Rebels are the top seed for Kuhnert Tournament Howell boys get early test against Manasquan BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer Above, Howell’s Denise Crudup is fouled on her way to the basket during the Rebels’ season-opening win at Ocean HighSchool on Friday. At left, Howell’s Erin Donahue and Ali Goldsmith defend against Ocean’s Theresa Sparaco. An early showdown between two of the Shore area’s best girls teams could be in the offering at the Jack Kuhnert Holiday Basketball Tournament. Defending champion Howell and runner-up Colts Neck are two teams looking to go places this winter, and the Kuhnert Tournament is step one for both. With the majority of their leading players returning, there is no surprise that Howell and Colts Neck are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds for the seven-team tournament that begins Friday night. Manasquan is the No. 3 seed, and Marlboro, No. 4. The second half of the bracket in seeds 5-7 are: Freehold Borough, Freehold Township and Manalapan. With the field at seven teams this year, top-seeded Howell drew a bye into Tuesday’s semifinals. PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff The tournament opens up with double-header at Freehold Township and one game at Howell. Colts Neck begins its quest for its first Kuhnert title at 5 p.m. Friday against Manalapan in Freehold Township. The 7 p.m. nightcap features Manasquan against host Freehold Township. At Howell, Marlboro and Freehold Borough square off at 5 p.m. The semifinals will be hosted by Manalapan. At 5 p.m., the Colts Neck-Manalapan and Manasquan-Freehold Township winners meet and in the 7 p.m. tipoff. Howell will get the winner of the Marlboro-Freehold Borough first-round game. The championship game is Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. at Freehold Borough High School, where the tournament’s namesake, the late Jack Kuhnert, coached boys basketball for 27 years. Bill Gallacher has replaced Julie Hoebee as the Rebels head coach and takes over a championship team that has everyone returning. The Kuhnert championship last year acted as a springboard for the Rebels. They went on to win 22 games (22-5), their first-ever Shore Conference A North Division title and reached the Central Jersey Group IV title. A heartbreaking one-point lost to Trenton has the Rebels focused on taking the next step in ’06. The Rebels are a solid team with great chemistry, led by point guard Brianne Lavin, who always seems to make the big play for Howell, be it a field goal, free throw, pass or defensive play. She was the Kuhnert MVP last year. Colleen Thomas and Ali Goldsmith were Howell’s top two scorers last year and they’re back, along with Michelle Blum, Erin Donahue, Jamie Biddle, Christie Novatin and Marqaux Pickell. Denise Crudup is the one new addition to the team. The Rebels are deep and can press teams for four quarters. Friday’s Jack Kuhnert Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament will serve as an early-season barometer for the Freehold Regional District’s boys teams. Last year was a strong season for the District with Manalapan and Freehold Township sharing the A North Division public school crown. Colts Neck, in a rebuilding year, made the postseason along with Marlboro and Freehold Borough. Any one of these teams would like to make a run at the Kuhnert title that was won last year by Marlboro, for the first time. Manasquan, the beaten finalist in 2004, is this year’s top seed. Freehold Township is seeded No. 2, followed by Colts Neck and Freehold Borough at third and fourth seeds. The second half of the draw has Manalapan at No. 5, followed by Marlboro, Hightstown and Howell. The tournament begins with double-headers at Freehold Borough and Marlboro, starting at 5 and 7 p.m. Manasquan is first up against Howell, followed by Freehold and Manalapan. At Marlboro, the 5 p.m. tipoff goes to Freehold Township and Hightstown with Colts Neck and Marlboro facing off at 7 p.m. The semifinals are Tuesday at Colts Neck at 5 and 7 p.m. The championship game is Dec. 29 at Freehold Borough at 7 p.m. Howell showed signs of turning things around late in the season and coach Kevin Gardner has a solid nucleus to build around this year, led by guards Ryan McGuinness and Ryan Lapinski, and swing player Bob Ennis. The other returners, Mike Krol, Frank Ozella, Justin Schmid and Chris Giralamo will have more inclusive roles this year. Krol, Ozella and Lapinski were just sophomores last year and matured quickly. Brian Battaglia, Alex Killian and Brad Clanton are the top newcomers, giving Gardner depth and versatility. A Manasquan-Freehold Township final would bring back memories of the Warriors’ double-overtime triumph over the Pats in 2003 despite 41 points from FT’s Manny Ubilla.