All Shore Media High School Sports 3-4-13 Issue - 5 - Volume V

March 4, 2013 Volume-V

Issue-5

Pt. Beach On the Beach Girls Capture 10 Doorstep of History 5 Pt. Their 1 Sectional Title Lakewood Basketball Wrestlers Punch Their 6 Shore Tickets to Atlantic City 12 Wins CJ II Title st

2013 Senior 3 All-Star Basketball Game

Mike & 15 8-9Magic Twice as Nice

Stumpy’s Corner

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The first thing fans, players, coaches and parents want to know after the big game is always,

�Is this going to be on

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All Shore Media has established itself as a leader in scholastic sports coverage in Monmouth and Ocean counties, providing more video highlight clips, in-depth reporting, feature stories and regular updates than ANY OTHER OUTLET in the area.

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n Get Video Highlights of all the important games that Shore Conference fans will be talking about. n Catch up on the action you might have missed n Watch video clips of everything from the action early in the event to the big finish as well as video interviews with various athletes. n www.allshoremedia.com is the most visited sports site in the shore conference during the scholastic year n Follow us on Twitter (over 4,100 followers) and Facebook, we keep fans posted on the latest scores and news n Established leading portal for local high school coverage.

Advertising Opportunities for the 2012 All-Star Game Day Program Be part of a tradition at the

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Director/CEO/Marketing s m ey er @ al l s h or em e di a .c om 732-233-4460

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Director/Managing Editor stump@allshoremedia.com

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Jersey Shore that reaches a large and enthusiastic Basketball audience from Monmouth and Ocean counties by having your business featured in this year's 2013 Open MRI of

Wall Shore Basketball Coaches Senior All-Star Game official game day

program. The detailed game program put together by the All Shore Media staff not only recounts the past season and highlights this year's group of All-Stars, it also serves as a keepsake for all the players, coaches and fans involved. Not only is the program a chance for your business to reach a wide and passionate audience, it is a chance to become a permanent part of a lasting memory for many members of the Shore Conference Basketball community.

Open MRI is the title sponsor and the U.S. Army and ELITE Sports Performance Center are also sponsoring this year’s boys and girls games, which are on March 20 at Wall Township High School. As always, the games are a great way to send off the Shore Conference’s top seniors in their final game representing their high school. Open MRI has become a regular sponsor involved in the Senior All-Star Games and a regular supporter of Shore Conference basketball. The U.S. Army and ELITE Sports Performance Center which consists of Elite Sports Therapy, RYPT & Turn 2 Sports Consulting also have become regular supporters of Shore Conference athletics.

This year’s games will once again feature the Shore Conference’s biggest names from the senior class on the girls and boys side. Players like Lakewood guard Tyrice Beverette, the Manasquan tandem of Stonehill College recruit Jimmy Walsh and Brown University recruit J.R. Hobbie, Harvard-

There also will be a 3-point shootout sponsored by the US ARMY during halftime of the boys and girls games, with players chosen from the all-star practices competing for longrange supremacy.

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/ On the girls side, 2,000point scorer Kelly Hughes of Point Boro, a Boston College recruit, highlights a talented group that also includes Jackson Memorial’s Hannah Missry, St. John Vianney’s Lyndsay Rowe, Middletown South’s Jackie Dluhi and Kiera Gannon, Red Bank Catholic’s Mary Kate Caverly and many more.

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he Shore Conference Basketball Coaches Association Senior AllStar Game has carved out a proud tradition, and the support of local sponsors has helped its continued growth.

bound Manalapan guard Anthony Firkser, Colts Neck guard Brandon Federici, Toms River North’s Damien Singleton and Solly Stansbury and many more will be in action in the boys game, which follows the girls game.

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By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

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SHORE BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION SENIOR ALL-STAR GAME COMING MARCH 20

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By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

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h e Poin t Bea ch g ir ls ba s ketb all team mad e h is tor y in emp h a tic f a s h ion wh en it bea t S h o r e Reg ion a l 6 2- 4 7 on M a r ch 4 th in th e N J S I AA Cen tr al J er s ey G r ou p I f in a l to tak e h o me th e f ir s t s ection al ch amp ion s h ip in p r og r am h is tor y.

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It was an especially memorable night for junior point guard Katelynn Flaherty, who exploded for 40 points, including the 2,000th point of her brilliant career, in the victory. Flaherty, who played her first two seasons at Manasquan, was a perfect 16-for-16 from the foul line in the win while also grabbing six rebounds and registering five steals. Flaherty’s milestone basket to reach the rare 2,000point mark came on a layup with 1:01 left in the game.

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The other half of Point Beach’s prolific duo, sophomore guard and fellow Manasquan transfer Marina Mabrey, dropped in 20 points as the tandem combined for 60 of the Garnet Gulls’ 62 points in the win.

Point Beach advanced to face Gloucester City in the Group I semifinals in search of its first trip to a Group final in school history.

Flaherty had 16 first-half points to help the Garnet Gulls take a 30-22 lead at the break. Point Beach (23-1) pulled away in the third quarter, building a 46-24 lead with four minutes to go as Flaherty was single-handedly outscoring Shore 26-24 at that point.

