THE RIGHT STUFF: The Barnegat girls basketball team lost to Red Bank Regional in the second round of last week’s Shore Conference Tournament, despite senior Zemirah Enalls scoring 44 points in two games. (Images courtesy of David Biggy)
It gets difficult to score during tournament play when one of the team’s best players is injured. On February 13, the Barnegat girls basketball team discovered just how much work it was.
In the second round of the Shore Conference Tournament, the Bengals (17-5) were held to one point after leading 12-9 into the second quarter against fifth-seeded Red Bank Regional. The Bucs then extended their lead to 17-13 going into the second half. Red Bank defeated Barnegat 46-28, outscoring the Bengals 17-8 and 12-7 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Senior Zemirah Enalls led the Bengals with 11 points and 14 rebounds, while seniors Riley Fitzpatrick and Sydney Collins contributed six and four points, respectively. Emma Thornton, the team’s top scorer the previous two seasons, led the team through the first 15 games of this season before an injury forced her to the bench for the seventh consecutive game.
Enalls had another outstanding performance two days prior, scoring 33 points and dishing out 22 rebounds, as the Bengals defeated 21st-seeded Freehold Township 67-63. Before outscoring the Patriots 24-10 in the third quarter to take a 50-42 lead into the fourth, Barnegat was behind 34-26 at the break. Jayla Duff contributed eight points and five rebounds, and Fitzpatrick scored 17 points and disheveled five assists.
In the meantime, Southern Regional, ranked 14th in the boys’ SCT, advanced to the second round before losing to Red Bank Regional, the tournament’s third seed, 67-50, on February 13. The Bucs went on a 23-8 run to gain control after the Rams (16-6) were only a point behind, 11-10, going into the second quarter.
With 16 points and 10 rebounds, Noah Perna led the Rams, followed by Rich Flores with nine points and three three-point field goals, Jake Sliwinski with 13 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Cooper Dempsey contributed five assists as well.
TAKING THE SHOT: Southern sophomore Noah Perna scored 41 points and pulled down 25 rebounds in two Shore Conference Tournament games last week, but the Rams lost in the second round.
The Rams defeated 19th-seeded Henry Hudson 64-56 in the opening round on February 11 as Southern jumped out to an early 14-6 lead and maintained the eight-point advantage for the rest of the game. Before the Admirals reduced the gap to eight points, Southern had a 30–20 lead going into the second half.
Sliwinski scored 19 points, Dempsey scored seven, and Perna finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Sliwinski provided four assists as well.
Barnegat’s boys, the 17th-seeded team, lost to 16th-seeded Marlboro, 51-42, on February 11 in the first round as well. Mason Krey scored the most points (16), followed by Cole Toddings (12 points and 16 rebounds), Todd Muhammad (9 points and 3 assists), and Mason Krey himself.
Coaches Cup Tourney Continues for Southern Girls
The Southern Regional girls basketball team was still playing in the Shore Coaches Cup tournament this week, despite the elimination of all the qualified local teams from the Shore Conference Tournament last week.
In the second round, Casey Collins scored 20 points to lead the Rams to a 51-38 victory against Long Branch. Gabriella Lum finished with 10 points and five rebounds, while Samantha Russell finished with 12 points and eight steals, while burying 10 of 13 foul shots. Mackenzie Sininsky contributed eight rebounds and three steals, while Collins also had six rebounds and four assists.
On Tuesday, February 18, Southern (9–10) was slated to play Jackson Memorial in the quarterfinals. The victor would then play either Central Regional or Toms River North in the semifinals on February 20.
The Pinelands Regional boys were ousted from the Coaches Cup on February 14 after defeating Keyport 47-41 after winning by three points in the opening round. In the second half, the Wildcats (12-10) led 27-24, and they led 33-31 at the end of the fourth quarter.
With 15 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds, Ty Kline was the player with the most points, followed by Cayden Lucas with nine points and five rebounds, Matt Davis with eight points and five rebounds, and Brady Fence with nine rebounds.
On February 13, Pinelands defeated Toms River South in the opening round. The Indians knotted the game at the end of regulation after Pinelands’ 11-7 run in the third quarter overturned a 20-17 halftime disadvantage. The Wildcats won the game with a 6-3 run in overtime. Josh Barongo contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Kline finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds.
Tracksters Have Had Some Success at Sectional Meets
Cole Cramer, a senior from Southern Regional, returned to competition on the indoor track on February 14 and helped the Rams place fourth overall in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 4 Championships with his first-place points. Southern scored 20 points as a team, and Cramer won the 55-meter sprint with a time of 6.40 seconds.
The only Ram to gain points in two different events was classmate Kyle Skiendzielewski, who finished fifth in the 3,200-meter run (9:44.86) and sixth in the 1,600-meter run (4:31.43). Senior Kody Wagner took sixth in the shot put with a top mark of 45 feet, 5 inches, while sophomore Garron Smith cleared 11 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault to take fifth place. Senior Ansh Sharma finished fourth in the shot put with a best mark of 46 feet, 9 inches.
The Southern girls’ 4 400-meter relay team finished fourth in 4:11.77, and sophomore Kodi Mikuletzky earned third in the shot put with a best mark of 34 feet, 5 inches.
On February 15, however, the Barnegat girls had a strong performance in SJ Group 2, earning 21 points for sixth place overall. Three Bengals placed third in their respective competitions. In the high jump, senior Daneilla Holley cleared 5 feet, 2 inches, junior Elizabeth Buschiazzo threw a shot put of 32 feet, 8 inches, and freshman Angelina Colavita finished the 1,600 in 5:39.45.
Classmate Raegan Shive blasted to sixth place in the 55-meter dash with a record of 7.66 seconds, while sophomore Amaya Afflick finished fifth in the 400-meter dash with a mark of 1:02.34.
In SJ Group 2, junior Trevor Barchetto set a school record in the pole vault by clearing 11 feet to take sixth place, sophomore Summer Sprague finished sixth in the 3,200 with a time of 12:40.62, and junior Katie Dillinger broke a school record in the high jump by clearing 5 feet, 4 inches to place second at the Pinelands Regionals.
David Biggy
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