Camden-Manasquan high school basketball ending, explained: Refs overturn buzzer-beater in controversial call

David Suggs

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Camden-Manasquan high school basketball ending, explained: Refs overturn buzzer-beater in controversial call image

The line between winning and losing has never been as fine as it was on Tuesday evening when New Jersey high school squads Manasquan and Camden met on the hardwood.

With a spot in the NJSIAA Group 2 state finals on the line, Manasquan and No. 2 Camden jostled back and forth like a pair of scorned lovers atop the Central Regional High School ballroom. Camden, heavily favored and led by incoming Kentucky recruit Billy Richmond, hadn't lost to a New Jersey public school in five years.

Yet the Panthers looked decidedly mediocre against their undeterred foes, who put on a defensive masterclass to pace themselves out in front.

The action came to a crescendo in the game's final moments. After Camden's Alijah Curry sank a pair of free throws to give the Panthers a 46-45 lead, Big Blue had one last bite at the cherry. With 5.8 seconds left, they drove down the floor. A last-second prayer caromed off the front of the rim, straight into the hands of a waiting Griffin Linstra, who appeared to flick the ball up and into the basket to send Manasquan natives into raptures.

The ball had quite clearly entered the basket before the buzzer sounded. Yet after some deliberations from the three referees — one of whom rightly signaled that Linstra's bucket was good — Manasquan's game-winner was chalked off. Camden had won in the most contentious of circumstances.

"They huddled up and then 15 kids got screwed in front of 1,000 people. Print that. Print it five times," Manasquan head coach Andrew Bilodeau said. "Those three guys huddled up and they screwed these kids in front of 1,000 people, and that video will be on the internet for everyone to see.”

Social media seemed to agree.

NJSIAA doesn't have replay review. Its on-court rulings are final once officials walk off the "visual confines of the playing court." As such, it seems unlikely at the present moment that Manasquan will be granted a spot in the state championship, slated to be held at Rutgers.

Nevertheless, it appears that Big Blue is pulling out all the stops in its effort to get the result reviewed, at the minimum, if not reversed entirely.

“I don’t know what can happen, that is why I turned it over to Michael Gross, our school board attorney,” said Manasquan Superintendent Dr. Frank Kasyan. “I would like to see him get an injunction from the court to stop the games until our protest is heard because a lot of time what happens is, you’ll protest, it drags on, and then it becomes a moot point. So, the game is Saturday. This has to happen quickly, and he’s on it.”

“I think what happened last night is outside of [NJSIAA Program Regulations Section 14] because the game was not over when the ball went through the basket and we have visual evidence to show that,” Kasyan added. “I am not contesting the official's decision, I am looking at the decision of the game. We won that game, so again, it’s up to the New Jersey State Athletic Association to decide the right thing here.”

As of now, Camden is slated to face off with Newark's Arts High School on Saturday. The NJSIAA is expected to release a statement on Wednesday.

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.