Piners almost pull off upset of No. 1 Neptune

Piners almost pull off upset of No. 1 Neptune

By Mike White

Staff Writer

Beads of sweat rolled down the face of John Richardson. The longtime Lakewood High School boys basketball coach looked as if he just finished boxing 12 rounds with the heavyweight champion of the world.

A smile came to his lips as he spoke about his team’s dramatic 50-46 setback to Neptune High School on Thursday in the semifinals of the Holiday Jubilee. He was pleased with his team’s effort against one of the top teams in the Shore Conference.

"It’s a shame that there has to be a loser in a game like this," Richardson said. "I thought it was a tremendous game for both teams. Both squads came to play this afternoon. They (Neptune) just happened to get the better of it at a crucial time in the game."

It was a seesaw battle for the better part of three quarters. But Neptune’s full-court pressure late in the game sealed Lakewood’s fate.

The Scarlet Fliers used a 1-3-1 full-court press that resulted in five straight Lakewood turnovers. Three times Neptune turned the mishaps into baskets to take a 41-37 lead with 2:20 left in the game.

But Lakewood wasn’t done. The Piners’ senior guard Dyquan Randolph converted a three-point play to bring Lakewood to within 41-40. Randolph sank a runner along the baseline and was fouled by a Neptune defender.

Lakewood would get consecutive baskets by Kevin King and Randolph to forge a 44-43 lead with just over a minute to play.

But Neptune guard Terrance Todd converted a three-point play of his own to give the Scarlet Fliers a 46-44 lead. Following a missed three-point shot by Lakewood, Neptune’s Taquan Dean, who struggled offensively all game, stretched the lead to four points with a 10-footer. Dean closed out the scoring by making both ends of a one and one with 12 seconds left for the final margin of victory.

"I think we may have gotten a little nervous against the press in the last couple of minutes of the game," said Randolph, who led the Piners with 15 points. "It was the first time this season we had seen pressure like that."

Neptune, which improved to 5-1, met nationally ranked St. Anthony’s of Jersey City in the championship game on Saturday. Lakewood, which falls to 3-2, squared off against Nottingham High School for third place.

"There are no losers in a game like this," Richardson said. "This game came down to the final 40 seconds. We knew that we needed to play our best game to knock off a team like Neptune."

It appeared early that Neptune might run away with this one. The Scarlet Fliers led 14-6 after one quarter. But a scrappy Lakewood team went on an 8-1 run early in the second quarter to pull within 15-14. J.R. Smith, Lakewood’s 6-foot-6 junior sharpshooter, scored five points during the spree, including a 3-pointer. Smith finished with 14 points.

Neptune led 22-18 at the half. The Piners outscored the Scarlet Fliers 12-9 in the third quarter to knot the score at 31-all and set the stage for a wild fourth quarter.

Richardson was impressed with the defensive effort put forth by Randolph.

The Lakewood senior played Dean, the best player in the Shore Conference, who is headed for Louisville next year, tough. Randolph held Dean to just 14 points and forced the 6-foot-5 senior guard to take many off-balance shots.

"I thought he did a terrific job guarding him," Richardson said. "Any time you have to guard a player like Dean, it is no easy assignment."

Added Randolph: "We’ve played against each other before. I know that he is a talented player. I just wanted to try and stop him from going wild. We played a very good defensive game."