New Jersey HS boys basketball playoff game ends in controversy over buzzer-beater: ‘They screwed these kids’
Controversy struck a New Jersey high school boys basketball playoff game on Tuesday night.
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 2 semifinals between Manasquan High School and Camden High School came down to the wire. Camden went up one point on a foul shot from Alijah Curry with 5.8 seconds left, and Manasquan had to go the length of the floor to win the game.
Manasquan’s Rey Weinseimer missed a 3-pointer from the wing, but his teammate Griffin Linstra was there to grab the rebound and put the shot back in for what the team thought was the game-winning basket. The Manasquan fans went wild as Camden was in disbelief.
The celebration quickly stopped as NJSIAA officials discussed the call at midcourt and reversed the decision. Camden was given the win 46-45.
“They reversed the call,” Manasquan coach Andrew Bilodeau told the Asbury Park Press. “The referee in the C position in the middle signaled ‘basket’s good,’ they huddled up, and then 15 kids got screwed in front of 1,000 people.
“Print that. Print it five times. 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.”
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Bilodeau was not the only one who thought his team was robbed.
Former Rutgers men’s basketball coach Mike Rice posted a video of the closing sequence on X. The video from NFHS Network showed Linstra grabbing the rebound with 1.7 seconds left and getting the shot off around 0.6 seconds left.
“This wasn’t even close. Manasquan got robbed!” Rice wrote.
“The trail ref had it correct. I really hope they suspend the ref that decided to waive it off. Manasquan got robbed!!!” he added.
Bilodeau said he thought the referees were talking about putting more time back on the clock.
Camden will now play Arts High School in the Group 2 final on Saturday at Rutgers.
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