Lower girls, both Middle teams advance in tournament

Written by Brian Cunniff Tuesday, February 26, 2013 07:02 am

All three of the Cape May County high school basketball teams in state playoff action Monday advanced in the tournament.

The Lower Cape May girls breezed to a 72-47 victory over Deptford in a first-round South Jersey Group II game. The Lady Tigers, seeded eighth in the tournament, jumped out to a commanding 46-23 lead at the half and never looked back. Lauren Holden poured in a game-high 32 points and also handed out seven assists to pace the Lady Tigers (18-9). Maddie Gibson added a career-high 20 points and Ariel Magee sank 10 points in the victory. Lower moves to play top-seeded Willingboro in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Read more: Lower girls, both Middle teams advance in tournament

LCM's Damiana and Ziegler, MT's Mallett win district titles

Last Updated on Monday, February 25, 2013 08:19 am Written by Brian Cunniff Saturday, February 23, 2013 08:40 pm

GALLOWAY – The Lower Cape May Regional and Middle Township high school wrestling teams produced a combined three District 32 wrestling champions Saturday evening at Absegami High School.

Lower’s Cory Damiana, at 195 pounds, and Frank Ziegler, at 182 pounds, and Middle’s John Mallett, at 152 pounds, each emerged as winners of their respective weight classes.

The three will each receive byes for the opening round of the Region 8 Tournament on Wednesday at Egg Harbor Township High School. Second-place and third-place finishers at district tournaments also move on to the region level.

Damiana is a district champion for the second straight year after rolling through his bracket with three wins by fall. The junior recorded two first-period pins in early rounds before decking St. Augustine Prep’s Cory Pietryzk at 4:49 in the championship bout.

Read more: LCM's Damiana and Ziegler, MT's Mallett win district titles

Previewing the South section of the state basketball tournament

Last Updated on Monday, February 25, 2013 11:07 pm Written by Brian Cunniff Saturday, February 23, 2013 11:49 am

By this weekend, all of the showcase events will have been completed and all of the division, conference and league championships will have been decided in high school basketball throughout the state. All that’s left is the state tournament. The quest for sectional and state championships begins Monday for some and Tuesday for the rest, and tips off what many people believe is the most exciting two weeks of the scholastic sports season.

The following is a look at each group in the South Jersey section of the boys and girls state basketball tournament (with first-round dates and times for area teams):

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Christian posts near triple-double in Warrior win over LCM

Written by Brian Cunniff Friday, February 22, 2013 10:37 pm

ERMA – The Lower Cape May Regional High School boys basketball team has played much better basketball over the last six weeks of the season.

But they were no match for Francis Christian and Wildwood Friday night.

Christian came one assist shy of a triple-double in leading the Warriors to a 57-45 victory. The senior guard accounted for 24 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and four steals as Wildwood cruised to a comfortable victory.

Wildwood (15-10), which won its sixth straight, led 32-12 at the half. Lower Cape May closed to within eight late in the third quarter but the Warriors were back on top by as much as 20 points by early in the fourth quarter.

Christian shot 8 for 17 from the field and 7 for 8 from the line. Jose Valentin added 12 points and Wes Hills chipped in eight points and nine rebounds.

Shane Szubski scored 14 points for Lower Cape May (2-23).

Vandermark's late shot lifts LCM past Lady Warriors

Last Updated on Friday, February 22, 2013 10:35 pm Written by Brian Cunniff Friday, February 22, 2013 10:34 pm

ERMA – The Lower Cape May Regional girls basketball team was on the verge of being upset by Wildwood Friday night.

That is, until Jill Vandermark hit the mark at a most important time.

Vandermark’s banked shot from 12 feet with six seconds to play lifted the Lady Tigers to a 49-48 win over county rival Wildwood in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Vandermark’s basket gave Lower (17-9) its first lead since the team held a 5-4 advantage early in the first quarter.

