Maryland Football Coaches Association | Archive | January, 2008

     Monmouth handled Freehold fairly easily in a 65-53 win, which was a little surprising given the fact that Freehold had a shot at a tie for the Class B North title. There didn’t seem to be the urgency of a championship on the line, and the overall atmosphere was fairly quiet at Monmouth for a game between two ranked teams.
     The Falcons are looking more and more dangerous heading into the postseason, for several reasons. Their two top guards, sophomore Neil Thompson and junior Anthony Gibson, are explosive off the dribble. I have a feeling they are going to see a lot of zone in any tournament games because most teams can’t keep those two out of the lane, and both can finish near the rim. They tend to get a little wild at times, but when they play under control, they are a strong tandem.
     Another big key is going to be junior center Joe Willman staying out of foul trouble. He is a high-impact player when he is on the floor, but many times in big games this season, he has had to sit for long stretches because of foul issues. Not only does he have range all the way out to the 3-point line, but when defenders have to rotate over to pick up Thompson or Gibson in the lane, it leaves him wide open for easy putbacks on the offensive glass.
     A big X-factor for Monmouth could be Austin Whitehurst. His 3-point shooting has really improved in the last two weeks, and if teams are going to zone them, he might be the guy needed to force them out of the zone by knocking down a few bombs.
     As for Freehold, Christian Garcia is one of the best sophomores in the Shore, with the ability to post up smaller defenders, pull up off the dribble or explode to the rim. You can tell this team is young, though, because there is a lot of inconsistency. Some of their complementary scorers were non-factors against Monmouth, and they will have to knock down shots to keep double teams off Garcia. Monmouth’s zone was also pretty effective, so I’m sure Freehold will see some more of that in the coming weeks.
     In other games, Asbury Park wrapped up the “real” Class B Central title with a win over Mater Dei last night, so congrats to the Blue Bishops. Now they just have to prove they can get it done outside of the division, as all of their wins have come against divisional foes.
    Manasquan also clinched at least a tie for the Class A Central crown and remained unbeaten in the division by rolling past Raritan, so congrats to the Warriors. Also, congrats to the No. 1 Scarlet Fliers of Neptune, who clinched at least a tie for the Class B North title with a win over Wall and a loss by Freehold.
    In the odd stat department, Middletown South senior guard Garret Thiel has had two double-doubles this season, and both of them have come against Marlboro, as he put up 21 points and 11 boards as the Eagles avenged an earlier loss to the Mustangs.
    Red Bank Catholic cooled off a hot Holmdel team in a game between two teams fighting for their postseason lives, while Pinelands continued a turnaround season by taking out an Ocean team that was coming off a win that halted a 15-game winning streak by Toms River North. Ocean is now going to have to beat Rumson-Fair Haven on Friday to qualify for the state tournament.

E-mail: [email protected]

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

     Well, everyone knows the grisly details of Christian Brothers Academy’s 90-32 loss to the country’s No. 1 team, St. Anthony, and I know CBA could have been more competitve in falling behind 42-5 but this St. Anthony team has the potential to go into the Friars pantheon.
     The Colts will put this behind them, and we’ll see what Neptune can do on Wednesday, but St. Anthony’s army of guards is impressive. They all can shoot, handle the ball, pressure defensively and get into the lane. The longer Bob Hurley Sr. is at St. Anthony, the more stacked the Friars seem to get every year. Plus, junior Dominic Cheek has the makings of a superstar, even at the next level.
     As for some extra stuff from the Brian Doherty Classic at St. Benedict’s Prep, you know it’s a big-time event with some high-profile teams when you walk out of the bathroom and somebody bumps into you by accident and it’s former Villanova star and New Jersey Nets guard Kerry Kittles in the house to take in the action. Kittles made a donation a few years back when St. Anthony was struggling to make financial ends meet.
     I also caught up with former Long Branch boys basketball coach Joe Whalen, who is now the athletic director at St. Anthony. He is doing well with the Friars, where he was an assistant for Hurley before coming to the Green Wave and helping lead them to a sectional title.
     I took in a little bit of the third game of the showcase, between St. Benedict’s Prep, which as everyone knows is coached by Dan Hurley, the former Seton Hall guard and son of Bob Sr., and American Christian from Philadelphia. American Christian ended up winning 63-58, and the big story was the presence of guard Tyreke Evans, one of the nation’s top unsigned recruits, who also was caught up in the midst of a drive-by ****** but has not been charged. I watched the first quarter and Evans has a ton of explosiveness off the dribble and the ability to finish in the lane among the trees, so the talent is there. I guess we’ll see what happens with the off-the-court stuff.
     A quick note on St. Benedict’s Prep was that the Gray Bees’ second-leading scorer in the loss was former Lakewood standout Mark Robertson, who transferred from Lakewood along with current Manhattan freshman Chris Smith two seasons ago.
     As for the other Shore action, the big story was Toms River North’s 45-35 loss to Ocean that halted the Mariners’ 15-game winning streak, as Ocean’s Joey Acquaro put in 14 points in a **** game that North led 13-9 at halftime. Ocean is fighting for its state playoff life, so the Spartans are a dangerous opponent, much like Holmdel, which finished a 3-0 week with a win over Matawan that put the Hornets at 6-9 with the cutoff looming on Friday.
     The loss also dents the credibility of Toms River North and Class A South in general with the Shore Conference Tournament coming up. It was a tough day for Class A South as its champion fell to the fourth-place team in Class B North (Ocean) and its second-place team, Brick Memorial, lost by 17 to the last-place team in Class A North, Middletown North.
     Middletown South also halted a two-game skid with a 37-33 win over Southern and is trying to do its best to keep its head above water in the absence of injured sophomore Kyle Cancillieri.

