shore sports networks 2016 shore conference tournament basketball finals

February 25, 2016 Volume-VIII Issue-4

VOLUME -V I I I / I S SUE -4 / 2 / 25 / 1 62

S t e v e M E Y E RShore Sports NetworkDirector High School Divisionsteve.meyer@townsqua remedi a.com7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0

K e v i n W I L L I A M SShore Sports Network Directorkev in .w i l l i ams@townsqua remed ia.com

Sen ior Content Prov idersBobBadders // [email protected] // [email protected]

Shore Sports Network Journalis published by: T ownsquare Med ia8 Robbins Street Toms River, NJ 08753

Copyright 2016 Townsquare MediaAll rights reserved Reproduction in whole or in partwithout the permission of Shore Sports Network is prohibited

The first thing fans, players, coaches & parentswant to know after the big game is always,

Shore Sports Network has established itself as a leader in scholastic sports coverage in Monmouth and Oceancounties, providing more video highlight clips, in-depth reporting, feature

stories and regular updates than aNy OtHer Outlet in the area.

”Is this going to be on ?”

Shore Sports Network Website Featuresn Get Video Highlights of all the important games that Shore

Conference fans will be talking about.n Catch up on the action you might have missedn Watch video clips of everything from the action early in the event to the

big finish as well as video interviews with various athletes. n www.shoresportsnetwork.com is the most visited sports site in the Shore

Conference during the scholastic year n Follow us on Twitter (over 16,000 followers) & Facebook, we keep fans posted on

the latest scores and newsn Established leading portal for local high school coverage.

The annual Shore ConferenceSenior All-Star Games are less

than a month away and this year’sinstallment is set to be bigger andbetter than ever. The girls-boysdouble-header shifts venuesfrom Wall High School to the2,300-seat Pine Belt Arena inToms River and for the first time willfeature a Slam Dunk contest athalftime of the boys game.The festivities all take place on March 23rd

with the backing of the U.S. Army, this year’stitle sponsor. The Army has been a proud partner ofthe Shore Sports Network during year-roundcoverage, particularly during the basketball season,and has taken the lead in supporting this year’s all-star double-header.”

“This is my third week in the area as acompany commander and from a personalstandpoint, I’m fired up to be part of the event,”Capt. Carl Hartman of the U.S. Army said. “Basketball is oneof those sports that personifies the scholar, warrior athlete. It’s a teamsport; you can’t rely on the individual to accomplish what the entiregroup wants to accomplish.

“We’re excited to be involved inthe community of 47 schools in the

Shore Conference and we’re reallyexcited to have theopportunity to reach out tothe community as a whole.”

While the all-star game will remainopen only to senior players, the

Slam Dunk contest will beopen to players of all ages on varsity boysbasketball teams in the Shore Conference. There

will also be a three-point shoot-out duringhalftime of the girls game that will be opento girls senior all-star participants.

Roster for the games will be released laterthis week and the dunk contest selection

process announced shortly thereafter.

The top player in each of the senior all-star games willreceive the Arthur W. Harmon Jr. Most ValuablePlayer Award, named after the late Art Harmon, along-time official in the Shore Conference.

Check our website for moreinformation: www.shoresportsnetwork.com

Be part of a tradition at the Jersey Shore thatreaches a large and enthusiastic Basketballaudience from Monmouth and Ocean counties byhaving your business featured in this year's 2016uS arMy Shore Basketball Coaches Senior all-Star Game official game day program. thedetailed game program put together by the ShoreSports Network staff not only recounts the pastseason and highlights this year's group of all-Stars, it also serves as a keepsake for all theplayers, coaches and fans involved. Not only is theprogram a chance for your business to reach awide and passionate audience, it is a chance tobecome a permanent part of a lasting memory formany members of the Shore ConferenceBasketball community.

CALL TODAY732-233-4460

Powered By

ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIESFOR THE 2016 ALL-STARGAME DAY PROGRAM

US ARMY Shows its Support for the ShoreBasketball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game

SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM 3

During the boys basketball season, Shore Sports Networkwill be selecting an Army Strong Team of the Week,sponsored by the U.S. Army. The feature team will beselected based on performance from the prior week of action.


In a season with plenty of great weeks and perhapssome even better weeks to come, the Mater Dei Prepboys basketball team had its most accomplishedstretch of the season from Jan. 31 to the end of lastweek. That stretch was worthy of the week six ShoreSports Network Army Strong Team of the Week awardof the season.

The Seraphs scored an impressive 57-49 win overSt. Joseph of Montvale on Jan. 31 in a battle betweentwo teams ranked in the top 20 in the state at the time,according to NJ.com. Mater Dei followed by beatingRanney, 64-52, for the second time this season toclinch a share of a division title for the first time since2005. The Seraphs went on to clinch the outright titleon Tuesday against St. Rose on Tuesday andcompleted an unbeaten B Central season by beatingAsbury Park on Thursday.

During its resurgent season, Mater Dei has relied ona deep roster and balanced lineup that was on display

during its Team-of-the-Week performance. JuniorElijah Barnes scored 15 points to take home the MVPof the Valerie Fund Showcase game against St. Joseph,then scored 17 in the win over Ranney.

Seniors NyQuan McCombs and Kyle Elliot wereinstrumental in both wins, with McCombs averaging14 points in the two games while defending andlimiting the top scorer on each team – Nate Garvey ofSt. Joe’s and Bryan Antoine of Ranney. Elliot,meanwhile, finished strong in both games with six ofhis eight points in the fourth quarter against St. Josephand all 15 of his points in the second half againstRanney.

With Thursday’s win over Asbury Park, Mater Deiextended its winning streak to 16 straight games andwill look to make it 17 against Notre Dame onSaturday before heading into the Shore ConferenceTournament – potentially as the No. 1 seed.

Before being named the Shore Sports Network Army Strong Team ofthe Week for its efforts last week, the Lakewood boys basketball teamplayed a key role in another team winning the award just three weeksearlier.

