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Stein running down title in rec league

Helps returning hoops finalists win

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   Matt Stein has a decision to make.
   But before he makes it, he has some time to try to help his team get back to a championship game.
   Stein, a Lawrence High graduate, played basketball at Elizabethtown College last year. The year before that, he ran in the Richmond Marathon. And as much as he would like to get back on the basketball court for his senior season, he has another goal in mind as well.
   ”I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon, that’s a big goal of mine,” Stein said.
   To do so, Stein will need to devote enough time to his marathon training that he’ll be able to qualify for Boston when he runs in Richmond in November. To do that, he’d need to skip the basketball season.
   ”I talked to the trainer at school and she said I really need to pick one,” Stein said. “I’d really love to do both. But my legs would be dead.”
   Before he has to make any final decision, Stein has a summer of playing for Prime Time Camps in the Princeton Recreation Men’s Summer Basketball League. The team improved to 2-0 with a 53-32 win over Cool Runnings on Wednesday night.
   Stein played in 18 games as a reserve for Elizabethtown last year, scoring 23 points and helping the team to a 15-9 record. A year earlier he skipped the basketball season to train for the marathon, finishing the Richmond Marathon in 3:38:15.
   ”I’m going to start training this summer to do Richmond again,” said Stein, whose older brother, Ryan, is the player/coach of the Prime Time Camps team. “I want to qualify for Boston. I think I can do it. I’ve just run the one so far. My brother lives in Richmond and I am going to run the marathon down there.”
   Stein wasn’t a runner in high school. He put all of his athletic energy into basketball. Since graduating from high school he’s taken to running, but still loves to play basketball. This summer he gets the chance to do both.
   ”The only other time I ran was in middle school because I took basketball so seriously in high school,” Stein said. “My assistant coach from high school, Mr. (Antonio) Stapleton, is playing with us on this team. I played in college as a freshman and a junior, but I am undecided about next year. I ran instead as a sophomore.”
   If he decides to run another marathon, that could mean the end of his college basketball career. But he’ll always be able to fall back on the summer league in Princeton.
   ”It’s been a great start so far,” said Stein, who had eight points in the win on Wednesday. “This is such a tough league with so many college players and guys who played in college and have just graduated.
   ”We made it to the finals last year. Since I’ve been out of high school we’ve been on the same team and we came real close last year, we just didn’t pull it out in the end. I’m just glad to be able to keep playing. I’ll play basketball one day and then go out and run the next day.”
   Stapleton had 14 points and Duane Hicks added 10 in the Prime Time Camps win on Wednesday. The team had opened the season with a 38-31 win over It’s a Grind on Monday as Vernon Hicks had 10 points and Stapleton added nine.
   In other games on Wednesday night, George’s Roasters/The Ivy Inn improved to 2-0 with a 66-33 win over BlackRock. Noah Savage had 21 points and Joe Bassford added 20 in the win. Patrick Sewards had 11 points in the loss. Dr. Palmer posted a 49-36 win over Where2Ball.com as Reggie Wright led the way with 25 points. Shawn Rhodes had 12 points in the loss. Northwestern Financial topped Princeton Youth Sports, 67-56, as Christian Burns and Derick Grant scored 17 points apiece. Brian Dunlap had 22 points for PYS.
   In other games played on Monday night, BlackRock topped National Pools, 61-59, as Toussaint Davis had 23 points. Ryan Van Zelst had 15 and Pat Youreneff added 12 in the loss. Cool Runnings topped Windstreet Energy, 56-47, as Arman Wilson had 18 points. Karim Bichara had 25 points in the loss. George’s Roasters/The Ivy Inn topped Coldwell Banker, 46-27, as Savage had 25 points. Chris Edwards had 14 points in the loss.