In a dramatic high school basketball playoff game, a team appeared to secure a stunning victory with a buzzer-beater, only for referees to later reverse the call, awarding the win to the rival team amidst controversy over the timing of the shot.
During a playoff basketball game on Tuesday (March 5) in Bayville, New Jersey, USA, Manasquan High School trailed behind by one point to Camden High School.
With less than six seconds remaining in the state semifinals, Manasquan scored what looked like a winning shot.
This resulted in a jubilant celebration among Manasquan supporters. But not long after, the game's referees reportedly reversed the winning call and said the bucket (scoring a field goal) actually came after the final buzzer.
As a result, Camden, which was ranked as the second-best team in the state, according to American high school sports website Max Preps, managed to maintain their lead and secure a victory with a final score of 46-45 in the Group 2 semifinal game.
In a high school basketball game, a last-second shot initially secured victory for a team, only for referees to reverse the call
Image credits: twitter.com
The wild sequence began when Camden’s team member Alijah Curry successfully made a free-throw shot with only 5.8 seconds left on the clock to put Camden up by one point, The New York Post reported.
After Alijah's free throw, the Manasquan team quickly passed the ball inbounds and hurried up the court in an attempt to score.
Players subsequently attempted a long-range shot, which missed, but Manasquan team member Griffin Linstra grabbed the rebound right under the basket and scored just as the buzzer sounded, and officials initially counted the basket, as per The Post.
Fans of Manasquan flooded the court as a raucous celebration got underway, The Post reported.
Image credits: twitter.com
However, according to the Asbury Park Press and a video from the game, referees converged with one another on the court and decided that the basket had actually come after time had expired.
Manasquan head coach Andrew Bilodeau reportedly said that after the game, he felt there should have been time added after they hit the shot, about .6 seconds worth, The Post reported.
While it remains unclear whether there should have been .6 seconds left on the clock, footage from the game indicates that there was still time remaining when Griffin made the final shot.
Coach Andrew said after the game, according to the Asbury Park Press: “They reversed the call.
"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."
Referees decided the winning shot came after time expired, despite controversy over whether .6 seconds should have remained
Image credits: twitter.com
“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.”
Camden coach Maalik Wayns reportedly said his squad got some “luck” in its stunning win.
Maalik said, according to NJ.com: “We got one. Sometimes, a little bit of luck and hard work is on your side.”
Nevertheless, Andrew reportedly felt his team was the better one during the last game and should have been advancing to the state final.
He said, according to the Shore Sports Network: "These guys beat Camden’s a*s in front of everyone in this gym and everyone on TV."
You can watch the buzzer-beater below:
“[Camden is] a heck of a team — well-coached, tough, defensive-minded — but we outplayed them tonight, and everybody saw it.”
There was a shared sentiment amongst social media users that Manasquan was unfairly treated, as former Rutgers and Robert Morris basketball coach Mike Rice took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to comment: “The trail ref had it correct.
“I really hope they suspend the ref that decided to waive it off. Manasquan got robbed!!!”
Another person wrote: “For those who haven’t seen, Manasquan (N.J.) got absolutely screwed tonight.
“That’s a tough way to go down.”
Griffin has been sharing clips of his disputed score on his Instagram stories, while Alijah also reshared videos of his own free throw on Instagram, stating, “Enough said.”
"This made me sick to watch," a reader commented
