Raiders and Mustangs get seedings for boys and girls CAL basketball tournament
OCEAN CITY – Fighting for the top spot in the Cape-Atlantic League boys basketball standings, the Ocean City Red Raiders staged a furious comeback to push the Middle Township Panthers to the limit.
Middle Township High School (12-8) built a commanding 23-point lead in the first half and looked ready to cruise to a win, but Ocean City High School eventually climbed back in the game and cut the lead to only four points.
Luke Tjoumakaris led the Raiders’ push with 18-points, but Middle Township managed to hold on to win 56-49 on Feb. 5.
Kyle Mick and Alex Daniel led the Panthers with 15 points each and were devastating from long range.
The sophomore Mick caught fire from beyond the arc and hit five three-pointers including two straight in the first minute to set the pace of the game. Daniel got to work underneath the basket with put-back scores and more importantly, secured defensive rebounds to limit Ocean City’s offense to only one shot a possession.
The Raiders had to fight an uphill battle after Daniel and the Panthers’ defense slowed down their offense. Ocean City scored only 11 points in the entire first half, which is its lowest offensive output since the first game against Middle Township back on Jan. 6.
Ocean City needed an almost perfect second half to get back into the game after going into the locker room down 28-11. The Raiders, however, signed up to play the whole game and did not go down quietly.
Tjoumakaris and the offense found much more success in the second half once they got back to attacking the rim. Along with Josh Lenko, the duo made 13 shots from the floor all within the paint or just outside of it. Alec Bell sprinkled in two three-pointers in the middle of the run to keep the Panthers’ defense honest.
The fast-paced offensive scheme led the Raiders on a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to get within eight points. Once the Raiders got within striking distance, the energy in the gym came back in full force as the team looked for the final push.
The pressure and noise seemed to affect some of the Panthers as they only made two of their last six free throws in crunch time. Tjoumakaris scored with just under 40 seconds left to bring it to 53-49. After two missed free throws by the Panthers, the comeback came to a halt after a Raider turnover was converted into an open layup to seal the game.
The Panthers and Raiders came into the game as the presumed number one and two seeds in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament, respectively. The first game between the teams was a 44-34 Panther win and was the first loss of the season for Ocean City, who were 6-0 going into the game.
Ocean City could get one more shot at Middle Township if both teams advance to the final round of the CAL Tournament.
With the win the Panthers kept the one seed with an 11-1 conference record while Ocean City secured the two seed with a 9-3 conference record.
The loss snapped Ocean City’s seven-game winning streak and dropped its overall record to a still impressive 17-4 entering the final stretch of the season before the playoffs.
Ocean City’s first game of the tournament will be held at home Feb. 11 against either Absegami or Atlantic Tech. With a win, the Raiders will advance and play two days later on Feb. 13 against either Cedar Creek or a third matchup against Mainland. The Raiders have defeated Mainland twice this season.
In South Jersey Group III, Ocean City is in a battle near the top for Power Points for the sectional tournament. The Red Raiders are currently third with 28.473, just behind No. 2 Shawnee (14-6) with 28.897. Deptford (18-4) is at No. 1 with 30.823. Mainland (7-13) is on the bubble at No. 16.
There is still time for change with basketball seedings not scheduled until Feb. 17 and competition beginning Feb. 25.
Girls standings
and seedings
The Mainland girls earned the No. 4 seed in the CAL tournament with a 15-7 record (6-5 in the American Division). Ocean City is the No. 9 seed with a 11-9 record (8-3 in the National Division. Both teams have a first-round bye.
Mainland will host the winner of No. 13 Millville vs. No. 20 Buena.
Ocean City will play at No. 8 Atlantic City. Both games are Feb. 11.
The Vikings beat Ocean City twice so far this season in close games, 55-52 on Jan. 14 and 57-54 on Feb. 2.
In South Jersey Group III, the Mustangs are ranked No. 2 with 30.333 points behind No. 1 Cherry Hill West (13-5) with 30.668. Moorestown (1208) is No. 3, Shawnee (13-10) No. 4 and Hammonton (18-2) No. 5. Ocean City is sitting in 11th.
The Red Raider girls are the only team in the CAL to beat Hammonton. After barely losing their first matchup 56-55 Jan. 16, Ocean City beat the Blue Devils 60-47 on Feb. 4. It was Hammonton’s first loss of the season.
– By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
