OCEAN CITY – A couple of big scoring runs by the Ocean City Red Raiders were the difference as they handed the Lower Cape May Regional Caper Tigers their first loss in conference play on Saturday, Jan. 11.
Luke Tjoumakaris scored 21 points for the Raiders, including the first eight points of the game as Ocean City High School took down Lower Cape May Regional 67-55. Sophomore Ryan Mallon led the Caper Tigers with 17 points for his highest tally of the season.
Tjoumakaris put Ocean City in the driver’s seat from the jump. The 6’4” junior scored eight unanswered points to start the game through his ability under the rim. He hauled in offensive rebounds throughout the night for easy put-back shots and also showed off his footwork driving to the basket.
Brayden Melo put an end to the 8-0 Raider run with a three-pointer to get the Caper Tigers on track, but the damage was already done. Mallon and the Caper Tigers fought back and traded buckets with Ocean City for the remainder of the first half. The duo of Melo and Mallon combined for 12 points in the second quarter. Mallon made a great shot while falling as the second quarter expired to cut the Ocean City lead to seven points.
Ocean City’s defense spent the whole game on top of Lower’s leading scorer this season – Ty Bonner. The junior averaged 18 points per game in the Caper Tigers’ first eight games but was held to only four against the Raiders. Bonner has been excellent all season long in scoring and setting up teammates like Mallon with open shots, but the Raiders were prepared for a lot of what was thrown at them.
Ocean City led by as many as 15 points in the first half but could not shake off Lower until late in the third quarter, when senior Ben McGonigle led the Raiders on another long scoring run.
After Lower cut the lead to 32-25, the Raiders’ offense pressed on the gas and went on another 8-0 run. McGonigle had six straight for Ocean City that included a steal that he converted into points while outnumbered two to one in the half court.
McGonigle finished the game with 17 points. He has reached double figures in each of Ocean City’s first 10 games. Tjoumakaris’s emergence as a strong offensive option alongside Josh Lenko has made McGonigle’s job much easier as a scorer and facilitator.
The fourth quarter was controlled by Ocean City’s lack of critical mistakes on offense that never left the door open for Lower to mount a comeback.
With the win the Raiders improved to 9-1 so far this season behind strong performances by many members of the team.
After a couple of close losses in the Boardwalk Classic to end December, the Caper Tigers (4-5) bounced back and won two of their last three games. Before the game against Ocean City, Lower held off a fourth-quarter surge by Atlantic City High School and picked up a 49-48 win on Jan. 9. Bonner led the team with 14 points followed by John Fernandez with 13 points. On Jan. 3, the Cape Tigers downed Holy Spirit 56-33.
Lower’s next game will be on the road against Hammonton High School (3-5) on Jan. 15. Game time is 5:30 p.m. Two days later the Caper Tigers will host Bridgeton High School (6-4) at home at 7 p.m. Jan. 17. Those are two notable Cape-Atlantic League games for the Caper Tigers as the conference tournament is a little less than a month away.
Ocean City has two big games ahead with the first coming on Jan. 17 against St. Joseph Academy at home. St. Joseph’s record is also 9-1 and is currently tied with Ocean City for the Cape-Atlantic League lead. Game time is 6 p.m.
The next day Ocean City will host the rival Mainland Mustangs on Jan. 18 in a rematch of last season’s South Jersey Group III sectional championship that went to triple overtime. It will be Ocean City’s first of two games against Mainland, which has been struggling this season after graduating its starting lineup from last year’s sectional championship team. The tip-off from Ocean City is set for 6 p.m. right after the game between Ocean City and Mainland’s girls basketball teams that begins at 4:30 p.m.
– STORY and PHOTO by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel