Colonials-Patriots reach Kuhnert tournament final
Bayonne, Columbia in boys title game
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
John Scirappa ticked off the teams that his Freehold Township Patriots were playing in the Jack Kuhnert Memorial Basketball Tournament.

DANIEL HULSHIZER staff Quasonna Moore (No. 15) reaches for a rebound with Pope John's Taylor Vozza during the Jack Kuhnert Holiday Basketball Tournament on Dec. 26.

"East Brunswick, Somerville," he pointed out. "Doesn't sound like a typical Freehold Township schedule."

It isn't.

Thanks to the expansion of the Kuhnert Tournament, named for the late Freehold Borough boys' basketball coach, this holiday tournament is no longer a local affair. It is attracting teams from all over the state, making it a true test for the winner.

Scirappa's Patriots may have played their crosstown rival, FreeholdBorough, in Saturday's final (at Freehold Borough), but the path both teams tookwas hardly routine.

Jen Bryzucki's Colonials beat Pope John XXIII from Sparta and Sayreville, before tipping off against the Patriots.

Bryzucki welcomed the games against teams out of the Shore area.

"I like playing different teams from outside the area," she said. "It's good for us."

And, it's good for the tournament making it attractive to teams out of the area. One needs to look no further than the boys' final, which pitted Bayonne against Columbia, for proof.

Bayonne was the real spoiler, beating Freehold Borough in the first round and defending champion Freehold Township in the semifinal.

Columbia knocked off Manasquan, a former champion and no stranger to the title game, in its semifinal.

Coaches all agree that it's a good thing to expose their players to teams outside the general area. They get to see different styles of play, which is good preparation for both the regular season and postseason. The late Jack Kuhnert would be pleased to see this tournament offering this level of competition.

Last year, Freehold Township's boys defeated a South Jersey power, Shawnee, in the Kuhnert final, planting the seeds for their finest season in history. They went on to win the Shore Conference Tournament for the first time ever and advanced to the Central Jersey Group IV final. Coach Brian Golub will say it was games from teams like Shawnee that helped the Pats reach those new heights.

This year's tournament will do the same for the area teams in it whether they got to the final or not.

Freehold Borough's girls gave themselves a chance to repeat as the Kuhnert champion Thursday, when they took out Sayreville, 69-43, in the semifinal played at Freehold Township High School.

Sehmonyeh Allen poured in a gamehigh 21 and Shannon Mayrose backed it up with her 17. Ashley Lewis chipped in with 11 as the Colonials improved to 5-0 on the young season.

Freehold Borough found its running legs against the Bombers, racing out to a 41-16 lead at the half.

The Colonials were going for their fourth tournament championship Saturday.

Freehold Township (4-1) jumped out to a 10-0 lead on Sayreville and stretched it to 18-2 after one period and was never seriously threatened.

Christina Barthel's hot shooting got the Patriots off to the quick start. She netted 15 points including a pair of 3-pointers. Alexis Stenftennagel added 12. Eight players scored for the Patriots, who were seeking their seventh tournament crown.

Somerville (4-1) came into the game undefeated.

In opening round play at Marlboro, Freehold Borough defeated Pope John XXIII, 57-40.

Midway through the third quarter of this game it was 31-30 Freehold. The Colonials stepped it up on both ends of the floor and went on an 18-3 tear, which gave the Colonials a 49-33 cushion early in the fourth.

Mayrose had 10 andAllen five for Freehold Borough during the run. Mayrose had 25 for the game whileAllen and Lewis (three three-point field goals) each had 11.

Freehold Township beatEastBrunswick, 50-28. The Patriots put this one away, outscoring the Bears 14-3 in the third quarter. They had led 27-14 at the half.

Stephanie Cardamone (12) and Kayla Borden (11) paced a balanced attack.

Somerville dispatchedManasquan, 56- 30, as Lindsey Callander (14) and Samantha Massa (11) combined for 25.

Sayreville topped Hamilton West, 52- 49. Down 49-48, Lanie Andrews hit two free throws with 15 seconds left in the game to put the Bombers up by one, 50- 49, and Jackie Ciak added two more from the charity stripe with 1.2 seconds left.

Jessica Kitrys had 17 points and 23 rebounds for the Bombers. Kitrys had 19 for the Bombers (3-2) in the loss to Freehold Borough.

Columbia, Bayonne boys' finalists Howell High School hosted Thursday's boys semifinal where Columbia and Bayonne made it an all outsider final.

The Bayonne Bees fell behind Freehold Township by 13 after one period, 21-8. But, a 23-7 advantage in the second period had the visitors in the lead at the half, 31-28.

The second half was back and forth with the Bees, maintaining their slim lead. The Pats pulled within one, 55-54, but the Bees closed it out with a 4-0 run.

Jimmy Smith had a game-high 20 for Bayonne. Greg Moore (12) and Tarique Holmes (10) also scored in doublefigures for the Bees.

MattDevine led the Patswith 17 with Chris Ballester (14) and Kevin Fischer (13) combining for 27 for the Patriots (3-2).

Columbia used a 22-11 second quarter to build a 16-point halftime cushion on Manasquan, 42- 16, and then played the Big Blue even in the second half.

Long-range shooting was key for the Maplewood school as the Cougars nailed eight from behind the arc. JameelGrace had four of the 3-pointers, which helped him register a team-high 22 points. Jamal Reynolds, who had two 3-pointers, scored 15.

Manasquan's Keiron Halton led all scorers with 23.

Freehold Township hosted the opening round of the Kuhnert on Wednesday. The Patriots began the defense of their championshipwith a 76-38win overHamiltonWest.Matt Devine (17) andMax Lit (13) teamed up for 30 as Freehold Township had this game in control from the start. The Pats led 28-8 after one period and coasted.

Freehold Borough, looking for a 12th overall championship in the tournament, shot itself in the foot in the form of 1-13 shooting from the free-throwline in the second half, including 0-9 in the fourth quarter. That led to a 55-49 loss to Bayonne.

Christian Garcia led the Colonials with 16 while Holmes led all scorers for Bayonne with 22. He connected on four treys.

FreeholdBoroughwent on an 11- 0 run to grab a 36-35 lead late in the third quarter. But, a three from Holmes gave the Bees a 42-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Andrew Gerbehy's 3-pointer put Freehold back on top at the start of the quarter.

The two teams exchanged the lead until the Bees score five unanswered points midway through the period, to take a 51-45 lead.

Brandon Brown's basket pulled Freehold to within two, 51-49, with 2:12 left in the game. The Colonials still had a chance, but two jumpers by Bayonne's Sean Caldwell sealed it for the Bees.

Manasquan got by a stubborn Howell squad, 48-36, and Columbia beat Long Branch, 67-50, in the other games. Halton scored 14 for Manasquan and Yvon Raymond had 19 and Grace, 18, for Columbia.

Saturday's finals were played after this week's Greater Media Newspapers deadline.