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Girls Basketball: Point Beach Captures its First Sectional Title

Marina Mabrey

Katelynn Flaherty and coach Mike Feerst celebrate her 2,000th point.

Katelynn Flaherty goes in for a layup

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Shore Wrestlers Punch Their Tickets to Atlantic City

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By Josh Sternlieb - All Shore Media Contributor

s the spotlight focused on one mat Saturday night to see who would become an NJSIAA Region VI champion at Pine Belt Arena, it was the bouts just a couple hours prior that saw wrestlers’ dreams both achieved and crushed.

With the region finalists already guaranteeing themselves a spot in Atlantic City, wrestlers still had to battle for the third and final place in an attempt to punch a ticket to Boardwalk Hall.

The afternoon action saw the likes of Jackson Liberty’s Matt Russo (120 pounds) and Matawan’s Glenn Cross (182 pounds) win a bronze medal to earn another trip to compete at Boardwalk Hall, while 12 new wrestlers won their third-place match to punch their first ticket.

“I normally throw boots in every match and ride with that, and I saw the opening and I just hit it,” Wojtaszek.

Kyle will join his older brother Dan, the Region VI 160-pound champion, as the two Dragons representatives in Atlantic City.

Lacey will also be sending two first-time qualifiers to wrestle for a state medal. Luke Fernandez (170 pounds) and Patrick Schinder (220 pounds) each recovered from being pinned in their semifinal bouts to capture third.

B r i c k Tw p . s o p h o m o r e 1 3 2 - p o u n d e r K y l e W o j t a s z e k

Rumson Fair-Haven’s Marcus Iwama, the fourth seed, was able to beat the fifth-seeded Anthony Scarcella of Raritan 7-4 at 126 to qualify for the state tournament, the second straight year the Bulldogs have had a state qualifier.

Iwama and Scarcella, who was a state qualifier last season, are no strangers to each other. The two have wrestled four times this season, with Iwama winning in the district semifinals and Scarcella winning in the regular season dual and in Friday’s quarterfinal matchup.

“Both of our styles collide. I have to fight his funk, and he has to fight my shots,” Iwama said of his bouts with Scarcella. “It’s always going to be a close match and going to be tough.”

Iwama was able to get the better part of Scarcella’s funk by scoring with a first-period takedown with 15 seconds remaining. He then added one more takedown each in the second and the third periods for a 7-4 victory.

Friday’s loss forced Iwama to battle back through the wrestlebacks. He beat Toms River South District 24 champion Zach Maikisch 5-0 and then defeated three-time state qualifier Jared Staub of Brick Memorial, 3-2, in the ultimate tiebreaker to set up his fourth bout of the year with Scarcella.

“We don’t have a lot of wrestlers, but the ones we do have wrestle hard in the practice room,” Iwama said of the small Bulldogs team which at times has just 12 wrestlers in the practice room. “It feels good to represent my school that’s not as big on wrestling as others in the region.”

Brick sophomore Kyle Wojtaszek, like Iwama, had to battle back after a Friday night quarterfinal loss before placing third at 132 pounds, one of the region’s most balanced weight classes.

Wojtaszek, the No. 2 seed, was knocked out of the winner’s bracket by the seventh seed and eventual champion Ben Esposito of Howell, 3-2.

Wojtaszek then went on to defeat Point Boro’s Ryan Harter, a 2011 fourth-place finisher, 4-2 in double overtime, avenging a district semifinal loss with a 6-3 win over Neptune’s Karl Waldron, and finally pinning Zach Wilhelm, a 2011 eighth-place state finisher, with a spladle.

This will mark the first time since 1999 the Lions will be sending two wrestlers to Atlantic City.

Fernandez is 342 and now has suffered both of his losses to Brick Memorial’s Tyler Richardson, the runner-up at 170

F r e e h o l d Tw p . j u n i o r 11 3 - p o u n d e r N i c k D e P i e r r o pounds. Fernandez was leading 1-0 in the third period of their semifinal match when Richardson was able to headlock and pin Fernandez.

Fernandez then came back to pin Raritan’s Kyle Lynch and then beat Red Bank’s Dillon Stambaugh 5-1 for third place.

“I’m not a good loser - I don’t handle it well,” Fernandez said of his loss to Richardson. “But I was able to respond, and I’m just glad I’m going to AC.”

Fernandez has traveled a long road to take a trip to Atlantic City. In his freshman year, Fernandez had stints of going back and forth between the wrestling and basketball teams. At times it seemed the only person holding Fernandez back was himself.

“He’s special. He has a lot of ability and he put a lot of time and effort into wrestling,” said Lacey head coach Tom Pfister. “He’s reaping the rewards of his hard work.”

Schinder, who came up two wins short of a trip to Atlantic City last year, recovered from being pinned by Neptune’s John Seidle in the semifinals.

He responded to the loss in dominating fashion by pinning Southern’s Jesse Bauta before majoring Ocean’s Jacob Bell 16-6 for third.

