Kohler becomes BRHS’s all-time scoring leader

By Sean Moylan, Sports Writer
   Facially, Bordentown’s Jon Kohler slightly resembles a young “Pistol” Pete Maravich.
   Like the NBA Hall of Famer, Kohler started off his high school career as a point guard, complete with dazzling moves and tremendous passing and dribbling skills. In the beginning of each of their high school careers, they were asked to hold back a little on offense and set up their teammates. In fact, Kohler’s unselfish play was instrumental in Bordentown winning a Central Jersey Group I title a few years ago.
   But, like Maravich, Kohler shot up to over 6’ 4” and was asked to create more of his own shots and score more. That led to his winning a Burlington County scoring title last season. It also led to last Thursday night’s home game when Kohler netted 28 points in a 67-26 victory over Burlington Township to become Bordentown’s all-time scoring leader.
   With his first bucket, Kohler topped former teammate Sam McDuffie’s old record of 1,298 points. Kohler now has 1,325 points and like last year he’s averaging 26 points a game. He even has an outside shot at 2,000 points if he stays healthy. But scoring is just a small part of Kohler’s game.
   In fact, he posted a triple double against the Falcons with 28 points, 12 boards and 10 steals. He also led a defensive charge which saw the Scotties break out to a 25-1 lead after the first quarter. New Scotties’ head coach Craig Parker has his team playing smothering defense.
   Lorenzo Ricks (14 points), Zac Bohanan, Brandin Youngblood, Spike Pasqual, Deondre McCleary, Joe Tumillo, Drew Turgyan, Gary Carthan and Sean Eluetri also scored.
   Bordentown (2-0) is scheduled to host the Michael J. Tucker Tournament at Bordentown today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday). Bordentown is scheduled to open the tourney with a game versus West Windsor-Plainsboro North. Haddonfield and Florence are also in the tourney.
   

NBC

   Although the Northern Burlington County Regional High boys’ varsity basketball squad has struggled in the past few years, this year’s slow start is very different from previous years.
   ”Right now, the biggest thing I underestimated was the inexperience of this group. It’s a mixture of inexperience and youthfulness,” said Coach Herman Johnson, whose Greyhounds fell to 0-3 with last Thursday’s 72-39 home loss to Pemberton.
   Northern Burlington has some seniors, but most of those players didn’t get significant minutes until this year. Derrick Brown, a 12th grader, is getting it done on the court, though.
   ”Derrick Brown has probably been our most pleasant surprise. He plays extremely hard. He’s averaging 12 or 13 points a game and he’s probably our best rebounder. I’ve been pleased and satisfied with his play,” said Johnson.
   Brown scored 12 points versus Pemberton. Johnson’s son Jayson, a freshman point guard, scored eight points and has played well overall. But even he has to get used to the rigors of playing varsity basketball in a county known for its physical play.
   ”Jayson has shown some flashes of really becoming a great player. He’s had a handful of spectacular assists,” said the coach. “The one thing that hurts him is he’s turning the ball over more than we’d like him to. Part of the reason for that is he’s our primary ball-handler and he handles the ball 95 percent of the time. And he’s playing with a severely injured left thumb.”
   Senior Adeshina Adeyomo, one of a few players with some varsity experience last year, scored six points against Pemberton. Dontay McCoy (senior), Boomer Walton, Greg Showard and Uzoma Nyankwo also scored.
   Even in down years, the Greyhounds always had a couple of players with a lot of varsity experience. That’s not the case this year. These kids are learning on the job. The good news is it’s a talented and athletic group overall.
   ”To sum it up, I’ve got to do a better job and show some patience,” said Johnson. “We’ve got a mix of inexperience with three new transfers and a core of sophomores and two freshmen.”
   NBC is scheduled to open the Cherry Hill East Tournament with a game against Cherry Hill West on Thursday. The tourney is scheduled to resume on Saturday.
   
FLORENCE

   After a couple of tough shooting games, the Florence High boys’ varsity basketball team’s shots started falling and it beat Ewing, 62-56, last Thursday at home for its first win of the season.
   ”They (Ewing) were athletic but our defense stepped up and we started hitting our shots,” said Florence boys’ varsity basketball head coach Cesar Pereda, who was happy to get in the win column.
   Stevie “The Wonder” Giambrone broke out of a mini shooting slump and canned 16 points, including four makes from three-point land. Milorad Milosovici netted a dozen points for the Flashes and he buried a trey along the way. Mike Williford scored eight points.
   ”Williford, he had a good game. He gives us a little fire defensively,” said Pereda, who also was pleased with Steve Muni’s five-point effort. “We had a team effort.”
   Quentin Loftin also did his thing and scored eight points for Florence.
   ”Quentin (Loftin) penetrated well,” said Pereda, who liked the way Loftin was attacking the basket on offense.
   Marcus Curry and Gurpreet Singh each had five points while Ernest Curry chipped in with three points. Florence gained control of the contest with a 20-13 third quarter.
   ”They were playing zone and we were working the ball in and out,” said Pereda, whose team had very good ball movement versus Ewing.
   It was a good win for the Flashes, who were coming off a disappointing loss to Delran last week in a game they were leading that Pereda thought they should have put away.
   Florence (1-2) is scheduled to take on Haddonfield in the opener of the Michael J. Tucker Tournament at Bordentown today (Thursday). The tournament will then resume on Friday.
   
LCA

   Saint Patrick’s, one of the tri-state areas best high school boys’ varsity basketball teams, beat Life Center Academy, 82-58, at Florence on Saturday night.
   Billy Rhoades’ Warriors fell behind 47-26 at the half, but they never gave up and actually outscored Saint Patrick’s 15-12 in the third quarter.
   LCA’s Khalil Murphy had a monster game and scored 21 points. Derrick Williams, who is on a great run, tossed in 13 points while R.J. Samuels scored 10 points. Jonathan Perry (seven points) and Chris Thompson (five points) also played well for Life Center.
   Last Thursday, Williams scored 26 points to lead Life Center Academy to a 86-68 win over Hope Charter at Florence.
   Murphy played well and netted 16 points while Dylan Talley knocked down a pair of threes on his way to scoring 14 points. Samuels (eight points), Thompson (seven points), Perry (six points), Elijah Carter (six points) and Anthony Clayburn (three points) also scored.
   Despite playing an incredibly difficult schedule, Life Center Academy has a stellar 6-2 record in its first eight games of the season and it’s not even the new year yet.
   This Friday and Saturday LCA is scheduled to compete in the Woodrow Wilson High Christmas Tournament.