Boys rock old hoops rivals

MUSTANG ROUNDUP

By: Rudy Brandl
   
   There used to be days when the Manville High boys couldn’t keep up with New Providence on the basketball court. All that changed in a big way last Thursday night in New Providence.
   While the Mustangs and Pioneers are no longer divisional adversaries, there’s still a rivalry that dates back to the old Valley Division days. New Providence enjoyed the upper hand in most of those recent meetings. In fact, it was only a few short years ago that New Providence captured the State Group 1 title.
   The Manville boys, meanwhile, have endured their share of ups and downs with only one winning season in the past decade. A fast start to the 2002-03 season has made the MHS boys contenders in the new Sky Division, while New Providence has struggled in the old Valley Division it once ruled.
   Last Thursday night’s 62-51 Manville victory was important for several reasons. It proved the Mustangs could still beat a team from one of the larger divisions in the Mountain Valley Conference. It showed that Manville could beat New Providence on the basketball court.
   And, perhaps most importantly, it erased the team’s first two-game losing streak of the season.
   Manville opened up a tight game with a 20-point second period and took a six-point lead into the break. New Providence tried to rally and cut the deficit to five entering the final period, but MHS closed the contest with a 15-9 spurt to post a double-digit triumph on the road.
   Senior guard Brian Teryek, who has emerged as the team’s scoring leader, paced the winners with 21 points. Fellow senior Mark Maychrich continued his productive week with 18 points. Junior point guard Eddie Gryzeski added 14. Teryek buried three 3-point shots to lead the team, while Maychrich and Gryzeski dropped in one apiece.
   Manville had suffered a home loss to Rutgers Prep just 24 hours earlier, so the victory at New Providence helped the team enter the weekend on a positive note.
   The Mustangs have clinched a berth in the Central Jersey Group 1 playoffs and will try to improve their record and post-season seed in this week’s three games. After Monday night’s Somerset County Tournament home game vs. Bound Brook, Manville was slated to host Dayton and travel to Dunellen for a pair of non-division games. The team returns to Sky Division play next week when it hosts Roselle Park Feb.12 and plays at Newark Tech the following night.
Girls drop two
key Sky contests
   
A week ago, the Manville High girls’ basketball team was in control in the Mountain Valley Conference’s new Sky Division. Now, after road losses at David Brearley of Kenilworth and Hillside, the Lady Mustangs have returned to the pack.
   Manville entered the week with an 8-0 divisional record, with Johnson Regional of Clark just a game back. Now, the MHS girls find themselves in a dogfight for divisional supremacy.
   Brearley and Hillside both avenged overtime losses in Manville with victories on their home floor. Brearley took advantage of Manville’s horrendous free throw shooting (5-for-22) to post a 41-31 victory Thursday night and Hillside stormed back with a dominant fourth quarter to notch a 42-38 triumph on Saturday afternoon.
   The Lady Mustangs (9-5, 9-2 in division) led both games at the end of the first quarter. They didn’t trail at Hillside until the fourth when the Comets closed with a 14-7 spurt. Perhaps Hillside was playing with a greater sense of urgency, knowing it needed a victory to clinch a berth in the state playoffs. Whatever the case, Hillside earned its first trip in six years to the post-season tournament with the victory.
   Kateema McLean scored 13 points and Hassanah Oliver added 11 points and four steals for the winners. Oliver, a freshman guard, had six points in the fourth quarter when Hillside used a 14-7 effort to erase a 31-28 deficit. Michelle Oshiokpekhai added 11 rebounds for Hillside.
   Senior center Amy Ortman netted 15 points to lead the Lady Mustangs, who jumped out to a 26-19 lead at the break but couldn’t maintain it. Sophomore guard Dana Delesky added seven points.
   The Lady Mustangs will host Mount St. Mary Academy in the first round of the Somerset County Tournament tonight. This week’s remaining schedule includes a road game at Roselle Park and tomorrow night’s home game vs. Dayton.
   Sky Division action resumes next week when MHS travels to Johnson for a pivotal game Feb. 11. Manville also has divisional games remaining at St. Mary’s of Elizabeth Feb. 19 and at Newark Tech at a date to be determined.