Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 47

MONDAY, MARCH 1 1 2002 ASBURY PARK PRESS PAGE D7 THE NJSIAA BOYS AND GIRLS GROUP BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS lD mat mm IN CMMf First love was worth the wait GROUP III FINAL NEPTUNE 84, WEEQUAHIC 58 Scarlet Fliers win first title since 1981 PISCATAWAY It was about this time last year the whispers began in Neptune. Basketball coach and former Scarlet Fliers point guard Ken O'Donnell, in order to advance through the school system's TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS FIRST ROUND Saturday At Dunn Center, Elizabeth (3) Newark East Side vs. (6) Burl. Cityl (5) Middle Twp. vs.

(4) Berg. p.m. SEMIFINALS Wednesday At Rutgers University East Side-Burlington City winner vs. (2) Neptune 6 p.m. Middle Twp.

-Bergen Catholic winner vs. (1) St. Anthony 8 p.m. CHAMPIONSHIP Sunday At Continental Airlines Arena Semifinal winners 2 p.m. ft ranks, was going to resign.

Also, star junior a a Dean was going to transfer. But as last TONY GRAHAM -7 i-v Hi I i J' i- 4 (b By MIKE KERWICK STAFF WRITER PISCATAWAY He brings "nothing but energy," if you believe what Terrance Todd has to say. He is "the best little-big man in the state," if you want Taquan Dean's humble opinion. Marques Alston won't exactly turn aside the praise, praise that has been steadily snowballing with each step Neptune has taken in this postseason. But praise has little to do with motivation, and only two things really motivated Alston during yesterday's gem of a performance.

He wanted to show something to his father, a leaper out of Salem County who went diving all over the floor for a speck of a town in South Jersey. And then there's that red-and-black banner in the gym, the one that has hung without company for 21 long years. The one that insists Neptune has a "tradition of champions." Alston went 9-for-12 from the field yesterday, scored 22 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and stole five passes as the Scarlet Fliers rolled to a splashy 84-58 victory over Wee-quahic for their third Group title in school history. The Fliers' last title was in Group IV in 1981, and they won Group II in 1949. Neptune turned the game into a highlight reel by the third quarter, tossing out everything from behind-the-back passes to alley-oop dunks off the backboard to coast-to-coast layups.

"We wanted it bad," Alston said. "We came out and showed we wanted it bad." The Fliers (28-2) became just the fifth Shore Conference school to earn a berth in the Tournament of Champions since the tournament began in 1989. Neptune was seeded second at last night's seeding meeting, joining No. 1 St. Anthony as the only teams to earn first-round byes.

The Fliers will meet the winner of No. 6 seed Burlington City and No. 3 Newark East Side at 6 p.m. on March 20 at Rutgers. "We're the only team seeded night's NJSIAA Group III championship 84-58 victory over Weeguahic was concluding, there was O'Donnell high-fiving Dean on the Neptune bench at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

And there was Neptune, tormented by three near misses in NJSIAA championship games in the late 1960s and '70s, celebrating its third NJSIAA title overall and first since coach Henry Moore's 1980-81 juggernaut rolled to a 30-0 record and the Group IV title. "I was a chairperson at school (last year)," said O'Donnell last night. "The problem with staying with a chairperson's position is you couldn't coach. It's a stepping stone maybe for something else in administration. "At first I was going to give up coaching.

But I thought and thought about it." O'Donnell thought about the 28 years he has spent coaching at all levels at Neptune. He thought about the 10 years he coached the girls team. He thought about the last 11 years he had invested in the boys program and about the talent-laden team he had coming back this season, one which had been frustrated by Dajuan Wagner and Camden the last two seasons in Group III semifinals. And he thought about his former coach, Larry Hennessy, whose teams suffered those excruciating losses in Group IV finals. In 1968, when O'Donnell played, Neptune fell in the last seconds to Perth Amboy at Atlantic City Convention Hall.

that beat St. Anthony," said Neptune coach Ken O'Donnell. The Fliers couldn't have done much more yesterday. With Alston controlling the inside and Todd spinning the ball all over the perimeter, Neptune went on a 14-0 run during the first quarter. Todd scored six points and Alston had four during the run, as Neptune bolted to a 17-3 lead.

