Boys Basketball – McGuire’s Career Night Leads CBA Past Freehold Twp.

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MIDDLETOWN – Freehold Township boys basketball coach Brian Golub was concerned enough about the top two scorers on Christian Brothers Academy that his gameplan included a simple overriding concept: don’t let either of CBA’s top two scorers score 30 points.

The good news for the Patriots is that neither of the two returnees that Golub targeted – senior Jack Laffey and junior Pat Andree – scored more than 22. The bad news is someone else did.

Junior 6-foot-7 forward Jack McGuire scored 32 points in the first start of his high school varsity career and the Colts – the No. 1 team in the Shore Sports Network Top 10 to open the season – buried the Patriots, 85-50, in the season-opener for both teams.

“I’ve been looking forward to the opportunity to help the team for a while,” McGuire said. “Honestly, I looked at it like it was my first varsity game. I had to go out and show who I am.”

McGuire, Laffey and Andree combined for 73 of CBA’s 84 points, with Laffey pouring in 22 and Andree adding 19. Laffey also grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked two shots while Andree added 10 rebounds and four blocks.

“Obviously, McGuire can play and we knew that,” CBA coach Geoff Billet said. “We certainly weren’t counting on 32 by any stretch, but it wasn’t the 32 that I liked. He can affect the game scoring eight points by just rebounding, blocking shots, using his length in the passing lanes, his passing ability. He has so many ways he can help us, and I thought he used them all."

After playing a reserve role last season, McGuire had been groomed to start this season and seized his first chance to shine. Andree and Laffey combined for all 15 of CBA’s first-quarter points before McGuire joined the action in the second. He finished a lay-up to open his scoring and then buried a three from the left wing to spark a 14-point second quarter.

“We scouted (McGuire) on tape at a scrimmage and he didn’t shoot a lot,” Golub said. “We were worried about Laffey and Andree and we knew to stop them, we were going to have to sag off everyone else and make their other guys shoot it. When your third option is hitting shots like that and going for 30, the other team is in trouble.”

Laffey and McGuire each scored 14 points in the first half and Andree chipped in 12 to help CBA hit Freehold Township with a 36-11 run over the half’s final 11 minutes, giving the Colts a 42-15 halftime lead.

McGuire capped his career night with 18 second-half points, which included two fast-break dunks.

“There’s a big advantage playing with two great players in my situation,” McGuire said. “If I’m opposite them, you’ll always see my man creeping over, and that leaves me open on the weak side, which is where I got a lot of my shots today. It’s not something that’s necessarily hard to see, but with Andree and Laffey, if you don’t give help, they can beat you.”

In its first game of the season, CBA showed off its size and athleticism against a fast-but-undersized Patriots team. Not only did McGuire, Laffey and Andree combine for 25 rebounds and seven blocks, but they also combined to hit eight 3-pointers. Laffey led the way with four, while McGuire knocked down three. Andree shot only 1-for-5 from behind the arc, but his one make beat the first-quarter buzzer and sent CBA into the second quarter with a 15-4 advantage.

“I’ve been playing with Laffey for three years and I went to middle school with Jack McGuire,” Andree said. “I know what they like to do, and I know when my guys are feeling it. When they have a good rhythm and the shots look like they are falling, it’s time to get them the ball. It’s been that way since I got here.”

Freehold Township modified its trapping and pressure defense to account for the CBA size, as well as for the absence of senior starters Kyle Czajkowski and Dan Saunders, who were both injured. Senior Tyree Wilson led Freehold Township with 16 points, while senior Jason Czajkowski added 13 and Steve Staklinski netted 10 off the bench.

“The most important thing for us is to get healthy,” Golub said. “Missing those guys hurts, but we don’t win with them tonight. It gives other kids a chance to play and see where we’re at in other spots.”

CBA also took advantage of its size by employing a more aggressive approach on the defensive end, particularly around the rim.

“I never do this, but I told our taller guys that I wanted them to be aggressive trying to block shots,” Billet said. “Their guards are really aggressive getting into the paint and rather than try to always stay in front of them, I thought we might be better off just challenging everything, and I think it worked out pretty well. We probably blocked six, seven, eight shots and altered another handful.”

“When coach said that, I think we all got excited,” McGuire said. “We had a pretty big height advantage so I think we just wanted to get the most out of it.”

Senior Shaun Belbey also gave the Colts seven points, four assists and three steals. Belbey is in his first year as a starter at point guard after playing significant minutes off the bench in each of the last two seasons, and is starting alongside junior John Salcedo.

“Our guards have done a great job so far,” Billet said. “I though Shaun Belbey played a great game tonight, both getting us into our offense and being disruptive defensively, and John Salcedo gave us some good minutes as well. He’s a young guy who is still learning and fortunately we also have Conor Aldridge to come off the bench and give us good minutes, which he's been doing consistently while he's been here.”

Less than 24 hours after opening the season with a 35-point win over the second-place team in the Shore Conference Class A South division, CBA will travel north to West Orange High School to play Don Bosco Prep in the Hoop Group Tip-off Showcase. The Crusaders are ranked No. 13 in the Star-Ledger Top 20 to open the season, one spot behind No. 12 CBA.

“It’s definitely a good test for us to see where we’re at because these are the kind of teams we’re going to be playing late in the year,” Andree said. “We played well tonight and it’s good to see the hard work pay off, but we didn’t put in all that work to win one or two games and stop. It’s a great win for us, but it’s the first game. We have a whole season left.”

Box Score

CBA 85, Freehold Township 50

Freehold Twp.: Nick Facendo 0 0-0 0, Jason Czajkowski 4 3-5 13, A.J. Hardy 2 0-0 4, Tyree Wilson 7 1-2 16, Mike Staklinski 1 0-0 2, C.J. Stenftenagel 1 0-0 3, Steve Staklinski 3 2-5 10, Brandon Tajfel 1 0-2 2, Terrance Burdge 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 6-14 50

Three-Pointers: Czajkowski 2, Wilson, Stenftenagel, S. Staklinski 2

CBA: Shaun Belbey 2 3-6 7, John Salcedo 0 0-0 0, Pat Andree 6 6-7 19, Jack McGuire 10 9-10 32, Jack Laffey 6 6-8 22, Conor Aldridge 1 0-0 2, Matt Dean 1 0-0 2, Jack Boyan 0 0-0 0, Sam Houston 0 0-0 0, Gilmore 0 0-0 0, Siegle 0 1-2 1, Cleary 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 25-33

Three-Pointers: Andree, McGuire 3, Laffey 4