New Egypt boys hoops pointing toward big season
Jackson boys, girls having mixed success thus far
BY MIKE WHITE Staff Writer
The New Egypt Warriors overcame serious foul trouble and managed to escape with a 56-52 road victory over Gateway last Saturday.

CHRIS KELLY staff Jackson Memorial's Jim McDonnell (55) beats Brick Township's Kevin Bagart (10) to the ball during a Jan. 2 game, which was won by Brick by a score of 52-49.

New Egypt's three big men — Desmond Hubert, Kevin Janowski and Dakota Havens — each spent a significant amount of time on the bench due to foul trouble. Each finished the game with four fouls.

"When you have all your big men sitting down at the same time, it is going to have an effect on the way your team performs," New Egypt coach Jay Corby said. "We need to be more careful. We need to have those guys on the floor for us."

Hubert returned to the game and dominated the fourth quarter by scoring 10 of his 11 points in the frame. Hubert's putback of a missed free throw by guard Ronnie Tortoriello gave New Egypt a six-point lead in the closing minute.

"He had a big fourth quarter for us," Corby said. "He had spent a good portion of the game sitting. I was trying to keep my big guys in the game, so I had to put them on the bench to avoid one of them picking up their fifth [foul]. His rebound and putback at that particular moment gave us some breathing room."

In addition, Hubert drained four free throws in the final eight minutes. Tortoriello was a force from beyond the three-point arc. The senior connected on four treys and finished with 14 points.

"He played very well for us in this game," Corby said. "His perimeter shot was going down. He stepped up in a big way for us. We had all three of our big men on the bench and we were looking for somebody to spark us. Ronnie was able to convert a number of big baskets."

Janowski scored 16 points in limited action.

New Egypt suffered a 52-46 setback to Keyport in the finals of the Warrior Holiday Classic Tournament.

The Warriors struggled against a tenacious Keyport defense, which did an outstanding job of guarding both Hubert and Janowski. New Egypt managed to cut the deficit to two points with three minutes remaining, but could not overcome a dogged Keyport defense.

"They're a very good team," Corby said. "They did a nice job against us. They're physical and athletic. They are going to be one of the teams that should get pretty far in the Group I state tournament. Hopefully, we'll have another chance to play them later in the year."

It appears the frustration and disappointment that has plagued the New Egypt High School boys basketball team for the last couple of seasons is a thing of the past.

For the past two years, the Warriors haven't lived up to the expectations that were placed on them by basketball enthusiasts in the area. A talented group with a veteran post player didn't do as well as some would have thought. New Egypt finished with an overall mark of 13-14 last season.

"I felt that we should have been better than what our record indicated," Corby said. "We've had talent on this club for the past couple of years but never really seemed to play up to our potential. There were a number of factors why that happened. We seem like a different team so far this year. I think that we have a shot at turning things around."

Indeed, the anguish seems to have dissipated, at least temporarily. New Egypt is off to a fast 3-0 start, registering victories over Lindenwald, Moorestown Friends and Burlington City.

In fact, the 66-50 triumph over Lindenwald last Saturday advanced New Egypt to the championship game of the annual Warrior Holiday Classic. The Warriors squared off against Keyport in the finals.

"We know that Keyport has a very good club," Corby said. "They had a good season last year and have a number of talented players returning. We need to play with the same intensity and enthusiasm that we've shown in our opening three games in order to give ourselves a chance to win."

The win over Lindenwald was highlighted by the spectacular effort of sophomore big man Desmond Hubert. At 6 feet 9 inches, Hubert dominated the paint, scoring 37 points, including five dunks. In addition, he grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked seven shots.

"He has that kind of ability to change the way an opposing team plays," Corby said. "He is big and athletic and has improved tremendously since last year. You can see the confidence in him. He is a definite force in the middle. He is going to provide teams with a lot of problems this season."

Hubert's 37 points set a new school record for most points scored in a single game. Hubert scored 31 in an opening-night win over Burlington City, a team that traditionally gives New Egypt a hard time.

"He's been unstoppable so far," Corby said. "It was a great game for him. We need him to play at that level all year. He still has room to grow as a player. He is only going to get better and better."

Of course, Hubert isn't the only accomplished player for New Egypt. Senior forward Kevin Janowski gives New Egypt another sizable body, not to mention his knack for scoring from both the block and the perimeter. The 6-foot-8 Janowski has polished his post play and can drain the 15- foot jump shot.

"We're going to present match-up problems for teams this year," Corby said. "Having two big guys in there is going to be tough to defend for most teams. We'll be looking to get the ball in these two guys' hands as much as possible."

Dakota Havens has been providing New Egypt with a defensive spark. The 6-foot-3 forward has been drawing the opposing team's best offensive player.

"He's been outstanding, limiting some pretty good offensive players to low numbers," Corby said. "He understands we need him to focus on defense and rebounding. This year's team understands that we need guys to fill roles in order for us to be successful."

Guards Ronnie Tortoriello and Mark Pryzbylkowski will handle most of the backcourt duties. Corby admits he needs improved guard play this year, especially when other teams step up the defensive pressure.

"Sooner or later teams are going to come at us with a lot of full-court pressure," Corby said. "I need our guards to make sure that we take care of the ball. Handling the ball and making sure it gets into the hands of the right guys is critical."

New Egypt has a couple of newcomers who are battling for minutes. Sophomore Adam Lipay and freshman Jamel Smith have made contributions in New Egypt's three victories.

"They're young but have talent," Corby said. "It's going to take some time for them to adjust to playing at this level."

Jackson boys pick up first win of season

It's no secret around the Shore Conference that the Jackson Memorial High School boys basketball program has endured its share of tough times in the past few years.

Once again, it appeared the Jaguars would struggle during the 2008-09 campaign. After all, Jackson had lost its first five games of the season. Things may be changing for the better, however, because Tim Baker scored a game-high 23 points to lead Jackson to a resounding 76-57 win over Manalapan on Jan. 3.

Baker scored 14 points in the second half as the Jaguars ended the skid and registered their first win of the season. Baker had the hot hand from the perimeter, evidenced by four three-pointers.

Teammate Connor Saker chipped in with 14 points as the Jaguars outscored their opponent in all four quarters.

The Jackson girls improved to 5-2 overall with a 62-45 nondivisional win over Howell High School. Sophomore center Christa Evans poured in a game-high 27 points as the Lady Jags won for the fifth time this year.

Teammate Dana Costello scored 16 points.