Cougars win thriller over Camden in double overtime

The Cougars' first game this year in the Virginia B. Whitaker Invitational was one that will be remembered for a long time. The Cougars won 72-70 in double overtime, improving their record to 4-0.

The first quarter was tightly contested, serving as a good indicator for the rest of the game. Marc Schlessel ('12) started off with a bang for the Cougars, draining a three to start the scoring. Camden then went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-3 lead before Schlessel hit another three to pull the Cougars within three. The scoring continued to go back-and-forth throughout the quarter, but Camden emerged with an 18-16 lead heading into the second.

The Cougars played a strong second quarter, as Gary Hettinger ('13) and Jake Gurkin ('12) chipped in five points apiece to lead the Cougars in scoring for the quarter. A Jake Silpe ('15) three capped the quarter, giving the Cougars a 29-25 lead at the half.

The Cougars extended their lead in the second half, as Hettinger and Schlessel combined for 14 of the Cougars' 20 third quarter points. However, the Cougars could not completely shake off Camden as they remained in the game, down 49-42 heading into the fourth.

Obviously, Camden made a run at the Cougars in the fourth quarter. The Cougars held a seven point lead halfway through the quarter at 59-52 until Camden went off on an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead. After the run, the Cougars needed points as time was ticking off the clock. Schlessel once again came through, draining a floater and getting fouled to give the Cougars a one-point lead. He converted the free throw to give the Cougars the 62-60 lead with 32.2 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Camden hit a two-pointer to tie the game. The Cougars failed to score on their next possession, enabling Camden the opportunity to take the last shot to potentially win the game. Camden traveled with .07 seconds left, giving the Cougars faint hope to win the game in regulation. A last second heave from the corner rimmed out as the game would go to overtime.

Schlessel started off overtime with a bang, draining a three on the first possession. Camden then hit one of two free throws on each of their next two possessions to trim the lead to one. Gurkin then hit a free throw of his own to bring the lead back to two. Camden then hit one more free throw to once again bring the lead back to one. The Cougars extended the lead back to three with a Gurkin layup, but Camden came right back by scoring, getting fouled and converting the free throw to tie the game. The Cougars had an opportunity to win the game with 2.5 seconds left in the extra session but failed to do so, so the game went into double overtime with a score of 68-68.

In the second four-minute overtime period, neither team scored for the first 1:20 until Camden registered the first points with 2:40 left to take a 70-68 lead. Schlessel then continued the theme of the game as he came up with a clutch three to give the Cougars a slim lead at 71-70. Point Guard Jesse Gold ('12) ultimately stole the ball from Camden and was fouled with .04 seconds left. Gold hit a free throw for the game's final points to give the Cougars the 72-70 win.

Player of the Game: Schlessel. He was 5-12 from beyond the arc on the game on his way to scoring 29 points and he hit what proved to be the game-winning shot in double overtime to give the Cougars the victory.

Key Stats

Schlessel-29 points, 4 steals

Gold-12 assists

Gurkin-14 points, 7 rebounds

Hettinger-13 points

Silpe-13 points

Cougars shock top-ranked Bishop Eustace

On Wednesday night, the Cougars delivered an unbelievable performance, defeating top-ranked Bishop Eustace at Bishop Eustace 65-55. In what was an unforgettable experience for all who attended, the Cougars had a coming out party of sorts. The Countrymen were on their game from the start in an electric atmosphere, letting everyone know they believed in the Cougars chances in this one.

The first quarter was not a great indicator of how the night would end up for the Cougars. After a Hank Davis ('13) three for the first points of the game, the Cougars started to fall behind as Eustace went on an 11-0 run. The quarter ended with Eustace leading 16-7. However, the Cougars did have some encouraging signs, as Jake Gurkin ('12) looked rock solid on defense, refusing to let Eustace get too many points inside.

After a Eustace basket to start the second, the Cougars started to show they were sick of being down in this game. Gurkin, Marc Schlessel ('12) and Brett Roseman ('12) scored consecutive baskets to cut the deficit to four. Eustace hit two more shots to bring the lead back up to eight. However, Gurkin scored four consecutive points on two free throws then a jumper to cut the lead back to four. After a Eustace basket, Austin Wetzler ('14) drained a three to cut the lead to three, seemingly changing the momentum of the game for good. A Schlessel free throw then cut the lead to two. Gary Hettinger ('13) tied the game at 28 with an offensive rebound followed by a layup before the half.

Gurkin had ten points in the half to lead the team, followed by Wetzler with five.

