Wild high school hoops ending may lead to legal action
The morning after, it still didn’t make sense to Andrew Bilodeau.
His Manasquan High School basketball team should be playing in the Group 2 finals Saturday at Rutgers instead of having an end-of-the-season meeting Wednesday.
The team filed a protest that was denied by the NJSIAA, and the Manasquan school district is also considering taking legal action, according to the Asbury Park Press.
The organization said it “understands Manasquan’s frustration regarding the outcome,’’ but its bylaws do not allow for video review.
“One of the three officials counted the basket as beating the buzzer,” the NJSIAA statement read. “The three officials then met at half court to confer. A second official saw the ball in the shooter’s hands when the buzzer sounded. The officials then [waved] off the basket. Later, after being shown video clips, the second official agreed the basket should have counted.”
It all stems from a lastsecond shot by Griffin Lanstra, which momentarily gave Manasquan a onepoint win over Camden, setting off pandemonium at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, N.J., on Tuesday night.
But, as Bilodeau recalled by phone Wednesday morning, a representative of NJSIAA met with the three on-court officials and the call was reversed, giving Camden a 46-45 win and a trip to the championship game.
“I still don’t know what happened,’’ Bilodeau said. “I wish I could tell you. The basket was ruled good. It’s clear to see on the video. The place erupts. The official on site meets with the three officials. I don’t know what took place. They just said, ‘No basket, game over.’ ”
And just like that, Manasquan’s hopes of repeating as Group 2 champions were dashed.
The NJSIAA’S decision could push the school to seek other restitution.
“I don’t know what can happen, that is why I turned it over to Michael Gross, our school board attorney,” Manasquan Superintendent Dr. Frank Kasyan told the Asbury Park Press.
“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.”
Camden’s game is scheduled for noon on Saturday at Rutgers against Arts High School from Newark.
What’s unclear is what led to the changed call.
“It’s not a mistake,’’ Bilodeau said. “It was a reversal of a decision. What the impetus was, I have no idea. It wasn’t an error in operation. It’s not like there was a cup of water that spilled onto the court. It was a judgment call that was made and then reversed.”