Boys Basketball – Pat Andree Eclipses 30 Points Again, CBA Tops Manalapan

MANALAPAN - Manalapan High School has been a gym where wins have not come easy for the Christian Brothers Academy basketball team in recent years, but the Colts have had one x-factor that has made the difference both against the Braves and just about anyone else the Colts have faced in the young 2015-16 season.

Senior Pat Andree scored 15 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter and top-ranked CBA overcame a three-point halftime deficit to beat the Braves for their fifth straight win. Andree has now scored 30 or more points in three straight games and is averaging 28.3 per game through seven CBA games.

"It doesn't matter how good we are or how up or down they are, Manalapan always gives us a tough game here," CBA coach Geoff Billet said. "Last year they played us tough twice and two years ago, when we were beating everybody by 20, they took us to overtime here. I know they are a little younger with a little less experience, but they have some tough, smart kids.

"It's going to be like that for us in this division, where everyone is coming after us. Not every game is going to be a 20-point win, but even today, they came out strong, we went to the half down and we still came out and won by 19."

Andree's performance on Wednesday followed up a career-high 43 points on Saturday against Moses Brown of R.I. and 37 points in a win over Trenton Central at the Skyline Classic in Jersey City.

"We're just really clicking lately, especially on offense," Andree said. "We've all been playing well and we're playing together. It's not about me scoring 30 points or 40 points - it's about my teammates getting me wide open shots. In the Moses Brown game, I've never been so open in my life and it's because my teammates did an awesome job getting me open shots. I know it looks like two guys are doing the scoring, but we're playing good team basketball."

Andree shot 12-for-19 from the floor and 5-for-7 from behind the three-point line in the game and also added 10 rebounds and five assists. He hit his first three three-point attempts of the second half and shot 8-for-10 from the field after halftime, at which point Manalapan led CBA 29-26.

Senior Jack McGuire also added 24 points and 11 rebounds for CBA, which outscored Manalapan 22-10 in the third quarter to seize control of the game. Senior John Salcedo handed out nine assists in the game as well.

Salcedo has averaged more than 10 assists per game over CBA's last three after a pair of consecutive 12-assist games against Trenton and Moses Brown.

Junior John Lugo led a balanced scoring effort for Manalapan with 11 points, while sophomore Matan Zucker added 10 in defeat. The Braves went on an 8-0 run in the second quarter to go up 29-22 before CBA took control by the third quarter.

CBA will cap its week with games on back-to-back days - first against division rival Marlboro on Friday, followed by a showdown with St. Anthony's at the Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase on Saturday at Long Branch High School.