WILDWOOD – The Caper Tigers stayed close to their Middle Township rivals during the final game of the Boardwalk Basketball Classic at the Wildwood Convention Center Dec. 31, but couldn’t prevent the Panthers from pulling away in the end.
The Lower Cape May Regional boys had narrowed the gap to five points, 36-31, with just more than five minutes to play, one of the various times they clawed their way back from a larger deficit, but Middle’s consistent pressure was enough for the Panthers to win by 10 in the end, 46-36.
Jamir McNeil led Middle with 15 points. Chase Moore and Amir Elston added 13 and 10, respectively. Mason Murawski hit an early pair of threes in the game.
The Panthers applied full-court pressure the entire game. The Tigers were able to get past that throughout, but both teams committed a number of turnovers. Midway through the third quarter, LCMR was able to get within a point, 24-23, but Middle was able to go a run to end the quarter up by nine points.
For the Tigers, only Ty Bonner made it to double figures, scoring 18 points, including a pair of threes. John Fernandez had eight and Cole Sederland and Brayden Melo had five each.
The LCMR boys played four games over the course of the Boardwalk Basketball Classic, billed as the nation’s coed high school basketball tournament in the nation. It raises money for college scholarships for the two teams that are the hosts, Wildwood and Wildwood Catholic Academy.
The tournament was Dec. 22-23 and Dec. 26-31, featuring 35 boys games and 39 girls games, many played simultaneously on adjacent courts in the massive Convention Center.
The Caper Tigers opened their run against Wildwood Catholic Academy Dec. 22, falling 48-35. Bonner had 20 points in that game with Ryan Mallon adding six, Mason Cronin four, Sederland three and Fernandez two.
They had huge offensive production in their second game, a 71-40 victory over Cumberland Dec. 23.
Bonner scored a team-high 27 points with Cronin and Mallon pouring in 14 each. Fernandez made double digits with 11 points, Sederland added three and Cooper Milligand and Chris Hawes had one each.
The closest game for LCMR was a battle with Fair Lawn Dec. 28. That came down to a 42-40 final.
The Tigers led 12-6 after the first quarter and 26-17 at the half. Fair Lawn cut into LCMR’s lead in the third quarter with a 14-8 run, but the Tigers were still ahead 34-31 heading into the final stanza. Production was low for both teams, but LCMR only managed six points; Fair Lawn’s 11 was enough for the 42-40 win. Cronin and Mallon had 12 points each in the loss with Bonner adding 10 and Fernandez six.
The boys opened their season with a 62-30 win over Atlantic Tech, but followed that with a narrow 63-57 los to Cedar Creek before the Wildwood tournament.
Head coach Scott Holden said the tight rims at the Boardwalk Basketball Tournament weren’t doing his team any favors, but he didn’t blame that for the team’s losses.
“It’s not because of the shooting. It’s because we’re still making mistakes,” Holden said. “We have to fix them.”
He noted the team was missing Cronin, one of the team’s top scorers, for the game against the Panthers. He would have added some height going up against Middle’s taller lineup. “He’s our only kid who is 6’2” or taller,” the coach said.
Bonner was the team’s second leading scorer last season and is easily leading the Tigers again this season, but Cronin said he needs everyone to contribute. Holden said Bonner is playing in a new position as point guard and he cited Mallon, “who has done a phenomenal job considering he didn’t at all last year.”
“I feel like with a couple of things different, we could be 4-2, but we have a tough little conference,” Holden said. ”I don’t want to take anyone for granted.”
Adding that the players and coaches will be working hard in practice, he said, “We’ve just got to get better.”
The Caper Tigers, 2-4 heading into the new year, returned to action Tuesday evening at Egg Harbor Township High School after the Star and Wave went to press. They will host Atlantic City at 7 p.m. Thursday and then travel to Ocean City for a game at 2 p.m. Saturday.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Star and Wave staff
