Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 44

ASBURY PARK PRESS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2000 PAGE D6 To Report Scholastic Scores Call 1-800-822-9770, Ext. 4400, 4422 We're online! www.injersey.comrally Comments? Questions? E-mail us at rallyapp.com SCT BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS Colts' long-range shooting able to gun down TR East Scarlet FKers show they can put formidable attack on floor Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant. "You can tell he was on just by the way he shot the ball during warmups," O'Donnell said. "This is his old home." Dean had plenty of help against Lakewood (19-4), which was led by Hassan McDougal's 23 points. Brian Showers, a 6-5 senior who is a first-year varsity player, had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Neptune (17-4), a performance almost routine for him in recent weeks.

By MIKE KERWICK STAFF WRITER LITTLE SILVER You could point to the six 3-pointers Mike Skrocki made, or the dazzling alley- oop he CBA TR EAST 66 31 converted near the end. CBA'S KEY RUN I ui A 15-4 run in the first credit quarter Jason Pat Lynch sinks a three Krayl for from the left corner to his a put CBA up three. 6-3 tience on CBA defense, Pat Doherty counters or for hit- for East, scoring from ting three right under the hoop. long- 6-5 CBA range Jason Krayl follows with shots of a layup, slashing to the his own. basket for his first You could points.

8-3 CBA congratu- Mike Skrocki hits a late Pat runner. 10-3 CBA Lynch on Lynch goes coast-to- his two coast after stealing an early tri- errant pass. 12-5 CBA fectas, the Mike Konopka drives for ones that a layup, halting the forced Colts' run. 12-7 CBA Toms bKrocw nits a three River from the right side. CBA East to 15-7 abandon the trian-gle-and-two de- Skrocki hits a three from the left side.

CBA 18-7 fense. CBA's Big Three went deep in yesterday's Shore Conference semifinals, converting 12 three-pointers, disposing of East's taller lineup 66-31 at Red Bank Regional High School. The Colts take on Neptune, a 77-52 winner over Lakewood in last night's other semifinal, in tomorrow's championship game. "A lot of people didn't think we'd be this good," said Skrocki, a forv' ward for the No. 9 team in the nar tion.

"We knew after the The Colts were patient, even as Toms River East opened the game in a triangle-and-two, trying to slow the game and get the ball inside to 6-8 center Mike Konopka. Thostf plans went to pieces two minute after the opening tip, when Lynch hit two 3-pointers from the same spot on the court Combining that with Skrocki's hot hand (eight points in the first quarter) and Krayl's presence behind the 3-point line forced East's big men to step out and contest the three. "I'm asking Mike (Konopka) to rebound and guard their outside shooters," said East coach Tom Carpenter. "They pulled Skrocki outside and he kept putting shots down and we had to guard him out there." It went that way most of the night: Skrocki, Lynch and Krayl took turns hoisting up 3-pointers while the Raiders scrambled for any open looks they could find. The fact that East has three players who stand 6-6, 6-8 and 6-10 Pat Doherty, Konopka and Ryan Doherty was a concern heading into the game.

CBA spent the previous two days at practice preparing for the height disadvantage, packing four players inside and having one player guard the ball handler. The result: only 18 points from East's three towers, 10 of which came on inside maneuvers by Konopka. Konopka, a senior, was averaging 19 a game heading into the night. "We knew Konopka was a great player," Krayl said. If not for two free throws by Ryan Doherty and a 3-pointer from, Jordan Busco within the final minV utes, CBA would have held the Raiders to 26 points.

By BOB JORDAN STAFF WRITER LITTLE SILVER The Shore Conference Tournament preliminaries took on a new light with the presence of one of the nation's top teams. So the past week has been a search for another team that could play at an elite level. 1 Because Neptune looked so im- pressive NEPTUNE 77 LAKEWOOD 52 in puttmg away Lakewood NEPTUNE'S 77 52 in KEY RUN the semi- A 9-0 run midway finals, through the first quarter and 4:45 Brian Showers cause the scores off the glass on Scarlet an inbounds. 10-8 Fliers are Neptune. showing 4:20 Taquan Dean 0ff a pow- bombs in a 3-pointer erful in off the dribble.