Manchester defeated Lakewood at the buzzer in mid-January to snapthe Piners’ 45-game Class B South winning streak and in addition toearning themselves recognition, the Hawks also earned Lakewood’s ire.

Last week, the Piners exacted their revenge over Manchester bybeating the Hawks, 71-65, to clinch the outright Class B Southchampionship – the Piners’ sixth straight division championship.

Senior Amir Tyler scored 24 points in the win – part of a big weekfor the two-sport star heading to Temple University next year on afootball scholarship. Three days prior to the big win over Manchester,Tyler scored 27 points in a 91-52 win over Point Pleasant Borough,which included the 1,000th point of his high school career.

Two days after Lakewood defeated Manchester to clinch the divisiontitle, Tyler hit the go-ahead floater in the lane with 10 seconds left to liftLakewood to a 69-66 win over Newark Tech. Tyler scored 22 points inthat game.

Lakewood carried its strong week into the Shore ConferenceTournament this week – a run that continued Thursday with a 77-66 winover Point Pleasant Beach. Thursday was also a revenge game forLakewood, which lost at home as a No. 2 seed to No. 15 Point Beachin last year’s SCT round of 16.

Tyler scored 24 points to go along with eight assists and seven stealsto lead Lakewood on Thursday night. Junior Adiam Palmer added 20points and 13 rebounds for the Piners, who opened up a 22-point leadby the end of the third quarter to take full control.

Lakewood will take on No. 2 CBA and attempt to hand the Coltstheir first loss against a Shore Conference opponent this season at 11a.m. Sunday at Collins Arena on the campus of Brookdale CommunityCollege.

the US Army continues the Honor ofpresenting the Basketball Teams of the Week

Week SixMater Dei Prep

Week 1Ranney

Week 2RFH

Week 3TR North

Week SevenLakewood

Week 4Manchester

Week 5Colts Neck

Head Coach Randy Holmes and his Lakewood Piners boysbasketball team accept the Army Strong Team of the Week

from Staff Sgt. Caroline Thiel.

Coach Ben Gamble and his Mater Dei boys basketball team accept the Army StrongTeam of the Week from Staff Sgt. Nicholas Sullivan


Taking nothing away from theNJSIAA Tournament ofChampions and even our ownWOBM Christmas Classic, thehighlight of the basketballseason is the Shore ConferenceTournament.

The reason is you are guaranteed matchups involving local teamsand along the way you are likely to have games featuring rivalrieson the court and in the stands. There is nothing like games withrabid student sections and what’s better than the “Colt Crazies”dressed in their favorite beach attire, the Squan fans blacked outand the Rumson “Dawgpound” in red, white and blue? It’s whatmakes the event truly special year in and year out.

The SCT has tradition, dating back to 1937 when Keyportbeat Atlantic Highlands 31-22 for the championship. No, Iwas not there but I’ve seen most of the championship gamessince the mid 1970’s. Some great memories along the way,none better than 1982 when Toms River South stunnedNeptune. One of my fondest memories came two years later

in the girls final when Southern beat Neptune on a JillSpaschak jumper at the buzzer at Brick Memorial. Thatgame stands out because the 1984 Rams and Brick in 1972(first year there was a girl’s division) are the only OceanCounty girls team to win the Shore Conference Tournament.

Three of the four teams playing in this year’s championshipgames have great SCT pedigree. CBA will aim for its 17thSCT championship (second to Neptune’s 22) when they faceMater Dei Prep. However recent history has not been kindto the Colts as they have lost in the finals the last two yearsand are probably still smarting a bit from a year ago whenthey were pounded by Rumson 50-24 in a game I witnessedbut still don’t believe. CBA’s last title came in 2010 whichended a stretch in which they hoisted the championshiptrophy 7 times in 11 years.

As for Mater Dei Prep this is just their second trip to thefinals, having lost to CBA in 1984 when they were just MaterDei without the Prep. The Seraphs’ story over the last year isan amazing one from the school almost closing to theiremergence as a basketball power thanks to nine transferplayers and a new head coach.

On the girls side you have Manasquan making what’sbecome almost an annual visit to the MAC at MonmouthUniversity. The two-time defending champions have reached

the finals four times in the last five years with the loneconstant being a Mabrey in the lineup. After beating St. Rosein 2014 and 2015 the Warriors will now face the school withthe greatest success in SCT history. St. John Vianney haswon the girls title 12 times, including an amazing stretchbetween 1994-99 when they won six in a row. However theLancers have not won it all since 2005 which must seem likean eternity for alumni and loyal fans. Dawn Karpell, whowon the SCT three times as a player for SJV will now try andcollect her first title as the head coach.

This year’s tournament has featured some great gameswhich will live on for years to come and topping that list isManasquan’s triple-overtime win over Rumson in the boysquarterfinals. That game had just about everything and thosewho were at Brookdale will not soon forget what they saw.Amazingly just a day later those same two schools hooked upin a girls semifinal at the Pine Belt Arena and in anotherclassic it was the Warriors winning again in overtime…justone extra session in this one.

What memories will be made Saturday night? If you’rereading this in your seat at the MAC then you’ll be able toprovide a first-hand account.

Sct Is Truly The Highlight Of TheBasketball SeasonB y Kevin Wil l iams - Shore Sports Network Director


Donovan Catholic has hired TomTarver as its next head footballcoach, athletic director JoeGomulka told Shore SportsNetwork on Thursday.

The hiring was announced to Donovan Catholic’splayers on Wednesday morning.

Tarver replaces Dan Duddy, who resigned on November24 after 10 seasons as the Griffins’ head coach. Currentlyan assistant principal at Christa McAuliffe Middle Schoolin Jackson, Tarver was previously the head coach atManalapan from 2000 through 2003 where he went 21-21. He led the Braves to their first sectional final in 2003,which included a stunning upset of Brick, was was theNo. 1 team in the Shore with the top-ranked offense anddefense, in the first round of the Central Jersey Group IVplayoffs.

“There was an opportunity I saw at Donovan, and themore I thought about it the more excited I got,” Tarversaid. “Getting back into the Shore Conference and the

feeling of getting back to running a program, it was justtoo attractive a position to ignore.”