A team that is usually at the bottom of the stacked Class A South division, Lacey showed the improvements it is making as a program.

“It’s one of the most well-respected regions in the state,” Pfister said. “To get a medal in this

Hayden, who said he could have wrestled 195 pounds this year, weighs about 210 pounds and had some early struggles adapting to the heavier weight class. In districts, Hayden won a semifinal match in an ultimate tie breaker and a finals match in overtime.

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He admitted he wasn’t physically big enough to crack the lineup as a sophomore. Then during his junior year, he tore his meniscus doing a backflip before practice. The injury forced Fernandez to miss most of the season, although he was able to come back and wrestle in the District 24 Tournament. After a district overtime loss last season, Fernandez dedicated himself to wrestling during the offseason.

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To m s R i v e r S o u t h s e n i o r h e a v y w e i g h t M a r v i n H a y d e n

Hayden wrestled the majority of the year at 220 pounds and had quality wins at that weight, but the Indians coaching staff thought it was in Hayden’s best interest to wrestle up to advance the furthest.

The seven other first-time region medalists were Wall’s Denzel Tovar (106 pounds) and Brett Donner (152 pounds), Freehold Township’s Nick DePierro (113 pounds), Brick Memorial’s Alec Donovan (138 pounds), Howell’s Ashanti Maurice (145 pounds), Long Branch’s Nick Pappayliou (160 pounds) and Jackson Memorial’s Ken Bradley (195 pounds).

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Toms River South’s Marvin Hayden has also had an interesting path to the podium. Hayden, only in his second year of wrestling, captured third place at 285 pounds with a 3-1 win over Asbury Park’s Domingo Perez.

medalists, Hayden will wrestle at least one match on Friday night in Atlantic City. A win will advance them into a second match on Friday night while a loss would finish their season.

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region, it means that you’re doing something right.”

Bottom row left to right: B.J. Clagon (Sr., TRS, 145), Rich Lewis (Sr., TRE, 138), Ben Esposito (Sr., Howell, 132), Ryan Budzek (Jr., Pt.

Boro, 126), Joe Ghione (Jr., Brick Mem., 120), Kevin Corrigan (Sr., TRE, 113), Michael Russo (So., Jackson Liberty, 106)

Brick, 160), Dae'Sean Brown (Sr., Neptune, 170), Nick Zak (Sr., Jackson Liberty, 182), Mike Oxley (Jr., CBA, 195), John Seidle “Everyone was (Sr., Neptune, 220), John Appice (Sr., Manalapan, Hwt.) saying that heavyweight was the easier weight class,” Hayden said. “It really Photos by: C l i f f L a v e l l e wasn’t. I learned that the hard way. After districts I w w w .clearedge.zenfolio.com started wrestling with former heavyweights. They helped me get better wrestling the heavier Team Photo by: wrestlers.”

Top row left to right: Dan O'Cone (Brick Mem., head coach Region VI COTY), Chris Serpico (Sr., Southern, 152), Dan Wojtaszek (Sr.,

Along with the other second- and third-place

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during the season, wrestling up at 195 just seven times before the start of the District 22 Tournament.

Moving away from Zak at 182 was understandable, but it wasn’t like things were easier at 195 with Bradley and Moore lurking.

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“It was a unanimous decision by my coaches, my parents and myself,” Oxley said. “I felt I had a better shot at 195. I don’t know, there was just something about it that I felt 195 was the place to go.”

By Bob Badders Senior Staff Writer

ive seconds.

It was all that separated Mike Oxley from glory and the possible end of his season on Saturday afternoon at Pine Belt Arena.

After a thrilling semifinal victory in which he took down Jackson Memorial’s Ken Bradley at the buzzer for a one-point win, the Christian Brothers Academy junior shocked the capacity crowd by hitting a fourpoint move with four seconds left to defeat Brick Memorial’s Matt Moore, 5-3, and claim the NJSIAA Region VI 195-pound title.

“I don’t know what to say, you just never give up,” said Oxley, who was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

“No matter what happens you just have to keep going.”

For 11 minutes and 55 seconds, Oxley was not the best wrestler on the mat. But he did what coaches endlessly preach but not all wrestlers can do: he never stopped wrestling.

B.J. Clagon, there wasn’t a more dominant wrestler among the 28 finalists.

Oxley, the No. 3 seed in the bracket, entered with quite an impressive resume himself. His only defeats had come at the hands of Jackson Liberty’s Nick Zak, the 182-pound Region VI champ (twice) and to state champion Johnny Sebastian of Bergen Catholic. Still, there couldn’t have been anyone in the building other than the CBA faithful that believed Oxley had a chance. Yet it was him that finished the tournament standing on top of the medal stand.

“Region six champion...hands down it’s the best day I’ve ever had,” Oxley said.

Moore took a 2-0 lead with a takedown in the first 15 seconds and held that lead through the opening period. He chose defense in the second period and escaped to take a 3-0 lead into the third. Oxley chose bottom to begin the final period and Moore kept him on the mat for the first minute, but was hit with a stalling warning. With nine seconds left he was hit with another stall to make it 3-1.

