With no playoffs, practice intensity falls, but that returns when game time comes
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE – Because of the unusual, shortened season without playoffs, a type of senioritis is setting in amongst the players. The boys aren’t as motivated in practice knowing there is no culmination to the season with a shot at playoffs or other tournaments.
However, when the game begins, the senioritis disappears and the Red Raiders play with all the intensity, a fact that was obvious Saturday afternoon as they easily defeated Cape May County Technical School on the Hawks’ home court, 76-40.
The Ocean City boys shook off the rust from two weeks’ worth of games canceled due to COVID-19 and routed Tech, building up an insurmountable lead in the first half of the game.
The Red Raiders outscored the Hawks 21-8 in the first quarter and 22-11 in the second quarter.
Coach John Bruno used the occasion to give his bench a lot of playing time and they kept the trend going, leading 15-8 in the third quarter and with an 18-13 edge in the fourth quarter for the 36-point game differential.
Senior Gannon Brady led the Red Raiders with 16 points and junior Tom Finnegan added 13, but in all, a dozen different players scored.
Coming back after a two-week layoff was not good, Bruno said.
“They’re great kids, they work very hard, but they had a sense it was done. They sat out for so long and we knew the games were going to be coming in sequence. That we weren’t building up to anything. So it was hard,” he said.
“What I had confidence in is that when they come to play, it’s time to play. And every single one of them when the ball goes up, they want to play,” he said.
The coach noted it’s the practices that are getting harder.
“They see the end of the year and there’s no playoffs. We’re not gearing up to play (anything except) our last game,” he said. That is like the years when the team doesn’t make the playoffs, which aren’t taking place this year in any form because of pandemic restrictions and concerns.
Even when there aren’t playoffs, at least the team is building to the following year.
“Well, most of my guys playing are seniors. There is no next year. There are no playoffs,” Bruno said. “So it’s just another game and it’s hard to get that into their head.
“It’s like a senior in May. It’s not over, but mentally they kind of checked out.”
The good aspect is that during games, they’re leaving everything on the court. The boys started out fired up Saturday and never pumped the brakes.
“When they come to play, that they still do,” Bruno said, “and I can’t say enough about that. Tommy Finnegan is going to have shoulder surgery so I tried to leave him out there as long as I could. This is his last game this year anyway. We’ll see how that goes.”
The coach said he needs his players coming off the bench “to step up a little bit.” They did.
“What I was really pleased about was how the guys who play every day were cheering on the guys who came in late and maybe don’t get as many chances to play.”
He said the victory over Tech was ”a good win to have. We got everybody into the game. It’s not often you can do that, and they all played hard.”
Conor Muskett was one of the players who got a lot of time in Saturday’s game and he made the most of it, including a steal leading to a free throw after a foul and a pair of three-point shots during his 11-point performance.
Brady Rauner had 7 points for the Red Raiders, Brendan Schlatter had 5 and Will Drain and Joe Repetti had 4 each.
Ben Hoag, Liam Alling and Brett Grodziak had 4 each, Collin Reid had 3, and Jake Schneider had 2.
For the Hawks, Dylan Delvecchio led his team with 19 points, Patrick Bean had 8, Jon Torres had 7, and Judah Thomas, Luke Basile and Adam Dille each had 2.
Coach Bruno said the season as a whole is “weird.”
“It’s hard to describe going through it. When it’s over I’ll look back and it won’t feel like a season to me either,” he said. “If there was such as thing as the preseason, that’s what it would seem like. That the season hasn’t started yet. We’re doing this to get ready for the season.
Mentally sometimes that can affect you.
“All in all,” he said, “the kids played hard, the kids played well. They played together. Not playing for two weeks, I think it was OK.”
Ocean City has a 6-1 record with its only loss coming to Lower Cape May early in the season. The Red Raiders lead the East Division of the Cape-Atlantic League. Atlantic City also has a 6-1 record. Ocean City gave the Vikings their only loss.
The Red Raiders were hosting Mainland Regional Monday evening, and will host Middle Township at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. They are at Lower Cape May at 5:30 p.m. Friday.