The Cougars did not take control of the game from the start of the second half. After an initial Eustace three, Schlessel fired right back to hit a three-pointer of his own to re-tie the game. Eustace scored four straight, then the complex of the game and perhaps the Cougars' season changed because of one person: Jake Silpe ('15). Silpe started the Cougars' run with a bang, recording a steal then a layup to cut the deficit to two. On the ensuing possession, Marc Schlessel altered a jump shot in air, made the shot and was fouled. He made the free throw to give the Cougars the lead. He once again altered his shot midair on the next possession to give the Cougars a 38-35 lead. A Hettinger bucket gave the Cougars a five-point lead. Eustace scored the next bucket, cutting the leas to three. Then, Silpe once again drove to the basket and was fouled, showing the poise of a great ballplayer. He sank both free throws, driving the lead back up to five. Another Eustace three was countered by a Jesse Gold ('12) jumper. Another Eustace three was countered by yet another Gurkin layup, giving the Cougars a 46-43 lead heading into the final quarter.

Schlessel started the fourth-quarter scoring with a layup to extend the lead to five. Eustace came right back and hit a bucket of their own. Then, in one of the pivotal moments of the game, Silpe drained a three. The Eustace gym exploded at this point. If anyone was unaware of Silpe's graduating year before that three, everyone knew after, as every Countryman chanted "he's a freshman". The excitement was clearly building in Cougar nation as Silpe strengthened the lead to six points.

Silpe clearly had already had a great day for a freshman. A couple free throws, a nice layup and a key three in the fourth quarter. Was he done? Silpe answered that soon with an emphatic "NO!" as he hit one of the most unbelievable layups I have ever seen at the high school level. He completely fooled the defenders, went up contested and still made the bucket to bring the Cougar lead to eight. The kid's a freshman! The Cougars advanced the lead to 10 with a Hettinger basket.

Despite the ten-point lead, things started getting dicey for the Cougars as Point Guard Jesse Gold fouled out with less than three minutes remaining. Eustace cut the lead to 55-50. However, Gurkin hit two free throws to bring the lead to seven. Eustace then hit a free throw to cut the lead to six but that is the closest they would get. Silpe, filling in for Gold at the point, hit two free throws to bring the lead to eight. Then, the Cougars recorded a steal. But that's not all. After the steal, the outlet pass went to Gurkin. Gurkin could have put it up there for the easy two. However, he chose to emphatically dunk it home, sending the crowd into a frenzy, and essentially telling Eustace to say goodbye to it's number one ranking in South Jersey. Schlessel and Hettinger combined for four more points, giving the Cougars a 65-55 win.

The Countrymen stormed the court after the game and everyone left the gym in euphoria (well, except for the Eustace fans).

Player of the Game: Honestly everyone. A win like this takes a full team effort. However, Silpe and Gurkin really stood out. Silpe had a coming-out party of sorts for his career, recording nine points in the huge win. Gurkin played incredible defense on the inside while also contributing 16 points on the offensive side of the ball

Key Stats

Schlessel-17 points

Gurkin-16 points, 15 rebounds

Silpe-9 points, about 5 "He's a Freshman" chants

Hettinger-11 points

Wetzler-5 points

Cougars easily handle West, 76-62

The Cougars easily defeated cross-town rival West tonight by a score of 76-62. The Cougars advanced to 2-0 on the season heading into their big game against Bishop Eustace on Wednesday night.

The Cougars started the game off with a bang as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead from the get-go. The Cougars maintained a five-point lead until the end of the quarter, which ended with a score of 17-12. Gary Hettinger ('13) played a huge role, scoring six points in the quarter in the paint.

The Cougars scored 14 straight points after West hit a free throw to open up the quarter to take a commanding 31-13 lead. West did not go away completely, as they put together a mini-run to end the half down by 15, with a score of 37-22. Jake Gurkin ('12) played a huge role in the quarter, contributing eight points to the opening run. He ended the half with eight points and four rebounds. Marc Schlessel ('12) led the team in scoring in the half with 10. Hettinger contributed eight first-half points and five first-half rebounds.

The Cougars never really let the Lions back into the game during the second half. The Countrymen, wearing all black, consistently let West know that they had no shot in this game. The Cougars continued to dominate throughout the third quarter, seemingly gathering up every rebound on the way to a 60-46 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Cougars continued to do their thing, as they never allowed West to have a true chance at winning the game. The Cougars cruised to a 76-62 win. They will be facing off against the top-ranked team in South Jersey, Bishop Eustace, on Wednesday night at Bishop Eustace.