E-mail: [email protected]

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By Scott Stump – Senior Editor

    A rejuvenated Christian Brothers Academy will face the best team it will see all season when it takes on perennial juggernaut St. Anthony of Jersey City, which is only 13-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today, in a nonconference game on Saturday.
    The game is at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark at 3:15 p.m. and is part of the Brian Doherty Classic, a showcase event. The Friars are led by Pittsburgh recruit Travon Woodall,  Rutgers recruit Mike Rosario, 6-foot-5 St. Joseph’s recruit A.J. Rogers, Fordham recruits Jio Fontan and Alberto Estwick, and Marquette recruit Tyshawn Taylor as well as junior star guard Dominic Cheek. Other than that, the cupboard is relatively bare.
    CBA sophomore point guard Roy Mabrey, who has only been starting for a week, along with senior point guard Dallas Ouano, who just returned from injury in limited action on Thursday, will see defensive ball pressure on an entirely other level in this game, so it will be a good test to see where they are both at. CBA’s depth will also be severely tested under new coach Geoff Billet, who played against Hurley’s teams while starring for the Colts himself in the mid-1990s.
    The Colts have to push the ball when they get a chance, but most of all, they have to execute. When junior swingman Brian Neller or senior guard Mike Kuhn gets a clean look, he has to convert it. Running a set for 35-40 seconds doesn’t make a difference against St. Anthony, because the Friars never get tired and are so deep that an endless array of guards will keep checking into the game. It’s more about execution than wearing down the opponent.
     Anyone who can have a big offensive game against St. Anthony’s stifling pressure immediately raises his profile, as it doesn’t happen often. I remember when former CBA star and current University of Florida sophomore Dan Werner put 32 on them in a close loss a few years back, and it quickly raised Werner’s status to the elite level of a talent-rich state. That is the caliber of player that it usually takes to put a big numer on the Friars – one who can step in and get playing time as a freshman on a team that won its seconds straight NCAA title.
     Another big key against the Friars is to sprint back following a turnover, because they get the ball and go. CBA needs to minimize the immediate points off turnovers and at least make St. Anthony run an offensive set to get a look rather than just allowing the Friars to get a lay-up.
     The Colts (13-4) are ranked No. 6 in the DigitalSports Top 10 and rising, having knocked off No. 2 Middletown South on Thursday to highlight a strong week that they hope can end on a relative high note.
     Realistically, this is a good spot for CBA, because if the Colts get blown out, they got blown out by the No. 1 team in the country. If they hang around, that’s a huge confidence-booster with the Shore Conference Tournament rapidly approaching. Legendary St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley Sr. (also the father of St. Benedict’s Prep coach Dan Hurley) was at his home away from home, the Shore, taking notes in the stands on CBA this week as well as on Neptune, whom the Friars face next week in a nonconference game. If either Neptune or CBA ends up playing St. Anthony again this season, that’s a very good thing, because it could only happen in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions.
    We will have a story and video highlights from the game, so be sure to check back.

E-mail: [email protected]

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

    First off, congrats to Toms River North and Asbury Park, who clinched at least a tie for the Class A South and Class B Central titles, respectively, with wins on Thursday. Both were favorites in the preseason and got it done in impressive fashion.
    Now on to some notes from the two games I saw on Thursday – Keyport’s 60-57, last-second win over Mater Dei, and Manasquan’s 49-48 win over Red Bank that put the Warriors within one game of clinching at least a tie for the Class A Central title. I also threw in some tidbits on the other games from yesterday.

