The Shore Daily, 3/11/15
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Shore Conference boys and girls basketball collectively smashed the rest of Central and South Jersey last night, winning two sectional titles on the boys side and bringing home four on the girls side. The only Shore teams that lost were teams facing other Shore powers in sectional championship games.
I was at the sold-out madhouse at Point Beach, where the Shore Regional boys won 62-44 to capture the Central Jersey Group I crown for their first sectional title since 1967. Shore had the best free-throw shooting performance I have ever witnessed in a big game, going 26-for-26 from the line, including 15-for-15 by senior Dan Largey, who had a game-high 28 points. The game was close until the final three minutes when Shore pulled away by getting defensive stops and making free throw after free throw.
That group of Shore seniors led by Largey, Kevin Bloodgood and Jack Byrne was not going to be denied after losing twice at Point Beach in the state playoffs in the past two seasons, including last year's championship game. They were more aggressive than Point Beach on the boards, they forced the issue off the dribble on offense to get to the foul line, and they limited the penetration of Point Beach junior guard Jimmy Panzini after he had hurt them in the first half.
They all played on the same AAU team years before they got to high school and came into Shore with high expectations after they stuck together rather than deciding to attend different schools. Now they have a tournament title to show for their efforts. It continues a ridiculous scholastic season for Shore Regional athletics, which has now won eight sectional titles across all sports in the 2014-15 school year.
The atmosphere was also outstanding, with Point Beach's Gulls' Nest in full force an hour before the game and then Shore's student section celebrating deliriously after seeing a sight that no Blue Devils' student section had seen in 48 years.
Over at Jackson Liberty, it was back-to-back Non-Public South A titles for the Shore. The St. John Vianney girls repeated as champs by routing Gloucester Catholic thanks to a tremendous defensive effort and another great all-around game by junior guard Kelly Campbell, who had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals to give them their eight millionth sectional title (actually 15th).
Now the Lancers most likely get another shot at defending champion Immaculate Heart Academy in the Non-Public A final after losing a heart-breaker to them last year. The scariest thing of all is that the Lancers don't have one senior on their team, so this could be the first step of a dominant run.
That game was followed by Christian Brothers Academy's 83-77 thriller over St. Augustine Prep for the Colts' first sectional title since 2009. Remember when Jack Laffey and Pat Andree struggled to hit anything in the 50-24 Shore Conference Tournament final loss to Rumson? Imagine the complete opposite of that, as the star duo put on a shooting clinic that even had legendary St. Augustine coach Paul Rodio, now in his 38th season, saying he has not seen anything like it in a long time.
The two went a combined 21-for-26, which is insane in itself, but they also shot 11-for-12 from 3-point range combined. That is like Michael Jordan-vs.-the-Trailblazers-palms-up crazy. Laffey erupted for a career-high 38 points and Andree had 28. By the second half, Andree barely needed to look at the basket before firing in 3-pointers on the court at Jackson Liberty, even while getting fouled.
The crazy part is that St. Augustine stayed with them the whole way despite an unconscious shooting night by CBA. The Colts closed out the win, though, and as Andree has noted this season, while individual accolades are all well and good, the way you get remembered at CBA is by winning championships as a team. It was a great night to be a Colt overall, as former CBA star Andy Toole, now the head coach at Robert Morris, led his team to the Northeast Conference Tournament championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
This CBA group can really separate itself by finding a way to take the Non-Public A title on Saturday at Pine Belt Arena. The Colts play the winner of Wednesday's Non-Public North A final between Seton Hall Prep, which has absolutely owned CBA in the Non-Public A finals over the years, and Pope John XXIII, a talented team in some uncharted territory. Both teams are ranked in the top five in the state.
The only CBA team to get over the hump and reach the Tournament of Champions since the TOC's creation in 1989 was in 1995, when it featured a senior star guard by the name of Geoff Billet, now the Colts' head coach. If this year's team can achieve that feat, they instantly separate themselves into some rarefied air in CBA's storied history.
