Largey Stars as Shore Vanquishes 2-Time Defending Champion Pt. Beach to Win its First NJSIAA Title Since 1967
POINT PLEASANT BEACH - From the minute they stepped foot in the hallways of Shore Regional as highly-touted freshmen, the current seniors were expected to deliver the Blue Devils' boys basketball team to heights it hadn't reached in decades.
For 3 1/2 seasons with three different head coaches, they didn't have anything beyond a shared division title as evidence of their talent after coming up short in the Shore Conference Tournament and then suffering a pair of state playoff losses on the road against Point Beach in each of the past two seasons. With one final chance to add something to the trophy case, the senior-laden Blue Devils got over the hump against the two-time defending champion Garnet Gulls in emphatic fashion on Tuesday night with a 62-44 win to capture the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I title.
Under the direction of first-year coach Frank Carmody, it marked Shore's second sectional crown in program history and its first since 1967.
"It's about time,'' said senior forward Kevin Bloodgood, who had 14 points and 8 rebounds. "We almost got it two years in a row, but we fell short against Point Beach, so this is a great feeling to come back here and win the rematch. Shore has shown us love for all four years, so we are just glad to bring a championship home."
Shore (21-5) moves on to face South Jersey champion Paulsboro at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Pine Belt Arena in the Group I semifinals after finally getting it done in hostile territory with a 20-5 run to end the game on Point Beach's home floor.
"To come here sophomore year and junior year and lose twice, we were saying in the locker room that the third time's the charm, and we finally pulled it out,'' said senior guard Jack Byrne, who chipped in eight points.
Six straight points to end the third quarter by senior Dan Largey, who poured in a game-high 28 points, gave the Blue Devils a 35-29 lead, and they closed it out with a perfect performance at the foul line in the final period. Shore went 18-for-18 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, including a 10-for-10 showing by Largey, who was 15-for-15 for the game as part of an overall 26-for-26 foul-shooting night for the Blue Devils.
"Every point counts,'' said Largey, who scored his 1,000th career point in the semifinals. "You want to put your best touch on the shot every time and these rims help. It's an easy place to shoot."
"They didn't miss,'' Point Beach coach Nick Catania said. "They hit some contested shots, and they didn't miss a free throw."
Point Beach led 20-19 at the half as junior guard Jimmy Panzini scored 10 of his team-high 17 points before the break and senior forward Jesse Hill added eight of his 15 points before halftime. The Garnet Gulls (20-9) edged out to a four-point lead midway through the third quarter after a basket and foul for Panzini, but a pair of foul shots by Largey kickstarted a 10-0 run that gave Shore a 35-29 lead going into the final period.
Largey hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 44 seconds left in the third quarter to snap a 29-29 tie and then was fouled on a half-court heave with two seconds left in the period. He drained all three free throws to extend a lead that Shore would not relinquish. Largey came alive in the second half, as he scored 26 of his 28 points after the break to help bring home the win.
"Last year when they had 'We Are the Champions' blasting in this gym, it left a sour taste in our mouth,'' Largey said. "Our athletic director (Harry Chebookjian) told Jack Byrne, Kevin Bloodgood and myself, 'Remember this feeling for next year.' I think by the second half, I got a little bit more of a warm-up, got my legs moving, took the shots that I knew I would get in the end of the game and got to the foul line."
It was still a two-point game with 6:06 remaining after Point Beach junior Mike Rice buried a 3-pointer from the corner, but Shore answered with a pair of Largey free throws. When two foul shots by Hill again cut it to two points, Bloodgood came back with a clutch 3-pointer from the left wing to push the lead to 42-37 with 4:40 to go.
"We just hit open shots, we attacked the basket and made our foul shots,'' Bloodgood said. "Their crowd was amazing and our crowd was amazing, but that didn't faze us. We're a family and we've been together four years, so we were able to block that out and focus on the game."
Defensively, they did not allow second shots by cleaning the boards in a group effort. They also limited Hill, a Florida Atlantic recruit, to 4-for-15 shooting, including 1-for-7 from 3-point range and 1-for-8 from the field in the second half.
"We came into the game and wanted to take away their second shots, and I think we did that in the second half,'' Bloodgood said. "Every time (Hill) had a shot we were trying to get in his face and alter it because he had seven threes the game before."
"The way Jesse Hill can jump is unbelievable, so we had a gang rebound mentality,'' Largey said. "We tried to pack it in a little bit knowing that if he saw three guys in the paint waiting to take charges, that would throw him off a little bit, and it worked in the second half."
Shore's 1-3-1 zone with Byrne at the top also did a good job of contesting any looks by the Garnet Gulls, who shot 6-for-22 (27.2 percent) from the field in the second half.
"We didn't rebound the ball well tonight, and Byrne up top caused a lot of problems because of his length at the top of the zone,'' Catania said.
It was still a four-point game when Hill hit three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with 3:51 remaining, but Shore made its final move when Largey hit a pair of foul shots, then Bloodgood scored on a reverse lay-up off a dish by Largey to push the lead to eight. After a pair of missed 3-pointers by Hill, Bloodgood hit two free throws to make it double digits at 52-42 with 1:55 left in the game.
All that was left after that was the Shore student section mobbing the team in celebration of its first sectional title in 48 years.
"We just wanted to leave it all out there for Shore Regional,'' Largey said. "It's been 50 years. It's about time."
The victory was as much a relief as it was exhilarating. After all the expectations, the Blue Devils' seniors can leave knowing they fulfilled their potential by bringing home a trophy.
"It's been a lot of pressure,'' Largey said. "We've been through a lot together. We stuck together, and we got it as one."
"When the buzzer sounded, I just took a second to let out a big deep breath,'' Byrne said. "And then we all went nuts."
Box score
Shore 62, Point Beach 44
Shore (62): Largey 6 15-15 28, Byrne 0 8-8 8, Bloodgood 5 3-3 14, Gialanella 3 0-0 7, McCarthy 1 0-0 2, Parrino 0 0-0 0, Jones 1 0-0 3, Mango 0 0-0 0, Kelly 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 26-26 62.
Pt. Beach (44): Hill 4 6-7 15, M. Frauenheim 1 0-0 2, Panzini 7 3-3 17, Rice 3 0-0 8, D. Frauenheim 0 0-0 0, Schifano 0 0-0 0, Covey 1 0-0 2, Sheehan 0 0-0 0, Pestlowski 0 0-0 0, Pidduck 0 0-0 0, Clark 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 9-10 44.
Shore (21-5) 8 11 16 27 - 62
Pt. Beach (20-9) 7 13 9 15 - 44
Three-pointers: (S) Largey, Bloodgood, Gialanella, Jones; (P) Rice 2, Hill. Fouled out: (P) M. Frauenheim.
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