• Keyport has a nice mixture of players who perform their roles well. Senior Eric Devlin is a heady point guard who pushes the ball at all times, Mark Ziabro is a good slasher from the wing and a solid offensive rebounder, Bryan Thomson, a rising football standout, is the muscle and dirty work guy underneath, Tony Lopez is the 3-point specialist and Shawn Dowd is another good post presence and rebounder. The Red Raiders now have 11 wins, which is all they had combined in the last three seasons. I’ll have a story up a little later on Keyport’s resurgence.
• I’ve never seen a Mater Dei team push the ball as relentlessly as the young group Bob Klatt has this season. Usually they are a methodical, walk-it-up team, but since they are very guard-oriented without much height, they have to try to use their speed to their advantage. They must have had 16-18 points by getting the ball out of the net quickly on a made basket, whipping a long outlet pass, and beating Keyport down the floor for lay-ups.
• Manasquan has seemingly about six or eight players who are interchangeable. They all are about 6-foot-2, 6-3, with the ability to put it on the floor and shoot threes. They are a tough team to defend because they have four or five guys who can get into double digits, and no one is afraid to take a big shot. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but they got it done against Red Bank on Thursday. They were down seven on the road late in the game and didn’t even blink, going on an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead.
• Red Bank’s Will Sanborn takes losses hard. He was nearly inconsolable after the one-point setback to the Warriors even though the Bucs would not have even been in the game without his game-high 21 points, 16 of which came in the second half. He missed the front end of two one-and-ones in the final minute, allowing Manasquan to escape, and Bucs coach Scott Martin said that one of his bigger challenges is getting Sanborn to stop being so hard on himself.
• I kind of had a feeling that Christian Brothers Academy was going to roll past Middletown South because without Kyle Cancillieri, who had a big game in their first meeting, the Eagles were facing an uphill battle against a team that is improving by the minute. It’s become quite a heated little rivalry between these two teams in a hurry, as the Eagles weren’t even on CBA’s radar until this season, but with both schools being in Middletown and plenty of Middletown residents attending CBA, it’s ripe for a good rivalry.
• Long Branch’s Kevin Gilliard has quietly been on a scoring binge lately, having put up 25 in a loss to Ocean earlier in the week and then dropping 31 as the Green Wave nearly stunned Monmouth in a 60-57 loss last night.
• Holmdel has become the spoiler late in the season as the Hornets (5-9), who have been beset by injuries this season, upended Rumson, 50-48 behind 20 points from Mike Kelly. In less than a week, they took down Red Bank and Rumson, two state playoff-bound teams, as sophomore guard Erik Shirvanian also continues to play well. That’s a credit to the Hornets and coach Sean Devaney for continuing to play hard despite adversity and some single-digit losses early in the season.
• Freehold Township avenged an upset loss from earlier this season with a 56-47 win over a pesky Marlboro team that the Patriots will be happy not to see again this year.
• As for Friday night, the key games are Pinelands at Central and Manchester at Lakewood. While Monsignor Donovan appears to have the Class B South race well in hand, don’t forget that because Donovan would be the non-public champion, the public title is still out there, with Lakewood and Point Boro being the main contenders for that. The reason that is significant is because the winner of that public title automatically gets a home game in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament, regardless if they are seeded lower than the team they are playing. Central needs the win over Pinelands to solidify a spot in the state tournament, while Manchester also needs a win over the Piners to keep its state playoff hopes in decent shape. Another important game is Lacey (7-7) at Toms River South (8-7) in Class A South, as a victory would help the state playoff hopes of two teams hovering at or around the .500 mark.

E-mail: [email protected]

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

     Freehold obviously had a point to prove with a full lineup against Ocean after having three starters benched for the first half in a one-point loss to the Spartans in their first meeting, as they cruised to a 58-31 win to remain solidly in first place in Class B North.
     That Rumson game next week is looming bigger and bigger on the horizon for the Colonials, although it almost hurt them a little bit that Rumson lost to Raritan because Freehold wants Rumson to be highly ranked so that a potential victory over the Bulldogs will be good ammunition for a high seed in the Shore Conference Tournament. Regardless, Rumson is always respected, so any win over them is a feather in their cap if they can get it done.
      While it’s a little early to start thinking about season-ending accolades, that Rumson game is important for that as well as far as Freehold is concerned. When a team’s schedule is not as strong as other Top 10 teams, there is a smaller body of work against top opponents in which to be measured. In other words, someone like Shannon Mayrose, who I think is one of the best players I have seen this season but also has not faced the competition level of some other top players, has less games against big-time opponents to show her stuff. If a player on RBC, St. John Vianney, Rumson, Colts Neck and some other teams drops a clunker in a big game, they have more chances to redeem themselves in other big games than someone on a Freehold or a Lacey. Plus, for someone like Mayrose, you know Rumson coach George Sourlis is going to swarm her with defenders and make someone else beat them, so it might be slow going for her. We’ll see.
      Speaking of Rumson, the Bulldogs bounced back from their loss to the Rockets by beating Holmdel, 51-42, in Class A Central as Kate Miller has already crossed the 1,000-point barrier as a junior. She had 19 points in achieving that milestone.
      Red Bank Catholic held off the upstart Rockets, 49-42, and a continuing key has been the play of senior guard Megan Spanarkel, who had 15 points in the win. RBC knows what it will be getting from star Kristina Danella, who had 21 points in the win, so if it can continue to get solid complementary scoring from Spanarkel as a second option, that will be a big key heading into the postseason.
      In other news, Freehold Township is quietly putting together a solid season as the Patriots now have 11 wins after winning 12 games all of last season, and they are led by Christina Barthel and her 14 ppg.
      As for Friday night, Lacey can wrap up the Class A South title with a win at home over Toms River South.