“We’ve elevated our program to a good place, and wedidn’t want to lose that momentum,” Gomulka said. “Wewere looking for that person who could move us forwardand Tom had all the right answers for us.”

At most schools administrators are not permitted tocoach, but Tarver’s position as an administrator inJackson did not effect the hiring process for eitherJackson or Donovan Catholic.

“Nothing would be really effected here that wouldprevent me from doing my job as an administrator,”Tarver said. “So, it made a lot of sense for me to take alook at the Donovan Catholic program.”

What made Tarver such an appealing choice forGomulka was his desire to get back on the field as acoach after 12 seasons away from the game.

“He has a burning passion for football. It’s not out ofhis soul, and that’s a good thing,” Gomulka said.“Different coaches come for different reasons, and his ispurely for the love of football.”

As an administrator for over 10 years, Tarver’s attentionto academics also made the decision easy for Gomulka.

“He is big on the educational piece of the academicathlete,” Gomulka said. “He not only wants to be good infootball, but to excel in academics.”

Tarver was a star quarterback for Jackson Memorial asa three-year starter during the 1984-1986 seasons. Hewent 32-7 as a starer for the Jaguars, including leadingJackson to an 8-1 record and the No. 1 ranking in theShore Conference in 1985. He was a first-team All-OceanCounty and first-team All-Shore selection in both hisjunior and senior seasons, and also earned second-teamAll-State honors in each season.

Tarver was a scholarship player at Rutgers where hewas a two-year starter. He was named the Scarlet Knights’starting quarterback in 1990, and finished his career with3,607 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Tarver’s hiring fills the last open head-coachingposition in the Shore Conference.

Donovan Catholic Hires Former ManalapanCoach, Rutgers Qb Tom Tarver As Head CoachB y B o b B a d d e r s – S e n i o r M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

When Dawn Karpell was astandout guard at St. JohnVianney High School, ShoreConference Tournamentchampionships were just partof the annual experience.

Now the head coach at her alma mater, Karpell – known asDawn Werner during her playing days – has led herLady Lancers to more wins than any ShoreConference team during her tenure by acomfortable margin. Since the 2006-07 season, St.John Vianney has won five NJSIAA Non-Public Achampionships and even won a Tournament ofChampions title in 2009.

Yet somehow, despite all the wins during the regularseason and the exceedingly strong track record in the NJSIAATournament, the Lancers have not won a Shore ConferenceTournament title since Karpell took over.

“It’s not something that bothers me for my own sake,” said Karpell,who was part of three Shore Conference championship teams in her

four years as a player. “I have wonthis tournament as a player andI just really want our players,particularly the seniors, to

have a chance toe x p e r i e n c e

winning this

tournament.”

The head-sc ra tch ingdrought isequal partsbad luck,

bad timingand great

competition. Since the 2008-09season, the Shore Conference

has had a team in the Tournamentof Champions final in six out of the

seven years and in three of thoseinstances, two Shore teams played

one another in the championship game.

“This has always been a very goodconference and in the last eight or 10 years,

it has gone to a different level,” Karpell said.“I feel like we’ve had some teams that were

good enough to win it and came close, but when thereare this many quality teams, it just take one slip-up or one bad day and you’re probably going toget beat.”

Injuries have also set the Lancers back in pastyears and they continue to do so this year.

Senior guard Kellie Crouch was set to be areturning starter this season and managedto return from a stress fracture in her footbefore the injury ultimately shut her downfor the season.

“I look back at this senior group andthey’ve played without a key player due toinjury every year they’ve been in thistournament,” Karpell said. “We’re at thepoint where we know what we’re goinginto battle with and their eyes are on thatprize.”

Even dealing with attrition and playingin a conference that houses some of thestate’s best teams year-in and year-out, St.

John Vianney has come close in the past.The Lancers have not played in thechampionship game since 2011, but came

painfully close to reaching the final two yearsago as a No. 1 seed before losing to Manasquan at the

buzzer in the semifinals.

Of all the years thatthe Lancers came so

close to winning achampionship – they

lost to Neptune bytwo points

in the2 0 0 9

final andfell to the Scarlet Fliersagain in the 2011championship game – thismore than any other yearis set up for them towin the conference.The cupboard oftalent is never bare atSt. John Vianney andit won’t be next yeareither, but the otherp r i m a r y

contenders for theShore Conference

Tournament title are deepwith returning talent for next

year and St. John Vianney’s groupof seniors is what has separated

them from the rest of the field all year.

S e n i o rpoint guard

Kelly Campbellleads that senior group and islooking to deliver the programits first SCT title in 10 yearsbefore heading to play hercollege ball at DePaul. Fellowsenior starters GigiCaponegro, Tina Lebron andVanessa Pinho are also lookingto contribute to that cause, as areseniors Zoe Pero and MeganFurch off the deep Lancersbench.

“Every day in practiceand in games, we can tellthat if she could, she wouldbe right out there with us,”Caponegro said of Karpell. “She definitely deserves to win and we’dlike to help her win it.”

St. John Vianney’s last roadblock in its journey toward an elusiveconference title under Karpell is two-time defending championManasquan. The Warriors graduated Gatorade N.J. Player of the Year,2,500-point scorer and current Universityof Notre Dame standout MarinaMabrey, as well as startingguard Courtney Hagaman,but have been able to adaptand thrive with its next waveof talent.

The Warriors have noseniors in their starting lineupthis year and will bring backcenter Victoria Galvan,who lost this entireseason to a torn ACL.With the Lancers and St.Rose sporting lineups ofplayers who will all beback, the time to strike isnow for St. John Vianney.

“It means a lot just to bein it because none of ushave made it this far yet,”Caponegro said. “We’rejust going to get to workat practice, scout(Manasquan) and be asprepared as we can.”

B y M a t t M a n l e y p – S e n i o r S t a f f E d i t o r

(#1) ST. JOHN VIANNEY“Lady Lancers” (24-1)

10

Road to the Final: Defeated Wall, Colts Neck and St. Rose


SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM 1 1

In just three-plus years on the job asthe Manasquan High Schoolgirls basketball headcoach, Lisa Kukoda hashad a rather charmedexperience.

