Basketball Player of the Week Vinny Pennino Middletown North NJ

Seaview Orthopaedic Week 5 Player of the Week

Vinny Pennino, Middletown North

When Pennino gets going, Middletown North has been a hard team to contain and that has showed over the last week-and-a-half.

Pennino averaged 16 points in two games vs. Colts Neck and his second-half scoring helped the Lions nearly erase an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit in the second meeting.

The senior guard then followed with a career-best performance at Bayonne on Friday in which he scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds and picked off six steals in a Middletown North road win. His big stretches came in the form of an 11-point second quarter and 10 points in the fourth.

Pennino hasn't packed it in for the year either, authoring two more standout performances this week during the Shore Conference Pod C Playoffs. The senior guard set a new career-high of 30 points in a come-from-behind win over Keyport on Monday, in which Pennino scored 17 points during a 40-20 second half surge.

Middletown North advanced to the Pod C final by beating Jackson Liberty on Wednesday, with Pennino scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half.

After several close races during this year's Player of the Week series, Pennino pulled away with 34 percent of the vote, 12 points ahead of runner-up Richie Lee from Colts Neck.

For winning the vote, Pennino will receive a shirt courtesy of Seaview Orthopaedic and a $25 gift card to Jersey Mike's.