Patriot five reclaim Kuhnert championship
Columbia beats Bayonne in boys final
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
Watching videotape has become a big part of a basketball team's game preparation.

Players get a close look at their opposition on film as well as the chance to see what they are doing right or wrong. It's also a major teaching tool for coaches.

Before the Jack Kuhnert Memorial Basketball Tournament championship game at Freehold Borough on Dec. 29, Freehold Township head coach John Sciarappa used the video for something else.

At the suggestion of his assistant coach, Johnny Sciarappa, his son, the elder Sciarappa slipped in a videotape of the final minute of the Pats' 1998 Kuhnert championship victory. His players saw Lindsey Warner seal the team's last tournament title from the foul line and the celebration that followed.

"I wanted them to have good thoughts in their heads," said Sciarappa.

A couple of hours after viewing the '98 championship, the Patriots turned those good thoughts into a championship.

Led by Most Valuable Player Kayla Borden, and some strong play off the bench, the Patriots defeated defending champion Freehold Borough, 56-46, to extend their record number of wins in the tourney to seven.

"There's no doubt we're very team oriented," said Sciarappa. "Anyone can shoot the ball, and we play team defense."

It was Borden who had the hot hand against the Colonials, scoring a game-high 24 points.

"I call her the silent assassin," noted Sciarappa. "She scored from all over the place. She has the quickest release. She stepped up masterfully."

Defense played its role as well. Sciarappa used his deep bench to keep pressing the Colonials throughout the game.

"I kept rotating our guards and told them to go out and play hard," he pointed out.

Gabby Laspisa and JennaMarie Colicchia made big contributions off the bench. Each scored four points in the second half and help fuel a 13-0 run from the end of the third quarter into the fourth that turned a 39-35 deficit into a 48-39 Patriot win. Laspisa was strong off the board and did a fine job on defense, getting into the paint and blocking the lane to keep the Colonials' Sehmonyeh Allen and Quasonna Moore from driving to the basket. Colicchia came up with some big steals that were part of the 13-0 spurt.

Freehold Borough's depth finally took its toll in the fourth quarter, when a 21-9 advantage led to the 10-point triumph.

The Pats led by five, 26-21, at the half. Freehold Borough, which got 16 points from Allen, roared ahead in the third quarter, outscoring the Pats 16-9.

But the fourth quarter and the championship belonged to Freehold Township.

In addition to Borden's 24, Alexis Stenftennagel had 10 and Stephanie Cardamone had nine points.

Freehold Township improved to 5-1 with the victory.

The Pats beat East Brunswick, 50-28, and Somerville, 52-33, en route to the championship game.

The championship was especially gratifying for Sciarappa. In the past, the Patriots were the tournament's dominant team, getting to the final seemingly every year.

"No doubt, we took it for granted," he said.

It had been five years since they had been

to the final. They made the most of

their return.

Freehold Borough lost for the first time, falling to 5-1.

The Colonials beat Pope John

XXIII, 57-40, and Sayreville,

69-43, leading up to the title

game.

Both teams played without

important players, who were at a

soccer tournament showcase. The Pats were without their leading scorer, Christina Barthel, and the Colonials were missing the trio of Shannon Mayrose, Alexandra Eagle and Ashley Lewis.

The tournament is named for the late Jack Kuhnert, the famed head coach of the Freehold Borough boys basketball program. He coached the Colonials to 10 victories in this tournament before passing away in 1997. The tournament was named in his honor beginning that year.

The boys final displayed the breadth of this year's tournament, as Columbia High School from Maplewood beat Bayonne, 72- 69.

The Cougars rode a hot start by Yvon Raymond (20 points in the first half) to remain undefeated (6-0).

With Raymond doing most of the damage, the Cougars roared to a 19-2 lead after one period and still led 39-29 at the half.

Bayonne kept chipping away at the lead in the second half but was unable to catch the Cougars.

Raymond finished his night with 33 points and eight rebounds. Jameel Grave chipped in with 14, including nine from the foul line, where the Cougars were able to salt away their win. Grave also had seven assists, and Raymond had three.

Tarique Holmes led the Bayonne Bees with 19 points. He had a game-high five threes. Teammate Greg Moore had three treys and 15 points, Jimmy Smith had 14, and Dejean Williams had 10.

Both teams were making their Kuhnert debut.

Columbia beat Long Branch, 67-50, and Manasquan, 72-55, on the way to the final.

Bayonne took out the Freehold schools, beating Freehold Borough, 55-49, in the first round and taking out defending champion Freehold Township, 59-54, in the semifinals.