The potholes on the road to a Michigan high school basketball championship are many. The dream can end at any time once tournament play begins. Unlike the regular season, it’s win or go home.

Almost all will go home disappointed. State champion means only one team in Michigan will wind up at the top of its division each year. Fans — and perhaps the players and coach — brace for the prospect that perhaps this game might not have the outcome hoped, that it might be the end of the line for the season.

But with each win, anticipation grows this might be the year. The Iron Mountain boys basketball team worked hard to get to that final step, the Division 3 championship game at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.

Which is why what happened in the last few seconds of Saturday’s final against Pewamo-Westphalia seems so unfair.

Saturday, as the Mountaineers appeared to have that state title in hand, two calls in the final seconds snatched it from their grasp.

Referees first whistled Tony Feira for supposedly traveling on a layup that would have given Iron Mountain a three-point lead, then ruled Marcus Johnson committed an intentional foul on Pewamo-Westphalia’s Collin Trierweiler. Trierweiler made both free throws, giving Pewamo-Westphalia the win. Iron Mountain had no chance to respond.

This is not faulting Pewamo-Westphalia. If anything, the Pirates might resent the shadow over their title. Instead of the stories and discussion focusing on how their team clawed back after being down almost the entire game, Pewamo-Westphalia has seen virtually all the attention center on what happened to Iron Mountain.

Were the calls wrong, or does timing also come into play? That continues to be debated, even as many long-time neutral observers aim criticism at the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

The MHSAA, not surprisingly, issued a statement backing the calls: “We will continue to provide full support to our officials who have the courage to make split-second, real-time decisions in front of thousands of fans.” What else, quite frankly, could the MHSAA have said?

But this is certain: No championship, be it high school or college or pro, is best decided by a referee’s whistle. That kind of intervention can only result in the outcry and rancor this one has drawn.

Still, the game is done. The awards are given out. The debate online might continue but does not change the results.

The best for Iron Mountain now is to not let the painful end tarnish the incredible performance the Mountaineers delivered this season. It might be tough to celebrate given the circumstances, but that’s what the team deserves.