Then, off the restart, the magic happened. Oxley reversed Moore to his back as the clock ticked toward zero. There was just enough time for him to get a two count for two near-fall points, pushing him in front by two as the buzzer sounded and the crowd went berserk.

“I kind of just switched my hips on him and kept moving, hoping something good was going to happen, and it did,” Oxley said. “I didn’t see an opening or anything, I just kept working.”

Oxley was well aware of Moore’s dominance this season and knew he couldn’t let the match get away early. When it was still 2-0 after the first period he knew he was in good shape.

“The whole match I was right

Moore entered as a heavy favorite, and rightfully so. The Mustangs senior, who placed seventh in the state tournament last season at 195, had crushed pretty much everyone in his path entering the region final. In 30 bouts, Moore had 20 pins and seven forfeit victories. The only opponents to last a full six minutes with him were Bradley and St. Peter’s Prep’s Jordan Fox. No one had scored an offensive point on him the entire season. Outside of Toms River South’s

there and could come back at any time,” Oxley said.

“My goal was to keep it close and never stop.”

Oxley was a 182-pounder

“It’s indescribable,” Oxley said.

“There’s nothing else I can say.”

Brown’s biggest advice to his teammates making their first trip to Boardwalk Hall?

The Scarlet Fliers walked away with a pair of region titles, tied for the most in Region VI. Senior Dae’Sean Brown was the first to bring home gold, defeating Brick Memorial’s Tyler Richardson 11-4 at 170 pounds. Brown, who was second at 170 last year to Zak, became Neptune’s first region champion since Ben Pierce captured the heavyweight title in 1995.

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aturday was a banner day for Neptune’s wrestling program.

“Every time I would go home my uncle would be like, ‘Nick Zak beat you,' and it was always so annoying,” Brown said. “I was like, ‘Man, I have to beat him,’ but when I saw he was going to be at 182 I said, 'OK, I’m just going to have to pick up where I left off last year and go win it.'”

“You can’t look up,” he said.

“There’s just too many people.”

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By Bob Badders - Senior Staff Writer

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“Last year my Brown’s win wasn’t the last time Scarlet coach told me I Fliers fans had a chance to celebrate. could be the first Senior 220-pounder John Seidle region champ for exacted some revenge on Brick Memorial’s Tyler Poling with an 8-6 victory in the region final.

Neptune since Poling, who was the fourth-place finisher at 1995, but I lost heavyweight last season, had defeated Seidle in District 23 final, 9-2. His victory game by three to Nick the Neptune two champs, the same as Toms River Zak,” Brown South and Jackson Liberty for tops in the Shore recalled. “This Conference. It is the first time Neptune has had multiple region champs since Vic Kennan (101), year I knew I Keith Alston (135) and had to get the Scott ‘Bam Bam’ Bigelow (Hwt) all won job done. I titles in 1978. don’t have Sophomore Nasiyr another year Brown placed second at 113 pounds, defeating left to come No. 2 and No. 3 back and try the seeds to get there, to again.” give Neptune three state Brown, who had defeated Richardson three times dating back to last season, scored five takedowns en route to earning his 100th career victory. He is just the third Scarlet Flier wrestler to reach 100 wins, joining teammate and all-time wins leader Karl Waldron (106) and Dan Staples (101).

Senior Dae’Sean Brown

qualifiers.

“It’s awesome, there are no other words,” Brown said of Neptune’s rise back to prominence. “It’s like a Cinderella story. We started from the bottom and worked our way up.”

Now Seidle and Brown will try to bring home Neptune’s first state medal since Rohan Meredith finished seventh/eighth at 171 pounds in 1999.

“I really want to place in states and hopefully win it,” Brown said. “Of course winning is the goal, but I want to see how good I really am.”

by:

Bob Badders

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Pt. Beach On the Doorstep of History

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By Scott Stump - Managing Editor

ied with Shore Regional at halftime of NJSIAA’s Central Jersey Group I semifinal, top-seeded Point Beach realized that if the Garnet Gulls wanted to position themselves to make history, their effort simply was going to have to be better.

By cranking up the defensive intensity on the perimeter and sealing off the defensive boards, Point Beach rode a strong third quarter and a defensive effort that produced 20 total turnovers to a 60-47 victory over the fourth-seeded Blue Devils (20-7) to put them one win away from the program's first NJSIAA sectional title. The Garnet Gulls (243) will host Bound Brook at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in their first sectional final appearance since 2010 and just their second in school history.

"We knew we didn't play our best basketball in the first half,'' said junior forward Noah Yates. "We knew that we had to come out harder than we ever have before because we wanted to get that lead to take them out of their game. We turned our defense into offense and started scoring.''

Junior point guard Matt Farrell led the way with a gamehigh 20 points along with 7 assists, Yates added 18 points and 10 rebounds and junior forward Dom Uhl had 10 points and 6 rebounds. Junior point guard Dan Pillari had 16 points to lead Shore, and sophomore guard Jack Byrne added 14.