E-mail: [email protected]

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

     A pretty exciting day on the boys side, as you couldn’t go wrong if you went to Freehold Twp.-Middletown South, Neptune-Monmouth or St. Rose-Keyport as well as Howell edging Middletown North in the final seconds as well.
     I was at Freehold Township-Middletown South, as the Patriots took sole control of first place in the rugged Class A North. Here are a few quick impressions from the game that weren’t in the game story:

• That jump ball call with the possession arrow going Freehold Township’s way with 12 seconds left in regulation that allowed the Patriots to tie the game and send it to overtime will be debated for a while.
• Middletown South has the one intangible, heart, that you can’t teach, and I’ve seen it on display a couple of times this season.
• We’ll really see what the Eagles have got after losing Kyle Cancillieri and having to now play Christian Brothers Academy. You can rally around the temporary adrenaline from an in-game injury that night, but the real question is how you regroup for a whole game two days later when reality has sunk in. If Cancillieri somehow gives it a go, I would think he would be severely limited. When you hear the words “high ankle sprain,” that’s not good.
• Freehold Township center Max Lit has the size to be a major threat on the low block, and if he can start finishing when he gets hit inside and makes his free throws, look out.
• Patriots point guard Tyler McKinnon is one of the fastest players I have seen this season. He causes a lot of trouble by getting into the paint and can finish in traffic. He is prone to the occasional wild shot, but he is one of the best things you can have late in a game when time is running out and the offense breaks down – someone who can make something out of nothing. Kevin Fischer and Corey Csakai also have that ability, but not quite the speed that McKinnon has.
• Middletown South guard Garret Thiel is in the running for the first-team DigitalSports All-Star team. The Patriots were regularly running a double team at him, yet he still made some big shots and some huge free throws. Just a fearless player.
• Freehold Township’s Brian Golub, the reigning DigitalSports Coach of the Year from last season, and Middletown South’s Kevin Cullen, both have to be in the discussion for this season’s Coach of the Year thus far. Cullen had black magic marker residue smudged all over his forehead after the game because he was furiously diagramming up plays and defenses to help fuel a comeback from a 13-point, third-quarter deficit to nearly win the game in regulation. His attitude as a player has rubbed off on his team, as Cullen is a former standout and 3-point bomber at South from the mid-1990s who played on some highly successful teams. If someone gave him space, he shot it in their face. That’s the type of fearlessness that gives a Rob Callori the confidence to come off the bench and hit three huge 3-pointers in the second half when the Patriots were daring anyone but Thiel to make a big shot. Pete Clabby also made some big threes in the game.
• Chris Ballester has become Freehold Township’s big play guy in crucial spots. He had the game-winning tip-in against CBA and the game-tying lay-up with six seconds left in regulation yesterday. Not only that, he always seems to be the one that grabs the key offensive rebound to keep a crucial possession alive or tips a loose ball to a teammate in a big spot. He also did a nice Dr. Phil act with Corey Csakai to calm him down before he sank the game-winning foul shot with 3.7 seconds left in overtime.

As for the other games, here are a few quick thoughts

• Monmouth matches up well with Neptune, and again pushed them to the brink in a 63-60 loss. The Falcons lost in the final eight seconds last night and have lost to the No. 1 Scarlet Fliers twice by a combined five points. Sophomore guard Neil Thompson is rapidly becoming a big-game player, while Neptune guard Jabari Joyner has quietly buried a lot of big 3-pointers for the Fliers this season.
• Keyport has been a nice story this season. I know the Red Raiders beat a St. Rose team without two injured starters, but a win over St. Rose is definitely one the Red Raiders will take to the bank because they haven’t come too often over the years. Senior point guard Eric Devlin has been a big key for Keyport’s surge this season, as they already have 10 wins after winning seven games all of last season. They also are still in striking distance of the Class B Central title if they win out and Asbury Park loses to St. Rose on Thursday. As for the Purple Roses, Chris Heine has become their big-shot guy in the final seconds of close games, as his 3-point bomb from 30 feet sent it to triple overtime last night before Keyport won 72-69. It was a bad week for the Purple Roses to have the injury bug hit Brian Poppert (ankle) and Joey Quinn (broken nose), considering Keyport and Asbury Park are the two other top contenders in the division.
• CBA is starting to kick it into high gear, and senior point guard Dallas Ouano returns from injury on Monday to further their depth. They rolled over Colts Neck, and Mike Kuhn snapped out of an offensive slump with 22 points to fuel the win. Next up is Middletown South. What a difference a few days makes. Last week, they lost to Freehold Township at the buzzer and new coach Geoff Billet was the Antichrist who had to be shipped to Siberia and the whole team had to be replaced. Now they are the talented team gaining more experience, confidence and momentum and Billet is the coach making shrewd decisions to shuffle the lineup to make the Colts look like a team that will be right there in the end in the Shore Conference Tournament. You gotta love it. That’s life at the top.
• Rumson has qualified for the state tournament on the heels of a four-win season, so congrats to the Bulldogs (9-5). Junior guard Matt Blumel might be the most improved player in the Shore (somewhere, Randy Foye is smiling). He has gone from someone who barely played last season to one of the top 10 or so guards in the conference.
• Think Lakewood was happy about its first loss ever to Pinelands in their inaugural meeting this season? The Piners beat the Wildcats 72-45 last night in the rematch as Neptune transfer Jacob Grant continues to play well.
• Brick Memorial edged Lacey, 49-47, to take over second place in Class A South, and now the Mustangs welcome first-place Toms River North to their building on Thursday night in a bid to make the division race interesting in this final stretch. Coach Ed Sarluca Jr. has done a nice job with a young team this season and we’ll see if they can make a big splash on Thursday against a Mariners team that has not lost since the season opener.
• Red Bank’s Matt Pebole is really showing his full talent this season as he had 26 points in a win over Red Bank Catholic last night. After being mainly a garbageman who played defense and cleaned up offensive rebounds behind the star tandem of Kyle Fitzgerald and Casey Peters the last two seasons, the Red Bank senior has shown there is much more to his offensive game than he showed while waiting his turn. He has good range for a 6-foot-4 forward and good touch around the glass and off the dribble.

