Basketball games cannot be overturned in court.
On Thursday, Judge Mark Troncone rejected a motion by the Manasquan (N.J.) School Board to put the championship game on hold because it felt it had been robbed of a victory in Tuesday’s Group 2 semifinal against Camden.
Lou Cappelli Jr., an attorney representing Camden, criticized Manasquan’s decision to take legal action after an apparent mistrial by the referees gave Camden the victory.
“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.”
In the semifinal game, Manasquan’s Griffin Linstra scored just before the buzzer and Manasquan appeared to have won a 47-46 upset victory.
However, the referee changed the decision because the shot was not made in time.
Camden won 46-45.
However, multiple videos of the shot clearly show the ball leaving Linstra’s hands before the buzzer sounded.
The NJSIAA acknowledged Wednesday that the decision was wrong, but did not intend to change the decision the day after the game ended.
Manasquan Superintendent Dr. Frank Kathan had a different opinion than Cappelli.
“It’s all about the student’s learning, the learning environment. It’s not a waste of time. That’s the difference between Camden and Manasquan,” Kathan told the Asbury Park Press.
“We want to teach Manasquan students that there are processes and procedures when it comes to being on the right side of equity. And what we’ve done here is that New Jersey… We all know we won the game, but we won the game using the tools our country gave us to play the game properly. I think I want to do.”
Manasquan still hopes for a reversal.
That depends on whether the Department of Education and Acting Secretary Kevin Demmer act on an appeal petition filed Thursday morning.
Attorney Michael Gross, who represents Manasquan, told the Asbury Park Press that he expects a decision to be made Friday and for the appellate court to take action before Saturday’s championship game. Ta.
