Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 146

ASBURY PARK SUNDAY PRESS MARCH 21, 1999 PAGE HIS To Report Scholastic Scores Call 1-800-822-9770 Ext. 4400, 4422 NJSIAA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS MENDHAM 71, EAST BRUNSWICK 40 GIRLS SEMIFINALS ST. JOHN VIANNEY 73, EWING 47 Lancers earn their rematch A 1 1 extra Mendham beats East Brunswick Vianney beats Ewing for shot at Mendham By DAN EISNER STAFF WRITER ELIZABETH It looked like it would be a great matchup. Second-seeded Mendham, the Group champion, had proven its ability by incurring only one loss this season, to national power Christ the King. East Brunswick, the Group IV champ, was on a tear.

Yet the final score of the Tournament of Champions girls basketball semifinal didn't come close to what could have been predicted: Mendham 71, East Brunswick 40. Mendham, the defending champ, faces St John Vianney in the championship game at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Louis Brown Athletic Center of Rutgers University. The Lady Minutemen essentially did what they wanted, taking East Brunswick out of its game. Although Mendham played a 1-3-1 zone, a defense that the Bears have recently devoured, East Brunswick (28-4) could not sink a three-pointer, shooting 4-for-21 from beyond the arc.

"They (Mendham) are probably the best at hedging and getting in the passing lanes," East Brunswick coach Reggie Carney said. 'They're the only team we've played whose defense is predicated on the passing lanes." Mendham (29-1) switched between the zone and man-to-man early, but settled on its zone, and shut down the Bears' offense. When East Brunswick attempted to press, Mendham would break it without a problem, usually getting a layup. So the Bears settled into a half-court defense, which Mendham tore to shreds, shooting 27-for-47 (57 percent) from the field, including 15-for-25 in the first half. Kelly Suminski and Molly Creamer led Mendham with 28 and 20 points, respectively.

Creamer also had eight assists. Mendham, which outrebounded the Bears 34-22, connected on several second-shot opportunities. EAST BRUNSWICK (40): Olszewski 2-(2)-O-10, Whalen 4-(2MM4. O'Neill 1-0-2. Kohler 3-1-7, Firestone 1-0-2, Sucho-wieckl 0-3-3, Kirby 1-0-2, Genovese 0-0-0.

Fisher 0-0-0, Balogh 0- 0-0. Totals: 12-(4)-4-40. MENDHAM (71): Suminski 104-28. Creamer 7-(l)-3-20, Keber 1- 0-2, Holloway OO-O, McCann 5-2-12, Keith 2-1-5, Wadleigh 1-0-2. Koch 0-2-2 Totals: 26-(l)-16-71.

East Brunswick (28-4) 10 817 5 40 Mendham (29-1) 12 21 17 21 71 By NEIL SCHUMAN STAFF WRITER ELIZABETH First impressions can be very deceiving when watching the St John Vianney girls basketball team. When the Lancers begin to appear to be in the midst of a pedestrian effort, the turmoil they create defensively begins to take a toll And a glance at the scoreboard shows that they've built an insurmountable lead. Yesterday at the Dunn Sports Center, the Lancers used a 29-point second quarter to put a game Ewing team in their rearview mirror as they coasted to a 73-47 Tournament of Champions semifinal victory. Vianney showed again that even when it wins ugly, it can win big. At 6 p.m.

Tuesday, the Lancers (28-2) meet Mendham at the Louis Brown Athletic Center of Rutgers University in the championship game. The Lady Minutemen, who beat the Lancers in a semifinal in last year's tournament, advanced to the final with a 71-40 victory over East Brunswick yesterday. Again Vianney's seniors set the tone. Regan Apo had team highs in scoring shooting 8-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line for 19 points and rebounding with six. Apo also had three assists and four steals.

Classmate Sandi Haefher added 12 points. "This time of year, you have to have your game face on," Apo said. "If you don't, you're going home and I'm not ready to go home. Now's when you have to let everything out You can't hold anything back anymore." "With our style of play, sometimes the" game is going to get ugly," said Lancers coach Brad Hagensen. "But our seniors did a great job of picking up the rest of the teant Regan and Sandi were just tremendous today.

Not just with their play on the court, but their leadership. They got the team together and said, 'Let's get this The Lancers turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter. And 3:22 into the game, when Ewings 6-2 senior center, Tari-qah Miller, knocked down a jumper, the Blue Devils (25-i) trailed 11-9. Miller led all scorers with 20 points and pulled down a game-high 21 rebounds. But just 6 of those points came in the first half, when Vianney took control.

