The Shore Daily, 1/30/15
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In what has to be one of the rarest occurrences in Shore Conference history, five different players between boys and girls basketball all scored the 1,000th point of their careers on Thursday night.
Toms River South senior Tymere Berry, Shore Regional senior Kevin Bloodgood, Wall senior Trent Mitchell, Holmdel senior Mia Ehling and Middletown South junior Stephanie Karcz all hit the four-digit mark for a banner night.
Berry not only notched his 1,000th point in an overtime win over Lacey, he also registered the first triple-double of his career with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to continue his outstanding season. Also a football standout at quarterback for the Indians, he is still uncommitted, but is taking an official visit to the University of Maine this weekend. One of his former Toms River South teammates, defensive back Darrius Hart, is currently a member of the Bears.
Bloodgood's milestone was bittersweet as the Blue Devils lost 70-56 at home in a showdown of top 10 teams with Rumson-Fair Haven in Class A Central thanks to 29 points by junior guard Brendan Barry, who continued his brilliant season. However, that is still something to savor, as Shore is not a program loaded with 1,000-point scorers in its history, so he joined an elite group by hitting 1,000 on the nose with a 13-point effort. He also became the second Blue Devil in two seasons to achieve it, as former guard Dan Pillari hit 1,000 during the state playoffs last season to finish with 1,010 for his career.
As for Mitchell, all 20 of his points were needed to help fend off host Ocean's upset bid with a 65-62 win in overtime that put the Crimson Knights alone in first place in Class B North. Ocean guard Taj Shomo, who has become a deadly late-game 3-point shooter, sent it into overtime with a three at the regulation buzzer on his way to a 17-point, 11-assist night.
Mitchell hit 1,000 points on a free throw in the second half. In a strange coincidence, Mitchell's coach for his first three seasons at Wall, current Barnegat coach Mike Puorro, also scored his 1,000th point on a free throw on Ocean's home floor in the second half of a game during Puorro's playing days at Point Boro.
Ehling, a senior who is committed to St. Francis, scored her 1,000th during an 18-point night in a loss to top-ranked St. John Vianney to become the latest in a line of high-scoring stars for the Hornets.
Karcz's milestone was the most impressive because she is still only a junior. A three-year varsity starter, she had 23 points in a 65-39 win over Marlboro to hit the mark. A run at 2,000 points by the end of her career is not out of the question.
As for the team side of things, in addition to the aforementioned big win by Rumson, Neptune was the other headliner of Thursday night as the Scarlet Fliers won their fifth straight to get over the .500 mark (8-7) with their second straight win over a team that was in first place in Class B North coming into the game. Neptune beat Colts Neck, 56-45, behind 16 points from senior guard Kerry Kirkwood, 13 by sophomore Barry Brown, and 14 rebounds by forward Micah Kerr.
No. 2 Christian Brothers Academy survived an overtime scare against Manalapan thanks to 30 points by junior Pat Andree to get back on track in Class A North. Also, Berry wasn't the only one with a triple-double last night, as Marlboro center Matt Ringel had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks in a win over Middletown South. It's rare that you see a triple-double with double-digit blocks, but Ringel leads the Shore with 3.3 swats per game, so it's not totally out of left field.
Also, congrats to Howell guard Aaron Trimble, who set the school record with 101 career 3-pointers, passing the record of 99 set by 2011 graduate Tom Callahan. The Rebels are 9-6 and have shown some solid improvement under coach Pat Ramsay. They look to be a sleeper come tournament time.
Finally, Asbury Park picked up a 21-point over Keyport in Class B Central and has put together a nice bounceback season. The Blue Bishops are now 6-5 on the heels of a one-win season and in the running for a Shore Conference Tournament berth.
FOOTBALL
Howell senior Mike McGuinness announced Friday that he will continue his career at the University of New Hampshire, where he will be a preferred walk-on. Also, two more offers rolled in for two of the top players in the Class of 2016 as Red Bank Catholic junior quarterback/defensive back Eddie Hahn and junior two-way lineman Liam Smith were each offered by UConn.
Also, in one other tidbit, Colts Neck head coach Darian Barnes, a former NFL fullback, is out in Arizona playing in a Pros vs. Heroes charity game this weekend. He spoke about it with the local Fox affiliate out there.
FOX 10 News | fox10phoenix.com
More on Friday:
- Patriots' special-teamer Nate Ebner has weathered the murder of his father and more to reach the Super Bowl.
- Great story on an 85-year-old guy who snuck into 35 Super Bowls and even hoisted up Tom Landry after one of them.
- Feature on the ups and downs, ins and outs of the recruiting process for St. Peter's Prep stars Minkah Fitzpatrick and Brandon Wimbush.
- How could you not be a professional bull rider when your name is Ryan Dirteater?
- St. John Vianney's girls basketball team is ranked No. 18 in the country and St. Rose is No. 24 in the latest MaxPreps Top 25.
- Contrary to reports of his demise, Bart the cat is not dead.
On tap for tonight: The Shore Conference Wrestling Tournament gets underway with the preliminary round, first round and quarterfinals at the sites of the top four seeds - Howell, Brick Memorial, Brick and Jackson Memorial. The main intrigue is a possible rematch between third-seeded Brick and sixth-seeded Toms River South in the quarterfinals after Brick edged the Indians last Saturday, and a 4-5 showdown between Long Branch and Jackson Memorial for the right to most likely face top-seeded Howell in tomorrow's semifinals.
In boys basketball, No. 1 Toms River North heads to Southern for a key Class A South game, while No. 5 Lakewood hosts Donovan Catholic in Class B South to try to remain unbeaten in the division and get another step closer to repeating as division champions.
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