It’s only the second loss of the season for Ocean City; Mainland up next
OCEAN CITY – The Red Raiders had won their last four games by an average of 26 points but were put to the test against the Holy Spirit Spartans.
Despite a late push by Ocean City High School, the Raiders eventually fell to Holy Spirit High School 53-47 on Saturday, Jan. 17. The Spartans wrestled the lead away from Ocean City after halftime and held on until the very end.
Down by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter, Tighe Olek provided the spark Ocean City needed with seven points, including a three-pointer to pull the Raiders within three. Olek also fed the ball to the team’s leading scorer Luke Tjoumakaris in the final period as he put up 19 points.
A quick layup by the Spartans brought the score back to a two-possession game at 49-44 which forced more Raider three-point attempts with only 30 seconds left.
Senior Alec Bell did not get many chances to score but with the game on the line he drained a three-pointer to cap off a 12-4 Ocean City run and cut the lead to only two.
Ocean City usually does not force many three-pointer attempts per game but delivered when it needed them most.
With only a handful of seconds left on the clock, the Raiders had to foul and hope for at least one missed free throw to keep their hopes alive.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, they had to rely on Jordan Gonzalez missing his free throws. Gonzalez had been a force all day long as he scored 20 points in the game with his last two being the most important. He did not succumb to the pressure and made both of his free throws to end the game.
The game started to turn against Ocean City in the third quarter, when Holy Spirit’s Kevin Brewster took control of the court on his own. Brewster scored nine straight points for the Spartans and gave them their first lead since the scoreboard read 11-10 in the first quarter.
Once the clock hit zero the Raiders recorded their second loss of the season after a great 10-1 start.
Both the Raiders (10-2) and Spartans (9-4) came into the game with momentum with Holy Spirit winning seven of its last eight games.
Each team has won in each other’s home courts this season after Ocean City beat Holy Spirit 49-34 in the first game of the year. A rematch to break the 1-1 season series tie could happen down the line in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament in early February.
Earlier in the week, Ocean City beat Atlantic City 64-39 and on Friday topped Wildwood Catholic 58-38. In the latter game, Tjoumakaris led Ocean City with 20 points and Chris Pontari added 16. Tjoumakaris also was the high scorer against Atlantic City with 18 points. Josh Lenko had 17.
Before the Raiders can think about the CAL Tourney they will host the Mainland Mustangs in a classic rivalry matchup on Jan. 22. Ocean City won the first game against Mainland this season 52-40 before the New Year on Dec. 22 behind solid games from Lenko and Tjoumakaris. Mainland (5-8) features its own dynamic duo of Dallas Rowell and Sean Burke, who have been devastating for Mainland all season long. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
– By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel