Shepherd Sports Adult 5-on-5 Basketball Rules

~CIF rules will govern all play with some exceptions~

Section 1: Eligibility

~ Players must be 18 years or older to participate.
~ Players will not be able to participate until they have signed and completed the registration process.
~ Players may only be listed on one team roster per division.
~ A team’s roster can have no more than 10 players listed for a season and must have a minimum of 7.
~ To be eligible for the team’s final roster, a player must participate in at least one of their team’s first two games.
~ After the second game, all rosters are considered final. Any player who did not participate or go through the registration process within the first two games will be considered ineligible.
~ Any un-registered player playing on a team after their teams second game will result a forfeit on the standings.
~ Players must be listed on roster and have played in at least three games during the regular season to be eligible for play-offs.

Section 2: Player Conduct

~ All captains, players, and spectators are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that glorifies God. Any conduct deemed inappropriate by the officials, league coordinators, or the Sports Pastor will result in disciplinary action.
~ All swearing will result in an automatic technical foul.
~ If a player receives two technical fouls within the same game he/she will be disqualified from the remainder of that current game AND the following game.
~ A player’s third conduct related technical foul in one season will result in disqualification for the remainder of the season.
~ The Sports Pastor and League Coordinators will have the ultimate decision on all conduct related issues.

Section 3: Starting the Game

~ All game fees must be paid BEFORE the start of each game. If fees are not paid before the game, that team will play in forfeit and will receive a fine that must be paid before the next scheduled game.
~ All players must have a Shepherd Sports Jersey. 2 points will be given to the other team for every missing jersey.
~ Warm up time before the game is not guaranteed.
~ Teams will be given a grace period of 10 minutes after the official start time to begin the game. After 10 minutes, the clock will start running at the discretion of the referee.
~ Home team is responsible for opening prayer and will wear the white jersey. Visiting team is responsible for closing prayer.

~ ANTI-FORFEIT RULES & SUB PLAYERS:

* A team must have at least four players to begin a game and at least three active players from their official roster to be considered a legal game. If a team does not have five players, that team can pick up player/s from another team within the same division.
* If a team does not have enough players to start a game, (3 active players) then that team can pick up any players in the gym who are currently registered in a Shepherd league. The captain of the team needing to pick up players must present the substitute player/s for approval to the opposing captain. The opposing captain has the option of vetoing any players not on the official roster. If a team has only three players, the opposing captain has to let that team pick up at least one additional player. If the team in need has four players, then theopposing captain has the right to refuse any additional players not on the official roster. Therefore, the team in need must play with four inorder to be considered a legitimate game.
~ No players outside the current Shepherd leagues are allowed to play at any time.
~ Any team that forfeits a game will automatically be placed down one seed for playoff seeding. Game fee plus fines will also be placed for forfeits. If the fine has not been paid prior to the next scheduled game, that team will be removed from the schedule moving forward.

Section 4: Playing the Game

~ All games will consist of two 20-minute halves.
~ Games will be played with a running clock except during the final two minutes of a game when the score differential is nine points or less, the clock will stop during all dead balls. Once the score differential becomes 10 or more, the clock will continue to run.
~ Each team is allowed 3 time-outs per game. Only 2 of the time-outs carry over to the second half.
~ Teams will shoot “1-and-1” bonus on the 7th team foul. 2 shots (double bonus) will be awarded on the 10th team foul and beyond.
~ If the score is tied at the end of regulation, overtime will consist of a one 3-minute overtime period with one time out allowed for each
team. If the score remains tied after the first overtime period, a second overtime will be a 1-minute period with no time outs. Games will continue with 1-minute overtime periods until there is a winner. For all overtime periods, there will be a running clock.
~ If a team only has five players and a player receives his fifth foul, that player is considered fouled out and the team must play with 4. If a player fouls out that would result in the team having less than 4 players, that player may stay on the court. No more than four players can play if a fouled-out player is playing. If an already fouled-out player fouls again, it is treated like a technical foul. The opposing team would get 2 shots and the ball. This type of technical would be considered a non-conduct related technical foul.
~ Tie Breaker for Play-offs: The first tiebreaker for playoff seeding will be head-to-head record. If the head-to-head record does not break the tie, then a point differential system between the teams involved will be used. A point differential from the head-to-head games involving the tied teams will be tallied and the team with the biggest win margin between all teams will get the highest seed followed by any remaining teams. A team that has a forfeit loss will always move down first.

Section 5: Miscellaneous

~ Children under the age of ten must be accompanied by a non-playing adult.
~ No other balls should be dribbled while a game is in play.

To view the Men's Basketball rules and regulations as a print-friendly PDF, click Here!

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