In just her second season on the job,Marina Mabrey – the top player in theShore Conference – transferred backinto the program a little more thana year after leaving and theWarriors won the ShoreConference Tournament for thefirst time since 1983.

As a senior, Mabrey was the topplayer in the state and a McDonald’s All-

American who led Manasquan to the 2015NJSIAA Tournament of Champions title after

losing in the championship game one yearearlier.

Now, despite losing a McDonald’s All-Americanto graduation, Kukoda has Manasquan back in theShore Conference Tournament championship gameseeking its third straight title when the Warriors takeon St. John Vianney at Monmouth University onSaturday.

“It says a lot about this group that they’ve beenable to fight through adversity, with all of usbeing able to adjust,” Kukoda said. “I neededto change our entire plan going into theseason once we developed someinjuries and the girls were able toadjust to that while also being ableto do different things on the courtand recognize their strengths andtheir roles for us.”

Amid all of the early success, it iseasy to forget that Kukoda did nottake over a ready-made winner when she accepted the job inthe summer of 2012. Manasquan was coming off aTournament of Champions title that past March withcurrent University of Michigan sophomore KatelynnFlaherty transitioning to her junior year of high school andMabrey preparing for her sophomore season, but bythe time Kukoda took over, both had decidedto transfer to Point Pleasant Beach.

As a matter of record,Kukoda was not even the firstchoice to take over the

program – the initial offerwent to former Brick

Memorial coach KenFischer, but he decidednot to take the job shortly afterit was given to him. Kukodathen accepted the offer andwhile she wasn’t the initialchoice, she turned out tobe the right one.

Despite winning twoShore Conference

championships and a T of C title,this season is as much an illustrationof the direction of the program as anyof the four Kukoda has coached. Theteam went a respectable 14-6 in her

first season andwon theW O B MC h r i s t m a sClassic the

following yeareven before

M a b r e y

transferred back fromPoint Beach in the firstfew days of January,2014.

The groundworklaid during that first

season-and-a-half without a McDonald’s All-American has allowed the Warriors to make asmooth transition to life without Mabrey leadingthe way.

“They’re out to prove that they’re talentedplayers,” Kukoda said of her team. “Weobviously miss Marina a ton, but they’re outto prove that this is their team now.”

While nobody on Manasquan – or anyother N.J. player this year, for thatmatter – is the caliber of the seniorversion of Marina Mabrey, the


(#3) Manasquan“Warriors” (20-5)

Road to the Final: Defeated Donovan Catholic, RBC & Rumson

12 VOLUME -V I I I / I S SUE -4 / 2 / 25 / 1 6


Warriors still have plenty of talent. Junior Stella Clark has been a majorcontributor since her freshman year and has assumed more of a scoring roleafter being more of a facilitator and spot-up shooter last year.

“The last two years, I was more of the point guard who set the plays upand made sure everybody was in the right spot because we had otherscorers,” Clark said. “As people graduated and roles changed, I justreally needed to step up. Marina was scoring 20 pointsfor us, so that’s 20 points we had to replace and Ineeded to pick up a lot of that.”

Mabrey’s younger sister, sophomore DaraMabrey, has also been an impact player from dayone and her three-pointer in the final seconds ofregulation in Monday’s win over Rumson helpedcatapult the Warriors back into the championship game.Junior Addie Masonius moved from a key bench role to the startinglineup and her younger sister, Faith, has been one of the state’s topfreshmen during her rookie season.

“We’re talented on the court, but when we become the better teamon the court, that’s when he have something special,” Kukoda said.“The work ethic that this group has really has been unparalleled andthat’s a credit to them and their desire to show that their still in this.This is still their title to defend.”

The striking thing about that list of players from a coachingperspective is that it is completely void of seniors. This Manasquangroup still has a full year to play together after this year’s run andMabrey and Faith Masonius each have multiple years left to addto the trophy case at their school.

“We have that edge to us,” Dara Mabrey said. “Everyonearound us thought we wouldn’t be good enough to make itback here and it just feels good to prove them all wrong.”

In addition to the returning players from this year’s team,

the Warriors should also welcome back current junior Victoria Galvan, who lost her entirejunior season to a torn ACL. Both Galvan and senior Gillian Black suffered torn ACLs,leaving Kukoda and the Warriors without two players who played significant time lastyear.

According to the tournament seeding, the No. 3 Warriors will be the underdogSaturday evening at Monmouth’s Multipurpose Activities Center against top-seededSt. John Vianney, but Manasquan played the Lancers close in each of the tworegular-season meetings between the teams – the first of which went to overtime. IfManasquan can find a way to win on Saturday, not only will the Warriors claim athird consecutive title – something that only Vianney, Neptune and Asbury Parkhave done – but they could open up the possibility of four, perhaps even five,

straight championships given the youth on hand.

The only other team to win five in a row? St. John Vianney, which won six straightfrom 1994 to 1999.

G i r l s P layer Photos by : Ma r k B r ow n

b 5 1 p h o t o g r a p h y . c om

R a y R i c h P h o t o g r a p h y :r a y r i c h p h o t o g r a p h y . smu gmu g . c om

R o b S am u e l s :b o o f a c e p h o t o g r a p h y . c om

Eric Braun:er i cb raunphotography.smugmug.com


2016 SCT ChampionshipGirls Team Rosters

Saint John Vianney ManasquanNO PLAYER HT YR

3 Abby Anderko 5’8 Jr.4 Courtney Dobrzynski 5’11 Jr.5 Kellie Crouch 5’5 Sr.12 Julia Ramos 5’5 Jr.13 Sarah Karpell 5’7 Fr.14 Riley Kehoe 5’5 Jr.15 Kimi Evans 6’3 Jr.20 Kelly Campbell 5’9 Sr.21 Zoe Pero 5’10 Sr.22 Madison Doring 5’10 So.25 Gabrielle Caponegro 6’ Sr.31 Tina Lebron 5’5 Sr.32 Megan Furch 5’11 Sr.33 Vanessa Pinho 5’5 Sr.34 Samantha Mikos 5’10 Fr.44 Sarah Furch 5’11 So.45 Brelynn Bellamy 5’11 Fr.50 Sajada Bonner 5’11 Fr.Head Coach: Dawn Karpell