I’ll end with a story recommendation: This piece on former Utah and current St. Louis coach Rick Majerus is too insane to almost believe. To do some of those things and not have about 100 lawsuits filed against you in this day and age is something.
 
E-mail: [email protected]

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

     Obviously the story of the night was Raritan’s 32-30 triumph over Rumson. Still trying to figure out when the last time the Rockets beat the Bulldogs, if ever.
     Anyway, Raritan has become Rumson’s Kryptonite because the Rockets match up well with the Bulldogs, whom they lost to in overtime in their first meeting and in a close game in last season’s Central Jersey Group II playoffs. Low-scoring defensive games are exactly what Raritan can win against a good opponent, which is why, conversely, they have trouble with teams like St. John Vianney and Red Bank Catholic, who can get games into the 50-70 point realm and the Rockets can’t keep up offensively.
     That’s a huge program win for the Rockets and coach Ron Poll. There also isn’t a ton of love lost between these teams either. The coaches and players say all the right complimentary things about each other, but these are competitive, intense games. Since Rumson has had so much success as a Group II public school, you would have to think Raritan has tried to emulate a little of the Bulldogs’ defense-first, gritty mentality. It was a team effort, too, as Loreta Tonuzi, Alexa Ryan, Kandace Johnson and Hannah Mertz all played important roles in the victory.
     Just like Rumson has been such a problem for Red Bank Catholic and seems to have Kristina Danella’s number, I think it’s a similar case with Raritan and Rumson. The Rockets just really bring their ‘A’ game against the Bulldogs, and they could potentially meet twice more this season in the Shore Conference Tournament and the Central Jersey Group II bracket that Rumson has won eight straight times.
     I can still hear the words of Rumson coach George Sourlis ringing in my ears after the Bulldogs impressively rolled to a 47-32 win over Christ the King (N.Y.) at the Battle on the Boardwalk on Sunday.
     “This won’t mean squat if we don’t beat Raritan on Tuesday,” he said.
     I guess the “squat” file just got a little smaller for the Bulldogs, but they always seem to circle the wagons and come back against any adversity, and I think this season will be no different.
     As for the Rockets, they finally got behind the velvet rope in the VIP section of Class A Central, where St. John Vianney, Red Bank Catholic and Rumson have been fanning themselves and eating grapes the past few seasons in between battles with one another. Now, as Poll pointed out, we’ll really find out about the Rockets when they go on the road to face a rejuvenated Red Bank Catholic team on Thursday after losing 50-32 to the Caseys in their first meeting. Will this Rumson win be a nice blip on the radar for Raritan, or the sign of bigger things to come?
     In other news, congratulations to Lacey’s Amanda Malkiewicz, who became the Lions’ all-time leading scorer with 18 points last night as they improved to 14-1. She is only the second female to go over 1,000 points at Lacey and passed Dawn Paget as the school’s all-time leader. That makes two all-time leading scorers in two weeks, as Danella passed Jessica DePalo to go into the No. 1 spot at RBC last week in a loss to St. John Vianney.
     Another big win was Monsignor Donovan’s three-point victory over Manchester, which puts Point Boro right in the driver’s seat to take home the Class B South title. Middletown South continued to prove that it is the next-best Class A North team behind Top 10 teams Colts Neck and Howell as it dispatched of a solid Freehold Township team for the second time this season thanks to 15 points by Jill Gannon.

E-mail: [email protected]

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

To wrap up all the Boardwalk action from this weekend, here are the numbers between the boys and girls combined and some extras.

2 – The number of games won by Shore Conference teams against nonconference teams, out of a possible eight games.

12 – The combined amount of points that Colts Neck, Monsignor Donovan, CBA and Neptune’s boys lost by in their four games.

0 – The number of losses Asbury Park’s boys had to Shore Conference teams before falling to Monmouth.

10 – The jersey number of Boys and Girls’ Chris Harris, who made the game-winning 3-pointer with five seconds left to beat Christian Brothers Academy, and of Imhotep (Pa.) Charter’s Will Adams, who made the game-winning lay-up off an inbounds pass with one second left in regulation to beat Monsignor Donovan.

6-for-61 – The combined shooting from the field in the first half of the Colts Neck-Bishop Kearney girls game.

12-for-24 – Colts Neck’s shooting percentage (50%) in the second half.

233 – The number of combined video clips posted by DigitalSports from all the games.

23 – Points by St. John Vianney’s Katelyn Linney, the most of any Shore player on either side.

16 – Rebounds by Red Bank Catholic’s Kristina Danella, the most of any Shore player on either side.

11 – Neptune’s winning streak before falling to Linden in overtime, 59-57, on the boys side.

1 – Nationally ranked teams participating (Murry Bergtraum’s girls).

0 – Career starts for CBA sophomore point guard Roy Mabrey before making his first against New York City power Boys and Girls. He finished with a career-high nine points.

17 – Offensive rebounds that Colts Neck’s girls had in the first half against Bishop Kearney.

