Boys Basketball – VOTE: Week 4 Orthopaedic Institute of Central Jersey Player of the Week
Welcome to Week 4 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
Nick Hornung, Howell
Howell went 1-2 this week despite a big showing from its 6-7 center. Hornung led Howell to a big win over Marlboro to open the week by posting 17 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, which turned out to be a tune-up for his next performance. In a loss to Freehold Township, Hornung posted his first career triple-double with 11 points, 16 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. Hornung followed that with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Donovan Catholic, giving him three double-doubles in three tries during the week.
Class A North Honorable Mention: James Anderson, Middletown South; Jack Sheridan, Middletown South; Josh Cohen, CBA; Dylan Kaufman, Marlboro; Ryan Mabrey, CBA; Ryan Knorr, Manalapan; Marc Dennis, Long Branch; Alex Schertzer, Marlboro; Stephen Braunstein, CBA; Matt Ganter, Howell
Class A Central Player of the Week
Charlie Gordinier, Red Bank Catholic
The Caseys are the hottest team at the Shore and Gordinier was their hot hand last week. The junior swingman poured in 23 points in a win over Holmdel – in which RBC held the Hornets scoreless in the first quarter. Gordinier followed Tuesday’s outing with 26 points in a Friday win over Shore Regional to help RBC run its winning streak to 11 games – the longest in the Shore Conference this season.
Class A Central Honorable Mention: Chris Panduri, Shore; Alex Galvan, Manasquan; Brad McCabe, Manasquan; Fredrik Bang-Andreasen, St. Rose; Ian O’Connor, Rumson-Fair Haven; Doug Chan, Holmdel; Kevin Bauman, Red Bank Catholic; Geoff Schroeder, Rumson-Fair Haven; John Beattie, St. Rose
Class A South Player of the Week
Jakari Spence, Toms River North
Despite extending their Shore Conference Class A South divisional winning streak to 54 games with wins over Jackson Memorial and Toms River East last week, Toms River North was a 9-3 team without a noteworthy win. That all changed on Saturday when the Mariners upended Cherokee – the No. 16 team in the state – 44-43 with a ferocious comeback following a lackluster first quarter. Spence embodied that progression, going scoreless during an 18-3 first-quarter run by Cherokee and pouring in 23 the rest of the way to ignite the comeback. The junior guard also scored 25 points in Thursday’s win over Toms River East.
Class A South Honorable Mention: Micah Wallace, Jackson Memorial; Najae Hallenbeck, Toms River North; Mike Goodall, Toms River East; Jay Silva, Southern; Jalen Jackson, Brick; Kyle McMahon, Brick Memorial; Jalen Folsom, Toms River South; Nic Dominguez, Brick Memorial; Nick Manso, Brick Memorial; Shane Williams, Brick; Cole Markley, Southern; Nick Altieri, Central
Class B North Player of the Week
Dwaine Jones, Neptune
Since a season-ending injury to his sophomore backcourt-mate Sam Fagan, Jones has carried the load for a Neptune squad that has managed to play .500 ball since losing its standout sophomore. Last week was Jones’s best as a high school player: he opened the week with 26 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals in a win over Colts Neck, then erupted for a career-high 33 points on Friday to lead the Scarlet Fliers to a win over Matawan. With Fagan out of the lineup, Jones is averaging 22.2 points per game and is up to 18.4 for the season.
Class B North Honorable Mention: Rob Higgins, Middletown North; James Rapley, St. John Vianney; Andrew Abujawdeh, Colts Neck; Corey Miller, Ocean; Vincent Pennino, Middletown North
Class B Central Player of the Week
Jay-Shon Freeman, Asbury Park
Asbury Park briefly got back to the .500 mark with three straight wins last week before falling at Atlantic City on Saturday. Freeman was a key cog in all three wins, scoring 12 points as one of five players in double-figures in a Monday win over Henry Hudson. The senior then scored 16 in a win over South River and led Asbury Park with 16 points in a win over Keyport to improve the Blue Bishops to 7-7.
Class B Central Honorable Mention: Alex Klatsky, Ranney; Makai Brown-Jones, Asbury Park; Will Baranello, Point Beach; Phillip Wheeler, Ranney; Bryan Antoine, Ranney; Scottie Lewis, Ranney; Jay Anthony, Henry Hudson; Alexx Harbour, Asbury Park; D.J. Thomson, Keyport; Davon Jackson, Keansburg
Class B South Player of the Week
Carl Swensen, Lacey
Swensen sparked the Lions to a 3-0 week, with Lacey topping Lakewood, Manchester and Toms River South to run their record to 8-5. Swensen led the team in scoring in each of the three games, scoring 20 points in the win over Lakewood, 30 to beat Manchester and 15 in a defensive battle against the Indians on Friday night.
Class B South Honorable Mention: Luke Wiatrowski, Pinelands; Daniel Sofield, Jackson Liberty; Matt Melon, Donovan Catholic; Alex Drucquer, Point Boro; Andrew Schulz, Pinelands; Ryan Savoy, Lakewood; Amari Petty, Donovan Catholic; Brendan Revello, Barnegat
Wild Cards
Luke Wiatrowski, Pinelands
After losing three out of four, Pinelands righted the ship with two double-digit wins last week over Barnegat and Donovan Catholic. Wiatrowski did a little bit of everything in the two victories, contributing eight points, nine rebounds and two steals in the win over Barnegat before scoring a game-high 18 points to go with six rebounds in an impressive, 50-31 win at Donovan Catholic with top scorers Andrew Schulz and Anthony Diaz saddled with foul trouble.
Kyle McMahon, Brick Memorial
The Mustangs kept rolling last week with three more wins and remain on the heels of Toms River North in the A South standings. After a big week from Nick Manso last week, McMahon was the standout over the last three games. The senior put up 17 points, six rebounds and five assists in a win over Toms River South, went for 16 points and six boards in a win over Central, and posted 20 points in a win over Ocean.