Senior guard P.J. Kineavy may have struggled offensively for Point Beach in shooting 1-for-7 from the field and finishing with four points, but he was integral defensively. He was switched onto Pillari in the second half and held him to two points after the break on 1-for-8 shooting.

"We switched Kineavy on Pillari, and that was a key to the game,'' said Point Beach coach Nick Catania. "He took him out of their offense and then we were able to get in the passing lanes and deny.''

The game was tied at 29 at the half thanks to 12 points by Pillari and 14 by Farrell that kept it knotted up. Shore shot 11-for-23 from the field in hte first half and was able to generate second shots by outworking Point Beach on its way to seven offensive rebounds in the half despite a distinct size disadvantage. Farrell rattled off all 12 of his first-half points

in the second quarter to keep the Garnet Gulls in the game.

"We should be controlling the glass in that game with Dominique, Riley (Calzonetti) and Noah, but we just weren't going after it,'' Catania said.

"We had to be better on the boards.''

Kineavy dropped in a layup off a turnover and Shore never got closer than eight points down the stretch. Point Beach forced seven fourthquarter turnovers and did a solid job dissecting Shore's run-andjump defense near midcourt to get some easy layups.

Pt. Beach junior point guard Matt Farrell The Garnet "Our scouting Gulls started the report was that third quarter with a 9-0 run and never trailed again. Farrell they go to that a lot,'' Farrell said. "We had some turnovers scored two buckets and also dished out an assist to when we were trying to force things at first and they made a Calzonetti to help fuel the run. Point Beach's ball pressure on little run, but we just kept moving the ball." the perimeter, particularly by Kineavy, helped produce five Kineavy hit both ends of a one-and-one with 1:03 turnovers in the quarter that led to runouts in transition. The remaining for a 56-47 lead, and the defense did not allow Garnet Gulls outscored Shore 13-4 in the period to grab a Shore to score again to wrap up the win. It ended a solid year 42-33 advantage going into the fourth quarter, holding the for a Shore team that returns the bulk of its lineup next Blue Devils to 2-for-11 shooting from the field in the third season after a rare 20-win campaign for the Blue Devils. quarter.

"Coming out in the third quarter, we talked about a quick start,'' said Shore coach Dave Emery. "We turned the ball over a few times, which hurt. Our shots didn't fall, and give (Point Beach) credit, they played really well in the third quarter. I think they were a little scared perhaps at halftime, and I think they picked up their game. They're a very, very good basketball team.''

"That's been our motto all year is to get the first three stops in the second half and set the tone,'' Farrell said.

Shore had the lead down to 48-41 after Byrne's second 3pointer of the fourth quarter with 4:31 left in the game, but

"I think we surprised everybody, maybe even perhaps ourselves,'' said Emery, who is in his first season as Shore's coach. "They haven't finished over .500 in three years, and clearly they showed they can play with the No. 1 seed in our bracket, so hopefully for the younger kids building for next year, they've already been here and maybe they'll be more prepared. I'm very proud of the kids. They did a great job.''

As for Point Beach, history awaits. Adding an extra wrinkle to the meeting with Bound Brook is that Farrell grew up in Bridgewater before moving to the Point Pleasant sending district as an eighth-grader, so he knows several

"Everyone's excited,'' Yates said. "It's the best feeling knowing your town is behind you and having a huge crowd. We are going to come out as hard as we can. That (Lakewood loss) made us want it even more.

We want everyone to remember this season. We want to put a number on the banner.''

by:

Scott Stump

www.allshoremedia.com

Photos by:

Doug Bostwick www.sportshotswlb.com

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"That's where I used to live, so I'm excited to play them,'' Farrell said.

"We just want Riley and P.J. to go out on top (as seniors). It was heartbreaking in the locker room (after the Lakewood loss). We just came into practice the next day, worked hard, and now we've given ourselves a shot to make school history."

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members of Bound Brook's team. This is Bound Brook's first sectional final appearance since 1979, and Point Beach hopes to ruin it by adding a sectional title to their Class B Central crown after coming up short against Lakewood in the Shore Conference Tournament championship game last Saturday.

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Lakewood Basketball Captures CJ Group II Title

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By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

hen star guard Tyrice Beverette limped to the bench with a left ankle injury and 6:18 still remaining in Monday night's NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II championship against Manasquan, Lakewood didn't just weather the storm.

It created one.

The top-seeded Piners banded together in impressive fashion to turn a 10-point lead when Beverette exited into a comfortable 62-49 victory over the second-seeded Warriors (23-4) that gave Lakewood (26-2) its first sectional title since 2010. The Piners left no doubt that they are the No. 1 team in the Shore Conference this season by adding a sectional crown to their Class B South and Shore Conference Tournament championships, and they did it with their leading scorer on the bench for nearly the entire fourth quarter.

"We said that when that our star player, our brother, falls, we have to come together as a team,'' senior forward Jared Craddox said. "We had to prevail and do it for him.

He did a lot for us, and in the end we wanted to return the favor."