Assistants: Darren Ault, Steph Guzman, Frank Mohler

NO PLAYER HT YR

2 Kathryn Mahon 5’4 Fr.

3 Annie Heeman 5’6 Jr.

5 Addie Masonius 5’6 Jr.

10 Dara Mabrey 5’6 So.

11 Stella Clark 5’5 Jr.

12 Elena Hart 5’6 So.

14 Carly Geissler 5’6 So.

20 Nikki Stevens 5’10 Jr.

21 Maggie Kelly 5’10 So.

22 Jackie Kurtz 5’11 Jr.

23 Erin Howard 5’8 Sr.

25 Emma McMenaman 5’9 So.

30 Faith Masonius 6’1 Fr.

33 Gillian Black 5’8 Sr.

Head Coach: Lisa KukodaAssistants: Luke Sinkhorn, Ryan McGrath, Brenan Gordon

15SHORESPORTSNETWORK.COM

2016 SCT ChampionshipBoys Team Rosters

NO PLAYER HT YR

1 Marvin Pierre 6’2 Jr.2 NyQuan McCombs 5’10 Sr.3 Bryan Harris 6’3 Sr.4 Kyle Devaney 5’6 So.5 Elijah Mitchell 6’3 Jr.10 Thomas Hannafin 6’3 Sr.12 Dylan Jara 6’ Jr.15 Kenneth Jones 5’11 So.21 Kyle Elliot 6’2 Sr.22 Joshua Green 6’3 Sr.23 Maleek McKnight 6’1 Jr.24 Kelvin Harris 5’11 So.30 Sean Krueger 5’11 Jr.31 Elijah Barnes 6’7 Jr.32 Gregory Jara 5’11 Jr.

Head Coach: Ben GambleAssistants: Jason Reid, Michael Pineiro, Drew Eldridge

Mater Dei Prep Christian Brothers AcademyNO PLAYER HT YR

2 Jack Boyan 6’1 Sr.

3 John Salcedo 5’11 Sr.

4 Chris Lautato 5’9 Jr.

5 Lucas Waraksa 5’10 Jr.

10 Matt Lautato 5’9 Jr.

12 Shane Gaudio 5’9 Jr.

15 Robert Mahala 6’3 So.

20 Ronald Meehan 6’3 Jr.

22 Sam Houston 6’3 Sr.

24 Jack McGuire 6’7 Sr.

25 Nick Mugavero 6’1 Sr.

31 Joe Siegle 6’2 Sr.

41 Pat Andree 6’8 Sr.

Head Coach: Geoff BilletAssistants: Bill Hazleton, Bob O’Connor, David Walsh,

Courter Smith

For the previous decade, the MaterDei Prep boys basketball team hasbeen mostly irrelevant in the ShoreConference Tournament landscape,but a long run of mediocre results isnot what would have made theSeraphs’ appearance in Saturday’sShore Conference Tournament finalas the favorite againstperennial power ChristianBrothers Academy soimplausible a year ago.

Mater Dei’s ascension back to prominencebegan not with the program turnover that wouldactually come to pass, but rather with a near-fatalexperience.

At this time last year, members of thestudent body, faculty and administrationwere working tirelessly to raise morethan $1 million to cover theoperating deficit that the Diocese ofTrenton and St. Mary’s Parish citedas the reason the school would haveto shut down at the end of theschool year.

The “Save Our Seraphs”effort turned out to be asuccess and the Dioceseapproved a proposal forthe school to reopenindependent of theParish and as a 501(c)(3)non-profit organizationwhose finances would beoverseen by a board oftrustees.

In light of the tireless effort ofthose involved and thecommunity collaborationrequired to keep the school open,a trip to the Shore ConferenceTournament final one year afterthe school was on the brink ofshutting its doors for goodshould universally be a feel-good story.

That has not necessarilybeen the case, however. Inorder to survive in a morecompetitive climate fornon-public schools, theboard of trustees and the

administration set out to revamp the athletic program and as part ofthat pursuit, declined to rehire 19-year boys basketball head coach andMater Dei alumnus Bob Klatt.

Meanwhile, as the Mater Dei community scrambled to keep thedoors to its school open, another Catholic School nearby would not beso lucky. As much as Mater Dei’s good fortune to survive and reopenfollowing a bout with financial hardship was essential to the Seraphsbasketball team reaching the cusp of a first ever Shore Conference title,this run by the basketball team would not have happened without theclosing of Cardinal McCarrick High School in South Amboy followingthe 2014-15 school year.

Cardinal McCarrick’s announced closing by the Diocese ofMetuchen left Ben Gamble – a longtime St. Anthony assistant underHall of Fame coach Bob Hurley and head coach at McCarrick forjust one year – without a team to coach and his players without teamto play for and a school to attend.

With Gamble on the market following a 20-winseason at Cardinal McCarrick and the powers thatbe at Mater Dei seeking to adapt following anear-death experience, Klatt was informed ofthe board’s decision this past June 10 byAthletic Director Dennis Tobin and Gamblewas hired the next day.

Klatt, who teaches at St. JohnVianney and landed on coach Matt

Kukoda’s staff at Wall HighSchool, is a well-respected

coach and a highly-regarded individualamong the ShoreConference communityand his unceremoniousdismissal drew the ire

of some Shore coachingconfidants.

“First and foremost,I’m thrilled that theschool is still open,”said Pinelands boysbasketball coach JohnTierney, who is a Classof 1997 Mater Deigraduate, a former assistantunder Klatt and the uncle of Seraphs sophomorestarting quarterback Kyle Devaney, who is on the

basketball team as well. “I’m happy for coach Gambleand I’ve been really impressed with how they play and how

they carry themselves. So from that perspective, I think for themto be so close to closing and now be in the championship game, it isa great story.