Player of the Game: Jake Gurkin. Gurkin seemed to be in perpetual beast-mode throughout the game, doing whatever he wanted in the game on his way to scoring 31 points and gathering in 10 rebounds. His emphatic rejection of Rodney Williams was also one of the highlights of the game.

Key Stats

Gurkin-31 points, 10 rebounds

Hettinger-11 points, 10 rebounds

Schlessel-26 points

East opens season with 61-36 win against Timber Creek

Coming into the first game against Timber Creek, nobody knew what to expect from this year's Cougars basketball team. Chris Santo was gone, John Valore retired, and David Allen (former CHW basketball coach) was taking over as head coach of the Cougars. That night, the Cougar Countrymen were in full swing, going with a "red-out" in order to support the team. All questions were pretty much answered as the Cougars took it to Timber Creek, blowing them out 61-36.

Starting for the Cougars would be Jesse Gold, Marc Schlessel, Jake Gurkin, Gary Hettinger, and Hank Davis.

The game started out with a bang, with the Cougars opening the scoring with a 10-2 run 3:29 into the first quarter, prompting the Timber Creek coach to call a timeout. The Cougars never looked back, closing out the quarter with an 18-6 lead, and in full control of the game. The Cougars run-and-gun offense really couldn't be contained by Timber Creek, as the result of Jesse Gold's superior passing skills, and the abilities of Gary Hettinger, Jake Gurkin, and Marc Schlessel to get down the court to receive Gold's passes for easy layups.

The second quarter wasn't much different then the first, as the Cougars outscored Timber Creek 16-11, taking a 34-17 lead into the half. Combining for 18 of the Cougars 34 points at half were seniors Marc Schlessel and Jake Gurkin. With David Allen as the new coach, many of the Cougars supporters were also able to see some substitutions, with Brett Roseman, Jake Silpe, and Austin Wetzler coming off the bench to give the starters some well deserved rest.

The third and fourth quarters resulted in the Cougars expanding their lead, with the Cougars leading 42-19 after the third quarter, and finishing off the beatdown with a 61-36 victory. There were many high points in the game, with some very promising play from freshman Jake Silpe and sophomore Gary Hettinger, who finished with 12 points.

With East starting off the 2011-2012 season with a win against Timber Creek, they hope to move to 2-0 when the Cougars take on cross-town rivals Cherry Hill West Monday night at 7:00 pm at West, where David Allen will coach his first game ever against the Lions.

Final Stats:

Hank Davis : 1 point
Jesse Gold : 3 points
Jake Gurkin : 14 points
Brett Roseman : 6 points
Marc Schlessel : 18 points
Gary Hettinger : 12 points
Austin Wetzler : 7 points

Season set to kick off against Timber Creek

The Cougars begin the Dave Allen era tonight at 5:15 at Timber Creek. The Countrymen are traveling to the game in masses, excited to see how the team will begin their season without John Valore on the bench and all-time leading scorer Chris Santo ('11) on the court. From the preseason scrimmages, it appears as though the team will depend heavily on Jake Gurkin ('12) and Marc Schlessel ('12) for scoring.

The expected starting lineup.

PG-Jesse Gold ('12)

SG-Hank Davis ('13)

SF-Schlessel

PF-Gary Hettinger ('13)

C-Gurkin.

Go Cougars!

Cougars knocked out of playoffs in overtime loss to Shawnee

On Wednesday, the Cougars suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Shawnee in overtime in the South Jersey quarterfinal 52-49 to end their season. The game was close throughout but the Cougars fell just short.

Shawnee began the game on a 7-2 run. Then, Chris Santo ('11) hit two layups to bring the Cougars within one. Marc Schlessel ('12) went on to combat Shawnee's continued scoring effort with two threes to tie the game at 12. Shawnee went on to score the last five points of the quarter to take the 17-12 lead after the first quarter.

Shawnee opened the second quarter with another basket. However, Dan Melleby ('11) stopped the damage by draining a three despite his shoulder being in a sling the entire game. The Cougars crept back within two with baskets from Santo, Schlessel and Jake Gurkin ('12). The Cougars tied the game at 26 with two Santo free throws before the end of the half. The game remained tied heading into the half.

The third quarter was very back-and-forth as the Cougars traded baskets with the Renegades. A Gurkin three-pointer gave the Cougars the two point advantage but then Shawnee immediately tied the game. Jesse Gold ('12) then drained a jumper for another Cougar lead. With about two and a half minutes left in the quarter, Gold knifed through the defense for a layup to give the Cougars a 37-35 lead. There was no more scoring in the third quarter.

