Basketball games can’t be overturned in court.
On Thursday, Judge Mark Troncone denied a filing by the Manasquan (N.J.) Board of Education to put the championship game on hold after Manasquan felt it was robbed of a victory in Tuesday’s Group 2 semifinal game against Camden.
Attorney Lou Capelli Jr., representing Camden, criticized Manasquan’s decision to take legal action after a clear wrong call by the referees gave Camden the win.
“Are we going to go back and look at all 32 minutes of the game and come to the judge and say, ‘Judge, this wasn’t a foul.’ It’s ridiculous,” Cappelli said, according to The Asbury Park Press.
“There are rules and regulations. You have to learn to live with the decisions of the referee. That’s all part of sports. Coming to a court to address a referee’s call is outrageous. It’s a waste of the taxpayers’ money and a waste of the court’s time, as well.”
In the semifinal game, Manasquan’s Griffin Linstra scored right before the buzzer sounded, seemingly giving Manasquan a 47-46 upset victory.
However, the referees changed their call, saying the shot did not get off in time.
Camden thus grabbed a 46-45 win.
Multiple videos of the shot, though, show the ball clearly leaving Linstra’s hands before the buzzer sounded.
The NJSIAA even admitted Wednesday that the call was incorrect, but it was not willing to change the call a day after the game was played.
Dr. Frank Kaysan, Manasquan’s Superintendent, had a different opinion than Capelli.
“It’s all about a learning situation, a learning environment for the students. It’s not a waste of time. That’s the difference between Camden and Manasquan,” Kaysan said, per the Asbury Park Press.
“We want to teach the students at Manasquan that there is a process and procedure when you are on the right side of something to obtain equity, and what we did here is use the process and the procedure the State of New Jersey put into effect. Everyone knows we won the game, but we want to do so using the avenue the state has given us to do it properly.”
Manasquan still hopes for an overturned outcome.
That will depend on whether Department of Education and Acting Commissioner Kevin Dehmer will act on an appeal petition filed Thursday morning.
Attorney Michael Gross, who is representing Manasquan, told the Asbury Park Press he hopes a decision will be made Friday, allowing an appellate court time to act before the championship game Saturday.
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