OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Red Raiders turned a slow start into a 73-point offensive explosion in their Senior Night game against Wildwood High School.
Ocean City buried Wildwood with 12 three-pointers and cruised to a 73-40 win on Feb. 8. It was Ocean City’s highest-scoring game of the season and second-largest margin of victory.
Josh Lenko led the charge with 25 points and was unstoppable in the first half. The sophomore scored 21 points in the first half and was the main architect of a 20-2 Ocean City run in the second quarter. He was repeatedly fed the ball under the basket for easy layups but also got hot from beyond the arc with three triples to keep Wildwood guessing on defense.
Lenko helped get the Raiders off to a blazing start to Senior Night after the first minute of the game saw two injuries to key players. Seniors Zio Wright and Ben McGonigle had their nights cut short as both players left the game with apparent leg injuries.
Wright exited after the first possession of the game when a Wildwood player, who was called for a charge, ran into him near the basket. McGonigle had to be subbed out after a hard fall only a minute later. Both players’ statuses for the upcoming Cape-Atlantic League Tournament have yet to be determined.
McGonigle has averaged 15 points per game this season and came off back-to-back 20-point performances in his last two games.
Down their leader and floor general after the first minute of play, the Raiders turned to Dean Lappin to fill in for McGonigle. Lappin was in full control of the offense throughout the game with his sharp passing and assisted Lenko on five of his buckets in the first half.
Ocean City did not rest on the 31-14 halftime lead Lenko helped build and continued to push Wildwood’s defense to its limit. Despite their aggressiveness on offense, the Raiders rarely rushed a possession and always made an extra pass that got another teammate open.
Up by 19 points, Ocean City landed the finishing blow with four straight possessions that ended in a Raider three-pointer. Jack Porter was one of the seniors honored before the game and made all three of his triples in the third quarter.
Sharpshooter Leon Brown got involved and had three treys of his own while totaling 11 points. He now leads the Raiders in three-pointers for the season as one of the best long-range shooters on the team.
Ocean City came out of the quarter with a commanding 54-21 lead. The whole Raider team had a hand in the offensive explosion after the slow start. Lappin distributed the ball throughout the team while offensive threats Lenko and Brown picked up the slack that was created by McGonigle and Wright’s absences. Junior Chris Pontari closed out the game for the Raiders with an efficient nine points in the final frame.
The Raiders’ 15-5 record this season earned them the number four seed in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament that starts this week on Feb. 12. Ocean City’s first opponent will be against the winner of Buena High School versus Mainland Regional.
Ocean City has had great success against the rival Mainland Mustangs this season, winning both games by double digits, including a 55-37 win at Mainland on Feb. 3.
With a win, Ocean City would advance to the quarterfinals for another home game, likely against No. 5 seed Wildwood Catholic Academy. The two teams split the season series with the road team winning both matchups. The quarterfinals would take place on Feb. 14.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