The tension in the DiBart Gym in the fourth quarter could have been cut with a knife. Both teams struggled to score as the Cougars led 41-37 with four minutes left in the quarter via Santo free throws and a Schlessel layup. Shawnee scored another basket to bring the score to 41-39. The score stayed the same for minutes. After many missed layups and free throws, the Cougars failed to put Shawnee away as the Renegades tied the game with 27 seconds left. The Cougars could not capitalize on their last possession as the game went into overtime at 41-41.

The four minute overtime period began with Shawnee hitting two free throws to take a 43-41 lead. Then, Santo hit two of two free throws to tie the game at 43. Shawnee then hit a three to take a 46-43 lead. Melleby struck back heroically for the Cougars to hit a crucial three despite the brace on his shoulder to tie the game. If the Cougars had won the game, Melleby would have been forever etched into East lore for this warrior-like three that tied the game at 46. Shawnee then scored four points in a row to take a 50-46 lead with 1:17 left. Gold followed up for the Cougars by converting one of two free throw attempts to bring the Cougars within three. The Cougars then got a defensive stop and, on the next possession, Santo gathered in an offensive rebound and put it back up to bring the Cougars to within one at 50-49 with about 55 seconds left. However, the Cougars could never get over the hump. Shawnee had a traveling violation with 42 seconds left to give the Cougars another opportunity. East failed to capitalize and got the ball back again with 22 seconds left after they had the possession arrow on a jump ball. However, the Cougars could not get it done as it took too long for a play to formulate as the Cougars threw an errant pass out of bounds with 6.3 seconds left. The Cougars fouled with 4.6 seconds left and Shawnee knocked down both free throws to extend the lead to 52-49. The Cougars then got the ball back and much confusion ensued as Shawnee appeared to call a time out while on defense, technically a technical foul. The foul was not called and the time was not reset completely to make up for the time lost so the Cougars had only about three seconds to work with. The Cougars struggled to get a good shot opportunity to tie the game and the final three-point attempt was airballed.

The Cougars' season ended with this devastating loss in John Valore's final game as a coach. The career of Chris Santo, the greatest player in the history of East basketball had also come to an end.

Key Stats

Santo-19 points, 13 rebounds, 5 steals

Schlessel-12 points, 4 steals

Gurkin-7 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks

Cougars destroy Egg Harbor Township in first playoff game

The Cougars showed today why they are the number two seed in the Group 4 South Jersey sectional and why Egg Harbor Township was the 15th seed as they crushed Egg Harbor 85-51 in front of a raucous crowd in the DiBart Gym in the opening round of the Group 4 sectional.

Although the Cougars were highly favored in the game, the fans came out in droves to go crazy to support their team. The atmosphere grew somewhat tense, as Dan Melleby ('11) suffered a shoulder injury in the pre-game huddle. Melleby has suffered various different injuries as East's football quarterback that have made him miss significant time, so this was a scary moment for all Cougar fans. Melleby did not play in the game.

The action started off slowly for the Cougars. Egg Harbor took a 3-0 lead until Jesse Gold ('12) and Sam Rose ('11) hit back-to-back three pointers to give the Cougars the lead. Keep in mind that they both would likely not have been on the court together this early in the game had it not been for Melleby's injury. This was the beginning of an 18-2 Cougar run that contained five Marc Schlessel ('12) points as well as scoring contributions from Chris Santo ('11), Jake Gurkin ('12) and Rose. The Cougars took the 22-8 lead into the beginning of the second quarter.

The Cougars continued to pour it on in the second. After Egg Harbor hit a three-pointer, Gurkin answered with a layup followed by another Rose three. This seemed to be the tipping point, as everything seemed to be going the Cougars' way. Santo scored four points in a row for the Cougars on a jumper and two free throws. Then, Gold had a beautiful pass inside to Gurkin for the easy layup. It got even better for the Cougars, as Schlessel drained two straight three-pointers to give the Cougars a 41-18 lead. The Cougars led 44-24 at the half with Gurkin leading the scoring with 14 points. He also had five rebounds in the half. Largely absent from the half was Santo, who had scored only five points to go along with his eight rebounds. Schlessel had 13 points at the half as well.

