Ocean City boys beat Delsea 51-33 in sectional basketball final in front of Raider Nation fans
OCEAN CITY – Last season, Dean Lappin helped the Ocean City Red Raiders win the South Jersey championship while awaiting his turn in the spotlight.
One season later, Lappin and the Red Raiders are back-to-back champions after he took over this year’s title game.
Lappin conducted the highly efficient Raider offense towards their second straight South Jersey Group III title with a 51-33 win over Delsea High School on Saturday, March 7. He scored 14 points and added three assists and four steals to earn the right to lift the trophy with his teammates.
“It’s amazing to go back-to-back,” Lappin said. “It’s a feel-good moment. I could not ask for better boys to have. To do it in our senior year is amazing. We put in the work in the offseason and just were on the same page.”
“It feels great to win a South Jersey title especially after losing the (Cape-Atlantic League championship) in a tight game,” senior Alec Bell said. “We won last year and I do not really have many words to explain this moment.”
The Raiders seized control of the game in the second quarter and played nearly perfectly on both sides of the court. Ocean City trailed 17-11 with 6:20 remaining in the half but turned the tide after Luke Tjoumakaris stood tall and took a charge on defense.
Ocean City’s defense stepped up and shut out Delsea for the remainder of the second quarter. Lappin and Tjoumakaris brought the energy from that side of the court to the other and scored 13 unanswered points to go into the lockerroom at halftime up 24-17.
“Everything we told them to do for us to win, they did,” Ocean City head coach John Bruno said. “They did it on the offensive end. They did it on the defensive end. They did exactly what we wanted them to do.
“I think as a coach if you didn’t win the game, but your team did everything you had to do to win, you walk away,” Bruno said. “It makes it sweeter when you win doing exactly what you wanted to do.”
The offensive duo of Lappin and Tjoumakaris combined for 10 points in the run with Lappin assisting his teammate twice under the basket. Bell capped off the run with a three-pointer to send the already hyped-up home crowd further into chaos.
“Dean Lappin played the game of his life controlling the tempo of the game,” Bruno said. “We wanted to play fast and have them run up and down the court. He did exactly what we wanted him to do.”
Tjoumakaris finished with a game-high 16 points and was a big beneficiary of the quick-paced offense that let him get easier layups at the rim.
“So many things have to go right to be put in this position to win and thanks to our teammates I can trust them that they are going to play their roles,” Tjoumakaris said. “Without a single doubt in my mind I know I can trust them. Dean knew his assignment of controlling the game and did it perfectly. Josh (Lenko) guarding the big guy was absolutely amazing and couldn’t have done it any better.”
Lenko drew literally the biggest assignment of the game for Ocean City, which was guarding 6’7” center Luke Van Auken.
Van Auken demanded the Raiders’ attention after he averaged 20 points and 14 rebounds in Delsea’s three playoff games so far this season.
Lenko battled Van Auken underneath the basket the entire game and kept him contained while Ocean City went on its big run to close the first half. The Raiders’ defensive game plan on Van Auken worked, limiting him to 13 points and five rebounds.
“Last year we have a good team and we were saying the expectations are still the same, no matter who’s on this team,” Lenko said. “We were just going to fight to get back to where we were last year.”
Chris Pontari and Tighe Olek were crucial players on defense stopping Delsea’s outside shooting once its close-range game with Van Auken slowed down.
“I can’t put it into words, winning this twice with my boys,” Olek said. “I’m just excited right now and I just can’t wait. The job’s not done. We’re not done yet.”
“We were just made for this,” Pontari said. “This is what we do.”
Ocean City built upon its lead throughout the second half and managed to keep Delsea at bay. Lenko scored 8 points after he hit his second three-pointer of the game and watched as Tjoumakaris rebounded and put back one of his free throw attempts over Van Auken in the paint late in the game.
With the outcome secure, both teams gave their benches a chance in the last minute. Liam Zintner scored the final bucket on a jump shot for the Red Raiders.
“It felt great,” Zintner said, exuberant like his teammates in the locker room after the game. “I’ve been waiting for that all season.”
Asked about Ocean City basketball’s two consecutive South Jersey titles, Bruno said, “It’s not even on my radar to understand what that really means because I am so used to seeing the other guys. I just like to live in the moment that we are in now. I am happy for these kids here because this is a memory that will last a lifetime whether you win or lose. You win and it’s even better.”
Ocean City got to celebrate with the home crowd and Raider Nation where a lot of winning happened this season. Out of their four playoff home games, only their quarterfinal matchup against Winslow High School was decided by fewer than 18 points. Ocean City took down Winslow 50-48 in overtime behind a game-winning shot by Olek.
“It’s really special to win this here and I love playing here in front of my family and friends,” Tjoumakaris said. “Our student section Raider Nation is the best in South Jersey and we love playing in front of them. We do it all for each other and our friends and it’s really cool to have that support.”
“It was awesome in there,” Bell said. “Last year I took it all in as a junior but now as a senior the atmosphere was amazing and I am going to miss that. Hopefully we make the state championship so we can continue that atmosphere longer.”
Ocean City was the No. 3 seed in the sectional tournament; Delsea was No. 4.
With the sectional title in hand the Raiders earned themselves another game in the Group III tournament. The semifinals will pit Ocean City (24-6) against the Central Jersey champion Westampton Tech (23-8) on Wednesday, March 11. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at a neutral site at Central Regional High School.
In the other state semifinal, Colonia (20-10) takes on Montville (23-5).
The winners will advance to the state championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at Rutgers University.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
