Sorry for the two-day hiatus on the blog. Unfortunately, Christmas gifts don’t buy themselves and the Spring Lake mansion doesn’t clean itself, so I had to use Wednesday to catch up on some things because it’s a light hoops day.
Anyway, let’s get to the Thursday night stuff, as it was a particularly wild night on the boys side. Also, real quick, if you’re looking for a game to go to on Friday, check out Manchester boys at Monsignor Donovan, 6:30 p.m. Good Class B South game between two teams jockeying for position and a Manchester (Marvin Brodie) team and Mon Don (Kyle Milana) team with some star power. Also, any Class A South game should be good at this point because all of the teams are so close.
As for girls, it’s mainly a day between teams trying to move up and challenge division leaders.
BOYS
First things first. There will be a new No. 1 in the next DigitalSports Top 10, as current No. 1 Christian Brothers Academy went down 56-47 to No. 5 Colts Neck. The Cougars are looking like they will slide into that No. 1 spot, as they are unbeaten and took down the previous No. 1. Point guard Mitchell Kates dropped in 24 points, but the real key was that CBA’s Brian Neller was held to 10 points byt the Cougars. It’s become apparent in the early going that if Neller and senior guard Mike Kuhn (23 points) don’t both have big games, there isn’t that other scorer emerging to have a 15-20 point night. Still, it’s CBA, so you know the Colts will be there in the end, and it will be interesting to see how new coach Geoff Billet tries to scheme against teams focusing all their defensive energy on slowing down Kuhn or Neller.
This also marks the second straight season that the Cougars have beaten CBA during the regular season. Kates showed explosiveness off the dribble when I saw him last season, but it looks like he is starting to finish his drives and knock down open shots, which makes Colts Neck very dangerous. Steve Spinella (15 points) also has been solid, and seems to play well against CBA particularly, as he did a good defensive job on Neller. Great win for the Cougars, who will now have the target on their backs.
I took in a thriller of my own as Neptune edged Monmouth, 55-53, for a big win in Class B North. The Scarlet Fliers are still struggling with their outside shooting, which is surprising given the amount of veteran guards they have, but I liked their aggressiveness in the second half. I thought point guard D.J. Gutridge did a nice job of jumpstarting a stagnant offense by getting into the lane and finishing or dishing off for one of his seven assists. He has a nice crossover dribble, as you can see in the video highlights.
I wonder if Neptune will see more of the 3-2 zone that Monmouth coach Larry Cirignano threw at them, because in the first half, the Fliers were settling for 3’s and were barely looking for Gary Foster, one of their top offensive weapons, in the paint. That zone almost made Foster invisible, and it wasn’t until the guards starting getting into the lane that Foster started making things happen by taking passes and scoring or grabbing offensive rebounds. Senior swingman Terry Hicks also made things happen by forcing the issue and being aggressive, and junior guard Thomas Jones is always good for two or three 3-point bombs.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well, and Neptune was building a house from the foul line (14-for-28), but it’s still early in the season and I expect them to get better. Both of these teams are definitely talented and have some depth, particularly at the guard spots, so there’s no reason either one of them couldn’t make a deep run in the postseason.
As for Monmouth, point guard Anthony Gibson has really improved in the past season, and that’s a big development, particularly in the scoring department, because they lost junior Derek Pruitt, a solid scorer and defensive stopper, to transfer, as Pruitt is from a military family. Gibson has a good burst off the dribble and is a particularly impressive rebounder for a point guard, as he had 10 boards to go with his 19 points in the game. Also, sophomore guard Neil Thompson (14 points) is another one to watch, as he has a good spin move and can blow by most defenders and finish. Center Joe Willman was dealing with foul trouble all night, and it’s clear that teams see him as a big key for the Falcons and will be going at him, trying to get him on the bench early with fouls. All in all, Monmouth has a very solid team.
Finally, one quick Neptune tidbit. Former Neptune and Monmouth University standout Marques Alston, part of one of the best boys basketball teams in recent Shore history along with Taquan Dean and Terrance Todd, is now a police officer in Neptune after finishing up at Monmouth U. Marques is one of the quietest players I can remember, but one menacing look from him and I totally would spill the beans about where the contraband was hidden in the car.