Read more: Vandermark's late shot lifts LCM past Lady Warriors

Lower, Middle seek success in District 32 Wrestling Tournament

Last Updated on Thursday, February 21, 2013 11:57 am Written by Brian Cunniff Thursday, February 21, 2013 11:56 am

It’s been a long, grueling season for area high school wrestlers. Quite a few of them have wrestled more than 30 matches during a season that featured early-season tournaments, tri-matches and quads just about every weekend in January and February and other matches on many Mondays and Wednesdays.

But the regular season has now passed and it’s time for the sport to shift focus more from team to individual results.

The District 32 Tournament begins the postseason for wrestlers from Lower Cape May and Middle Township. They’ll be joined by wrestlers from Absegami, Buena, St. Augustine, Egg Harbor Township, Oakcrest, Mainland, Ocean City, Atlantic City and Holy Spirit. The competition will be held at Absegami, with pre-quarterfinal and quarterfinal bouts scheduled for Friday evening. Quarterfinal winners advance to Saturday, while the season will be over for pre-quarterfinal and quarterfinal losers. Semifinal bouts will be held beginning late Saturday morning, with consolations scheduled shortly thereafter. Then, after a short break, championship matches in each weight class will commence, usually sometime after 4 p.m.

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Middle wins wild CAL semifinal in 2 OT, will face ACHS in title game

Written by Brian Cunniff Tuesday, February 19, 2013 10:31 pm

HAMMONTON – The final scores says the Middle Township High School basketball team won by 11 points.

Those who were there know it was anything but an 11-point game.

The Panthers advanced to the Cape-Atlantic League championship game for the second straight year by topping nemesis St. Augustine Prep, 51-40, in double overtime in the league semifinal game Tuesday night at Hammonton High School.

Middle (19-5) will play Atlantic City in the league title game for the second straight year. The Vikings knocked off Holy Spirit, 47-35, in the other semifinal.

Read more: Middle wins wild CAL semifinal in 2 OT, will face ACHS in title game

Middle hammers Lions, Spirit tops Catholic

Last Updated on Saturday, February 16, 2013 04:01 pm Written by Brian Cunniff Saturday, February 16, 2013 03:43 pm

Friday’s Cape-Atlantic League boys basketball playoff between Middle Township and Sacred Heart featured two very different teams. One program is a senior-laden group familiar with big games in playoff settings. The other is a young, up-and-coming group trying to gain experience.

The more experienced side won. Big.

After giving up the first basket of the game, Middle Township thoroughly dominated the overmatched Lions, frolicking to a 73-33 victory to advance to the CAL semifinals for the second straight year.

Middle, the second seed in the tournament, created a comfortable 17-7 edge after one quarter before turning the game into a rout thanks to a 22-6 advantage in the second quarter that had the team ahead 39-13 at the break.

Read more: Middle hammers Lions, Spirit tops Catholic

Ocean City bests Lower, Sacred Heart holds off Middle

Written by Brian Cunniff Saturday, February 16, 2013 03:29 pm

The return of Julia Duggan sparked Ocean City past Lower Cape May while Middle Township’s strong second-half comeback fell short against Sacred Heart in the opening round of the Cape-Atlantic League basketball playoff tournament Friday night.

Duggan, who had been out with ankle injury, totaled 15 points and 14 rebounds as the top-seeded Raiders beat No. 8 Lower Cape May, 42-26.

Ocean City (18-3) rushed out to an 11-2 lead after one quarter and was ahead 22-9 at the half. The Raiders limited the Lady Tigers (14-9) to only nine field goals for the game.

Natalie Landi added 11 points for Ocean City, which will play fifth-seeded Sacred Heart in a CAL semifinal on Wednesday at St. Augustine Prep.

Read more: Ocean City bests Lower, Sacred Heart holds off Middle

Christian leads Warriors to upset of Penns Grove

Last Updated on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 08:41 am Written by Brian Cunniff Monday, February 11, 2013 11:01 pm

WILDWOOD – Scott McCracken was not a very happy coach after Thursday’s debacle at Pitman, when his Wildwood High School boys basketball team lost at Pitman by the ridiculous score of 72-32.

Pitman, one of the top small-school teams in South Jersey, might be a bit better than Wildwood right now. But definitely not 40 points better.

Read more: Christian leads Warriors to upset of Penns Grove