Patriots, Cougars prove District hoops belong
Freehold Twp. has earned its top ranking
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

JEFFGRANIT staff Freehold Township's Roger Wilmot drives to the basket against Colts Neck's Craig Perry during a game in Freehold Township on Feb. 1.

They played a game between Shore Conference powerhouses on Thursday.

It wasn't played in Lincroft, Neptune or Lakewood.

It was contested in Freehold Township, pitting the Shore's top-ranked team, undefeated Freehold Township, and Colts Neck.

Freehold Township won Thursday's showdown, 62-52, and will be a solid favorite to win the Shore Conference Tournament when it starts up next week.

It's a testament to how far the talent level in the area has come that the Patriots find themselves in the favorite's role. No District boys team has ever won the SCT. Freehold Borough made a great run last year reaching the semifinal, but no team before this year's Patriot squad has ever found itself as the team to beat.

Brian Golub's Patriots have relished the top spot this year and used it as a motivating force. Golub's goal has been for his team to play on an even keel this winter. He has wanted them to bring their best every night and with a 17-0 overall record, they've obviously met every test the Cougars threw at them Thursday.

Above, Colts Neck's Justin Martin shoots over the Freehold Township defense during Thursday's game in Freehold Township. Below, the Cougars' Brian Baker is congratulated after scoring his 1,000th career point.

No one doubts at this point that Freehold Township is for real. They have their Big Three in T.J. LaFalce, Ed Fischer and Marcus Roberson, perhaps the best trio in the Shore, and unselfish role players who know their job and can beat teams. The bench is deep, and thus far they've shown they can win low-scoring defensive struggles or high-scoring up-tempo games. When they get on a roll, they can destroy teams - witness a 27-point win over CBA in December.

The Pats' top ranking is something that has been in the works. This year, the Patriots won the Shore Conference A North Division title for the fourth straight year, but what has made this year's title more satisfying is that there is no caveat. The last three titles had "public schools" attached to it. But this year, with the groundbreaking sweep of parochial power Christian Brothers Academy, the division's top dog, the Patriots are the outright champions, looking up at no one.

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Lou Piccola's Cougars moved to A North this winter and made an early statement when they walked into CBA's gym and beat the Colts for the first time in school history (they joined the Patriots as the only teams to ever do what was once unthinkable, beat CBA). That alone will make the Cougars a tough out in the SCT and upcoming state tournament.

In the loss Thursday to the Pats, Brian Baker became the second Cougar boy to surpass 1,000 career points.

Before the week is out, LaFalce and Roberson will join the ever-expanding list of 1,000-point scorers. But to have three in one season is a further example of just spread out the talent is.

The Freehold Regional District certainly has a rich tradition in basketball, from Jack Kuhnert's Freehold Borough Colonials to the Miracle Manalapan Braves that won a state sectional title in 1988. Golub's Patriots and Piccola's Cougars have been carrying the banner recently.

The District has had great players and teams before, too. In the early 1980s, Manalapan had Ed Zucker (still the all-time leading boys scorer in the District) and Freehold Borough had Timmy Perry (who went on to Temple and the NBA), and both teams were in the SCT semifinals in the same year. That could happen this year, but the difference is that the prospect of a District team winning it is no long shot.

The gap between the District's best and the other traditional Shore powers has been steadily narrowing, and one reason is outside ball. There are good and bad things to say about the AAU, but one thing it does do is expose the players to high-caliber competition. No player will walk into CBA's gym, or Neptune's for that matter, and be intimated by the uniform or the gym. They've played against better players and in some cases even been teammates of the opposition. That makes them flesh and blood to the area cagers.

Credit has to go to the players for the added commitment they've made to the sport and the coaches who are making the most of their talent.

The success that the Patriots and Cougars have enjoyed this year (both topping CBA) has helped raise the bar in the District. They have erased the aura surrounding the name programs and will motivate Manalapan, Marlboro, Howell and Freehold Borough (which did some upsetting of its own last year) that they, too, can follow in those footsteps.

It's been a great year thus far and it will be fun watching what the Patriots and Cougars are up to at the SCT and the state playoffs, which start on Feb. 26. First the Shore, next, the state, could be this year's theme.