Raiders fall to Atlantic City Vikings 62-61 in CAL title game
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – Led by star sophomore Don’Taye Thompson, the Atlantic City Vikings edged the Ocean City Red Raiders in an instant classic Cape-Atlantic League championship basketball game.
Thompson lifted the trophy with the rest of his teammates after he delivered Atlantic City High School its first lead of the game in the final minutes. He finished the game at the free throw line where he broke the tie with five seconds left and secured the 62-61 win Saturday, Feb. 21. His 24 points led all scorers, but after the game he and his teammates were more excited about being champions.
“Seeing us raising a trophy, it means a lot,” Thompson said.
“It was very emotional with a lot of tears looking to fall out of my eyes,” teammate Tamir Rex said about finally winning a championship game in his senior year. “We stayed together as a brotherhood and picked each other’s heads up to pull through and get the win as a brotherhood. This means a lot to me and I finally ended my career as a champion.”
Ocean City put the pressure on early and jumped out to a 12-1 lead to kick off the game. The Raiders got a big boost off the bench from senior Chris Pontari, who led the team with 15 points and was the hot hand throughout the game.
Despite the strong start on offense for Ocean City, the Vikings quickly regrouped and stayed within striking distance thanks to relentless defense.
Asked about his thoughts while the Vikings were trailing, Atlantic City head coach Wayne Nelson said, “This is a championship game and we knew we could get ourselves back into the game by getting our momentum defensively and pressuring. That is our style and we cannot play their style or we’ll lose. But we knew we could speed them up and get some steals. That’s what we’ve been doing all year.”
Ocean City came into the game having beaten Atlantic City twice this season with the most recent victory a 58-51 battle on Feb. 2. In that game, Raider Luke Tjoumakaris dominated under the basket and channeled the same style of play in the championship game.
Tjoumakaris scored 10 points in the second half and was credited with 14 rebounds. The Raiders held strong until Thompson’s Vikings finally flipped the scoreboard in a dramatic fourth quarter.
The aggressive play on the defensive side of the court started to bear fruit for the Vikings as they recorded 15 steals compared to Ocean City’s six. After his free throw cut the Raider lead to 49-48, Thompson turned the incoming inbound pass into Atlantic City’s play of the game.
He intercepted the ball at the top of the key and dribbled once before draining a three-pointer that sent Atlantic City’s spectators to their feet in the packed Egg Harbor Township High School gym. The Vikings gained their first lead of the with under four minutes left and grew it to 57-51 after a dunk by Thompson in transition.
“I wanted the ball bad because I knew I was the one who was going to put the game away and seal it all,” Thompson said.
Before the game could get away from them, Pontari nailed a clutch three-pointer to rejuvenate the packed Raider student section. Alec Bell added six more points in crunch time as the game turned into a battle of who would have the ball last.
Down by two points in the final 30 seconds of the game, the Raiders forced a big turnover of their own and went back to what has worked all season long with season scoring leader Tjoumakaris under the basket. His two shots were both blocked consecutively by Viking Xclusive Dublin. On the second blocked shot, however, the ball bounced towards Ocean City’s Josh Lenko, who finished the job with a jump shot to tie the game at 61-61 with ten seconds left.
Lenko, Bell, and Tjoumakaris all finished with 12 points and along with Pontari’s 15 points, the Raiders had four players reach double figures. Unfortunately, it was Atlantic City’s Day and Thompson had 10 seconds to avoid overtime.
Thompson got the inbound pass near mid court and immediately committed to his plan of attack. He sprinted down the right side of the court and jumped up for a layup. Midway through his jump a whistle was sounded and he was awarded two shots to give Atlantic City the lead. He only made the first free throw, which was all he needed with the clock down to just five seconds for Ocean City.
The Red Raiders’ desperation final shot did not flip the script, falling short as the buzzer sounded.
Nelson said he was not worried about running out of time for the comeback and simply said “Number 1” as his reason for believing so much. “When the moment arrives, he rises to the occasion. That is his special power. He wants the ball in his hands, and he is going to make plays whether it’s scoring or getting to the free throw line. I just have ultimate confidence in him in the end and confidence in all my guys to know we had to get the stop at the very end.”
The Vikings made the final round after Thompson dropped 50 points in the semifinals against Middle Township. With the win Atlantic City won its first Cape-Atlantic League title in boys basketball since 2013.
It was Ocean City’s first trip to the tournament’s championship round since the Raiders won it during the 2010 season.
The Raiders finished the regular season with a record of 20-6 which earned them the three seed in the South Jersey Group III playoffs. With the conference tournament in the rear view, Ocean City will begin its playoff run starting at home on Feb 27. Hammonton High School will be coming to town with a tip-off schedule for 6 p.m.
Other playoffs
The Mainland Mustang boys, sporting a 10-15 record, got the No. 15 seed and are on the road at No. 2 Shawnee (17-8) at 5:45 p.m. Feb. 27.
The Mainland girls got the No. 3 seed in the South Jersey Group III tournament and get to host No. 14 Winslow at 5 p.m. Feb. 27. The Mustang girls are 17-9 so far this season.
The Ocean City girls are the No. 13 seed in the tournament and are traveling for a 4 p.m. start Feb. 27 at No. 4 Shawnee. The Red Raider girls have a 13-11 record. Shawnee is 16-11.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