Egg Harbor refused to go away in the second half as they trimmed the deficit to 18 after the Cougars took a 50-26 lead early in the third. However, a Schlessel jumper and a Gurkin three widened the margin for the Cougars. The Cougars ended the quarter with a 61-34 lead with the game all but over. Gurkin already recorded his career high in points in the game with 21.

The Cougars continued to dominate early on in the fourth as Gold capitalized on a three-pointer and Gurkin scored two more baskets inside. Then, the substitutes came in and played admirably. Leading the charge was Alex Kauth ('11) who contributed six points off the bench.

The Cougars play Shawnee on Wednesday at 4 in the sectional quarterfinal.

Player of the Game:Gurkin. His career high of 25 points to go along with his 12 rebounds showed that he is a big-game player. He came through when the team needed him most as Santo was relatively quiet on the offensive side of the ball.

Key Stats

Santo-15 points, 15 rebounds

Gurkin-25 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks

Schlessel-17 points, 4 steals

Rose-9 points, 6 assists

Gold-6 points, 8 assists

Kauth-6 points

DeJesus-5 points

East's streak ends at 20 in match between 1 and 2

Going to Paul VI was going to be the Cougars toughest challenge since the beginning of the season as it was a showdown between #1 and #2 in the Courier Post top 10.

East lost, however they still managed to play great although giving up 75 points.

Of those points, 50 were scored by the Eagles' big three made up of Rob Poole ('11), Ron Curry ('12) and Roosevelt Cubbage ('12) who had 16,19 and 15 respectively.

Chris Santo ('11) led East with 28 points along with 10 rebounds.

The final score was 75-49 as East's record winning streak of 20 games was shattered on February 26.


Stats:
Santo 18 points 10 rebounds 5-6 from the foul line
Schlessel 12 points 0-9 from three
Gurkin 4 points 8 rebounds 6 blocks
Rose 3 assists
Melleby 8 points
Gold 4 assists
Kauth 5 points

East downs Camden Catholic extending streak to 20 games

The Cougars had to end their regular season against two very tough teams in Camden Catholic and Paul VI.

Camden Catholic, behind sophomore forward Kyle Green, did not look like they were an 18-6 team coming into today.

The Irish were held to their season low 28 points to East's 62. Green led Camden Catholic with nine points.

The Cougars riding on their 19 game win streak did not stop hustling up and down the court. Jesse Gold ('12) who started over injured Sam Rose ('11) for the second straight game forced four turnovers in the first half, three of them steals and the other a backcourt violation.

The game started off with a three by Camden Catholic which started their 8-5 run over the first two minutes, but East turned the momentum around taking a 10-0 run into the second quarter.

Gold had a quick dish out to Dan Melleby ('11) for a three and then Gold stole the ball to take a three of his own. On the next drive, Jake Gurkin ('12) stole the ball, passed it to Chris Santo ('11) who assisted another Gold three pointer. East shot a perfect 4-4 from downtown in the second leading the Irish 33-17 at the half behind Santo's 14 points and eight boards. Gold added 10 points five assits and three steals in the half.

The third quarter is what set the tone for the rest of the game. Green made two free throws to start the quarter and those were the only points they would score in the third. With 1:27 left in the quarter, Santo grabbed his 1000th career rebound giving him 16 for the game at that time. He ended with 17.

East led 47-19 after three quarters of play and went on to win 62-28. The Cougars only turned the ball over three times for the game all coming in the first half.

Players of the game: Chris Santo and Jesse Gold. Gold dished out 7 assists to zero turnovers. He also shot 4-7 from the field with two free throws to give him 14 points (tying his career high). Santo scored 21 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to give him another milestone for his amazing career.

Stats of the game:
Santo- 21 points 8-16 from two, 17 rebounds 4 steals and 3 assists
Schlessel- 12 points 6-9 from two, 5 steals
Gurkin- 10 points, 10 rebounds 5-6 from field
Melleby-5 points 4 assists
Gold- 14 points 7 assists

Cougars crush Wildwood Catholic 85-57

Yesterday, the Cougars mauled Wildwood Catholic in a tune-up for the playoffs 85-57, bringing their winning streak to 19 games. The Cougars were forced to play without starting point guard Sam Rose ('11) and with normal starter Dan Melleby ('11) beginning the game on the bench.

The first quarter was a little rough for the Cougars. They started amazingly on an 8-2 run on baskets from Jake Gurkin ('12), Chris Santo ('11) and Marc Schlessel ('12). Once the Cougars built the lead to 15-4, they began to miss shots and turn the ball over, allowing Wildwood back into the game. They came back to bring the score to 17-13 with the Cougars leading after the first quarter.

