The school that lost a controversial New Jersey high school playoff basketball game on Tuesday is pursuing legal avenues to overturn the outcome of the contest, according to media reports on Thursday.
Manasquan (N.J.) lost to Camden (N.J.) 46-45 on Tuesday after officials waved off a game-winning basket by junior Griffin Linstra. Multiple video replays and screenshots confirm Linstra’s shot was released before the clock hit 0, but the referees, who initially counted the bucket, overturned the call after conferring for a minute.
The overturned call sent shockwaves through the prep sports world and beyond as fans across the country weighed in on the scene.
Now the Manasquan Board of Education filed an “Order to Show Case on behalf of the Manasquan Basketball team” seeking to get a hearing that would halt Saturday’s NJSIAA Group 2 championship game between Camden and Arts (Newark, N.J.) so that a judge could rule whether the state association improperly followed its own guidelines.
The NJSIAA came out with a statement Wednesday denying an appeal from Manasquan, but admitting the game officials made an error and apologizing for the mistake.
“The next step would be a hearing and return date for the judge to decide the underlying merits of the application, which is that the NJSIAA did not properly follow their rules and properly declare Manasquan the winner of the game,” attorney Gerald Clark told the Asbury Park Press.
The paper reported Clark was set to file the appeal in Toms River on Thursday.
“We’re hoping for a decision (Thursday). We’re hoping to put the brakes on the Saturday game until this gets resolved,” he told the paper.
