Boys Basketball – VOTE: Orthopaedic Institute of Central Jersey Player of the Week: NJSIAA Tournament Edition

The final Orthopaedic Institute of Central Jersey Player of the Week vote of 2019 will be based on performances from the 2019 NJSIAA Tournament. Below are 10 Shore Conference standouts from the NJSIAA Tournament action leading up to this weekend's group championship games. Vote once per hour through the deadline on Monday at 10 p.m.

Players of the Week: NJSIAA Tournament Edition

Greg Billups, Freehold Township

Freehold Township’s 24-4, sectional championship season has been a collective effort all the way but when the Patriots need somebody to take a game over, more often than not, Billups has been the guy. That’s exactly what he did in the CJ IV semifinals against Monroe (22 points) and in the championship game at Trenton, when he scored 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals and completely took the game over in the fourth quarter before fouling out. Billups is averaging 13 points for the tournament.

Quinn Calabrese, Wall

Calabrese and Wall saw their season end on Thursday against Moorestown but not before the Crimson Knights made history by winning their first sectional title in 46 years. Calabrese had plenty of help during the run – Pat Lacey, Trey Dombroski, Colin Ackerman, Tom Palluzzi and Mike Caputo all had some big moments for Wall – but the athletic junior guard was the difference for the Crimson Knights. He averaged 21 points in the four sectional playoff games and scored 27 in the championship game win over Burlington Township.

Josh Cohen, CBA

CBA’s stay in the NJSIAA Tournament was a short one but the Colts turned in a commendable performance in a 52-49 road loss to a Camden Catholic team that will play for the Non-Public A title on Saturday in Toms River against Bergen Catholic. Against an imposing Irish front line, Cohen poured in 23 points in the final game of his 1,000-plus-point career.

Matt Ganter, Howell

Howell did not win a game in the NJSIAA Tournament but it had a great showing as a No. 16 seed in Central Jersey Group IV thanks to a career night from Ganter. The senior guard capped his outstanding final season by scoring a career-high 40 points in a double-overtime loss at top-seeded Trenton, which made it all the way to the sectional final and was a basket away from winning a second straight CJ IV title.

Mike Goodall, Toms River East

The Raiders picked up a road win at Westampton Tech and put up a good fight in a loss at Mainland during their stay in South Jersey Group III. Goodall was in the middle of the action in both games, scoring 15 points in the win and pouring in 29 in the season-ending loss. Goodall is one of four starters due back in 2019-20 for Toms River East.

Dwaine Jones, Neptune

During his senior season, Jones assumed a leadership role his team desperately needed him to take on and the 6-3 combo guard nearly carried the Scarlet Fliers to a sectional title. Running on fumes by the end of the season, Jones averaged 18.3 points in Neptune’s three games and poured in 18 of his team’s 36 in a season-ending loss to Burlington Township – including the 1,000th of his high school career.

Scottie Lewis, Ranney

Lewis has been a model of consistency during Ranney’s state tournament run so far, averaging 16.7 points and 9.5 rebounds while posting scoring totals of 16, 17, 17 and 17 in Ranney’s four wins. In Wednesday’s overtime win over Wildwood Catholic, he put up 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks and came up big down the stretch of the fourth quarter before fouling out early in overtime.

Ian O’Connor, Rumson-Fair Haven

Rumson’s defense of its back-to-back Central Jersey Group II championships ended in the sectional semifinals despite O’Connor’s best efforts. In his team’s three state tournament games, O’Connor averaged 25.3 points and nine rebounds, including 28 points in his final game – a 49-44 loss to Lincoln. O’Connor will graduate as the second-leading scorer in Rumson-Fair Haven boys basketball history behind former teammate Brendan Barry.

Ben Roy, Manasquan

With teammate Brad McCabe coming off a Player of the Week victory for the Shore Conference Tournament, it is time to give some love to Manasquan’s freshman phenom. Roy has emerged as one of the state’s top freshmen thanks to his play over the last five weeks, which continued during Manasquan’s run to the Central Group II championship. In those five games, Roy averaged 12 points and 3.4 assists for the Warriors, including 13 points and four assists in the CJ II championship game against Lincoln.

Jakari Spence, Toms River North

The Mariners made a serious bid for a South Jersey Group IV title and Spence did everything he could to carry his team to the finish line. The junior averaged an even 20 points over Toms River North’s three games in South Jersey Group IV, including a 23-point, 8-assist performance in a win over Rancocas Valley in the sectional quarterfinals. He also put up 22 points in a 53-47 road loss to Cherokee in the semifinals.