COLUMBUS: Greyhounds have winning formula

State tournament hoops

By Bob Nuse, The Packet Group
   One of the keys to the success of this year’s Northern Burlington County High School boys basketball team has been the willingness of every player to do what is needed of them to win a game.
   In Monday night’s Central Jersey Group III tournament opener against Long Branch, Greyhounds coach Gene Darling needed Joey Montalvo to defend — and he did.
   ”We knew we had to take (Terrell) Cox away and that was his job from the beginning,” Darling said after his team’s 44-34 win. “Sometimes when you use a lot of energy to defend like that your shots aren’t going to fall. But he did his job taking that kid out of the game. He’s a tough player.”
   Cox led Long Branch with 15 points, but he needed to work to get those points. On the offensive end, Montalvo did knock down a key three-point basket in the fourth quarter for his only points of the game.
   ”I try to help out the team any way I can,” Montalvo said. “If I have to get defensive stops then that is what I’ll do. Tonight my shot wasn’t there but I focused on defense. We knew they had some good shooters and we had to stop them.”
   Alex Irvin led the Greyhounds with 14 points, while Matt Johnson added seven in a game where eight different players scored. It was a game like many others this year for NBC, which improved to 18-9.
   ”Certain days you ask for certain guys to play a role depending on what the scouting report is,” Darling said. “They have bought into that. If they need to defend that day because of the match-up or a certain style that is asked and what they need to do.”
   The bottom line is getting a win, which the Greyhounds have done most nights this season.
   ”We’re excited about this season and we’re trying to set the tone for the future,” Montalvo said. “I knew we would be pretty good coming into the season and I am glad it has come out well.”
   The Greyhounds were scheduled to play at third-seeded Neptune on Wednesday.
   ”You can’t ask for much more,” Darling said of what his team has done this year. “We have the second-most wins in the school history. The kids have had a real good year.”
   The Northern Burlington boys were not the only area team to advance in sectional play on Monday. The Florence boys, who are the No. 2 seed in CJ I, opened with an 80-27 win over Highland Park. Mike Muchowski had 18 points, Quintin Harris had 15 points and Brandon Gaymon added 11 to pace the scoring for the Flashes. Florence was scheduled to host seventh-seeded Perth Amboy Tech on Wednesday.
   The Florence girls pulled off a mild upset as the No. 10 seed when they topped seventh-seeded Keansburg, 40-33, on Monday. Shekynan James had 14 points and Michelle Taylor added 10 for the Flashes, who advanced to play at second-seeded Burlington City.
   The Northern Burlington girls lost their CJ III opener on Monday at sixth-seeded Freehold Boro, 51-43. Marissa Rivera had 11 points and Brianna Colt added 10 for the Greyhounds.
   The Bordentown boys, the No. 14 seed in CJ II, were scheduled to play at Spotswood on Tuesday. The 15th-seeded Bordentown girls were scheduled to play at No. 2 Hillside.