By TYLER DONOHUE
Sports Writer
HAMMONTON – In one dramatic evening of postseason basketball, the Atlantic City boys basketball team pulled off two accomplishments. The Vikings defeated Holy Spirit, 35-32, on Tuesday in the Cape-Atlantic League semifinals to eliminate a longtime conference rival from championship contention and move one step closer to capturing a league title.
A senior-laden lineup overcame an unimpressive start to the contest at Hammonton High School and ramped up its defense late in the game to hold off talented Holy Spirit. While many of the Spartans’ key contributors have at least another year at the high school level, most of Atlantic City’s playmakers are in the midst of their final run under Vikings head coach Gene Allen.
“Those are seniors,” Allen said. “So they have that sense of urgency that you may not find in younger players. They don’t want to see the season end, so they’re really working hard.”
A pair of those seniors – guards Kashawn Dunston and Martel Johnson – made four timely free throws in the final two minutes to give Atlantic City a slight edge. The duo combined for 15 points and showed their mental toughness by knocking down clutch shots from the charity stripe.
“It means the work that we put in daily is starting to pay off,” Allen said. “I think the kids have started to understand the importance of making foul shots.”
Holy Spirit was mostly successful in slowing down Atlantic City’s up-tempo attack, taking a 13-5 lead into the second quarter. Although the Spartans held a 16-12 lead at intermission, the low-scoring game was clearly up for grabs.
“We played horrible against Holy Spirit early in our last game against them (a 55-43 win on Jan. 30),” Allen said. “It was kind of a reenactment actually. [At halftime] we talked and decided we needed to regroup, add a little more ball pressure and speed up the game slightly.”
The philosophy paid off as Atlantic City collected eight points off steals or blocks in the third quarter to cut Holy Spirit’s lead to 24-23 by the end of the session.
Vikings junior center Jahleem Montague played his biggest role since returning from a knee injury, scoring five points and securing the paint defensively. Despite being slowed by a hefty knee brace, the 6-foot-9 center made his presence felt by consistently altering the shots of Spartan drivers in the lane.
“People are aware of his shot-blocking abilities,” Allen said. “It makes our defense better because we can extend it since he’s such a good shot blocker.”
That defensive extension allowed the Vikings to limit Holy Spirit’s highly capable backcourt. Spartans senior point guards Liam McManimon and John Sommers combined to score just 11 points, while star shooting guard Paul Moore made only three field goals on his way to nine points.
Moore erupted for 22 points after halftime against Pleasantville in Holy Spirit’s quarterfinal victory on Friday night. Against Atlantic City, the 6-foot-1 junior accounted for just two points in the second half and was shut out in the fourth quarter.
“I think we’ve done a great job against Moore all season,” Allen said. “He’s a very talented player. Dayshawn Reynolds deserves all the credit because he’s been covering him all year. We want that matchup, we like that matchup. Today, [Reynolds] did an even better job.”
Reynolds, a junior, stayed in Moore’s face during the Spartans’ final possessions, preventing anymore late-game heroics from one of the league’s most dangerous shooters.
Holy Spirit lost Junior Saintel, arguably the CAL’s most promising sophomore, to five fouls with 1:38 remaining in the game. The Spartans led 32-31 when he departed, but wouldn’t score again.
Dunston stepped to the line and converted two free-throws to give Atlantic City a 33-32 lead immediately after Saintel sat down. After a series of defensive stops, it was Johnson’s turn at the foul line.
He sank both of his attempts to increase the Vikings’ advantage to 35-32. Atlantic City followed with a final defensive stop, sending the team to the league title game.
The Vikings face Middle Township for CAL supremacy. The Panthers beat St. Augustine on a last-second shot in Tuesday night’s other semifinal.
The CAL championship game tips off 2 p.m. Saturday at Stockton College.
“It really means a lot to me and the kids,” Allen said. “I told the seniors after the game that to get an opportunity to be a part of this tournament atmosphere and then make it to the finals is something that you should never take for granted. It’s something that should be cherished. I’m going to make sure that they savor this and enjoy the moment.”
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