“At the same time, my heart is with coach Klatt and the way theyhandled his situation was wrong. He is my coaching mentor

and a big reason the school is still open is because of the

time he put in. I just think the waythey handled him was wrong. It’sgreat to see the atmosphere they hadfor the game at Brookdale on Sunday,but it’s hard to feel totally good aboutit because it still hurts me what theydid to him.”

Adding to any residualbitterness that Klatt’s dismissalmight have caused among theShore coaches, Mater Dei’sroster turnover did not winopposing coaches and observersover either. Four CardinalMcCarrick players followedGamble over to Mater Deiand five more transfers from threedifferent schools – Marist,Rahway and Central Regional –followed.

“I don’t want to take awayfrom the individual talent

that’s there,” said HenryHudson coach Vinnie

Whitehead, who hasbeen coaching various

sports at HenryHudson for 42 yearsand is also a recentinductee into theNJSIAA Hall ofFame. “I wasupset to find out Klatt was released and we came tofind that they brought in a bunch of kids from an areathat’s not the Shore area. I don’t know what therestrictions are on where non-public schools can drawkids, but there are other non-public schools closer towhere these kids are coming from.

“Different schools have different restrictions on wherethey can draw from and it’s not a level playing field.”

The Class B Central division that Mater Dei won for thefirst time since 2005 this year is comprised of Group Ipublic schools and lower-enrollment non-public schools.The division was only a short time ago regarded as a less-competitive division has now become one of the top

talent pools in the Shore Conference. Henry Hudson isalso in that division and while the Admirals made the

Shore Conference Tournament for the first time in10 years this season, they did so despite a 4-10record against teams in the division.

“There are personal things too,” Whiteheadsaid. “We have our kids here from the Atlantic

Highlands program and they were looking to be inone of top three positions in the (division) this year and


Road to the Final: Defeated No. 16 Marlboro 60-42, No. 8 Ranney 47-39 and No. 4 Toms River North 62-50

16

(#1) Mater Dei Prep“Seraphs” (22-1)


all of a sudden, you have this wave of talent show up out of nowherein a division of small schools. There is also the issue that kids on myteam and others in the division who have worked hard to earn somerecognition for themselves, and two or the three Mater Deikids – who are very talented – come along and takesome of those spots for All-Division teams and thingslike that.”

Gamble has acknowledged that the summercamps he runs give him exposure toplayers from different areas and viceversa, but when it comes to thesubject of the criticism thatcomes in today’s sportslandscape in which teamsrely on transfers to compete,the Mater Dei coach is quick tocall out the critics.

“When people say stuff like that, I say‘The kids had to go somewhere,’”Gamble said. “I don’t understand whythey say that. In fact, not only were theylooking at this school, but they werelooking at a lot of other schools. CardinalMcCarrick closed. What were they supposedto do? After that, some other kids came alongand wanted the academic advantage Mater Deipresents and saw the new beginning with theathletics.

“It’s sad that people look at a bunch of kids that way.They had to go somewhere and they and their familiesare just trying to do what’s in their best interest.”

Gamble is not without his defenders either, both in theprocess and in the results.

“You hear a lot of the grumbling, but I don’t think everybody

understands the situation,” said Tahj Holden, who is also in his firstyear as boys basketball coach at the Ranney School and has overseenthe program’s first 20-win season thanks to a standout freshman class.“Those McCarrick kids didn’t have anywhere to go and there was anopportunity there for Ben to get a job again and for those guys to playwith their coach. Once you had that group there, the school becomes alittle more attractive now that there is some real talent there and a coachwith Ben’s background.”

While Whitehead and Henry Hudson are in one camp, coach DennisDevaney and St. Rose have gone from perennial favorite to chasingtwo powerhouse programs in Mater Dei and Ranney. Although St.Rose faces a steep task in overcoming those teams to reach theperch atop the division, Devaney mostly welcomes the

challenge.

"I'll take games like (against Ranney and Mater Dei)over a game where we win by 40 and it's over in the firstquarter," said Devaney, who is in his 30th season at St.Rose. "You don't play sports to play those games.Athletes want to compete and play good competition and

that's what I've been trying to tell (our) guys about theteams we're playing. We're getting better because we have toget better to compete with these kinds of teams."

The most adversely affected players within the Mater Deiprogram have been players who played on last year’s team buthave lost playing time to the transfers this season. A number ofthose players left the team after beginning the year on theroster and now, just Tom Hannafin and Sean Kroeger remain.Hanafin has seen some playing time over the course of theseason, but did not played in either of Mater Dei’s win overRanney and Toms River North.

Despite the decreased role, Hannafin maintains that allof the change has been for the better.

“It was an adjustment at first, but when you see howgood these guys are and how good the team is

playing, it became a lot easier to buy in,” Hannafin said. “To see theschool support us like they have makes it all worth it, especially witheverything that happened last year. It’s pretty crazy.”

Saturday night at the Multipurpose Activities Center on the campusof Monmouth University, Mater Dei’s student section – self-titled the“Stage Crew” because they spend home games cheering from the stagebehind the basket on the far end of the St. Mary’s School gymnasium– will pack a section of the stands and cheer for what they hope will bethe first SCT title in school history in its first championship gameappearance since losing to CBA in 1984.

There might be some who take exception to that, but those studentswill be cheering for more than just a group of players who were mostlyat different schools last year. They will be celebrating the fact that theyare still part of Mater Dei, and that did not look like a possibility oneyear ago, just like a Shore Conference Tournament title did not looklike a possibility a year ago.

The circumstances may not be ideal for everyone involved: Gamblehas had to change jobs, his players have jumped from school to school,Mater Dei holdovers have taken decreased roles on the team andopposing coaches who conduct the business of their programsdifferently may fall behind.

But with everything the Mater Dei community has endured, idealismhas had to take a back seat. All that matters to them is that they are stilla school community, one that will take another opportunity – win orlose on Saturday – to celebrate that fact, all with the eyes of the Shorewatching.

