New Egypt hoops teams make state playoffs
BY MIKE WHITE Staff Writer
Both the New Egypt High School boys and girls basketball teams qualified for the NJSIAA Group I tournament last week.

The boys clinched a berth in the event last Saturday by posting a 47-42 win over PerthAmboy's Vocational Technical School.

The Warriors were led by their two big men: 6-foot-8 junior center Kevin Janowski scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while 6-foot-7 freshman Desmond Hubert added 10 points, 12 boards and eight blocked shots. Guard Ronnie Tortoriello chipped in with nine points and five assists.

"We're real pleased with returning to the state tournament," said coach JayCorby. "It's been an up-and-down year so far, but as of late we have been playing much better. We have a lot of potential on this team.We just need to start to be a littlemore consistent."

With an overall record of 12-8, the girls earned a berth in the state tournament for the second consecutive year.CoachMattBrogan feels the accomplishment is another step forward for both the program and the community that supports it.

"At the start of the season, we set a goal to qualify for the states," Brogan said. "Making it for the second straight year says something about the direction in which we are headed. We felt it was real important for us to accomplish this as a team.

"We're playing pretty well at this point in the season," Brogan said. "Sure, I'd like to see us be a littlemore consistent at both ends of the floor, but for the most part, the girls have been solid."

New Egypt whackedMedford Tech by 21 points in their firstmeeting.Brogan feels his team is focused to complete the task of getting back to the postseason.

"We realize what is at stake here," Brogan said. "We talk about it, but we don't overdo it. We want the girls to stay focused but relaxed. We don't need to put any unnecessary stress on them before the game. That is not going to help themget this done."

In the loss to Allentown, Morgan Knigge led the Lady Warriors with a season-high eight points.KristieMartino added six,while teammate Emily Straneiro chipped in with four. New Egypt cut Allentown's lead to five points in the fourth quarter, but clutch freethrow shooting by the winners clinched the victory. New Egypt trailed by asmany as 12 in the game, but rallied by using a balanced scoring attack.

"They were a very good club," Brogan said. "Theymade foul shots at the end when it counted. That's what the good teams do. I was real happy with the way we competed down the stretch and in the second half in general."

New Egypt outscored Allentown 20-18 during the third and fourth periods.

"We got behind early and never really recovered," Brogan said. "The second half was a different game for us.We looked like a different team. We need to be consistent out there for a full 32minutes."