13-8 side Neptune. fiae gam a ru to go with 4:01 Showers scores on a putback. 15-8 young Neptune. guards 2:50 Showers dunks off wh are a rebound. 17-8.

DOth care" ful and creative with the ball, the championship game tomorrow against Christian Brothers Academy (No. 9 in the USA Today national rankings) has all the makings of a good one. And you had to like the way the Neptune players enjoyed the moment without being carried away by the moment. "We're the underdogs against CBA. Don't let anybody tell you anything different," said sophomore guard Taquan Dean, who scored 18 points in a homecoming of sorts.

"What we have to do is go t6 work and prepare for them. We're a young team and we're improving all the time." The semifinals were played at Red Bank Regional, the school Dean attended last year as a freshman. Dean was a member of the Bucs' Class North championship team, a title he won again this season as a member of Neptune's squad. "He feels comfortable here. You can see that," said coach Ken O'Donnell, who calls Dean "Kobe" because he likens him to the Los Terrance Todd -sophomore guard points.

like Dean a scored 16 The two of them went off from beyond the arc in the first half. Todd made two 3-pointers in the opening 75 seconds and finished the half with four treys. Dean threw in three more 3-pointers as Neptune built a 47-26 lead at halftime. Showers, too, had help down low. Robert Layton, a 6-5 sophomore, had seven points and three rebounds.

Junior Rafig White, 6-3, had seven points and eight rebounds. Marcus Alston, a 6-2 freshman, had two points and three rebounds. Neptune went on a 9-0 run in taking a 17-8 lead in the first quarter with Showers scoring from the inside three times and Dean added a 3-point field goal. Neptune was never really threatened from that point and went on an 11-0 run, going up 34-13, as Dean drained another pair of treys, and the Fliers kept rolling to a 39-20 lead. Lakewood trailed by more than 20 throughout the second half until McDougal's field goal and a trey keyed a 9-2 rally that made the score 64-45.

The sellout crowd started leaving when Showers made a foul shot and missed the second, only to have White put the rebound back for a basket that made it 73-50. "This is what we had been going for, getting to the final of the Shore Conference Tournament," Showers said. "We want to make the most of it." can possibly hand Christian Brothers Academy, the No. 9 team the country, its first loss of the season in tomorrow's SCT final at Brook-dale Community College, Middle-town. "If they put together that kind of shooting, that kind of athleticism, and that kind of effort, Neptune has a legitimate shot of beating that team," Richardson said of CBA IF Skrocki's hot hand cools the competition PETER ACKERMANStaff Photographer Left: Toms River East's Ryan Doherty (51) applies the pressure on CBA's Bob Sidoti.

The Colts bombed away from the outside for most of the night en route to their victory over the Raiders. Above: Neptune's Taquan Dean takes a shot over teammate Marcus Jones. Dean got a clear enough look at the basket to pump in 18 points in the Fliers' impressive win over Lakewood. Richardson's Piners fight to By PHIL DIPISA CORRESPONDENT LITTLE SILVER If Neptune can repeat its performance from last night's Shore Conference Tournament basketball semifinal, the Scarlet Fliers may have a shot at pulling off the unthinkable. Yes, even Lakewood head coach John Richardson says that Neptune after the second-seeded Scarlet Fliers overpowered No.

3 Lakewood 77-52 at Red Bank Reginal High School. "No team is unbeatable," Richardson said, "and if they have that kind of spark, they can win." But what happened to the Piners' chance of meeting the elite Colts in the championship game? With the Neptune backcourt of LITTLE SILVER A shooter's stroke is as sensitive as a golfer's swing, problems caused by microscopic flaws too infinitesimal for the human eye to see. So the physical affects the mental and the mental affects the subliminal, and suddenly shots start finding iron instead of net. In more straightforward terms. Christian Brothers Academy swingman Mike Skrocki was in something of a shooting slump, not that anyone JOE ZEDALIS could tell from the box scores.

"He got knocked down in four or five games and he landed on his wrist and his hip and hurt his back," said CBA coach Ed Wicelin-ski. And the ache here and twinge there finally made their way to his head. "The coaches were telling me it was all mental," said Skrocki, a 6-6 senior bound for the University of Richmond. Like a hitter who starts fouling pitches straight back, Skrocki had been showing signs of breaking out of the slump. Last night, in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals at Red Bank Regional, Skrocki not only broke out, he exploded.