1 – The number of 65-footers made (Brian Neller, CBA).

4-6 – The potential amount of Division I-A players on Murry Bergtraum’s varsity roster.

2 – Number of 3-pointers from way behind the NBA 3-point line by Asbury Park’s Ron Berardesco.

2 – Number of Tournament of Champions finalists from last season participating (Bloomfield Tech’s boys and Trenton’s girls).

1 – Number of shots that may or may not have counted (A dunk by CBA’s Pat Light).

0 – Number of seconds Neptune’s Gary Foster didn’t play all out in a loss to Linden.

2 – Number of driving lay-ups by Shore players that gave them the lead in the final seconds only to be stunned by the opponent in a loss (Msgr. Donovan’s Kyle Milana, CBA’s Brian Neller).

10 – Number of fouls whistled on Christ the King’s girls in the first six minutes of a loss to Rumson, putting the Bulldogs in the double bonus with time to spare in the first quarter.

MEMORABLE QUOTES

“I don’t even think that’s mathematically possible.” – Colts Neck girls coach John Truhan, on how his team shot 6-for-41 from the field in the first half and somehow was still up by a point at the break against Bishop Kearney.

“I don’t think we can claim this as a moral victory.” – Neptune senior Gary Foster after a two-point overtime loss to Linden, the top public school team in the state.

“We knew they would shoot it from anywhere.” – Monmouth center Joe Willman on Asbury Park’s shot selection.

“I’m all right, I’m OK.” – Bishop Kearney girls coach Cathy Crocket, who went down in a heap when two players chasing a loose ball out of bounds crashed into her and knocked her hard to the floor against Colts Neck.

“A lot of people didn’t think we could hang with these guys.” – Mon Don coach Mike Kearney, whose team nearly upset an Imhotep (Pa.) Charter team with three Division I players.

“I was thinking, ‘Shoot the rock.’ If had thought about it before I shot it, nine times out of 10 I would miss it.” – Boys and Girls’ Chris Harris, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer against CBA with five seconds left.

“I was thinking, ‘Man that kid has a lot of guts to take that shot.’ Fortunately, it went in.” – Boys and Girls coach Ruth Lovelace, who was looking for one of the team’s main scorers to hoist that final shot.

“We were winning 19-8 and they came back? Really? I don’t look at the scoreboard that much when I’m playing.” – Trenton star center Torrie Childs, who was just worried about doing her job in the Tornadoes’ game against St. John Vianney.

“I never felt in control. The clock couldn’t run fast enough for me.” – Rumson girls coach George Sourlis, talking about a win over perennial New York power Christ the King that Rumson led from start to finish in a 15-point victory.

And finally, the best one of the weekend:

“Man, that Boys and Girls Club is pretty good.” – One of the workers helping out with the event, mistaking Boys and Girls High School, a perennial New York City power, for a collection of random kids from an after-school program.

E-mail: [email protected]

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

     As we head back into regular-season action, here are some extras and thoughts from the girls Boardwalk action including things we learned.

SJV-Trenton
      St. John Vianney’s Achilles’ heel is rebounding because of its size as Trenton proved in a 62-50 win, but here’s the thing, as Rumson coach George Sourlis pointed out – How many teams in the state besides Trenton have several big girls with talent who can pound the offensive glass against SJV? Not many, which means the Lancers will be a tall order for anyone locally and in the state playoffs because they can consistently create turnovers with their press and all of them have the green light from coach Dawn Karpell to make a play within their offense.
       If teams only have one good post player, SJV will swarm them, so you need to. However, I would be interested to see how someone like Freehold’s Shannon Mayrose, a tall and athletic forward, would do against the Lancers.
      Junior guard Katelyn Linney has emerged as a front-runner for Player of the Year right now, and I have to come out with my hands up and apologize to Linney that I did not have her in this group in the preseason. She might be the most improved player in the Shore Conference, particularly with her aggressiveness and her ability to finish around the basket in traffic with that little scoop shot under the outstretched arms of defenders. She also might have the quickest first step of anyone I’ve seen this season, because when you’re blowing by Trenton defenders with that initial burst, you are fast, plain and simple.
     Vianney’s schedule has also paid dividends, because those freshmen are not freshmen any more because they are already battle-tested and we’re not even into February yet. Head coach Dawn Karpell expects them to go out and perform, no matter how old they are. The Vianney swagger is definitely back, that’s for sure.
       One comment made to me about SJV that was interesting was that the Ritacco Center, the site of the Shore Conference Tournament final, might hinder them a little bit because the court is bigger than normal courts, meaning that opponents trying to break their press have more room to work with.

Colts Neck-Bishop Kearney
      This game was pretty much about perseverance for the young Cougars, as they turned it on in the second half after an R-rated first half of shooting by both teams. I think a key to this team could be senior Crystal Butler, who had 6 points and 8 rebounds in the game. If she can knock down a 3-pointer here and there, consistently finish on the break and underneath on passes from Brooke Hampton and Lauren Clarke, and play good defense, that could be a big asset to Colts Neck.
      The big talk is of a Colts Neck-SJV game in the SCT, and as I wrote in the recent top 10 (where SJV is No. 1 and CN is No. 2), spicing up the proceedings is that a few members of Vianney’s vaunted freshman class are from Colts Neck and elected to play for the Lancers. A big thing for Colts Neck is conditioning. They just want to run you out of the building, so if they do run into a turbocharged and deep SJV team, it will literally be survival of the fittest.

