BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
LAKEWOOD — Not a lot was expected of the Lakewood High School boys basketball team at the start of the season.
A talented youthful lineup was pinpointed by critics as needing a year to mature.
The Piners, however, are growing up fast. Lakewood posted another solid win last week, knocking off Monsignor Donovan, 65-54, to claim a share of first place in the B South Division of the Shore Conference.
Mon Don was coming off a huge win over Manchester, but fell victim to Lakewood’s explosive offense and athleticism. With the victory, Lakewood improves to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in B South.
“We just keep playing hard,” Lakewood coach John Richardson said. “We’re getting the most out of the talent that we have. Our guys are still young, but we’ve been able to play well in pressure situations so far.”
Junior swingman Chris Smith paced the Piners with a team-high 20 points. Smith was a factor on the boards as well, grabbing five, including a couple at the offensive end that resulted in putbacks.
Lead guard sophomore Jerry Jones added 15 points as Lakewood jumped out to a 20-9 lead after one quarter. The Piners combined hot shooting with allowing Mon Don just one shot at their offensive end.
“We built a lot of momentum with jumping out to a nice lead after one quarter,” Richardson said. “I think our defense and rebounding sparked that run. We did a good job of limiting the number of chances they got.”
Senior Josh Johnson continues to impress. The 6-foot-4 forward netted 11 points and collected a handful of rebounds. Sophomore Mark Robertson added eight points while teammate junior Phillip Gunter had seven. Junior Rondell Proctor had four points.
“We’re getting a lot of different guys involved in the offense,” Richardson said. “I’m comfortable playing a lot of different combinations out there. Our transition game has been a key for us. If we’re rebounding well, we’re capable of getting the ball out and pushing it down the floor. We need to keep finishing around the basket. We did a good job of that here tonight.”
Lakewood was solid from the free-throw line. The Piners made 18-of-25 attempts.
“In games like this, making foul shots a lot of times is the difference,” Richardson said. “Beating very good teams takes connecting on those free throws at the end of the game. We took care of business from the foul line.”
Jags find a way to win despite poor shooting
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
JACKSON — The Jackson High School boys basketball team continues to prove that athleticism alone is enough to remain competitive in A South division of the Shore Conference.
Despite inexperience and inconsistent perimeter shooting, the Jags’ speed and quickness at the defensive end of the floor resulted in a 47-43 victory over Toms River East last Thursday in a Class A South battle.
“Again, we didn’t really shoot all that well and we still found ourselves in a position to win the game at the end,” Jackson coach Mike Antenucci said. “We made some defensive adjustments in the last quarter that helped us out. We’re realizing that if we keep playing hard and use our athletic ability to our advantage, that we can hang with the better teams in our division.”
With the win, Jackson improves to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in A South. Toms River East falls to 4-2 and 2-1.
“I think this kind of game sends a statement to the rest of our divisional opponents,” Antenucci said. “We’re a scrappy bunch that can be a headache for any team on any given night. We need to build on a win like this.”
The Jags trailed by five points entering the final eight minutes of the contest. Toms River East held a 39-34 advantage after three periods. Jackson, however, outscored TRE 13-4 in the final quarter to rally for the come-from-behind win.
“Our defense really stepped up in the last eight minutes,” Antenucci said. “To hold them to just four points in the last quarter is a major accomplishment for us. We rose to the occasion on this night. We got a few key baskets and were able to shut them down.”
Jackson was led by senior Jed Marquez. The 6-foot-3 forward scored a game-high 19 points. Marquez used his inside-outside attack to keep the Toms River East defense off balance.
Marquez scored a bunch of points off putbacks and also shot well from the perimeter, connecting on three 3-point goals.
“He can play down low or out on the wing,” Antenucci said. “He is extremely versatile in that respect. He is very active in the lane and around the glass. He also had the hot hand from the outside. He was giving their defense fits.”
Reggie Williams added 12 points and eight rebounds to aid the Jags’ cause.
“He was key,” Antenucci said. “He was very effective on the boards. In addition, he scored a number of big baskets. When they doubled on Marquez we were able to go to Williams for a bucket.”
Antenucci cited Jackson’s perimeter shooting as an area that needs improvement. Furthermore, the Jags connected on just five of 18 free throws against TRE.
Jackson is shooting just 53 percent from the charity stripe on the season, Antenucci said.
“We need to get better in both of those areas,” he said. “It’s tough wining real close games when you can’t make free throws. You’re not going to beat the better teams shooting that poorly from the line.”
Jackson faces its most important stretch of the season the next couple of weeks. With the state tournament deadline approaching in three weeks, the Jags need to win six of their next nine in order to get a berth. In order to qualify for the state tournament, a team must have a .500 record by Feb. 7.
“We can definitely achieve this goal,” Antenucci said. “Of course, we’re going to have to play the way we did tonight. If we start making shots and continue to use our athleticism to play tough defense, I think that we have a good shot at it.”
Lady Jags remain undefeated
in A South
Jackson improved to 4-0 in A South and 6-1 overall with a resounding 55-34 win over Toms River East. The Lady Jags used a balanced scoring attack as three players finished in double digits. Jackson was led by Danielle Mickiewicz with 15 points. Justine Stevenson had 14 points.