A Sensational Start

One of the early season surprises in South Jersey high school boys’ basketball has been Cherry Hill East.

The Cougars began the week 11-0 after going 13-16 a year ago.

Then again, that record from last year was somewhat deceptive, since nine of the losses were by eight points or fewer.

The Cougars entered the week 3-0 in the always difficult Olympic American Division.

Cherry Hill East is winning the close games. Two of the three Olympic American wins were a 52-51 triumph over Rancocas Valley and a 56-51 win last week over Cherokee.

The win over Rancocas Valley in the second game of the season was an early turning point for the Cougars.

“The RV game was key because when we beat RV, we thought we could compete with teams in our league because that is a really talented team,” Cherry Hill East coach Dave Allen said.

That said, Allen has been surprised by the quick start, simply because this was a team that only returned a few experienced players.

The most impressive aspect of the team is its tremendous balance, with five players averaging double figures, led by 6-0 freshman Jamieson Young (16.0 ppg.)

The other double-figure scorers are sophomore Chris Abreu (13.7 ppg.), junior Chris Delgado (13.4 ppg.), senior Jacob Jones (10.5 ppg.) and junior Noahm Marciano (10.2 ppg.).

Delgado and Jones were regulars last season. Marciano was the other returnee from last year.

“We have done it with different kids leading us on different nights,” Allen said. “We have really come together as a team and there is good synergy. The players trust each other.”

One thing that hasn’t surprised Allen has been the play of his freshman Young.

“I thought he would be ready to go,” Allen said. “He was a very good scorer in middle school and I knew he would [continue to] be a good scorer.”

Still, Allen couldn’t have envisioned the type of performance Young had in a 55-51 win over rival Cherry Hill West. In that game, Young scored 35 points.

“I didn’t know he’d be ready to score 35 points, but I knew he would be one of our top scorers,” Allen said.

Besides Young, another key newcomer is Abreu, who transferred from Paul VI. In last week’s win over Cherokee, he scored a game-high 25 points.

The Cougars have won impressively this season. Eight of the first 11 games have been won by 20 or more points.

And yet the Cougars have also won the close games. Three other wins were by five or fewer points.

Allen understands that it is still early in the season. There are no days off in the Olympic American. That means two games each against fellow American Division teams Rancocas Valley, Lenape Eastern and Cherokee.

That is a tall task, but so is beating the Cougars, who have been among the most improved teams in South Jersey during the first month of the season.