It was 39-23 by halftime when Neptune started to throw some unlikely jabs at Weequahic. The most spectacular of those plays came when Todd picked up a loose ball and raced downcourt with Dean. With nobody nearby, Todd threw the ball off the glass, leaving Dean with a gym-shattering dunk. "I don't get to dunk a lot," said Dean, who was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim. "So when I get the chance Dean and Todd left the court with 3:09 left to play.

Alston came out seven seconds later. They sat down and smiled. It hasn't been this good in 21 years. Neptune 84, Weequahic 58 Neptune (83): Alston 9 4-4 22, Layton 1 3-4 5, Harris 2 3-4 7, Todd 4 1-2 10. T.

Dean 8 3-5 22, K. Williams 0 2-2 2, Gonzales 0 0-0 Hubbard 1 2-2 4, Gadaleta 2 0-0 5, Holman 2 0-0 5, Johnson 1 0-0 2, A. Dean 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-2 0, J. Williams 1 0-0 2, Simms 1 0-0 2, Taylor 0 0-0 0. Totals: 30 19-27 84.

Weequahic (58): N. Johnson 5 6-7 17, Nelson 1 0-0 2, Ellis 1 0-0 2, Diggs 2 4-4 8, Hall 2 1-2 5, Lewis 0 2-2 2, Thomas 0 4-4 4, Evans 1 1-2 3. A. Johnson 0 0-0 0, Dickerson 0 2-4 2, Huggins 2 0-0 6, Coleman 0 3 4 3, Sanders 1 0-2 2, Holt 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 23-31 5B.

Neptune (28-2) 22 17 24 21 84 Weequahic (22-6) 10 13 12 23 58 3 point goals: (N) Todd, T. Dean 3, Holman; (W) N. Johnson, Huggins 2. Fouled out: (W) Nelson. DARYLSTONEStaffPhotographer Neptune's Robert Layton holds the Scarlet Fliers' Group III trophy as the team celebrates.

i Then in two brutal defeats at Brookdale Community College, Tyley Jenkins hit a buzzer beater for East Orange in 1974, and In 1976 Plainfield rallied to shock then undefeated Neptune in overtime. "I talked to him," said O'Donnell. "He said he didn't know if he wanted to come up here (from Williamsburg, that in case we lost they'd blame him. "So this one is for him." But last night was also for O'Donnell and a coaching staff and players that stayed (Camden) hurdle. We had Dajuan Wagner every time in the semis.

It was frustrating to keep getting there and losing." But Wagner is now at the University of Memphis and this time Neptune got there and more. "We've been together through the good things and the bad," said senior Terrance Todd. "That's why we've come this far in the tournament. And we hope to continue." Tony Graham is an Asbury Park Press staff writer. "Sometimes a coach just wants to coach," said O'Donnell, who turned turned down the administrative job and now plans to continue on the Neptune bench.

"This is my first love," he said. "I just enjoy it." For Dean, it turned out Neptune was his first love. "I said it out of frustration," said Dean of his rumored exit. He said his statements were somewhat tied in to reports of O'Donnell's departure as coach. "It was that, too," Dean said.

"And we couldn't get past that GROUP II FINAL RUMSON 44, NEWTON 42 Fisher, Golden seal deal for Bulldogs TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS FIRST ROUND Friday at Dunn Center, Elizabeth (5) Rumson vs. (4) Bish. Eustace6 p. m. (3) IHA vs.

(6) Wildwood 8 p.m. SEMIFINALS Tuesday at Dunn Center, Elizabeth Rumson-Bishop Eustace winner vs. (1) Trenton 6 p.m. IHA-Wildwood winner vs. (2) Willingboro 8 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP Sunday at Continental Airlines Arena Semifinal winners noon p.m. in a TOC quarterfinal. Fisher nailed a jumper with 5:37 remaining in the game, staking Rumson to what appeared to be a comfortable 44-37 lead. But the Bulldogs didn't score again and had to rely upon their defense and guile to pull the game out. Newton answered with a Liz Sisca (11 points) 3-pointer its subsequent trip up the court.