"Ewing never gave up and that's just the sign of a great team," Apo said. "They came out and just kept fighting and playing no matter what the score was. You have to give so much credit to Miller. She led her team today. But you also have to give credit to our defense today.

We shut her down in the first half and that's why the game was the way it was." The Lancers' relentless pressure began to wear Ewing down and by the end of the first half, they had caused 23 turnovers and led 44-20. Sophomore guard Tami Coyle had five steals. "We were just try ing to take it to them right from the start of the game," said Coyle. "But at the beginning, we were letting them have a little too much time to look for the next person to pass to. When we play Mendham, we have to turn the pressure up more." Freshman guard Cheri Wittlieb hit a pair of 3-pointers during Vianney's 29-11 second-quarter outburst "When I come off the bench, it's my job to keep the tempo up," Wittlieb said.

"In the beginning, we were a step behind. But then we really came out aggressive and it looked like they were panicking when we double-teamed them and they threw the ball away a lot" EWINO (47): Oliver 0 3-7 3, Stiller 5 2-2 13. DeVaney 0 0-0 0, Miller 8 4-7 20, Johnson 2 4-6 8, Whittle 1 0-1 2, Ward 0 1-2 1, lover 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 00 0, Remer 0 0-00. Totals: 16 14-25 47. ST.

JOHN VIANNEY (73): Haefner 4 4-4 12, Apo 8 3-3 19, Coyle 3 1-3 8, Vecchio 3 2-4 10, Putnoky 2 1-2 5, Wittlieb 2 0-1 6, Burtnlck 2 0-0 4, Dunn 2 1-2 5, Carpenter 0 00 0. Centannl 0 0 0 0, Nadell 20-04. Carter 00-00. Totals: 28 12-19 73 Ewing (25-4) 9 11 1017 47 St John Vianney (28-2) 15 29 14 15 73 3-polnt goals: (E) Stiller; (S) Coyle. Vecchio 2, Wittlieb 2 Fouled out: (E) Johnson PETER ACKERMANStiff Photographer Ewing's Christine Ceresina loses the ball as she is pressured by Vianney's Tami Coyle (left) and Sandi Haefher.

Oops! Some days, everything just turns upside down ELIZABETH The best-laid plans of mice, men, and sports writers often go awry. Take yesterday when the reporter arrived at the St John Vianney-Ewing Tournament of Champions semifinal if 'V LA i with his column mentally mapped out He would write, not so much about Vianney's feared press, which has already been dissected TONY GRAHAM Vianney star Regan Apo's life story was detailed by the reporter's paper yesterday morning, and he had done a piece on sparkplug point guard Nina Vecchio last year. Every local paper would today be into Vianney's coming championship game with Mendham, the team it lost to in the tournament semifinals last year. Panic buttons, anyone? "Write about Sandi Haefner," suggested a fellow writer. "We haven't done a real, blowout feature on her." A quick check of the box score revealed Haefher, the Lancers' 5-11 center, No.

2 scorer, and only other senior starter, had 10 points at half-time, second to Apo's 15. This was good. He would take the "Unsung Hero" approach. He would talk with her about her role with the team, her future as a small center, and so on, and so on. Game over, the reporter waited outside the Vianney locker room.

Vecchio emerged and the 5-1 junior immediately disappeared in a sea of reporters. Coach Brad Hagen-sen and Apo came out and immediately went on TV. Finally, a somewhat tallish, blonde center-looking type appeared. The reporter flipped on his tape recorder. "Sandi, nice game," he said.

Oops! "My role has changed about 10 different times," she said. "I've been the two (shooting guard). I played point guard my freshman year at the end of games. Now I play five (center)." Apo came to the rescue. "Sandi is the heart and soul of our team," she said.

"When she goes out and hustles and gets every single loose ball, it fires up the rest of the team. Without her we probably wouldn't be as successful as we are. "She plays a huge role on our team and I don't think many people give her credit for it" Whew! Apo had saved the day. Back to Haefher. We could talk about how she's become a polished post player.

"I still don't know exactly what I'm doing at center," she said. Oops! "I'm trying to find my way into the position. It's not the position I'll be playing in college," said Haefher, who said shell play shooting guard or small forward at the next level. Well even if the interview hadn't gone quite as expected, Haefher had been very pleasant polite, courteous, and the reporter wanted to wish her well. "Good luck at Loyola," he said.

