BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
PLUMSTED — Five years ago when the New Egypt High School boys basketball team became recognized as an official varsity sport, coach Jay Corby only dreamt about the day when the Warriors would earn a state-playoff bid.
The waiting is over.
New Egypt sealed its bid for a NJSIAA Group I state playoff bid last week, when the Warriors whacked Academy Charter, 68-48, in a nonconference game.
“This is definitely something we have been looking forward to for a long time,” Corby said. “Making the state playoffs is not only good for team members, but it has created a lot of excitement here at school and in the community. Everybody likes to be associated with a program that is winning. Of course, we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”
New Egypt played a near flawless game in knocking off Academy Charter and notching its 10th win of the season. Senior forward Tom Partyka scored a game-high 29 points and collected nine boards to pace the Warriors.
“He was just too strong for anybody on that team,” Corby said. “He was taking the ball right at them and they couldn’t stop him. He is the kind of scorer who can hurt you from the perimeter or the blocks. He was going hard to the basket.”
Forward Jeff Janowski poured in 15 points and Andrew Weingart had 12 assists. New Egypt met little resistance in beating the Academy Charter’s full-court pressure.
“They played us man-to-man full court, and we did a good job of breaking it,” Corby said. “It led to a lot of easy baskets for us. Partyka and Janowski collected a lot of easy baskets once we got the ball over half-court.”
Josh Howard added 10 points and grabbed a team-high 16 rebounds. Howard is the team’s leading rebounder.
“He’s got good size and strength,” Corby said. “He understands how to use his body the correct way. He is quick to the ball.”
Corby cited New Egypt’s extended 2-3 zone and solid rebounding as a key to the victory.
“We knew that they were going to shoot a lot of three-point shots,” Corby said. “I had scouted them, and that was one of their plans of attack. So we extended our zone defense and made them shoot over us. We did a great job of limiting them to just one shot per trip.”
New Egypt built a commanding 36-12 lead by intermission. The Warriors’ defense held Academy Charter to single digits in the second quarter.
“We really pulled away in that period,” Corby said. “When you hold a team to just two points in eight minutes, you know your guys are playing well. It didn’t help them that they shot poorly from the perimeter.”
Partyka again lit it up in a 65-58 loss to Point Beach High School last Saturday. New Egypt led by three points at halftime, but fell victim to an onslaught of three-point shooting in the fourth quarter.
“They killed us from behind the arc,” Corby said. “They did a good job against us. I have to give that coach credit; he did a real nice job.”
Point Beach shot a gaudy 28-for-33 from the foul line.
“That’s pretty amazing that they could shoot that kind of percentage,” Corby said. “They hit a lot of crucial three pointers down the stretch.”
New Egypt squared off against Maple Shade Tuesday and is scheduled to meet Bordentown today and Florence Friday. The Warriors lost by two points to Florence earlier in the season.
“This is a big week for us,” Corby said. “If we can play well and get a couple of victories, it is going to help us with who we play in the states.”