BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer
MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Rumson-Fair Haven’s Sara Fetter tries to slow down Toms RIver East’s Caitlin Hyduke during the Bulldogs’ shocking second-round SCT loss on Feb. 19 in Rumson.
It’s an old saying in sports that it’s tough to beat a good team three times. It’s also been said that history repeats itself.
The Red Bank Regional High School boys basketball team was hoping both beliefs proved true on Wednesday night when they squared off with top-ranked Neptune in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinal round.
The Bucs lost to the Scarlet Fliers twice during the regular season, by just four points each time. And they entered Wednesday night’s game with their confidence at an all-time high after knocking off defending champion CBA in the quarterfinals on Sunday in their home gym.
And, the Bucs were well aware that the Scarlet Fliers entered last season’s SCT semis as the top seed, only to be knocked off by a Raritan squad on the same kind of role the Bucs are enjoying. They were ready to give Neptune another disappointing early exit on Wednesday when they squared off at the new Ritacco Center in Toms River.
The Bucs have enjoyed a stellar season under head coach Scott Martin, posting a 19-4 mark heading into Wednesday night’s game, despite playing one of the Shore’s toughest schedules. With all four losses coming against quality teams, the Bucs are battle-tested and have picked the perfect time to be playing their best basketball of the year — the postseason.
On Sunday, the fifth-seeded Bucs persevered in a hard-fought contest with the Colts, which was close throughout before a fourth-quarter run gave the Bucs some breathing room. Entering the final stanza with a 43-42 lead, RBR used a 9-0 spurt to forge ahead 52-45 with just over two minutes left, then sealed the game with some clutch free throw shooting.
The talented backcourt tandem of Keyron Sheard and Corey Haskins led the way for the Bucs, with Sheard dropping in 16 points and Haskins scoring a game-high 20. CBA made it interesting late when they got within three on a Dan Gallagher trey with seven seconds left, but the Bucs were able to run out the clock and advance to their first SCT semifinal since they won the tournament title in 1999.
With a win on Wednesday, they would have advanced to the SCT final on Saturday in Toms River against the winner of the other semifinal featuring Raritan and Manasquan.
Regardless of Wednesday night’s outcome, the Bucs have established themselves as a very dangerous team this postseason, and one that is a serious threat in the upcoming state tournament. They received the second seed in the Central Jersey Group III tournament, and will face the winner of Hopewell Valley-Lawrence on March 4.
On the girls’ side of the tournament, the local teams have not been as fortunate. In two of the biggest upsets in recent SCT history, both the second-seeded Red Bank Catholic Caseys and the third-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs failed to make the semifinals.
Defending champion RBC was knocked off on Sunday by a red-hot Toms River North squad that simply wasn’t going to be denied. The game was close throughout, but the Mariners hit the big shots down the stretch to capture the biggest win in the program’s history.
The devastating loss left the Caseys to think about the upcoming Parochial A South tournament, where they are the second seed behind St. John Vianney.
The RFH Bulldogs couldn’t get out of the second round, losing to the tournament’s biggest surprise team, Toms River East.The Raiders, who went on to knock off sixth-seeded Middletown North in the quarterfinals, knocked off three quality teams in Shore Regional, RFH and North to earn their spot in the semifinals, where they faced TR North on Tuesday. Rumson will now look to the CJ Group II tournament, where they are the top seed.
The Monmouth Regional Golden Falcons advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time with a win over Neptune. Unfortunately, that earned them a match-up with top-seeded Marlboro, and the Falcons’ SCT run came to an end there.
Monmouth played well against the Mustangs on Sunday, but couldn’t overcome Marlboro’s balanced scoring attack and ferocious defense. To their credit, Monmouth fought back after falling behind by eight at the half, but simply couldn’t keep pace with the Mustangs, who faced SJV in the semifinals on Tuesday.
Monmouth will now focus on the CJ Group III tournament, where they are the third seed, and will face Hamilton North on March 4 in the first round.