Mater Dei Prep (23-1, 14-0 in Class B Central)

Head Coach: Ben Gamble, first season

Prior SCt Final appearances: 1

SCt Championships: 0


(#2) Christian Brothers Academy“Colts” (21-3)

In a program that preaches the teamconcept and requires its players to eschewindividual accomplishment with a total focuson the collective effort, Pat Andree might be

the closest thing Christian BrothersAcademy has ever had to a player thatreached “program savior” status.

After entering the program during a downturn in itsperformance, Andree has been at the

center of the Colts’ resurgence andwill lead his team into the ShoreConference Tournament

championship game for a third straightseason looking to cement his and

his senior class’s legacy by winningthe first SCT title for CBA since2010.

As it stands, Andree is the all-time leading scorer in the programand is likely to eclipse the 2,000-point mark for his career by the endof the season. In addition to thethree SCT finals appearances,Andree has led CBA to three consecutiveShore Conference Class A North titles and toan NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public Achampionship last year. He did all ofthat while leading the team in

scoring in each of his four highschool seasons.

"I want to win the ShoreConference,” Andree said. “I haven'twon that yet, so that's my number onegoal. If we do that and I don't get 2,000(points), I'll be plenty happy."

Andree began his high school career asa varsity player and while history willrightfully portray him as one of the bestplayers in the storied program’s

history because of his fouryears of excellence, the reality

is that Andree was a freshman starter due to the desperation of the programat the time as much as it was for of his ability.

Freshman varsity starters at CBA are rare and Andree got his opportunitypartially on his own accord: he was a 6-foot-7-inch youngster with NBA-three-point range and advanced polish on the offensive end. He also came inwith considerable hype due to his last name: his older brother, Tim, was aCBA standout who went on to walk-on at the University of Notre Dame.

In years past though, that might have profiled as more of a supporting playeron a typical CBA team, but within the context of its 16 Shore Conferencechampionships in a span of 27 seasons, the 2012-13 Colts were not a typicalCBA team.

A year prior to Andree’s arrival, CBA had tofight its way to a winning record and entered

the Shore Conference Tournament as aNo. 15 seed. The Colts came up short

of a Shore Conference Tournamenttitle the year before as well, butentered the tournament as the No.1 seed and lost a close game to thePoint Pleasant Beach team ledby Jarelle Reischel.

In Andree’s first season, theteam still had its warts, but

improved to the No. 8seed in the

tournament. The Coltsfailed, however, to

reach the quarterfinals,losing at the buzzer to No.

24 seed Matawan, whichsported a team full of sophomoresand juniors.

The struggle in 2012 and thesurprising exit in 2013 were two

of the lower points duringmore than a quarter

century ofo v e r a l l


Road to the Final: Defeated No. 15 Middletown North 73-40, No. 7 Lakewood 63-42 and No. 3 Manasquan 53-41



dominance by CBA, but better days wereahead. The Colts lost to top-seeded PointBeach in the 2014 SCT championshipgame and drew the No. 1 seed in lastyear’s tournament before suffering astunning 50-24 loss to No. 11Rumson-Fair Haven.

In its two SCT championshiplosses of the past twoseasons ,C B Ah a sp l a y e dthe roleof underdogin 2014 and favorite in 2015. Asthe No. 2 seed playing top-seeded Mater Dei Prep – a teamthat has nine transfers and haswon 20 straight games sincesuffering its only loss of theseason on Jan. 3 to defendingNon-Public A champion PopeJohn – CBA is once again theunderdog, but with a twist.This year’s Colts teamstarts five seniors –Andree, Jack McGuire,

John Salcedo, Sam Houstonand Jack Boyan – andbrings in another in NickMugavero as the first manoff the bench.

If anything, the lasttwo seasons have

shown that it will takea complete team effort

to win thechampionship and

not just theexcellence of oneplayer. As as o p h o m o r e ,Andree was the only

player to score in double-figures forCBA in the 49-41 loss to Point

Beach and last year, he scoredonly seven points in thechampionship game as the

entire team struggled to put the ball inthe basket.

"We don't like how the last two turned out,obviously, but we're the underdog this time," Andreesaid. "We love being the underdogs and we can't waitto go out and prove that CBA's the team to beat thisyear.”

In the final go-round for him and fellow returningstarters McGuire and Salcedo, Andree is looking to caphis distinguished career by winning the title that everyother CBA great since 1984 has experienced.

"We have a little chip on our shoulder,” Andreesaid. “We wanted the one seed and they took it fromus. We haven't lost in the Shore Conference, theyhaven't lost in the Shore Conference either and it

should be a great game."

CBa (21-3, 13-0 in Class a North)

Head Coach: Geoff Billet, 10th season

Prior SCt Final appearances: 24

SCt Championships: 16 (1984-85,1987-88, 1990, 1993-1996, 2000-01,2003, 2005-06, 2009-10)

Most Titles: 1. Neptune (22)2. CBA (16)3. (tie) Lakewood, Red Bank (8)5. Manasquan (6)

Most Consecutive Titles: Neptune, 7 (1961-67)

2015: Rumson-FH 50, CBA 242014: Point Beach 49, CBA 412013: Lakewood 39, Point Beach 332012: Neptune 37, Colts Neck 332011: Raritan 43, Rumson-FH 352010: CBA 60 Middletown South 442009: CBA 58 Neptune 492008: Neptune 67 Monsignor Donovan 522007: Freehold Township 55 CBA 492006: CBA 65 Monsignor Donovan 562005: CBA 57 Manasquan 412004: Raritan 60 Neptune 582003: CBA 44 Raritan 302002: Neptune 57 CBA 472001: CBA 56 Neptune 392000: CBA 60 Neptune 381999: Red Bank 44 CBA 431998: Neptune 55 Red Bank 48 (OT)1997: Long Branch 44 CBA 421996: CBA 64 Toms River North 581995: CBA 58 Lakewood 571994: CBA 51 Long Branch 381993: CBA 60 Red Bank 521992: Red Bank 60 CBA 541991: Lakewood 86 Lacey 671990: CBA 42 Neptune 301989: Lakewood 79 Neptune 77 (OT)1988: CBA 57 Lakewood 551987: CBA 58 Asbury Park 551986: Asbury Park 61 Lakewood 601985: CBA 70 Asbury Park 631984: CBA 58 Mater Dei 511983: Red Bank 61 CBA 581982: Toms River South 83 Neptune 801981: Neptune 59 Long Branch 281980: Neptune 72 Manasquan 451979: Middletown South 73 Red Bank 681978: Asbury Park 41 Long Branch 371977: Long Branch 65 Lakewood 49