CBA broke down Toms River East and the top-seeded Colts bounced the Raiders, 66-31. Skrocki was feeling it, not the pain in his wrist or the ache in his back, but feeling his stroke. He knocked down six 3-point goals and finished with 22 points. "I'd watch the ball leave his hand and I would just turn around and starting running back down the floor," said teammate Jason Krayl. "When he gets those first one or two to drop, you can see him getting confident" You could have fried an egg on Skrocki's shooting hand.

His arching shots rotated smoothly like a wheel on a car and caused the La nylon to ripple like a pond that had swallowed a pebble. "When you get that many open looks, it's easy," Skrocki said. And with CBA's offense running smoothly and with the passes crisp and accurate, Skrocki often went airborne without so much as a hand in his face. "He shot the lights out," said Toms River East coach Tom Carpenter. "He's 6-6 and he shoots like' a guard." And rebounds like a center and jumps like a forward.

His bucket off an alley-oop pass from Pat Lynch with 4:17 left in the game sent a charge through the Colt Crazies. Krayl was as deadly from the field as Skrocki was and Lynch set a tone when he nailed a pair of 3-pointers early on. "We have kids on this team that can shoot," Wicelinski said. "And we can play a number of And the style last night was to get Skrocki the ball and watch it fall like a laser-guided smart bomb. "You just knew they were going in," Krayl said.

"Skrocki making shots drew our big men out away from the basket," Carpenter said. 1 Which then opened space for cutters, which then opened space for the ball to be kicked back out to the shooters, which pretty much spelled doom for the Raiders. "We've won games when we've shot the ball well. We've won games when we haven't shot the ball well," Wicelinski said. "The one thing we usually do is play good enough defense to keep it close until we get un tracked." Last night, CBA didn't have to wait long.

"It's not like I felt it fat warm-ups or anything," Skrocki said. "But the only way to get out of a slump is to shoot your way out You can't stop shooting." And Skrocki, within the CBA system, of course, wasn't shy. And the return of his shooting touch is just something else for future opponents to deal with. "Hey, I don't mind making the shots," Skrocki said with a smile. CBA doesn't mind, either.

Joe Zedalis is an Asbury Park Press staff writer. the finish sophomores Terrance Todd and Taquan Dean shooting comfortably from the outside and the inside package of senior Brian Showers and junior Rafig White showing all signs of being on their games, Lake-wood was forced to play a nearly flawless game. Easier said than done. The Piners struggled early from the field, as Neptune went on a 17-5 run in closing out the first quarter. Three consecutive treys by Dean (18 points) and Todd (16 points) extended the Scarlet Flier lead to 17 with 6:54 left in the first half.

Lake-wood could muster only 13 points in the second quarter and failed to cool down Neptune, falling behind by 21 at halftime. Senior guard Hassan McDougal led the Piners with 21 points, despite shooting just 8-for-24 from the field. Junior point guard Carlton Henderson looked like he was off to a spectacular night after nailing his first two 3-point attempts. However, Henderson made only three of his last 10 tries and finished with 12 points. Inside, Lakewood could not match up with the strong bodies of Showers (21 points, 11 rebounds) and White (seven points, eight rebounds).

Junior 6-3 center Vernon Sanders, a reserve who has been a force for Lakewood down the stretch, seemed intimidated from the start. He was scoreless and fouled out Shore Conference Boys Basketball Tournament 1 rp Quarterfinals I Quarterfinals 1CBA No. 3 Lakewood CBA Lakewood No. 16 Donovan 1 83-38 I I 53-42 No. 14 Shore CBA Lakewood No.

8 Southern 76-30 1 1 58-44 No. 6 Midd. North Southern cgA Midd. North No. 9 Mater Dei 1 61-51 g631 55-53 jrtaUHofcndel No.

5 TR East No. 7 Ocean I r- Neptune i East Rarttan No. 12 Freehold 74-63 I 58-53 No. 10 Rarrtart Championship 1 DD 1 at Brookdale 1 Ho-4 RBC 54-43 Community 83-68 No. 2 Neptune Bt Memorial College Neptune Na 13 Brick Memorial 56-55 tomorrow 732 No.

15 Manalapan 2 p.m. 1.