Camden High School has no intention of giving up its spot in Saturday’s New Jersey state finals basketball game.
An X account claiming to be Camden athletic director Will Hixson contacted X on Friday night with one simple message.
The account included a photo of a poster for the 1989 movie “Do the Right Thing,” along with a heart emoji and the words “See you at Rutgers.”
Camden was in the middle of controversy Tuesday night this week after holding a one-point lead with seconds left in the NJSIAA semifinal Group 2 game against Manasquan High School.
Manasquan had one final gasp and moved the ball up the court, with Griffin Linstra miraculously making a game-clinching putback just before time expired.
However, the referees gathered on the court and ruled that the basket did not count. That means Camden won the game and will play Newark Arts High School at Jersey Mike’s Arena on the Rutgers campus.
Replays of the final shot showed Manasquan hitting the final shot in time, and the school has tried various methods to appeal it, but so far have been denied.
On Thursday, the team’s motion to postpone the state title game was denied by an Ocean County Superior Court judge, and on Friday, the New Jersey Department of Education’s secretary upheld the agency’s ruling on the controversial buzzer-beater win, saying the play should be “reviewed.” you can’t” According to NJ.com.
Both decisions were made by New Jersey’s high-sports governing body, despite the fact that one of the on-court officials saw the replay and acknowledged that the last shot should have counted. This was done after stating that it could not be done.
Lou Cappelli Jr., an attorney for the Camden school district, said this week that the additional ploys Manasquan attempted to change the situation were “ridiculous.”
“Are we going to look back on all 32 minutes of the game and go to the judge and say, ‘Judge, this wasn’t a foul?’ That’s ridiculous,” Cappelli said. According to the Asbury Park Press.
“There are rules and regulations. You have to learn to follow the referee’s decisions. That’s all part of the sport. It’s outrageous to come to court to respond to the referee’s calls. It’s a waste of the taxpayers’ money. It’s a waste of money and a waste of the court’s time.”
On Thursday, an X account claiming to belong to Hickson posted to X that Camden follows some simple ideals.
“Here at Camden High School, we like to say, let the coaches do it, coaches!” Players, let’s play! Leave it to the officials! Let the audience be positive! ” they wrote.
Hickson did not immediately comment to the Post.
Camden, the No. 2 team in New Jersey by MaxPreps, will compete for the title with No. 12 Newark.
