Red Raiders lean on experience to top Wildwood Catholic
OCEAN CITY — Basketball has finally returned to Ocean City.
The Red Raiders boys basketball team opened its 2023 season Dec. 14 at home with a 66-61 victory over the Wildwood Catholic Crusaders.
After the Crusaders erased a double-digit deficit in the second half, the Raiders rallied to hold onto the win.
Seniors Kori Segich and Dylan Schlatter led the way for the Raiders as they scored 21 and 20 points, respectively. Segich scored 16 points in the first half to give his team the early lead, while Schlatter made clutch shots to put the game away.
This year’s Raider team is full of experience, as four of the five starters are seniors. Charlie LaBarre and Patrick Grimley combined for 23 points and had key steals on defense to keep the pressure on the Crusaders.
The lone junior in the starting lineup, Ben McGonigle, served as the primary ball-handler. He was charged with keeping the offense in rhythm and distributing the ball to his teammates.
Ocean City followed the win up with another victory over Holy Spirit, 56-36, on Dec. 17. Then they took a quick road trip before the holiday break by traveling to St. Augustine Prep on Dec. 18.
The Red Raiders next game is set for Dec. 10 and St. Joseph of Hammonton.
Led by John Bruno in his 35th season as the Raiders’ head coach, the team took its first step in a long journey toward the NJSIAA South Jersey championship that eluded them last year.
Grimley opened the game against Wildwood Catholic with three baskets and forced a turnover to help Ocean City build a 19-13 lead in the first quarter.
A quick 5-0 run by the Crusaders opened the second quarter. It was the first of a couple of scoring runs the Raiders would give up throughout the game. However, they would respond quickly by going on a 10-0 run.
LaBarre started it by outrunning the defense in transition and finding an open Schlatter for an easy two points. Schlatter later intercepted a pass and sprinted down the court to give the Raiders a 29-18 lead midway through the second quarter.
The whole team showed off their speed and aggressiveness before halftime. Segich was dominant under the basket with offensive rebounds. He put an exclamation point on the first half by draining a three-pointer and making both of his free throws in the period.
Down 36-25 at half, Wildwood Catholic came out of the break on fire. The Crusaders had two quick three pointers to keep the score within reach.
But the Raiders were excellent all game at keeping up with the Crusaders when they got hot. Schlatter scored six points during the run thanks to a great shot he made while spinning in the air around a defender.
Ocean City was outscored by five in the third quarter but were still holding onto a 46-40 lead entering the final stanza.
After trailing the entire game, Alex Daniel and the Crusaders made one last push and took their first lead of the game at 47-46. He drew a foul on the go-ahead layup for a three-point play that gave Wildwood Catholic life.
The Raiders’ experience was huge as they led by as many as 11 and did not flinch once their lead had evaporated.
Schlatter tied the game at 52-52 with a wide-open three-pointer to the delight of the home crowd. McGonigle would pile on by getting a huge rebound and passing the ball to LaBarre for a three-point play. That brought the score to 59-54 with only 2 minutes left.
Those two players have big shoes to fill as they are tasked with replacing Omero Chevere and Sean Sakers, who graduated and combined for nearly 500 points last season.
Ocean City was in the bonus late in the fourth quarter and traded free throw attempts to win the game 66-61.
A dominant early game turned into a close battle for the Raiders’ first game. While it was not a glamorous win, they showed resolve and fought against any adversity that was put in front of them.
The Raiders’ next home game is Saturday Dec. 23 versus Cape May Tech. Game time is 11 a.m.
By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
