County Official Weighs In On Bad Call In Manasquan-Camden Game

FREEHOLD, NJ — Monmouth County government has added its voice to those seeking to overturn an admittedly bad call in the NJSIAA Group 2 Semifinal Boys Basketball Game between Manasquan High School and Camden High School.

But so far the call in Camden's favor seems to be standing, at least according to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.

On behalf of the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners, Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone said he is "truly disheartened by the outcome" of the game.

In the game Tuesday night between Manasquan and Camden, Manasquan was trailing by just one point and had the last shot - and it got in, with Manasquan fans thinking they won.

But it was determined by referees on the scene that the shot came after the final buzzer, and Camden officially won. However, videos showed the shot was made in time.

The NJSIAA has acknowledged that the call was wrong in a statement and apologized to Manasquan for the mistake but said it can't be reversed because instant replay is not used in high school basketball.

According to the statement, ". . . The rules are clear - once game officials leave the 'visual confines of the playing court,' the game is concluded, and the score is official. So, while the officiating crews’ reports indicate that a post-game review of footage of the play in question convinced them that the basket should have counted, the results could not then and cannot now be changed. Nothing can be done to rectify it.. . . We apologize to the Manasquan team for the error," the statement said.

But Arnone said the organization should reverse itself.

"Manasquan High School lost the semifinal game by one point and thus, their spot in the finals in what has admittedly been recognized as a bad call by the NJSIAA. While I appreciate the transparency and responsibility that the NJSIAA has taken in acknowledging that the call was wrong, I believe that they should overturn the outcome of the game and declare Manasquan as the rightful winner," Arnone said.

"Everyone makes mistakes, but it is how we take responsibility for them and the actions we take to fix them that matters. Isn’t that what we want to teach our children?"

He added that "Two teams of high school boys played their hearts out and left everything on the court during that game, but one team scored a game-winning basket before the final buzzer and that’s who deserves to be in the championship game.

I genuinely hope that NJSIAA does the right thing and sends the Manasquan High School Boys Basketball Team to the finals.”

Now the Manasquan school board is seeking a stay in Superior Court in Ocean County of the final game on Saturday between Camden and Arts High School from Newark in the Group 2 title game at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, according to a report in app.com.

The ruling on the stay was not immediately available Thursday afternoon.