Boys Basketball – Players of the Week, Feb. 1 to Feb. 7

Shore Sports Network Player of the Week

Phil Lingat, Toms River East

The Toms River East program has progress right along with its junior guard and Lingat’s breakout season has coincided with that of his team. Lingat had, arguably, his best week in his standout season, during which he is averaging better than 21 points per game. Against Brick on Feb. 1, Lingat erupted for a career-high 36 points in a Raiders win, clinching a regular-season sweep of a Green Dragons team that is enjoying a renaissance of its own.

Lingat followed that performance up with a 25-point effort in a big win at Southern and on Saturday against Toms River North, he buried the potential game-winning free throws with 14.3 seconds left. Toms River North came back with two free throws with 1.9 seconds to thwart the upset bid, but Lingat nearly led a come-from-behind effort with a game-high 18 points.

Divisional Players of the Week

Class A North

Nick Facendo, Freehold Twp.

Twice last week, Facendo came up just short of a triple-double. He scored 15 points to go with nine rebounds, nine assists and five steals in a Patriots win over Howell and again fell just shy of the feat with 18 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a victory at Holmdel. He capped the week with six points, seven assists and five steals in a rout of Middletown South.

Class A Central

Ryan Jensen, Manasquan

The first two-time player of the week honoree, Jensen was the clear choice in A Central this week thanks to a career-high 30-point game against St. John Vianney that also included 25 rebounds, five blocks and four steals. His 30th point of the game was also the 1,000th of his career.

Class B North

Eddie Hahn, Red Bank Catholic

The Caseys have turned their season around of the last two weeks and it has mostly been behind the play of Hahn. He capped the previous week with 27 points in a win over the Academy for Urban Leadership to set off a three-game streak of 20-plus-point games, which also included 25 in a win over Neptune and 23 in a loss at Colts Neck. Hahn finished the week with 16 points in RBC’s upset over then No. 3 Rumson, which snapped the Bulldogs’ 13-game winning streak.

Class B Central

Jimmy Panzini, Point Beach

Like Hahn, Panzini has steadily upped his play over the course of the season to help his team hit its stride in February. The Garnet Gulls senior scored 19 in a win over Bloomfield Tech on Jan. 30 then continued his play into the next week with 19 more in a win over Keyport, followed by a season-high 21 in a win over Point Boro on Saturday.

Class B South

David Lunn, Pinelands

The senior swingman scored 16 points to help lead a come-from-behind, upset win over Manchester that ended with a buzzer-beating three by Chris Burke. Lunn later put up 25 points, eight rebounds and six steals in a win over Atlantic Tech to keep the Wildcats’ slim hopes for a Shore Conference Tournament berth alive.