Red Bank Catholic vs. Murry Bergtraum
     This was the most exciting game of the day, as the Caseys, as everyone knows by now, pushed the Lady Blazers, the No. 2 team in the country, to the brink.
     I think senior forward Kristina Danella felt the challenge of bringing her game up a notch with all of the injuries to the starting lineup and she has done it. Her biggest problem was always pressing too hard, and RBC coach Joe Montano said they have worked on that, while she makes sure Montano doesn’t get too tightly wound either. Rather than getting frustrated at the double and triple teams lately, she just plays through it, which she has to do for this team to win.
    “I work on keeping her calm and she works on keeping me calm,” Montano said.
    I think senior guard Megan Spanarkel is going to have to be clutch for the Caseys to make their push to an SCT title against the odds. She had 13 points in the game, knocking down open looks and finishing inside. If she can start doing that consistently and getting a high-low game going with Danella, this team is still pretty scary because its young guards are coming along.
     As far as holding off Bergtraum, the Blazers do things that you pretty much can’t defend at times because they are so blindingly quick. You can play a zone, but their guards are so fast that they’ll still blow by people, and when they get a turnover, it’s in the hoop on the other end before you can blink. What are you going to tell your girls against the likes of Krystal Parnell? Hey, you need to genetically alter yourself to be 20 times faster on that play!
    This game was still a big confidence boost for the Caseys, so we’ll see if they build on it.

Rumson-FH vs. Christ the King
     Much has been made of the fact that Christ the King is a shadow of what it has been in recent seasons, but I still thought Rumson played extremely well no matter what team it was facing in its 47-32 win. The Bulldogs defended fiercely, but the real steps forward seemed to be on offense, where point guard Candice Green was getting into the lane for easy shots and converting open looks. Also, if Ashley Cooper can knock down timely threes like she did on Sunday, that adds an extra dimension to a team that doesn’t heavily rely on the 3-pointer. If Rumson can space the court well offensively like it did on Sunday, it will only make the Bulldogs better because their main problem in big games is usually mustering enough scoring (they were held to 33 points in their last two losses) because they always defend.
     It looks like the blowout loss to St. John Vianney really energized Rumson to bring it up a notch, and we’ll see if that continues when it takes on Raritan tonight.

What we learned from Sunday

• Red Bank Catholic is far from dead.
• Rumson’s offense looks to be improving and most importantly, the players seem to be finding their roles and settling in.
• It takes a rare combination of size and talent to take advantage of St. John Vianney’s weaknesses.
• Colts Neck can win without shooting well from the outside because its defense is better than people think.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

All game details and stats are on the main scoreboard on the homepage.

Imhotep (Pa.) Charter-Msgr. Donovan, extra CBA-Boys and Girls
   For the second straight game, a Shore team lost to a nonconference team within the final five seconds as Imhotep’s Will Adams scored a lay-up off an inbounds play with three seconds left for a 48-47 win.
   I’ll start with CBA’s last-second loss first. I talked to Boys and Girls’ Chris Harris, who buried an NBA 3-pointer that banked in with five seconds left to beat the Colts. He said that he just didn’t even think, he just launched it, and that CBA didn’t close on him strongly because he is not one of Boys and Girls’ main scorers.
   I talked to the Kangaroos’ coach, Ruth Lovelace, afterward, and she called it a “really gutsy shot” because Harris was not even the third option at that point and he just put it up.
   CBA is taking it as a positive rather than its second straight heartbreaker after losing at the buzzer to Freehold Township in its previous game. They figure they were right there with one of New York City’s best teams and they had to make a very difficult shot to beat the Colts. I joked with new CBA coach Geoff Billet, who has received some criticism over some losses this season, that this one should keep the pitchforks and torches at bay for another week (Or at least until the Colts Neck game on Tuesday).
   An interesting sidelight in that game is that a disputed dunk by CBA’s Pat Light could have been huge. It went in and out of the net and was ruled a basket. What if CBA had won by two points if Harris missed that last-second three? Hmmmm.
   Another interesting wrinkle is that Boys and Girls is used to playing with a shot clock, which is the rule in the league they play in in New York City. Lovelace said they’re not used to having to defend for as long of stretches as CBA made them work by passing the ball around.
    One other thing on CBA is that the Colts may have found a solid point guard before the return of Dallas Ouano from injury in sophomore Roy Mabrey, who had nine points and played some fearless ball in a heightened atmosphere in his first varsity start. Billet said he made the move because he didn’t want senior guard Mike Kuhn to have to worry about serving as a point guard when he is really a two-guard.
     As for Monsignor Donovan, coach Mike Kearney elected to go man-to-man rather than a zone look on that final inbounds play, and the defense simply broke down as Adams got open via a pick and then had an open lay-up after center Rashad Savage cleared out the closest defender. Adams told me afterward that in the huddle that they decided to run the play they call “S-2” but they were going to call out “S-1” before inbounding in hopes that Donovan would anticipate that particular pick sequence because of the scouting report.
     Griffins’ senior Kyle Milana, who had a game-high 20 points, essentially put the team on his back offensively in the fourth quarter, making one clutch drive to the hoop after another in the final minutes. Kearney looks at the loss as a sign that the Griffins can hang with a team that has three players who are either committed to Division I-A schools or getting major looks on a team ranked in the top 10 in the state in Pennsylvania.