1976: Neptune 59 Long Branch 541975: Lakewood 55 Neptune 451974: Lakewood 65 Wall 601973: Ocean 71 Neptune 631972: Neptune 80 Manasquan 661971: Ocean 65 Henry Hudson 561970: Long Branch 88 Neptune 671969: Henry Hudson 56 Long Branch 531968: Lakewood 61 Ocean 551967: Neptune 48 Lakewood 451966: Neptune 61 Lakewood 441965: Neptune 63 Lakewood 561964: Neptune 59 Matawan 531963: Neptune 66 Point Pleasant Beach 541962: Neptune 82 Keyport 581961: Neptune 69 Keyport 601960: Matawan 62 Manasquan 591959: Red Bank 68 Matawan 471958: Lakewood 59 Atlantic Highlands 571957: Manasquan 79 Red Bank 561956: Red Bank 55 Lakewood 511955: (Class A) Manasquan 76 Neptune 65

(Class B) Matawan 70 Point Pleasant Beach 561954: (CLass A) Neptune 73 Manasquan 52

(Class B) Atlantic Highlands 62 Hoffman 591953: (Group II) Red Bank 60 Neptune 55

(Group I) Hoffman 53 Atlantic Highlands 411952: (Group II) Neptune 60 Manasquan 39

(Group I) Hoffman 56 Atlantic Highlands 53 (OT)1951: Neptune 61 Hoffman 521950: Red Bank 56 Neptune 521949: Neptune 71 Atlantic Highlands 451948: Manasquan 58 Freehold 481947: Manasquan 57 Point Pleasant Beach 251946: Red Bank 34 Manasquan 271945: Manasquan 31 Red Bank 261944: Lakewood 40 Toms River 361943: Neptune 32 Manasquan 251942: Neptune 42 Manasquan 401941: Manasquan 35 Neptune 32 (OT)1940: Hoffman 33 Manasquan 311939: Neptune 41 Manasquan 381938: Atlantic Highlands 28 Neptune 221937: Keyport 31 Atlantic Highlands 22


Most Titles: 1. St. John Vianney (12)2. Neptune (7)3. Red Bank Catholic (6)4. Asbury Park (4)5. (tie) St. Rose, Manasquan (3)

Most Consecutive Titles: St. John Vianney,(6) 1994-1999

2015: Manasquan 69, St. Rose 602014: Manasquan 61, St. Rose 41

2013: Red Bank Catholic 50, Point Boro 46

2012: St. Rose 65, Manasquan 56

2011: Neptune 57, St. John Vianney 48

2010: Neptune 60, Colts Neck 50


2008: Colts Neck 66, Red Bank Catholic 53

2007: Red Bank Catholic 34, Rumson-FH 31

2006: Red Bank Catholic 41, Rumson-FH 31

2005: St. John Vianney 47, Monmouth 30

2004: St. John Vianney 56, Toms River North 47

2003: Red Bank Catholic 48, Marlboro 46

2002: St. John Vianney 39, Marlboro 36

2001: Red Bank Catholic 44, St. John Vianney 39

2000: Red Bank Catholic 62, St. John Vianney 56

1999: St. John Vianney 56, Red Bank Catholic 52

1998: St. John Vianney 45, Red Bank 34




1994: St. John Vianney 86, Red Bank 46

1993: St. Rose 67, St. John Vianney 57

1992: St. John Vianney 54, St. Rose 50

1991: St. John Vianney 58, Keyport 47

1990: St. John Vianney 59, Toms River East 48


1988: Neptune 70, Raritan 48

1987: Neptune 61, Manasquan 46

1986: St. Rose 55, Freehold Twp. 52

1985: Middletown South 50, Neptune 48

1984: Southern 42, Neptune 40

1983: Manasquan 43, Lakewood 36

1982: Neptune 59, Rumson-FH 46

1981: Manasquan 45, Middletown North 35

1980: Freehold Twp. 70, Brick 47

1979: Middletown South 46, Asbury Park 43

1978: Shore 48, Asbury Park 45

1977: Asbury Park 56, Shore 33

1976: Asbury Park 83, Lakewood 56

1975: Asbury Park 51, Toms River South 27

1974: Asbury Park 45, Long Branch 37 (OT)

1973: Shore 43, Brick 41

1972: Brick 37, Point Boro 27



SPECIAL THANK YOUto all the

photographersthat allow us to use

their photos throughoutour publicationand website

Ma r k B r ow nb 5 1 p h o t o g r a p h y . c om

R a y R i c h P h o t o g r a p h y :r a y r i c h p h o t o g r a p h y . smu gmu g . c om

R o b S am u e l s :b o o f a c e p h o t o g r a p h y . c om

Eric Braun:er i cb raunphotography.smugmug.com

Jo in TheShore Sports Network Team Today!

Interested in joining our team andthink you have what it takes to becovering sports in the ShoreConference for Shore SportsNetwork? We are looking for localwriters interested in covering sportslike lacrosse, Baseball, Football,Basketball, Soccer, Swimming, track,Ice Hockey and more as part of our

newspaper and our website(www.shoresportsnetwork.com).Grab your chance to appearregularly in the Shore SportsNetwork by-weekly publication andposted onwww.shoresportsnetwork.com whilehelping us recognize more athletesand bring more stories to Shore

Conference sports fans. this is yourchance to become a regularcontributor to a growing business onthe cutting edge of covering sports inMonmouth and Ocean County.

Just contact Managing EditorScott Stump @[email protected]

shore sports networks 2016 shore conference tournament basketball finals

Documents