The boys’ basketball team at Manasquan High School has picked up its final loss of the season.
New Jersey State Superior Court’s Appellate Division denied Manasquan’s latest appeal on Friday.
Manasquan could appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court, but school district officials said Friday that wasn’t an option they are considering.
Manasquan attorney Gerald Clark also said there would be no further litigation and ruled out taking the case to the New Jersey Supreme Court, according to NJ.com.
The school district has now been denied by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, the courts, the Department of Education and the Appellate Division.
“While the consequences of a particular call may be unfortunate for a team, the NJSIAA’s regulations recognize the reality that game officials’ calls are frequently disputed, and that permitting such calls to be challenged on the basis of error would result in ongoing litigation, appeals, and scheduling issues, since no game could be considered final if its outcome is disputed in court as a result of an alleged error by officials,” the Appellate Division said of its decision.
“For these reasons, although we recognize the disappointment of petitioner, we are constrained to deny Manasquan’s application to file an emergent appeal, including its request to enjoin the state championship game. For the aforementioned reasons as well, we do not reach its other argument on appeal contesting the Chancery Division’s ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the petition.”
Manasquan has pushed for legal action after referees reversed their on-court ruling on Griffin Linstra’s buzzer-beater, which would have given them a huge upset against Camden.
Video evidence showed Linstra’s shot was clearly out of his hands before the clock hit zero, setting off legal action from Manasquan officials.
Manasquan appealed to the NJSIAA and was denied despite the referees admitting the call was a mistake and that Manasquan should have won the game.
But it would not change the outcome.
Following that decision, Manasquan took its case to court, and on Thursday, Judge Mark Troncone denied a filing to postpone Saturday’s scheduled Group 2 championship game.
A day later Manasquan took another big denial from New Jersey Department of Education, which upheld the officials’ ruling for Camden’s victory.
The commissioner said the result was “not reviewable.”
With the legal back-and-forth settled, Camden is in the clear for Saturday’s Group 2 championship game against Arts High School of Newark at noon on the Rutgers campus.
— With AP