CBA-Boys and Girls (N.Y.)
     The Colts lost on a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left in the game by Chris Harris. I’ll discuss that above in the Mon Don recap as well because it happened to two Shore teams in a row, except that Imhotep’s was a two-pointer.
     CBA is down 36-35 in the third quarter and playing like a totally different team from the one that has stumbled recently. Sophomore Roy Mabrey has given them a lift in his first start and their zone has Boys and Girls out of sync, and Brian Neller has nailed two deep threes to get a little momentum going offensively.
     There was a bit of controversy in the first half when CBA’s Pat Light threw down a dunk that came back up out of the net. They awarded him the basket but not after discussion. The rule is that it has to go all the way through the net, but the officials didn’t get a clean look. Luckily, we’ll have the video replay of it for you.
      It looks like CBA’s recent loss to Freehold Township really emptied the bandwagon because the Colt Crazies and any semblance of a student section can’t be found at Convention Hall. Sophomore guard Roy Mabrey has also gotten his first start of the season for the Colts. CBA is down 10-5 halfway through the first quarter. Random fact about Boys and Girls: They are coached by a woman, Ruth Lovelace, who is in her 14th season. Don’t see that too often.

Colts Neck-Bloomfield Tech
      Colts Neck fell 64-57 to perennial state power Bloomfield Tech, but in talking with head coach Lou Piccola, point guard Mitchell Kates and forward Steve Spinella after the game, they are treating it like almost a win. They pushed a team that reached the Tournament of Champions final last season to the wire after being down by as many as 18 points in the third quarter. I’ve seen this before, where teams come to the Battle on the Boardwalk and give a good game to a big-name team, and it jumpstarts their season. Raritan and Qa’rraan Calhoun vs. St. Benedict’s and J.R. Smith a few years back comes to mind.
      Piccola said that the tempo of the game hurt Colts Neck, because it became a run-and-gun game at times, which Bloomfield Tech loves. A crucial stretch to start the third quarter in which the Cougars went scoreless until there was 3:35 left in the game proved to be the difference. Also, whenever Colts Neck desperately needed a defensive stop when down by eight or 10 points in the second half, the Cougars could not get it.
      However, they still showed heart in the comeback, which they had been missing in their recent four-game losing streak after a 7-0 start. Kates and Spinella combined for 44 points, which is also an encouraging sign heading into a huge Class A North game against Christian Brothers Academy on the road on Tuesday.
     The Cougars were hanging right with Bloomfield after looking like they might get blown out after getting down 11-3 early. They are losing 25-20 in the second quarter, but Colts Neck coach Lou Piccola just loudly reminded his players in the huddle that the breakneck pace of the game is not to Colts Neck’s liking. Bloomfield likes to play in a track meet, so even though they are close, they have to slow the game down.
     Bloomfield was hitting everything against Colts Neck’s zone early on, making the Cougars switch to man-to-man. Steve Spinella also picked up his second foul with a charge with 6:26 left in the half. Florida Atlantic-bound guard R.J. Hall has been as advertised for Bloomfield thus far, and guard Troy Webster . The good news for Colts Neck is that Spinella and point guard Mitchell Kates are both off to fast starts, although Spinella did miss a wide open dunk after a steal.
    

Asbury Park-Monmouth
    The Asbury Park-Monmouth game is underway, with Asbury Park leading 13-10 in the first quarter at Convention Hall. Both teams are sitting in zones on defense, but the Blue Bishops are getting points by pushing the ball in transition and getting to the foul line.
    I’m proud to report that it’s actually warm in Convention Hall after feeling like I had to wear gloves to this event in past years. Good job by the town and The Hoop Group for bringing the warmth to the old building. Unfortunately, the lighting in here is pretty dim. I think they forgot to turn the overhead chandeliers off of “intimate dinner setting” mode. Decent-sized crowd, which is pretty good because the noon game often doesn’t draw well. It certainly can’t hurt that it’s Asbury Park playing in its own backyard.
     Monmouth is up 40-27 late in the third quarter. The Falcons are getting points in transition and their zone is baiting Asbury Park into launching long 3-pointers that are causing fast breaks the other way when they come off the rim long. The Blue Bishops are also making unforced turnovers like numerous traveling calls.
     Monmouth took care of Asbury Park 62-53 despite a late 9-0 run by the Blue Bishops that closed the gap to 57-50. Asbury Park had 19 turnovers in the game, which Monmouth converted into 23 points to become the first Shore Conference team to defeat Asbury Park this season.
     I’ll tell you one thing, Asbury Park guard Ron Berardesco will launch it from the parking lot. He hit four 3-pointers in the game, and most of them were a foot or two behind the NBA 3-point line at Convention Hall. However, the difference was the turnovers and Monmouth’s ability to limit Asbury Park to one shot, which usually was a long jumper, because of the Falcons’ size advantage inside.

    I’ll keep posting updates here throughout the day, so check back.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)