The Colts also could make the argument for the final No. 1 ranking in the Shore Conference awfully interesting. Here's the background: Rumson-Fair Haven beat the Colts in the SCT final and beat Central Jersey Group I champion Shore twice in Class A Central. Manasquan beat Rumson twice in Class A Central and also beat the Bordentown team that knocked out the Bulldogs in the state playoffs to win the Central Jersey Group II title. CBA beat Manasquan in the SCT quarterfinals, so Rumson beat the CBA team that beat Manasquan. Got all that? Could be a headache if Manasquan and CBA keep going deeper into the state playoffs.
Two of the other girls champions were repeat winners. Middletown South, which won its first sectional title since 1979 last season, rolled to a second straight crown with a 69-42 rout of Neptune in a rematch of last year's Central Jersey Group III championship. Alexandra Balsamo had 18 points and junior star Stephanie Karcz added 16 points and 11 boards to lead the way. This was just step one, as the Eagles' real goal is the whole enchilada - the Group III title. They have the talent to do it, starting with a Group III semifinal game against Timber Creek.
The state's No. 1 team, Manasquan, got all it could handle in its third meeting of the season with Rumson-Fair Haven, winning 84-70 in overtime to finish 3-0 vs. the Bulldogs this year and repeat as Central Jersey Group II champs. The Warriors poured in 18 points during overtime, as senior star Marina Mabrey finished with 28 points in the win and her younger sister Dara added 18.
The game got heated, as Villanova recruit Grace Stant got ejected from her final high school game for the Bulldogs by scuffling with Marina Mabrey at the end of the third quarter. That only served to fire up Rumson, which dug out of a 14-point hole to send the game to overtime on a last-second 3-pointer by Katie Foos. Manasquan recovered in the extra period and is now two wins away from repeating as overall Group II champions. Their victory also meant the boys and girls teams for the Warriors claimed sectional titles this season.
The other champion was the best story of them all, as the Marlboro girls went on the road and upset top-seeded Monroe, 60-52 in overtime, to win the Central Jersey Group IV title.
Senior Nicole Shatsky poured in 27 points, including the 1,000th of her career, to lead the way for the Mustangs on a night she won't soon forget. What a great story. This is just a hard-working group of girls from Marlboro led by Shatsky, Tatum Evans, Molly Weiss and Jessica Broad who grinded their way to a championship.
FOOTBALL
Matawan senior two-way lineman Jake Weber will join Monmouth Regional quarterback Jimmy Green as part of the incoming class at Montclair State, according to Huskies coach John Kaye. Weber was a third-team All-Shore selection by SSN after helping Matawan win the Central Jersey Group III title.
Red Bank Catholic senior linebacker Mike Reverendo announced Tuesday that he will continue his career at Norwich University. Also, RBC junior quarterback Eddie Hahn added an offer from Temple, according to coach Jim Portela.
LACROSSE
Jackson Liberty junior long stick middie Christopher Stefanowicz, a three-year starter, has committed to play at Cabrini College.
Another junior standout, Rumson-Fair Haven defenseman Ian Clarke, has verbally committed to play Division II lacrosse at Florida Southern College.
More on Wednesday:
- Ewing and Trey Lowe pulverized Hamilton West to win the Central Jersey Group III title.
- Paulsboro won South Jersey Group I for the third time in four years and will face Shore Regional tomorrow at Pine Belt Arena in the Group I semifinals.
- The return of Revis Island. I'm starting to get this odd feeling as a Jets fan. I believe it's called...hope? Of course, the terrible, cynical Jets-fan side of me sees this as Revis got his Super Bowl ring, now he got his fat payday so he'll stop caring, he'll show up out of shape, mail in the season, battle nagging injuries the entire way and it will all be a nightmare.
- Great story on how Hawks' point guard Jeff Teague's game changed to become more selfish to get him noticed by college recruiters but now has reverted back to sharing the ball to help Atlanta dominate the East.
- Red Bank Catholic grad Sam Guastella will be heading to the NCAA Tournament after the Quinnipiac women's team won the MAAC title.
On tap for tonight: The St. Rose girls will try to repeat as Non-Public South B champions and make it eight sectional titles between boys and girls Shore Conference teams when they play Roselle Catholic at 7 p.m. at Jackson Liberty.
On the boys side, Manasquan will take on Camden at 7 p.m. at Perth Amboy High School in the Group II semifinals in a bid to reach its first Group final since 2004.
I'll end with the CBA shooting barrage. It's worth your time just to watch Laffey and Andree raining shots from all over the gym.
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