Lakewood will play South Jersey Group II champion Medford Tech, which beat Sterling 87-69 for its first sectional title in program history, in the Group II semifinals at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Perth Amboy High School. This marks the second straight year Lakewood has ended Manasquan's season after beating the Warriors

Lakewood senior guard Erick Davis douses coach Randy Holmes with the water bucket in celebration of the Piners' 62-49 win over Manasquan to capture the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II championship.

in last year's Central Jersey Group III semifinals at the Piner Palace.

Despite missing most of the final quarter, Beverette still led Lakewood with 17 points along with 7 rebounds while playing tough defense on the perimeter on Manasquan senior standout J.R. Hobbie. Craddox added 13 points and 10 rebounds, junior guard Maurice Diawara had 11 points and 5 rebounds, junior center Ben Watson chipped in 9 points and 11 rebounds, and senior guard Erick Davis had

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8 points and 6 rebounds as Lakewood dominated the glass by outrebounding Manasquan 44-23.

"Coach (Randy Holmes) said it's all about 'TTE' - total team effort,'' Watson said.

"Once someone falls down, we've got to pick them up, and we knew we had a rebounding edge on (Manasquan).''

The loss marked the end of brilliant careers for a pair of 1,000-point scorers for Manasquan, as Hobbie finished with a game-high 23 points and senior forward Jimmy Walsh, who was in the hospital with the flu on Sunday night, had 9 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Lakewood's

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Beverette suffered the injury when he rolled his ankle on a baseline drive to the basket early in the fourth quarter. An anguished Beverette declined comment after the game while sitting in the locker room with ice wrapped around his ankle. In his absence, five different Lakewood players scored as the Piners outscored Manasquan 21-18 in the final 6:18.

Lakewood shot 11-for-17 from the foul line in the final 5:18 and contested every shot by Manasquan defensively while also continuing an assault on the boards that yielded 20 offensive rebounds in the game.

"Coming in that was the main concern was their rebounding,'' Hobbie said. "It was their night. They were putting in shots, they were getting rebounds, and they went after it.''

Lakewood only shot 2-for-12 from the field against Manasquan's 2-3 zone in the first quarter to trail 11-6, but grabbed a 21-18 lead at the half thanks to seven secondquarter points by Beverette and a defensive effort that

n Sehmonyeh Allen—Neptune n Sean Armand—Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis HS (NY) n Delvon Arrington—St. Anthony’s n Brian Baker—Colts Neck n Mustafa Barksdale—RBR n Robert Barksdale—Asbury Park n Billy Beggans—Ocean Township n Kate Beriont—St. John Vianne n Steve Bridgemohan—E Brunswick n Josh Brody—RBR n Brandon Brown—Freehold Boro n Yesenia Burgos—St. John Vianney n Rashon Bruno—St. Anthony’s n Courtney Calderon—St. John Vianney n Isaias Calderon—Neptune n Richard Calia—Holmdel n Shilique Calhoun – Middletown North n Quarran Calhoun—Raritan n Cooper Calzonetti—Neptune n Chase Campbell—Oak Hill Academy (NC) n Cleveland Cannon—Long Branch n Raheem Carter—Long Branch n Corey Chandler—East Side n Robert Cheeks—St. Anthony’s

However, Lakewood made what proved to be the decisive burst when it went on a 9-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters for a 41-31 lead after a putback by Craddox, who shot 5-for-7 from the field and had five offensive rebounds. The Piners remained patient on offense against Manasquan's zone and then a box-and-one against Beverette, and the dribble penetration of Diawara and Beverette forced the defensive rotations that left Craddox and Watson in prime position for putbacks on any misses.

"Even though they have one big man (Walsh), we have a lot of people who can crash the boards, so that was an advantage for us,'' Craddox said.

With two wins over the No. 2 team in the All Shore Media Top 10, Central Jersey Group I finalist Point Beach, and now a victory over No. 3 Manasquan, the Piners have put a stamp on their resurgence to the top of the Shore Conference. A tight-knit group of seniors also erased the memory of losing to Neptune in last season's Central Jersey Group III final.

"We're doubted every year,'' Craddox said. "This showed we can make a statement and prove that we are No. 1. After what happened last year, the seniors made up our minds that we can't go out like this. We have to go out with a bang.''

"It was only fitting that we played Manasquan in the Central Jersey Group II championship, just because we played Point Beach twice, we beat them twice, and the only questionable team (for the No. 1 ranking) was Manasquan, so to finish them up at home, it was a thing of beauty,'' Holmes said. "Now we're the undisputed best team in the Shore.''

Craddox also harassed Walsh into an 0-for-3 showing from the field in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.

