Young Piners winning with team basketball
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

LAKEWOOD - With an inexperienced team made up of mostly underclassmen, Lakewood High School boys basketball coach John Richardson wasn't sure how the Piners would react against the elite clubs.

Oftentimes, young teams struggle at the start of a new season. Youth and lack of varsity experience can translate into early-season setbacks. Richardson, however, knew his squad was scrappy and full of athletic ability.

So far, Richardson, who is in his final year at the helm, has to be pleased with the play of his fledgling group. The Piners are off to a 3-1 start, including a convincing 62-40 win over Kearney Christian last week in the consolation round of the Holiday Jubilee at Neptune High School.

In the preseason, Richardson spoke about getting contributions from a lot of places in order for this team to experience success. Indeed, LHS used a balance scoring attack to knock off Kearney Christian. The Piners had four players in double digits as they notched their third victory of the season.

"We don't have that one superstar who is going to take this team on his back and carry us," Richardson said. "So we need to get a lot of guys chipping in with scoring contributions. If we can do that, we're going to put ourselves in a position to win some games. We need to show patience and get the ball in the hands of the open man."

Junior guard Chris Jordan paced Lakewood with a team-high 20 points. Eric Franklin scored 12, while teammates Joe Hughes and Mike Jones had 10 apiece.

Lakewood's defense stifled the Kearney Christian offense in the first half.

The Piners led 13-7 after one period and held Kearney to just eight more points in the second quarter.

LHS built a 10-point lead by halftime.

"We have a lot of athletic guys on this team and defense is an area where we are going to have to play well at all times," Richardson said. "If we can limit the amount of easy baskets and second shots, we'll be able to stick around against a lot of teams."

Following an evenly played third quarter, Lakewood turned on the afterburners and outscored Kearney Christian by a 24-12 margin in the final eight minutes of the game.

Lakewood put forth a respectable showing in a 54-44 loss to Pleasantville in the first round. Franklin scored 14 points to pace the Piners, who shot a paltry 15-of-24 from the charity stripe.

Jones had nine points, and Taquan Strand finished with eight. Wilton Morgan chipped in with six points.

New Egypt downs Pinelands

In a nonconference game last Saturday, New Egypt used a big fourth quarter to knock off Shore Conference opponent Pinelands, 38-33.

After going scoreless in the third quarter, the Warriors entered the final eight minutes of the game trailing 27-21. The New Egypt offense, however, ignited to outscore Pinelands 17-6 in the fourth period to escape with a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

Sophomore center Kevin Janowski led the Warriors with a team-high 13 points. Forward Josh Howard contributed 10 as New Egypt raised its record to 4-1 overall.

Coach Jay Corby is impressed with the play of his 6-foot-6 center.

"He is getting better with each passing game," Corby said. "He is still young and has a lot of learning to do, but we're real pleased with what he has been showing us so far this season."