In the other games, another thriller was between Central and Freehold, as Central point guard Ibn Moye hit a 3-pointer with one second left to win the game and hand the Colonials their first loss. Freehold might have been able to argue for the No. 1 spot in the Shore with Colts Neck if it won this game, but the Golden Eagles are awfully tough with the 1-2 combination of Moye (26 pts) and center James Plummer (18 points).
I saw Central lose a nail-biter to Lakewood on Tuesday, and Moye is the real deal. He takes some questionable shots occasionally, but he can get by just about anyone, although Lakewood’s Nyrahn Smith did a nice job on him in the fourth quarter. He has what every coach wants in a point guard – the ability to get anywhere on the court that he wants. Teams will have to double him to get Central out of running its stuff because one defender can’t force Moye to a certain area. Also, Plummer might be the best big man in the Shore right now. He has some solid post moves, good hands, a soft touch, and is a good passer out of the post, particularly when Central runs a high-low game with Plummer at the elbow. He has improved by leaps and bounds from last season, and will command a double team almost every time he catches it down low. That’s huge because Mo Ibrahim, Moye and Central’s other guards can all bury the three.
Freehold will rebound from this loss, and is playing in the Jack Kuhnert Memorial Tournament, where it could see Freehold Township, Manasquan and others. Also, it was a nondivisional loss, so the Colonials still sit atop the Class B North standings with Monmouth having suffered its first loss.
Freehold Township knocked Middletown South from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 62-59 win thanks to a big game by center Max Lit (20 points), who obviously learned a thing or two in playing behind Marcus Roberson and Brian Brikowski last season. I was telling people in the offseason that the Patriots would be better than people think even after all the graduation losses, and they are right there in Class A North. As for the Eagles, sophomore Kyle Cancillieri is emerging as one of the better young players in the Shore, as he had 23 points. He adds more scoring ability to a team that struggled to win high-scoring games last season.
Wall and Manalapan each picked up their first victories, and scoring explosion of the night honors go to Red Bank’s Matt Pebole (28 points), who shouldered the load in a win over Red Bank Catholic, and how about Howell’s Robert McClintock? He erupted for a career-high 31 points to put the Rebels in the win column with a 58-45 win over Middletown North.
Asbury Park keeps moving toward a showdown with St. Rose for Class B Central supremacy, as the Blue Bishops downed Keansburg 60-47 to stay unbeaten. Manasquan remained unbeaten by knocking off SJV and Rumson-Fair Haven is off to a 3-0 start for the first time in several years after a 45-40 win over Raritan in which the Bulldogs prematurely aged new coach James Young by going 7-for-21 from the foul line but still pulling out the victory. As for the Rockets, junior guard Corey Hahn has been drawing praise from several opposing coaches, and he had a game-high 22 points. Raritan is hoping to get sophomore guard Bennett Jackson back from an injury soon, and could be dangerous in the coming weeks.
GIRLS
Mostly routs on the girls side, but the big game was Rumson-Fair Haven’s 40-32 overtime victory against Raritan in Class A Central. The Rockets gave the Bulldogs a tough game for the second straight time after pushing them in the Central Jersey Group II playoffs last season. However, the usual suspects, junior Kate Miller (22 points) and senior point guard Candice Green, came up big when they were needed the most. Brielle O’Brien hit a big 3-pointer to kick off overtime, and RFH outscored the Rockets 10-2 in the extra session. Rumson seems to still be tinkering and searching for the right combinations in its lineups, but with that coaching staff, you can rest assured the Bulldogs will get it right by the time the tournament games roll around.
Still, Raritan showed that its two early victories over quality opponents, Howell and Holmdel, were no fluke, and it should be a dark horse in the state’s most loaded division. We also have video highlights from this game, so be sure to check those out.
Toms River North picked up a 44-34 win over Jackson to try and keep pace with Lacey in Class A South, while Monmouth topped Neptune in Class B North thanks to 19 points by Tia Curtis.
Middletown South is rolling right now after a 58-35 win over Freehold Township kept the Eagles unbeaten, and that three-way dogfight for the Class A North title between South, Howell and Colts Neck looks like it’s going to be a good one.
Southern edged Toms River East, 45-40, thanks to 21 points from Kristen Sharkey, but an emerging story in the early going is the scoring prowess of Toms River East’s Danielle Thomas. She had 21 in defeat, marking her third 20-point game in four games this season, including a 28-point night in the season opener, so she is one to keep an eye on.
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