Looking At Some South Jersey Boys’ Basketball Teams that Showed Well During Holiday Tournaments

Here is a look at some of the area’s boys’ basketball teams who had good performances during holiday tournaments.

The Indians won the highly competitive Score at the Shore Tournament at Southern Regional. The key win was a 57-56 victory in the semifinal over Trenton. Lenape used a 19-10 fourth quarter to earn the comeback win. Senior Nolan Barnes led the way with 20 points and then added 16 as the Indians cruised to a 65-36 win over Lawrence in the championship game. Barnes was named the tournament MVP while juniors Jaidyn Boyd and Brett Halfpenny were all-tournament team selections. Boyd averaged 18 points in the two wins and Halfpenny averaged 12.0 points. Lenape followed that up with a 54-49 Olympic Conference Interdivisional win over Bishop Eustace on Saturday to begin the week 8-0.

The Crusaders, who already have beaten Camden and Cherokee, went to Kissimmee, Florida to compete in the KSA Tournament. Eustace went 2-1, beating New Jersey’s Montclair Kimberly before losing 37-35 to First Baptist of Kissimmee. The Crusaders ended with a 74-64 win over Chicago Christian of Illinois as 6-6 senior Dillon Adomanis scored 29 points. This was a good test for Eustace, playing on the road in a quality tournament and will certainly help the Crusaders as they compete in the rugged Olympic Conference National Division.

The Vikings are competing in the rugged Olympic Conference American Division, where Cherry Hill East, Lenape and Cherokee are among the other outstanding teams. Eastern won two games in its own holiday tournament, beating Overbrook, 49-46 in the second game as senior Sean Karbach had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Eastern opened the tournament with a 66-32 victory over Medford Tech. The Vikings, who began the week 8-1, should be a contender in the American Division, with the lone division loss, 60-57 to Lenape.

The Chiefs rebounded from a 38-34 non-division loss to Bishop Eustace to win two games in convincing fashion at the Boardwalk Showcase in Wildwood. Cherokee defeated Oakcrest, 57-16 and then defeated Glassboro, 57-21. It goes to show that when a highly touted team like Cherokee does against teams outside of the Olympic Conference. In the win over Glassboro John Comito led the Chiefs with 14 points.

The Green Wave improved to 4-2 after beating Gloucester Catholic, 46-36 in the final of the Audubon Holiday Tournament. Senior A’zon Young scored 21 points in the title game after pouring in 20 points in a 53-39 opening round win over Moorestown Friends. Young, who was named the tournament MVP, has continued to be a consistent scorer as he has hit double figures in the first six games, scoring 12 or more points in each contest.

The Bears went to a showcase in West Windsor and came out with two wins, defeating West Windsor-Plainsboro North, 51-40 and then earning a 65-51 triumph over West Windsor-Plainsboro South. Andrew Reim, a 6-2 junior, had 18 points and 13 rebounds in the win over WWP-South after scoring 10 points in the win over WWP-North. That improved Delran’s record to 5-0 and indicated the Bears should be a contender in the Burlington County Freedom Division.

Lenape all tournament players No 3 Nolan Barnes, Jaidyn Boyd, Brett Halfpenny / Courtesy of Lenape basketball