VOTE: Week 3 Seaview Orthopaedics Basketball Player of the Week

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Each week during the 2021-22 season, Shore Sports Network will recognize the top performers in Shore Conference boys basketball and give the SSN readers a chance to pick the top one.

With seven Shore Conference divisions this year instead of six, there will be a Player of the Week in each division, plus three wild cards, giving you a pool of 10 players from which to choose every week.

Read about this week's nominees and vote for the one that strikes you as the best pick for overall Player of the Week. The top vote-getter will receive a $25 gift card to the Turning Point and a long sleeve t-shirt courtesy of Seaview Orthopaedic.

Vote in the poll at the end of the post once per hour until the poll closes at 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

Class A North Player of the Week

Pat Lautato, CBA

Lautato and CBA were at it again last week, with the Colts beating Marlboro, Manalapan and St. John Vianney and Lautato being the star in the two biggest wins of the three. The senior guard went off for 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists in last Tuesday’s win over No. 3 Marlboro – No. 1 at the time of the game – then posted 23 points and seven rebounds in Saturday’s win over No. 5 St. John Vianney at the Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase.

Class A North Honorable Mention: Mike Bimonte, Manalapan; Jay Ratner, Marlboro; Jayden Holmes-Cotter, Freehold Twp.; Malachi Harris, Freehold Twp.; Jack Seidler, Marlboro; Peter Noble, CBA

Class A Central Player of the Week

Colin Cavanaugh, Red Bank Catholic

The Caseys rolled to a perfect 3-0 week and it was one of their bench players who led the team in scoring in all three games. Cavanaugh came off the pine to scored 15 points in a win over Matawan, then pumped in 16 points to help Red Bank Catholic battle past Raritan two days later. He took zero points into the fourth quarter Saturday against Marlboro before catching fire for 10 points to help the Caseys bring home the big win in a showdown of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the Shore rankings.

Class A Central Honorable Mention: Ben Kipnis, Holmdel; Jack O’Leary, Raritan; Evan Romano, Holmdel; Liam Gajewski, Shore; Nick Seeloch, Holmdel; Justin Rivera, Raritan

Class A South Player of the Week

Josh Michigan, Brick Memorial

The Mustangs played two key games this week and went 1-1, but Michigan was on his game for both. The junior scored 28 points and dished out four assists in a loss to Middletown North, then followed that up with 23 points in a big win at Jackson Memorial – one that puts Brick Memorial at the top of the Class A South standings.

Class A South Honorable Mention: Justin Soranno, Central; Luke Braaten, Brick Memorial; Greg Mazzo, Toms River East; Lamir Mitchell, Toms River North; Miles Chevalier, Central; Brian Starrett, Brick Memorial; Gavin Migliori, Toms River South

Class B North Player of the Week

Matt Kenny, Middletown North

While Michigan led all scorers in the Brick Memorial-Middletown North game, it was Kenny who led the winning team in scoring. The senior scored 20 points to lead four Lions players in double-figure scoring in the win over the top-10 Mustangs, then followed up that performance with 18 points in a Thursday win over Colts Neck.

Class B North Honorable Mention: Nate Williams, St. John Vianney; Will Surdez, Colts Neck

Class B Central Player of the Week

D.J. Thomson, Keyport

The biggest play of the week for Keyport came from senior Anthony Longo, who banked in a 30-footer at the buzzer to give the Red Raiders a 66-65 win over St. Rose on Wednesday in Keyport. It was Thomson who fed Longo the ball for that winning shot and for the rest of the week, as he has been for most of his four-year varsity career, Thomson was a scoring machine. He averaged 31.3 points over four games this week, with 27 coming in the win over St. Rose and eclipsing 30 in wins over Asbury Park and Henry Hudson.

Class B Central Honorable Mention: Kevin Burns, Point Beach; Derek Ragona, Mater Dei

Class B South Player of the Week

Chris Venturoso, Lacey

The Lions split the week with a win over Brick and a loss to Middletown South, but Venturoso had big games in both. The junior scored 25 points to lead the way in the win over Brick, then scored a 25 more in Saturday’s one-sided loss to Middletown South. Both quarter-century marks from Venturoso led all scorers in each game.

Class B South Honorable Mention: Alex Jenkoski, Brick; Savon Myers, Manchester

Class C North Player of the Week

Matt Solomon, Manasquan

In two games last week, Soloman did not reach double-figure scoring, but he did plenty to help the Warriors go 2-0 against two quality opponents in Point Pleasant Boro and St. Joseph of Metuchen. First, he went for nine points, 15 rebounds and two blocks in a 35-29 grinder vs. Point Boro, then put up nine points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s win over the Falcons – the No. 11 team in the state at the time, according to NJ Advance Media.

Class C North Honorable Mention: Matt Lee, Point Boro; Luke Farrell, St. Rose; Kevin Telesford, Monmouth; Ta’haj Wiggins, Monmouth; Darius Adams, Manasquan

Wild Cards

Kevin Burns, Point Beach

It took Point Beach two-and-a-half weeks to finally play their opener and when the season finally began for the Garnet Gulls, Burns was ready. The junior put up 22 points in the season-opening win over Brick on the road, then went off for a career-high 32 to help his team – playing without three starters – hold off Keansburg.

Ben Kipnis, Holmdel

Kipnis put up impressive scoring numbers last week but it was one shot that stood out above all the others. The sophomore guard buried a tiebreaking three-pointer with three seconds left Saturday in Holmdel’s 60-57 win over Class A Central division foe Shore Regional. Kipnis finished the game with a team-high 19 points and earlier in the week, he led the way with 21 points in a big, 67-65 win over Freehold Township.

Will Surdez, Colts Neck

Surdez continues to carry the scoring load for Colts Neck and did so this past week by scoring more than half of his team’s points over the course of two games – a loss to Middletown North and a win over Matawan. Surdez scored 24 points in a 51-43 loss to the Lions, then poured in 24 more as his Cougars topped the Huskies, 48-39.