A rotating group of Lakewood guards led by Beverette ensured Hobbie would have to work for his points, as

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A S A M P L I N G O F C U R R E N T A N D F O R M E R M A C A L L - S TA R S n Rahmir Cottman—RBR n Vincent Council—Lincoln (NY) n Don Coven—Long Branch n Jared Craddox—Lakewood n Paul De Salvo—CBA n Syessence Davis—Neptune n Allen Dean—Neptune n Taquan Dean—Neptune n Dana Jean DeGennaro—RBC n Chris Delaney—CBA n Pat Delaney—CBA n Jose Diaz—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Mark Donnelly—RBR n Sean Dunne—CBA n Kristian Duravcevic—Fordham Preparatory School (NY) n Mike Faherty—Brooklyn Polytech n Matt Farrell—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Crissie Fisher—Rumson-Fair Haven n Sarah Fisher—RBR n Adam Fleischner—Holmdel n Colin Ford—Manasquan n Glen Ford—RBC n Greg Ford—Trenton Central n Avery Gardner—Long Branch

n Billy Gilligan—RBR n Tyler Glass—Mater Dei Prep n Erica Gomez—St. John Vianney n Dana Graziano—Holmdel n Kevin Grier—CBA n Paul Halas—St. Rose n Felicia Harris—RBR n Michael Harris—Randolph n Mykel Harris—Great Mills (MD) n Ashley Hart—The Peddie School n Eugene “Nu Nu” Harvey—St. Benedict’s Prep n Corey Haskins—RBR n Kasey Hobbie—RBC n Norman Hobbie—Manasquan n Darien Hutton—Ewing n Nolan Ivers—Holmdel n Jasmine Jackson—Old Bridge n Rosie Jackson—St. John Vianney n Tyson Johnson—St. Mary’s HS (NY) n Billy Kiss—Long Branch n Michael Kelly—St. Anthony’s (NY) n Nick La Morte—Mater Dei n Herve Lamizana—St. Patrick’s n Erin Leahy—Rumson-Fair Haven

n Carl Little—Asbury Park n Maggie Loundy—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Charles Markens—St. Patrick n Mike Mavrinac—Middletown South n Jasmine McCall—Manalapan n Billy McCue—CBA n Christian Morris—S. Kent School (CT) n Darius Morris—Long Branch n Valerie Morris—Freehold Boro n Michael Murphy—Howell n Sachin Nagpal—Ranney School n Brian O’Reilly—Middletown South n Karen Otrupchak—RBR n Kevin Owens—Neptune n Toni Panza—St. John Vianney n Anthony Perry—St. Anthony’s n Shinece Perry—RBR n Earl Pettis—Saints John Neumann & Maria Goretti Catholic (PA) n Simon Press—Asbury Park n Joey Raines—Asbury Park n David Reeves—RBC n Anne Richards—The Lawrenceville Sch. n Charlie Rogers—Matawan n Amanda Rosato—St. John Vianney

V i s i t o u r w e b s i t e , w w w. m a c t e s t i n g . c o m

n Alifiya Rangwala—The Ranney School n Will Sanborn—RBR n Keyron Sheard—RBR n Brian Snodgrass—Holmdel n Lauren Sokol—The Peddie School n Stephen Spinella—Colts Neck n Matt Stahl—Middletown South n Missy Stavola—Rumson-Fair Haven n Jenna Strich—RBC n Scott Stump—RBC n Kim Talbot—RBC n Aaron Tarver—RBR n Terrance Todd—Neptune HS n Maurice Turpin—Long Branch n John Weldon—Freehold Boro n Dawn Werner—St. John Vianney n John Werner—St John Vianney n Kade Weston—RBR n Kayshanna Wesley— Asbury Park n Eric Yarborough— Asbury Park n Tomora Young—RBR n Terry Zinn—RBC n Lynne Zoltowski—RBC

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After a transition bucket by Manasquan junior guard Tommy Toole (11 points) cut Lakewood's lead to 41-33 following Beverette's injury, Diawara responded with a driving layup and a free throw to push the lead back to 11 points. A driving score by Hobbie again trimmed the lead to single digits, but Craddox answered with a putback to make it 46-35, and the Piners never let the lead dip under 10 points the rest of the way.

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"I just tried to body (Walsh) up and tire him out as much as possible,'' Craddox said. "I know that I'm in better condition, so I just wanted to wear him out and by the fourth quarter I could just do my thing.''

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Hobbie, who came in averaging 26 points per game in the state playoffs, began to heat up in the third quarter, burying consecutive 3pointers to give Manasquan a 2827 lead with 2:52 left in the period.

Lakewood responded with a 3-point play by Diawara and a bucket by Beverette in the lane for a fourpoint lead before Manasquan made it a onepoint game on a foul shot by Hobbie and a basket inside by Walsh.

he shot 8-for-24 from the field in the loss and 4-for-12 in the fourth quarter.

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"That's our staple, defense and being conditioned,'' said Holmes, who noted that Lakewood ran 15 suicides earlier in the day. "That's one thing we can rely on, to wear them down. I watched a couple game films on them, and they don't really go deep on their bench.''

limited Walsh and Hobbie to four combined secondquarter points.

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trademark stifling defense limited Manasquan to 18-for61 shooting (29 percent) from the field to help offset a night in which the Piners shot 22-for-58 (38 percent) and went 0-for-11 from 3-point range.

