Mustang boys basketball win first two games, set to take on Ocean City
LINWOOD — The Mainland Regional High School boys basketball team put on a show to advance in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament, winning their first two games of the tournament to set up a meeting with cross-bay rival Ocean City in the semifinals Feb 14.
Cohen Cook dropped a season-high 37 points in the Mustangs’ 63-47 first-round victory over Bridgeton High School on Feb 7. The senior took the game over with 16 fourth-quarter points.
He fueled a 23-7 run to end the game for Mainland after Bridgeton tied it at 40 all in the third quarter. Jameel Purnell led Bridgeton with a double-double, as he scored 24 points and added 13 rebounds in the comeback attempt.
The Mustangs never trailed in the game but were able to distance themselves with their defense only once the game got close. Jamie Tyson drew four charges on defense, which slowed Bridgeton from gaining momentum.
“We started to make it tough on them to enter the ball where they wanted to,” Mainland head coach Dan Williams said. “Made it tougher to get the ball to number 2 (Purnell), who had a great game. Of course, there was also the Cohen factor.”
Mainland’s next game was in the quarterfinals against Lower Cape May Regional High School. Tyson and the Mustangs pulled away in the second half and won 66-51 on Feb. 9. The senior was everywhere on the court as he scored 22 points and nearly had a double-double with eight assists. He also forced multiple turnovers on the defense.
After a back-and-forth battle, the Mustangs outscored Lower 24-15 in the fourth quarter to leave no doubt and end the game with a 15-point victory. Cook was on the receiving end of Tyson’s assists as he finished the game with 17 points.
In the semifinals, Mainland will travel to Millville High School for a neutral site game against the Ocean City Red Raiders. In their only meeting this season, the Raiders edged out the Mustangs 59-52. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.
The game will be a rematch of last season when the Mustangs eliminated their rival in the quarterfinals of the CAL Tournament.
The victor of this year’s matchup will move on to the tournament championship Feb. 17 at Egg Harbor Township High School. Their potential opponents are top seed Middle Township or fourth seed Atlantic City.
Mainland has won both of its tournament games in a similar fashion. In each game the score was close before the Mustangs put everything together in a fourth-quarter run to pull away.
Against Bridgeton, Tim Travagline started hot with two three-point shots in the first quarter. He was coming off a victory in Atlantic City in which he surpassed 1,000 career points as a Mustang.
Purnell made himself known early as a problem the Mustangs had to contain. Even with the hot start from Travagline, the Mustangs were up only 17-14 after the first quarter. Purnell hauled in multiple key rebounds in the first half before taking it upon himself to score.
Mustang Rocco DeBiaso matched Purnell’s aggressiveness under the basket. He scored the first points of the second quarter after hauling in four consecutive offensive rebounds.
Cook scored the final two buckets for the Mustangs as time was expiring before halftime. They seemed to be pulling away from Bridgeton unit Purnell hit a near half-court three-pointer to give his team something to cheer about only down 34-29 at half.
That final shot shifted the momentum over to Bridgeton as the Bulldogs opened the third quarter on an 11-6 run and tied the game at 40. Mainland was not converting on offense, which led to fast buckets for Bridgeton.
A quick two points by Cook to break the tie started a game-changing sequence to end the third quarter. Tyson drew his third charge of the game and on the next defensive possession blocked Purnell’s shot to hold onto the small lead.
Stephen Ordille had the biggest shot of the day as he drained a three-pointer, bringing the entire bench to its feet.
Another drawn charge by Tyson ended the third quarter with the Mustangs on top 45-40.
“If there was a shot of the game then that was the shot of the game,” Williams said. “We were in the midst of not making several baskets in a row and they were able to get out in transition to get some cleaner looks.”
Cook made sure the lead was solid with 15 straight Mustang points to start the fourth quarter. He scored in every way imaginable during the stretch. After he missed two free throws, he got his own rebound from the miss and made a layup to get the two points anyway.
He made a three-pointer of his own and had Keaton Loewenstern throw a deep pass down the court for an easy layup.
Bridgeton was held in check with better defense on inbounds by Mainland and some full-court pressure that slowed down Bridgeton substantially.
Mainland is going to need repeat performances the rest of the postseason as competition only gets tougher. After the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament, they will play in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III playoffs.
By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
