Ref's bad buzzer-beater call stands, ending NJ high school team's shot at state title

A stunning buzzer-beater call will stand, the state's Department of Education ruled, blocking a New Jersey high school basketball team from making it to the championship.

Manasquan High School and Camden High School had hoped to figure out a winner Tuesday night on the basketball court, but instead the teams ended up in court this week. It came after the semifinal matchup was coming down to the wire, with a single point separating the two teams after Camden hit a free throw with just seconds remaining.

After a missed show by a teammate, a Manasquan player scooped up the rebound and scored just as time expired for the win.

Or so everyone thought.

After initially counting the shot, referees got together and waved off the go-ahead bucket, propelling Camden to the state finals on Saturday — and sending Manasquan home.

But Manasquan High School brought its fight before a judge on Thursday, arguing in Ocean County Superior Court that the championship game should be postponed until a final decision could be made on who the rightful winner is. In a court filing seeking an injunction, they argued that "video evidence of Manasquan's game-winning basket is present, irrefutable, and conclusive ...What followed next, however, was an absolute tragedy."

"For some unknown reason, the referee changed the ref’s opinion that made the original decision. We just need to make that wrong, right," said Michael Gross, an attorney for the Manasquan Board of Education.

In a statement, the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association said that it understands Manasquan's frustration, but "the rules are clear — once game officials leave the 'visual confines of the playing court,' the game is concluded, and the score is official." The NJIAA, which does not use instant replay, went on to say that the "results could not then and cannot now be changed."

The Camden school district said they had no influence or say in the outcome, or the decision made by officials. An attorney for the Camden City Board of Education said the court hearing never should have happened in the first place.

"This case never should've been brought. There's no authority under the law, it was frivolous to bring it here," said attorney Louis Capelli Jr. "Are we going to go back and look at all 32 minutes of the game? It's ridiculous, that’s not what we do, it's high school basketball. There's rules and regulations. You have to learn to live with the decisions of a referee. That's a part of sports. Coming here was a waste of the taxpayers' money."

The judge ruled Thursday that there was no jurisdiction to hear the case in Ocean County.

"Certainly the district and the students deserve the right outcome of this particular incident," said Gross.

Attorneys for Manasquan said they weren't done fighting, and appealed to the Department of Education, which Friday denied to hear the appeal.

Acting Commissioner Kevin Dehmer said, regardless of whether the refs' call was correct or not, the NJSIAA bylaws are clear: "Once an official has made a judgement call, no appeals will be honored."

Later Friday night, the Manasquan school district said that the appeals court denied them as well, which was their final recourse.

"While we had hoped for a different outcome, we now turn our full attention to supporting our Girls Basketball Team in tomorrow's championship game," a statement from the district read. "We remain deeply disappointed by the conduct of the NJSIAA throughout this process and regret the damage they have done to the lessons of sportsmanship we try to teach students every day."

Manasquan's superintendent said they will continue to appeal, but its unclear if anything will change the current roster of Saturday's championship game.