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While the Piners have won two NJSIAA sectional titles during an 11-year stretch, they never could even reach the Shore Conference Tournament final despite all that individual talent. For all the starstudded groups they have had, it took an ego-free team whose biggest star will play football in college to finally return Lakewood to the mountaintop.

While it wasn't pretty, Lakewood’s 39-33 victory over second-seeded Point Beach that gave the Piners their first SCT title since 1991 was emblematic of what has made this Lakewood's most successful season since Holmes was a star guard for the Piners in the early 1990s. All they care about is winning, and it shows in the way they share the ball and rally around one another.

"This is not my most talented team, but I think collectively, this is our best team,'' Holmes said. "They bought into everything that I was trying to get across to them, especially on the defensive end. They live and die for defense. They're unselfish.

"We have no prima donna-type players. They're all blue collar-type guys who bring their hardhats to work every day, so I'm very happy for these guys.''

The cohesion of the Lakewood team was on full display in a game where it would have been easy to point fingers in frustration as one shot after another clanged off the rim or one pass or another sailed out of bounds. The Piners never even came close to turning on one another, instead constantly trying to pick each other up despite shooting 15for-41 from the field and turning the ball over 16 times.

"A couple years ago, there were so many egos on the team, but now we came together as a unit knowing we're not better than anybody else,'' said senior forward Jared Craddox, the son of the athletic director. "We have that same mentality and came up big in the end. There were no egos.''

This group learned from the mistakes of past teams and realized that if it was going to achieve what it hoped to accomplish, it couldn't be with everyone trying to be "The Man" to the detriment of the team. For years under former coach John "Pott'' Richardson, Lakewood was all about P.M.A., or Positive Mental Attitude, which usually adorned their T-shirts or warmups. Now the Piners have adopted a new slogan under Holmes, who played for Richardson.

"We're all about 'TTE,' which stands for Total Team Effort,'' said junior guard Maurice Diowara, who tied Beverette with a team-high 10 points. "That's what we preached all season, and that's how we won games. In previous years, some people valued themselves more than the team, and you can't win like that.''

Holmes has been drilling that into his players' heads during his six years as head coach, resurrecting a proud program that seemed to be at a crossroads in the early 2000s. When Smith transferred to national power St. Benedict's Prep in Newark after two years at Lakewood, it triggered an exodus that crippled the program at first. Smith clearly made the right choice given that he became an NBA first-round draft pick right out of St. Benedict's in 2004, but it also had many lesser-talented players from Lakewood thinking the same thing would happen to them if they left.

"Seven guys left, and they almost wiped the whole program out,'' Holmes said. "What we had to do as coaches

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andy Holmes has been a head coach or assistant on Lakewood teams that had current New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith and a constellation of other stars in the last 15 years, but they never achieved the feat the Piners accomplished in this year’s Shore Conference Tournament.

Richardson. All the jewels that he dropped to me, I try to spread them on to my team.''

It helps that the Piners' lone star, Beverette, only cares about one stat - wins. Even when he might be struggling to score, he is still a bulldog on defense who rebounds and keeps playing hard despite his offensive game sputtering.

"Wins are how you are remembered,'' Beverette said. "I just want to do whatever it takes to help my team.''

That sounds an awful lot like a former guard for the Piners named Randy Holmes who went on to star at St. Peter's College in the 1990s. Holmes bleeds Lakewood blue. During Saturday's game, he was wearing a T-shirt under his suit featuring an old team photo of the 1991 team that was the last Ocean County squad to win the SCT until this season.

"Every practice, that team is all he's ever talked about,'' Craddox said. "Now we can talk about our own championship.''

Many great teams over the years that I have covered have been ones that their coaches secretly hated because it was more about managing egos and disciplinary problems than the enjoyment of the games. That is clearly not the case with this Lakewood group. All you needed to do was see the excitement of Holmes after the final buzzer. He had his arms around several players, jumping in jubilation with a delirious group of Piners like it was 1991 all over again and he was one of the ones wearing a jersey.

Not only was he exhilarated by the win, but he had shown his blueprint worked. Subvert your ego, play as a team, and you will be rewarded with the big trophy.

"I just wanted to celebrate with the guys,'' Holmes said. "We're in it together.

Total team effort.''

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was get our players to start believing in the program again.

You don't have to go to a prep school to have some success.

"J.R. is one in a million. He was a pro here at Lakewood.

It doesn't pan out like that with everyone. We got that message across to the younger guys, and they stuck around and gave me and the coaching staff a chance to develop them and mold them."

Another reason many players departed was because Lakewood's stars were not qualifying academically for college and often fading into obscurity after their careers with the Piners. That is why senior star Tyrice Beverette is such an important symbol because he is moving on to play safety at Stony Brook. He is No. 1 in his class academically and has shown that a local player can stay home and get academically qualified at Lakewood. The Piners desperately needed to show they could guide a young talent up through the ranks and into college or risk getting their top players cherrypicked by non-public, prep and even other nearby public schools.

"There's more to basketball than just shooting hoops,'' Holmes said. "You've got to know how to act, you've got to be a productive citizen, and that's what I got from coach

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