Basketball season starts with teams contending
Colonials stun Neptune in opener
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
What an act the 2007-08 boys basketball season has to follow. Last winter was a historic one for the Freehold Regional District, as Brian Golub's Freehold Township Patriots became the first team to win the Shore Conference Tournament (SCT) championship.

Eddie Fisher, T.J. LaFalce, Marcus Roberson and Co. were the Shore's uncontested No. 1 team. They won the Shore Conference A North Division title for the fourth straight year, only this time there was no "public school" caveat. With two wins over state power Christian Brothers Academy (CBA), the Patriots were the outright division champions.

Becoming the first team in District history to sweep the regular season series with the Colts wasn't enough, however. They had to beat CBA a third time in the SCT final, which they did.

Prior to the 2006-07 season, Freehold Township had been the only team to beat CBA (once). Lou Piccola's Colts Neck Cougars joined the club by beating CBA on its home floor back in January.

The wins were proof of how the District teams have closed the gap on the Colts, and, the Shore in general. The Patriots played for the Central Jersey Group IV title, falling to South Brunswick in the final.

Having graduated six of its top seven players from that 25-2 SCT team, Golub's Patriots will certainly sport a different look this time around and the expectations won't be quite as high. But, don't think for a minute the Patriots are conceding anything. This program has established a championship tradition. The players are accustomed to winning and expect to do the same this year (last year's jayvee team went 17-1).

Kevin Fischer and Corey Csakai are the only players who saw meaningful minutes who are returning. Both are guards. Fischer knocked down the decisive jumper in the SCT win over CBA.

Tyler McKinnon and John Belfiore will share the point-guard duties, and Matt Devine is an off-guard who can score.

The Pats are loaded with depth in the backcourt with Alex Becker and Kerry Woodson in the mix.

"We're going to use a three-guard system at times," said Golub. "We're small, but we're very fast and athletic.

"This is the fastest team I've ever had," he added. "We're going to try and play faster than we did last year. We're going to be an exciting team."

The Pats do have size up front with 6- foot-4 Max Lit. He'll provide the post game.

Steve Talbott and Chris Ballester, both 6-3, complete the frontcourt. Lit and Ballester saw limited minutes last year.

"Our biggest problem is a lack of experience," said Golub. "Come the end of the season, we're going to be very formidable."

The Pats picked up where they left off in their season-opener Friday night, beating Manalapan, 54-33. Devine led the way with 19 points, which included five treys. Ballester pulled down 12 rebounds.

Colts Neck will look to contend in A North, being led by two All-District returners, Stephen Spinella and Mitchell Kates, who are seniors. Piccola is cautiously optimistic.

Spinella, a 6-foot-3 forward, has all the tools. He can post-up, score from the outside, drive to the basket, rebound and defend. He was the best player on the floor when the Cougars beat CBA. He averaged 13.9 points a game last winter and blocked 2.43 shots a game.

Kates has been the point guard for three years and knows how to run the offense. Look for him to score more this winter as the Cougars will be more of an up-tempo team. He dished out 6.52 assists a game in 2006-07.

Other returners include Craig Perry, Alex Leroy and Adam Dombrowski. Perry runs the floor well and defends, and Leroy provides a physical presence under the glass.

What Piccola is looking for is depth. Anthony Salvati could provide that at forward, and Chris Leroy (guard) is another player who could provide a spark off the bench as could Justin Gaffney. Sophomore guard Kyle Mobbs is the biggest addition to the team.

"We're working hard and trying to find some chemistry," said Piccola. "We're a senior team. We're going to rely on them."

Seniors Spinella and Kates certainly came through for the Cougars opening night as each scored 24 points in Colts Neck's 73-47 win at Marlboro. Perry chipped in with 11.

Tomorrow night, CBA visits Colts Neck for what will be one of the big early-season games in A North.

Manalapan would like to be among the division contender. Coach Rick Garretson has a veteran lineup of seniors and juniors, but only two are returning starters, guards Chris Saray and Adam Rice.

In Saray, All-District last winter, the Braves have one of the Shore's best pureshooters. While averaging 13.7 points a game, he nailed 66 3-pointers, fourth best in the conference.

Blaise DeLorenzo, Chris DeFalco, Greg Grzelak and Travis Meade are part of the backcourt rotation.

Up front, the forwards are Craig Peterson, Seth Mendelson, Jake Grinkevich, Ryan Lagomarsino and John Stoya.

The Braves will be a solid defensive team, and if they can find scoring support for Saray, they could be in the hunt.

Howell only returns two starters - 6- foot-2 center Robert McClintock and guard Branden Patterson. However, coach Brian Quick was quick to point out that this club is unlike recent editions.

"[Howell] is young and athletic and should be a very competitive team," he said.

Newcomers include forwards Brian Mc- Donough and Greg Weber and guards Billy Kappock, Tom Martino, Tom Callahan and Chris Katona, who are upperclassmen, and sophomores Rob Handy (guard), Gabe Cheavers (center) and Will Hayes (guard).

Besides the athleticism, the Rebels have a number of players who are proven winners. Handy was a wide receiver on the football team that won the Central Jersey Group IV title in the fall, while Kappock, McDonough and Katona were all starters on the soccer team that won the Shore Conference Tournament. That and the team's ability to compete athletically in A North will make the Rebels a team that can't be overlooked.

It didn't take long for the first headline upset to take place. Friday night in Freehold Borough, the Colonials' stunned Neptune, the preseason No. 1 team in the Shore, 55-54, on Brandon Brown's 3- pointer at the buzzer.

The Colonials did it with their top player, Brandon Carter, on the bench for the final six minutes of the game having fouled out.

Ben DiBiase's Colonials served notice that they aren't going to be the 6-17 squad they were in 2007.

Freehold Borough returned a solid nucleus in Carter, Gerry Plescia, Christian Garcia, Lance McKenzie, Will Howarth and Brown. Only Carter is a senior.

Newcomers include forward Andrew Gerbehy, who has cracked the starting lineup.

In the upset of the Scarlet Fliers, Garcia led with 16 points. Carter had 13 before exiting on fouls and the speedy Brown had 10. Gerbehy scored all nine of his points in the fourth quarter.

DiBiase will take that kind of balance every night.

Marlboro welcomes a new coach, Mike Migliori, who will try and get the Mustangs up and running again. He'll do so with a mixture of upperclassmen and sophomores who don't have a lot of varsity experience.

Mike Norber and Mike Greenstein are the lone seniors on the club and they were varsity players last year.

Juniors E.J. Tucker, Eric Mann, Evan Zorn, Anthony Gagliardi and Rick DeStafano are the core of the team. Sophomores Zach Kutner, Sean Hickey, Lucas Vidolin, Andrew Goldstein, Brett Schwartz and Cory Piskin are expected to make contributions this winter.