"I signed with Towson," she said. Oops! Tony Graham is an Asbury Park Press staff writer. PETER ACKERMANStaff Phetofripher SJV's Regan Apo tries to hold onto the ball as Ewing's Erin DeVaney blockes her shot. Apo had a team-high 19 points. down to its very last and 0, but about the idea behind it the philosophy, the origins.

Oops! It just so happened another paper went that route yesterday morning, so the reporter would have to turn to Plan B. Just one little problem. There was no Plan B. Meanwhile, Vianney's pressure had reduced Ewing to a shambles by halftime. The Lancers were ahead by 24 points, their 73-47 victory just a matter of playing out the last 16 minutes.

But whom or what to write about? her rebounding, her boxing out, playing taller girls, and so on, and so on. All that good stuff. A little corny? Sure. But with some stretching it might just about fill the column. The reporter would still arrive home in time to see his favorite intellectual program, "Walker, Texas Ranger." "I actually don't know my role," Haefher said.

"I'm not Sandi," said junior backup center Catherine Dunn. Oops! "There's Sandi," said another reporter as Haefher almost walked past without him spotting her. OK. Now to get down to business. "Sandi, how would you describe your role on the team?" he asked.

This was the moment he had been awaiting. She would talk about BOYS SEMIFINALS Today at Rutgers University, Plscataway Holmdel' Stead hopes his dogs have their day St. Augustine (24-5) vs. Teaneck (29-1) 1 p.m. St Augustine lineup Teaneck lineup No.

Plaver No. Player Yr. Pot. HI Yr. Po.

HL 3 Scott Greenman Fr. 5-8 Sr. 6-4 5 Lou Ruskfiv 1 1 Kasib Powell 23 Darryl Baldwin 40 Maurice Gadson Sr. 6-0 6-2 Sr. 6-0 Sr.

6-7 Sr. 5-10 So. 6-4 Sr. Sr. 1 5 Andrew Sullivan 21 Joe Tenaglia 33 Jose Gonzalez 12 Ade Edwards 5-9 21 Marcelle Williams Sr.

5-11 By BOB JORDAN STAFF WRITER EVER SEE the movie "Hoo siers," in which Gene Hackman takes over as the coach at Hickory High and leads the underdog team through the 1951 Indiana state tournament? Holmdel coach Tom Stead has seen it about 100 times. Even before steering Holmdel to a place where few Shore Conference teams have gone before to the Tournament vof Champions final four, in which the Hornets will face Seton Hall Prep at Rutgers University at 3 p.m. today Stead often referred to the movie when talking about his unselfish, scrappy, defense-oriented players. Just like the boys at Hickory High, Holmdel is the underdog against Seton Hall Prep, which has shredded opponents in winning 25 consecutive games and holds the No. 4 slot in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings.

But it appears to be a role that Stead's Hornets relish. "They're the top seed in the tournament, and they are that good," said senior guard and forward Brian Snodgrass. "Brandin Knight is one of the top high school guards you'll see anywhere. He and about three other guys can hurt you with 3-pointers. Marcus Toney-EI and Mark Curry can hurt you on the boards.

They have a lot of weapons." "I saw them when they beat St. Joseph's (Metuchen) and they're good, but we have nothing to lose," said senior guard David Klatsky. "We're supposed to go against them and lose, right? Let's see what happens." Holmdel (23-7), by beating Par-sippany 77-55 Thursday, joined Long Branch as the only Shore Conference boys teams to advance In the 11-year history of the Tournament of Champions. Long Branch lost in its semifinal appearances in 1997 and last year. The only other Shore Conference school to appear in a semifinal was Christian Brothers Academy, which had a 1995 quarterfinal bye and lost 55-52 to St.

Anthony in the semis. Holmdel (23-7) vs. Seton Hall Prep (28-1) 3 p.m. Holmdel lineup Seton Hall Prep lineup Poi.Ht Ave 5-7 7.4 6-5 15 7 6-1 12.6 6-4 8.7 6-1 8.6 No. Player Yr.

Pos.Ht Avg. No. Player Yr. 3 David Klatsky Sr. 10 Amil Mitchell Sr.

10 JohnDonovan Jr. 6-1 11.4 13 Marcus Toney-EI Jr. 32 Brian Snodgrass Sr. G-F 6-2 10.7 20 Brandin Knight Sr. 33 Adam Fleischner Sr.

6-3 9 4 31 Mark Curry Jr. 42 VinMcKeever Sr. G-F 6-0 3.4 42 Tyrone Barley Jr. Bob Jordan.