Cinnaminson Boys Basketball Building off Last Year’s Division Title
A year ago, Cinnaiminson’s boys’ basketball team enjoyed a milestone season, going 25-3 and winning the Burlington County Patriot Division title. The Pirates advanced to the South Jersey Group 2 semifinals before losing to Middle Township.
This season the challenges have increased. Cinnaminson is still in Group 2, where there appear to be more quality teams than a year ago, led by Camden and Middle Township.
The Pirates have also moved divisions, now competing in the Burlington County Liberty, one of the most competitive for mid-sized schools in South Jersey. Besides Cinnaminson, the other contenders in the Liberty include Medford Tech, Trenton Catholic and Westampton Tech.
Cinnaminson may not be the favorite, but the Pirates have the ability to contend all season long.
Entering the week, coach Mike Fries’ Cinnaminson team was 8-2 overall and 2-1 in the Liberty.
Winning the division in convincing fashion last year set the tone for this season. Cinnaminson went 12-0 last year in the Patriot Division.
“Going undefeated in the division was impressive because there was great competition, with teams like Pemberton and Burlington City among others,” Fries said. “Getting that title last year brought the momentum for this year, but knowing we moved up to the next division, it showed us that we had to put the work in to get stronger.”
This year’s lone Liberty loss was a 50-44 defeat at Westampton Tech last week. Cinnaminson was missing one of its top players, junior guard Drew Harvey who was sidelined with a concussion.
Harvey returned for Friday’s 52-41 Liberty Division win over Holy Cross Prep, scoring 10 points.
Drew Harvey and his twin brother Noah are part of one of the more balanced attacks in South Jersey.
“Both are clever with the basketball and they have great ball handling skills and get their shots off quick,” Fries said. “They are great teammates, and they open the floor for the other three guys.”
Entering the week, Drew Harvey was leading Cinnaminson with a 13.2 scoring average. The other leading scorers were 6-3 junior Collin Parish (12.5 ppg.), 6-1 junior Sody Gantt (12.4 ppg.), Noah Harvey (11.6 ppg.) and the only senior in the starting lineup, 6-1 Andrew Plaza (7.5 ppg.).
Despite being just 6-1, Gantt continually challenges bigger defenders.
“He is mentally tough, strong and attacks the basket and finishes at the rim,” Fries said. “He is a tough player to guard.
With such great balance, opponents can’t enter a game with the intent of stopping a certain player, because even if that works, Cinnaminson has so many other options.
“I have five guys who on any night have the ability to score 15 points,” Fries said.
Cinnaminson’s other loss entering the week was 50-49 to Mainland, among the top teams in South Jersey.
One of the most impressive wins this season was a 64-54 triumph over Camden Catholic in the Butch McLean (showcase) at Haddon Heights. Noah Harvey exploded for 29 points against the Irish.
“It was nice to beat them and all five of our starters played well together,” Fries said. “We got down and fought back and held the lead and it was one of those games where we played great defense in the second half and shut them down.”
The Pirates have a difficult division schedule so playing teams like Camden Catholic in a non-league game will only prepare them for the grind. They are intent on staying in the race of a very competitive Liberty Division.
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Author: Marc Narducci
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