Ocean City drops Cedar Creek, Williamstown ahead of CAL Tournament
OCEAN CITY — The Ocean City High School boys basketball team wrapped up its regular season with two dominant wins last week.
The Red Raiders cruised to a 76-34 victory over Cedar Creek High School on Feb 1 as Kori Segich led all scorers with 30 points. The senior did his damage in the first three quarters, as the starters rested in the fourth after building a 64-25 lead.
Segich is the Raiders’ leading point scorer this season and was seemingly always open under the basket. He scored eight straight points in the third quarter thanks to his team feeding him the ball with great passes.
The Raiders celebrated their seniors versus Cedar Creek and started all five of the graduating class. Charlie LaBarre had 11 points in the game while Patrick Grimley added 8 points and five assists.
JR Gilchrist drained a three-pointer late in the game and the student section was pumped up for the senior.
In their final regular season game, the Raiders scored a season-high point total in an 84-55 victory over Williamstown High School.
Everyone got involved as LaBarre and Grimley each scored 18 points in the game. Segich added another 26 points to lead all scorers. Guards Ben McGonigle and Dylan Schlatter kept the offense moving with each of them having more than five assists.
Ocean City scored 160 points between both games yet only made five three-point shots. Schlatter and Segich can get hot from beyond the arc, but they do not need to rely on it to put up massive point totals.
When they get into a rhythm the Raiders are nearly impossible to stop. Ocean City will enter the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament as the number two seed with a 19-2 record. The first game will be Feb. 7 in Ocean City against the winner of Oakcrest versus Holy Spirit. Game time is 6 pm.
A Raider victory would have them host a quarterfinal game against either Absegami or St. Joseph on Feb. 10.
The Raiders lost only two games all season, however both times they lost to Middle Township High School. The Panthers are the number one seed in the CAL tournament and the two schools are on a collision course to meet for the third time in the finals.
Ocean City lost the first game 50-44 and the second game 71-63 — two close losses that will be important to build from if the two teams meet once again with everything on the line.
Early in the first quarter against Cedar Creek, the Raiders were down 6-0 after two turnovers.
But the Raiders went on a wild 36-8 scoring run to give themselves a commanding 36-14 lead midway through the second quarter.
Segich had 18 first-half points and put the game out of reach by halftime.
Another dominant quarter by the Raiders sealed the blowout victory. Thanks to the eight straight Segich points, they outscored Cedar Creek 26-6 in the third quarter.
Against Williamstown, the Raiders came out explosive. They jumped out to a massive 27-10 lead after only one quarter of play.
Williamstown fought back in the second quarter and outscored Ocean City by three, but still faced a 46-32 deficit.
The high-powered Raider offense left no doubt after halftime. They scored a season-high 32 points in the third quarter to bury Williamstown. In both games, the Raiders extended their lead by passing the ball and being patient. Continuous drives to the basket wore opposing teams out and are more efficient than shooting three-pointers.
The season is only getting started as right after the CAL tournament will be the NJSIAA South Jersey playoffs for the Raiders. A long February awaits the team to finish its impressive season.
