The AAU 14-and-under state championship basketball game was played May 19 at the John F. Kennedy High School in Iselin between the Jersey Shore Wildcats and the Central Jersey Hornets.
Both squads had played six games throughout the state to reach the finals. The game was extremely intense and well-played by both squads, but in the end, the Jersey Shore Wildcats prevailed in the final quarter with a 66-55 victory.
The team will now represent Monmouth County and the state of New Jersey at the National AAU Tournament that will be held for one week, starting July 31, at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, Fla.
The state final game featured
a stand-out performance from Matthew Holly, of Thorne Middle School, Middletown, who led all scorers with a game-high 25 points. Brian Roscitt, who also resides in Middletown and attends St. Leo the Great Grammar School in Lincroft, shut down the leading scorer of the C.J. Hornets.
The Wildcats’ starting five is rounded out with Adam Piskin, Marlboro Middle School, a point guard who controlled the game offensively, and Spencer Van Wagoner, a shooting guard from Colts Neck Middle School, who sank four crucial foul shots in the final two minutes to seal the game.
Van Wagoner was the leading scorer during the season and had a game-high 37 points against the Tim Thomas Playaz team in the quarterfinals, allowing the Wildcats to advance. The fifth starter, Eric Johannesen, from Matawan Avenue Middle School, controlled the boards and scored continuously from inside and outside. Raymond Mara, also from the Matawan Avenue Middle School, alternates as center/forward, and contributed big in defense throughout the playoffs, helping the team reach the finals.
Matthew Cajigal hails from Colts Neck and St. Leo’s Grammar School in Lincroft, and is a razor-sharp three-point shooter who spearheaded the comeback against the Central Jersey Hawks in game five to advance the team to the semifinals.
As first-year players on the team, both Sean Vidolin, Marlboro Middle School, and Ryan King, Ranney School, consistently played significant sixth-man roles throughout the playoffs, helping the team through the finals.
The Jersey Shore Wildcats play under the direction of the Lincroft Athletic Club. Joseph Cajigal, Colts Neck, Frank Roscitt and Steve Mate, both of Middletown, coach the team. The majority of this team of nine have been playing together since the fourth grade, when they also qualified and played in the National AAU Tournament as 10-year-olds. The team is comprised of only Monmouth County residents. The remarkable thing is, there is not one player over 6-2 in height, putting them at a disadvantage against most of the area’s top AAU teams. Yet the team battled against players as tall as 6-10 throughout the playoffs, and clinched the title despite its size.