Two minutes later Erica Dardaganis (12 points, 8 rebounds) converted a putback and the Braves (19-9) had clawed within 44-42. Sisca went up for a shot with 11 seconds left and Fisher blocked it but was whistled for a foul. Golden raced to grab the rebound of the second shot and was immediately fouled. Newton fouled three more times and the third foul sent Fisher to the line. She missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Dardaganis rebounded the miss, but Golden tied her up and the possession arrow was in Rum-son's favor. Fisher was fouled again with 2.7 seconds left and once again missed a front end. But Golden coralled the rebound and the Bulldogs won the second Group championship in school history. Rumson was the Group I champion in 1996. "That's my job out there," said Golden.

"That ball was mine. It's my pride and joy and I had to go after it." Rumson Newton 42 Rumson-Fair Haven (44): Pappa 2 0-0 6, DeMartino 3 0-0 6 G. Golden 2 2-5 6. Fisher 1-4 18, A. Dykstra 4 0-2 8 Golden 0 0 0 0.

Fetter 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 3-11 44. Newton (42): Filan 0 0-0 0, Sisca 4 2-4 11, Pengo 4 0-0 11, Jackson 4 0-0 8, Dardaganis 6 0-0 12, Mayes 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 2-4 42. Rurnson-FH (26-3).

17 12 9 6 44 Newton (19-9) 17 5 812 42 3-point goals: (R) Pappa 2, Fisher; (N) Sisca, Pengo Fouled out: (N) Dardaganis. By NEIL SCHUMAN STAFF WRITER ELIZABETH It took contributions from every player on the floor for Rumson-Fair Haven to win the Group championship. But the power of Chrissy Fisher and the hustle of Gately Golden sealed the deal when the game was on the line. Fisher's 18 points and 10 rebounds put the Bulldogs in position to win, but a pair of Golden rebounds in the closing seconds enabled the Bulldogs to hold off a late Newton charge and claim a 44-42 victory and the Group II crown last night at Elizabeth High School's Dunn Sports Center. "We didn't know much about this team, except that they have some good shooters," said Fisher, a 6-1 senior forward.

"We just had to maintain our composure when it mattered the most." The Bulldogs (26-3) received the No. 5 seed in the Tournament of Champions. On Friday, they will return to the Dunn Center and face fourth-seeded Bishop Eustace at 6 KM 1 Defense delivers the title for Rumson By DEBBIE WALDEYER (your shots)." favor. The other came off Chrissy Fisher's missed free throw with two STAFF WRITER ELIZABETH Success by the Rumson-Fair Haven girls basketball team is measured by the in-your-face defense the Bulldogs have perfected this season. Yesterday, that defense was credited not only with 12 steals but 24 Newton turnovers and many of Rumson's points in the 44-42 NJSIAA Group II title win at the Dunn Sports Center.

"Our defense is everything," said Rumson guard Amanda DeMartino. "That's what we work the most on. Some nights you're not going to hit Last night, Rumson hit only 35 percent while Newton hit 45 percent, but Rumson seemed to get to more loose balls than Newton (19-9) and the Bulldogs' defense was suffocating, forcing Newton into bad shots. "Every possession counts and we won by one possession," said Bulldogs coach George Sourlis. It was a combination of plays by different players which earned Rumson the win in the end.

Gately Golden had two key rebounds in the closing seconds, one a hustle play that forced a jumpball in Rumson's seconds left. Fisher, the game's most valuable player, had a key block on Newton's Liz Sisca with 17 seconds left. It was one of a pair of blocked shots registered, along with three steals, 10 boards, and a game-high 18 points. DeMartino, a senior playing on a bad ankle, led the team with four steals. Chip in Amy Dykstra's blocked shot and four boards, Lauren Pap-pa's three steals, and the total all-out effort of the Bulldogs' pressure defense.

MICHAEL SYPNIEWSKISpecial to the Press Rumson's Lauren Pappa puts up a shot as Newton's Laura Filan defends. Pappa finished with 6 points. i fci -iip--.