Using your own words above - why play to lose at all?? Why not win (which seems to be highly likely considering how they did in their other games)?
I can only go by what he wrote in his press release. I'm assuming he had respect for the ability of the southeast team and did not want to risk losing a tight game. The only 100% guarantee was to concede the game and not score. That's how I interpret his decision.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk