Boys Basketball – VOTE: Week 7 Orthopaedic Institute of Central Jersey Player of the Week

Welcome to Week 7 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 Thursday at 10 p.m.

Class A North Player of the Week

Greg Billups, Freehold Twp.

Freehold Township closed its regular season with three more wins and earned the No. 4 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament. As usual, the Patriots rode a total team effort to the strong week with Billups playing his usual part. He scored a team-high nine points in a win over Marlboro, 12 in a win over Middletown South and put up 20 in a win over Colts Neck to cap the stretch.

Class A North Honorable Mention: Josh Cohen, CBA; Stephen Braunstein, CBA; Matt Ganter, Howell; Dylan Kaufman, Marlboro; Jack Sheridan, Middletown South; Marc Dennis, Long Branch; James Anderson, Middletown South

Class A Central Player of the Week

Kieran Flanagan, Manasquan

Manasquan’s list of offensive weapons has grown over the course of the season and Flanagan has come on strong of late. The junior poured in a career-high 21 points in a win over Red Bank Catholic, racked up 14 points and six assists against Shore and put up 11 points and four assists in Saturday’s win over local rival Wall.

Class A Central Honorable Mention: Jake Marcincak, Monmouth; Ian O’Connor, Rumson-Fair Haven; Pete Cannizzo, Holmdel; Doug Chan, Holmdel; John Beattie, St. Rose; Jack Giamanco, Holmdel; Alex Galvan, Manasquan

Class A South Player of the Week

Najae Hallenbeck, Toms River North

Toms River North’s junior big man continues to be a double-double machine after another pair of them last week. He posted 13 points and 11 rebounds to help his team complete a season sweep of Central, then went off for 24 points and 10 boards in a win over Jackson Memorial to help the Mariners complete another perfect Class A South season and win their 15th straight.

Class A South Honorable Mention: Anthony Maniscalco, Brick; Nick Kinzler, Jackson Memorial; Shane Williams, Brick; Jakari Spence, Toms River North

Class B North Player of the Week

Pat Lacey, Wall

Wall’s sophomore led the way in both his team’s wins last week and even came up with a clutch shot in the final seconds. Lacey scored 17 points in a 46-45 win over Matawan, including the game-winning three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left. Three days earlier, he scored 18 points in a win over Colts Neck that clinched the Class B North division for Wall. Lacey capped the week with six points in a loss to Manasquan on Saturday.

Class B North Honorable Mention: Brian Hill, Colts Neck; James Rapley, St. John Vianney; Drew Valentino, Red Bank; Dwaine Jones, Neptune; Sadiq Armstead, Neptune; Matt Weidman, Red Bank; Sam Meeks, Ocean; Jack Miller, Ocean

Class B Central Player of the Week

Alexx Harbour, Asbury Park

Asbury Park wrapped up a Shore Conference Tournament bid last week by beating Henry Hudson. Harbour led the way with 21 points in the win over the Admirals, then poured in 22 points in a loss to Ranney in a game in which Asbury Park trailed the state’s No. 1 by 12 late in the third quarter before the Panthers opened it up.

Class B Central Honorable Mention: Davon Jackson, Keansburg; Scottie Lewis, Ranney; Jake Clark, Point Beach; Pete Gorman, Mater Dei

Class B South Player of the Week

Ryan Savoy, Lakewood

Savoy has been throwing up 20-point game after 20-point game for the Piners, which snapped out of a 10-game losing streak this week. Savoy scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the streak-busting win over Manchester then scored 25 and 13, including the winning basket at the buzzer in a two-point win over Manalapan. Savoy capped the week with 20 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Lacey and eclipsed 20 points in a competitive loss to Piscataway.

Class B South Honorable Mention: Kevin O’Rourke, Lacey; Brendan Revello, Barnegat; Sincere Moore, Lakewood; Andrew Schulz, Pinelands; Josh Hayes, Manchester

Wild Cards

James Rapley, St. John Vianney

After opening the week with a loss at Neptune, St. John Vianney rallied to win its last two regular-season tilts to sneak into the SCT. Rapley, as usual, was a catalyst for the Lancers. After putting up eight points and 10 rebounds against Neptune, Rapley went off for 29 points and 12 rebounds in a critical win over Ocean to extend St. John Vianney’s SCT push one more day. On Saturday, Rapley scored 18 points to help lead the Lancers over Sinai Christian to lock up the SCT berth.

Daniel Sofield, Jackson Liberty

Jackson Liberty secured the program’s first ever Class B South divisional championship and the Lions rode their horse to get there. Sofield poured in 34 points in a win at Donovan Catholic to clinch a share of the title on Tuesday and netted 21 against Manchester on Friday to sew up the title. Sofield’s next point will be the 1,700th of his varsity career.