Boys Basketball – VOTE: Week 3 Orthopaedic Institute of Central Jersey Player of the Week

Welcome to Week 3 of the Orthopaedic Institute of Central Jersey Player of the Week voting. As usual, the ballot consists of six divisional players of the week and two wild cards with a quick recap of the week that each of the candidates had, as well as some honorable mentions.

Review the accomplishments of the eight candidates from this past week and vote at the bottom of the post for the best one. Vote every hour until the voting closes on Wednesday at 10 p.m.

Class A North Player of the Week

Zach Orrico, Freehold Twp.

The lone sophomore in an otherwise-all-senior starting five, Orrico played with the poise of a veteran down the stretch in Freehold Township’s win at CBA last Monday. The 5-foot-7 sophomore hit two huge three-pointers in the final two minutes, including the game-winner with 25 seconds left in the 63-62 Patriots win. He finished the game with 13 points, scored 12 in a win over Marlboro on Thursday and closed out the week with five points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals in a rout of Holmdel.

Class A North Honorable Mention: Dylan Kaufman, Marlboro; Greg Billups, Freehold Twp.; Jack Bisaha, Freehold Twp.; Ryan Mabrey, CBA; Mike White, CBA; Jack Sheridan, Middletown South; Marc Dennis, Long Branch; Kyle LaRocca, Marlboro; Ryan Knorr, Manalapan; James Anderson, Middletown South

Class A Central Player of the Week

Geoff Schroeder, Rumson-Fair Haven

Rumson was more-or-less a two-man team heading into the week and came out of it with a three-headed monster thanks to a breakout week by the freshman guard. The Bulldogs rookie helped his team shake off two slow starts to pick up wins, first scoring 15 points in a win over Shore. Schroeder’s biggest performance came on Saturday against Middletown North at the Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase, where he poured in 30 points in a 64-63 overtime win – including 25 after halftime.

Class A Central Honorable Mention: Jackson McCarthy, Rumson-Fair Haven; Ian O’Connor, Rumson-Fair Haven; Tyrese Bryant, Raritan; Charlie Gordinier, Red Bank Catholic; John Duffy, Red Bank Catholic; Kevin Bauman, Red Bank Catholic; Brad McCabe, Manasquan; Jaylen Smith, Raritan; Dan Forsman, Monmouth; Alex Galvan, Manasquan; Rob Rothery, St. Rose

Class A South Player of the Week

Nick Manso, Brick Memorial

The Mustangs kept their positive momentum with two more wins this week and Manso was the star over the course of those 64 minutes. He put up 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a 60-55 win over Toms River East on Wednesday, then went off for 26 points on six three-pointers in a 50-46 Brick Memorial win over rival Brick.

Class A South Honorable Mention: Jalen Folsom, Toms River South; Shane Williams, Brick; Micah Wallace, Jackson Memorial; Nick Duncsak, Toms River North; Matt Bernstein, Brick Memorial; Mike Goodall, Toms River East; Justin Soranno, Central; Nick Altieri, Central; Cole Markley, Southern

Class B North Player of the Week

Quinn Calabrese, Wall

Wall is one of four remaining Shore Conference teams (Ranney, Mater Dei Prep and Toms River North) without a divisional loss and Calabrese has emerged as the go-to guy for the 8-2 Crimson Knights. The junior guard poured in a career-high 32 points in a 60-58 win over Ocean to open the week and closed it with 21 points and six assists in a win over Colts Neck.

Class B North Honorable Mention: Jack Miller, Ocean; Andrew Abujawdeh, Colts Neck; Nate Williams, St. John Vianney; Dwaine Jones, Neptune; Niles Haliburton, Matawan; John Beukers, Matawan; Rob Higgins, Middletown North; Corey Miller, Ocean; Trevor Garland, Matawan; Ryan Rozynski, Middletown North; James Rapley, St. John Vianney

Class B Central Player of the Week

Pete Gorman, Mater Dei Prep

Mater Dei junior Tahaj Parland won the Player of the Week vote last week and the Seraphs will have a shot to win it again thanks to a stellar week from Gorman. The junior guard scored 23 points in a one-sided win over Point Pleasant Beach and pumped in 25 on Saturday against Notre Dame, which escaped with a 55-53 overtime win over the Seraphs. In that loss, Gorman hit a pair of tying free throws with two seconds left in overtime before the Irish went the length of the floor to win it at the buzzer.

Class B Central Honorable Mention: Chris Johnson, Keyport; Scottie Lewis, Ranney; Bryan Antoine, Ranney; Elijah Perkins, Ranney; Alex Klatsky, Ranney; Jay Anthony, Henry Hudson; Grady Hendrickson, Henry Hudson; Najier Massey, Asbury Park; Jay-Son Freeman, Asbury Park; Makai Brown-Jones, Asbury Park

Class B South Player of the Week

Josh Hayes, Manchester

The Hawks had a solid 2-1 showing this week and Hayes showed up and delivered in all three games. He scored 13 in a win over Toms River South, poured in 15 in a loss to Barnegat and scored 16 of his team-high 20 points after halftime in a big overtime win over Lakewood.

Class B South Honorable Mention: Ryan Savoy, Lakewood; Carl Swensen, Lacey; Wyatt Hasselbauer, Manchester; Nick Revello, Barnegat; Cole Young, Point Boro; Daniel Sofield, Jackson Liberty; Manny Clay, Jackson Liberty; Amari Petty, Donovan Catholic; Andrew Schulz, Pinelands; Brian Finucan, Barnegat; Anthony Diaz, Pinelands

Wild Cards

Nick Duncsak, Toms River North

Toms River North’s 50-plus-game winning streak against Class A South competition was in great peril Friday against Central but Duncsak came to the rescue. With junior standouts Najae Hallenbeck and Jakari Spence in foul trouble, Duncsak stepped up and scored 25 points to go with eight rebounds and four blocks as the Mariners rallied from a 14-point deficit to nip the Golden Eagles, 52-50. The senior forward also scored 10 points in a win over Southern earlier in the week.

Niles Haliburton, Matawan

Matawan has stayed right on Wall’s heels in the Class B North divisional race, this week taking down Middletown North and Red Bank in tight games. Haliburton scored 12 in a home win over Middletown North, then turned in a career effort in scoring 29 points to help the Huskies beat the Bucs on the road in overtime, which ended on a game-winning three by senior Trevor Garland in the final seconds of the extra period.