed
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Offenses shall not be allowed to run “isolation plays” (i.e. send 4 players to remote areas of the frontcourt in order to allow their 5th player to go one-on-one against a defender without the risk of encountering help defense)
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The first violation of these rules during a game shall result in a warning being given by the referees to the coach of the offending team
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Second and subsequent violations of these rules during the same game shall result in an indirect technical foul being assessed to the coach of the offending team
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Game officials shall have full responsibility and authority in determining any violations of the above rules
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Any issues or concerns regarding the above rules shall be addressed by Town Administrators directly to the League Commissioner - NOT by coaches directly to the referees while a game is being played
Rationale for Zone Rules
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The general intent of these rules is to avoid teams “packing it in”, thereby forcing teams to beat them with outside shooting, quick passing, etc.
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Players at this level generally do not have the offensive skills to ‘break’ a zone defense successfully, thus creating an unfair advantage for any team choosing to utilize one
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Given the above, allowing zone defenses would likely discourage teams from playing man-to-man defense, thus preventing players from learning and practicing this critical fundamental skill





