Manasquan-Camden basketball controversy went to court. Here's the judge's ruling

TOMS RIVER – Two days after getting robbed of a monumental victory over Camden by the referees on the basketball court, Manasquan basketball was dealt another defeat by a Superior Court judge in Ocean County on Thursday.

This time it was Judge Mark Troncone denying a filing by the Manasquan Board of Education to put Saturday’s NJSIAA Group 2 championship game on hold.

UPDATE: Clock running out again on Camden vs. Manasquan basketball game - state denies appeal

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Instead, it'll be up to the Department of Education and Acting Commissioner Kevin Dehmer to act on an appeal petition that was filed Thursday morning.

Attorney Michael Gross, representing the Manasquan school board, said afterward it's hoped a DOE decision will be made Friday - which could still allow time for an appellate court to act, if necessary.

Troncone said the Superior Court does not have jurisdiction to stop the game until the DOE and an appellate court weigh in. Manasquan could go straight to the appellate court to appeal Troncone’s decision now but Gross indicated that was unlikely to happen.

“There is no basis for this court to intercede at this time and grant an injunction,” Troncone said.

More: Refs reverse call, strip Manasquan boys basketball of last-second upset of Camden

So Saturday’s showdown between Camden and Newark Tech in the NJSIAA Group 2 championship game is still on for now at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, although Manasquan is still hoping for a legal buzzer-beater to overturn the result.

In Tuesday’s Group 2 semifinal game at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township, Manasquan appeared to pull off a huge upset when Griffin Linstra scored just before the clock expired, setting off an on-court celebration of what everyone thought was a 47-46 victory. But minutes later, the referees changed their original decision, saying Linstra’s shot was not off in time, disallowing it and giving Camden a 46-45 win.

A review of multiple videos of the final seconds clearly shows the shot was in the air, and actually going into the basket, when the final buzzer sounded. And it’s that visual evidence, which has sparked outrage on social media, that has pushed this case forward, with the NJSIAA admitting Wednesday the referees got it wrong but not willing to do anything to rectify the mistake. NJSIAA executive director Colleen Mcguire was in attendance, seated among a group of NJSIAA lawyers.

“The district and the students in the district are deserved of getting the right outcome to this incident. So we are taking all these necessary steps to try to right the wrong that was done,” Gross said.

“Certainly we feel the game was over with the referee singaling the game was over and that the shot counted,. And then for some unknown reason after everyone was leaving the court, one of the referees changed the mind of the referees that made the initial decision. We need to make that wrong right and give either the Department of Education or the appellate division to make a decision that we should  playing on Saturday.”

Outside the courtroom, attorney Lou Cappelli Jr., representing the Camden school district, ripped into Manasquan decision to take legal action on the matter, painting it as sour grapes.

“Are we going to go back and look at all 32 minutes of the game and come to the judge and say ‘judge, this wasn’t a foul.’  It’s ridiculous,” Cappelli said.

“There are rules and regulations. You have to learn to live with the decisions of the referee. That’s all part of sports. Coming to a court to address a referees call is outrageous. It’s a waste of the taxpayers money and a waste of the court’s time, as well.”

Nearby, Manasquan Superintendent Dr. Frank Kaysan, was having none of it.

“It’s all about a learning situation, a learning environment for the students. It's not a waste of time. That’s the difference between Camden and Manasquan.” Kaysan said.

“We want to teach the students at Manasquan that there is a process and procedure when you are on the right side of something to obtain equity, and what we did here is us the process and the procedure the State of New Jersey put into effect – everyone knows we won the game but we want to do so using the avenue the state has given us to do it properly.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Judge takes no action on Manasquan vs Camden referee error