Boys Basketball – Photo Gallery: Howell 50, Manalapan 44

Photo Gallery by Larry Murphy

It took the Howell boys basketball team until mid January to do what it could not do all of last season and with Thursday's accomplishment against Manalapan, the Rebels are on the rise in the Shore Conference Class A North.

Senior Gino Palummo scored 15 points and hit five clutch free throws down the stretch as the Rebels beat the Braves, 50-44, to win their sixth game of the season, surpassing their total from all of last year.

Palummo - who played for Howell as a freshman and for a part of his sophomore season before transferring to Jackson Memorial during his sophomore year and back again for this season - also grabbed six rebounds and a hit 5-of-6 foul shots in the fourth quarter.

Senior Will Kocsis added 14 points and eight rebounds while fellow senior Greg McManus had 10 points and 10 rebounds. McManus became Howell's all-time career leader in rebounds in a loss to Marlboro on Monday and added to his school record total, which now stands at 273. The old record was 263, set by 2010 graduate Gabe Cheavers.

Howell will also get a boost to its lineup Saturday, when senior guard Aaron Trimble returns to the lineup Saturday at Brick Memorial. Trimble - an all-division selection by the coaches as a junior - was suspended on Dec. 16 for 30 days for violating the school's code of conduct, according to head coach Patrick Ramsay. Trimble averaged 16.1 points per game last season.

Senior Mike Venezia led Manalapan with 12 points Thursday and senior Brian Conforth added 11 in the loss. The Braves are also waiting on a standout guard in junior NyRhique Smith, who is eligible to make his debut with Manalapan on Tuesday against Freehold Township after sitting 30 days to honor the transfer rule. Smith began his high school career at Monmouth Regional as a freshman and transferred to Manalapan in September after moving back to N.J. from Maryland.