Boys Basketball – Player of the Week Vote, Week 4

Each week, Shore Sports Network nominates a group of players as the Shore Sports Network Player of the Week, sponsored by Orthopaedic Institute of Central Jersey, and the SSN readers will have a chance to pick the winner. Below are the players of the week from the six Shore Conference divisional, plus two wild card candidates from which to choose for this week's honor. Voting ends at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

Class A North Player of the Week

Steve Staklinski, Freehold Township

Staklinski was a Player of the Week nominee once already this season for winning the WOBM Christmas Classic MVP and this time around, he is up for the SSN Player of the Week as the top player in A North over the past seven days. The 6-5 senior forward reached the 20-point plateau in all three of the Patriots’ games last week and averaged 22.3 points and 8.7 rebounds over those three games. He posted 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists against Howell on Tuesday; 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals vs. Marlboro on Friday; and 26 points, 10 rebounds and three assists against Hammonton on Saturday. More importantly, Freehold Township won all three games to extend its winning streak to 12 to open the season.

Class A Central Player of the Week

Kyle Koob, Shore

Before losing to undefeated Rumson on Thursday of last week, Shore ran its winning streak to four by upending Red Bank Regional on the road in overtime last Tuesday. Koob led the effort for Shore in that game by tossing in a career-high 29 points.

Class A South Player of the Week

Matt Shiffer, Toms River South

Although his scoring numbers last week were not as robust as some others, Shiffer made one huge play to earn the Indians a key A South win. The senior guard scored on a layup with three seconds left to give Toms River South a 41-39 win over Brick, finishing that game with a team-high nine points. Shiffer later scored a team-high 15 points in the Indians’ win over Brick Memorial on Thursday.

Class B North Player of the Week

Dave Gervase, Middletown South

There are no consolation prizes during a high school basketball season, but Middletown South’s 1-2 week was a commendable one. The Eagles rallied to beat Howell, lost a tight, 58-55 game to a Middletown North team that welcomed back sophomore standout Rob Higgins, and lost in the final seconds to a Red Bank Catholic team currently tied for first in B North. Gervase was the Eagles’ most consistent performer during the week, scoring 19 points in the win over Howell, a team-high 13 along with Ryan Purcell against Middletown North, and a team-high 20 in the loss to RBC.

Class B Central Player of the Week

Bryan Antoine, Ranney

Ranney had the best week in its program’s history last week, going 3-1 with wins over Matter Dei and Montclair Immaculate and losing a heartbreaker to St. Anthony. Antoine had his fingerprints all over those games, averaging 22.7 over that three-game stretch. He scored 19 points and nearly carried the Panthers to a win over St. Anthony before an Alexander Rice three with four seconds left broke a 48-48 tie. Antoine then scored 15 of his 23 points against Mater Dei in the fourth quarter to lead Ranney to a come-from-behind win over the defending SCT champs. The sophomore standout capped the week with a 26-point MVP performance at the Dan Finn Classic, where Ranney beat Montclair Immaculate.

Class B South Player of the Week

Joe San Fillippo, Donovan Catholic

Not many Shore Conference teams were hit harder by graduation than the Griffins and yet, here they are, tied with Lakewood and Point Boro for first place in Class B South. Donovan Catholic did its heavy lifting this week by beating Lakewood on the road, 45-44 – the first win by the Griffins over the Piners since 2010. San Fillippo led the scoring effort in that game with 18 points, which was his second 18-point game of the week. He scored 18 in a win over Lacey earlier in the week and also poured in 10 points in a loss to No. 10 Central in a non-division game.

Wild Cards

Danny Frauenheim, Point Beach

Point Beach ran its winning streak to nine games last week before narrowly losing to unbeaten Rumson-Fair Haven Saturday on the road. Frauenheim continued to ignite the Garnet Gulls’ surge with a 27-point performance against Manasquan in the final game of the Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase on Tuesday, which was the highest scoring total of any player at the five-game showcase. Even in the loss to Rumson, the junior point guard put up a game-high 18 points and eight assists.

Daniel Sofield, Jackson Liberty

Thursday was a record-setting night for the 6-5 sophomore in a Lions win over Manchester. Sofield set a single-game school record with 37 points as Jackson Liberty downed the Hawks, 61-52. He also scored 13 earlier in the week against Lakewood, a game in which Jackson Liberty took a five-point lead to the halftime locker room.