The second quarter was all about the Cougars. After Wildwood Catholic crept back to make the score 19-18, the Cougars embarked on a 15-0 run. Schlessel led the way with six points during the run that brought the Cougars up by 16. The Cougars continued to expand from there as Schlessel hit his third three of the quarter followed by recording a steal and a layup on the next possession to give the Cougars a 39-20 lead. The Cougars finished the half strongly as Santo and Gurkin scored to give the Cougars a 44-24 advantage at the half. Gurkin probably had the best half of his career, scoring nine points, recording 12 rebounds, dishing out five assists and blocking four shots.

The third quarter was more of the same for the Cougars. They cruised to victory, led by Santo who ended up with 33 points in the game.

Player of the Game-Gurkin. His 11 points, 14 rebounds, seven blocks and five assists were critical to the Cougars winning as he accomplished the majority of his work in the first half when the game was in doubt.

Other Key Stats

Santo-33 points, 8 assists, 8 rebounds

Schlessel-21 points, 3 steals, 5 three-pointers

Melleby-6 points

Cougars defeat cross-town rival West 55-40

The Cougars beat rival Cherry Hill West on Saturday 55-40. The Cougars did not nearly play their best, but they did more than enough to get the win

The first quarter was very slow for both teams. East took the 9-7 lead by the end of the quarter, via two steals by Marc Schlessel ('12) and a basket as well as points from Chris Santo ('11).

The second quarter sped up a little bit. The rebounding of the Cougars in the first half was dominant. Jake Gurkin ('12) has nine rebounds by the end of the half, while Santo had 6. Santo's 9 first-half points also helped build the lead. However, Santo also reached his third foul with three minutes left in the half, meaning he had to be very cautious on defense for the rest of the game. The Cougars took the 22-16 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter was very much of the same low-scoring, slow-paced basketball we saw in the first half. The Cougars were up only 25-24 with a few minutes left as West made a scoring pus in the quarter. Then with two minutes left in the quarter, Schlessel hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to 28-24 which is how the score stood until the quarter ended.

The Cougars dominated the fourth quarter. Santo scored twelve points in the fourth, to the frustration of the West players, fans and coaches. West's players clear frustration parlayed into them fouling the Cougars multiple times in the quarter unintelligently, allowing the Cougars to build up their lead. Free throws late in the game iced the game for the Cougars as they finished off the 55-40 victory. As a team, the Cougars shot 20/21 from the free throw line.

On a negative note, Sam Rose ('11), the team's starting point guard was injured with a sprained ankle with three seconds left in the game. He is expected back for the playoffs.

Player of the Game: Santo. His 12 fourth-quarter points elevated the team to victory. He also added in 12 rebounds.

Key Stats

Santo-21 points, 12 rebounds

Schlessel-16 points, 3 steals

Gurkin-4 points, 13 rebounds

Melleby-6 points

Gold-6 points

Cougars clinch American Division with win over Eastern

On Thursday, the Cougars defeated Eastern 66-48 to capture at least a share of the American Olympic divisional crown. Lenape still has one game left in the division, which will determine if the Cougars will have sole possession of first place.

The Cougars shot very well as a team throughout the game. Although Eastern is considered a solid team, the Cougars showed their superiority in every facet of the game.

Chris Santo ('11) led the way with 24 points as he played a great game throughout as he added six rebounds and four steals.

Jake Gurkin ('12) also had a great game, as he scored 14 points and retrieved nine rebounds along with two blocks.

Marc Schlessel ('12) and Dan Melleby ('11) each contributed 13 points. Schlessel shot 5 of 8 from the field while Melleby dished out six assists.

The Cougars did allow Eastern to hang around in the first half as they took only a nine-point lead into the half. However, the Cougars played well in the third quarter and erased any doubt whether they would win this game.

Santo also played well in that he had three fouls by the middle of the second quarter and did not pick up another foul for the rest of the game.

Player of the Game: Gurkin. His 14 points and nine boards helped secure the win and the division for the Cougars.

Key Stats

Santo-24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals

Gurkin-14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks

Schlessel-13 points

Melleby-13 points, 6 assists

Cougars win 16th in a row by defeating Washington Township

The Cougars beat Washington Township 79-60 on Tuesday to extend their record-breaking winning streak to 16 games. Although the Cougars won by 19, the final score does not do justice to the Cougars' dominance in the game. The Cougars shot 57% from the three point line and 53% from the field in the rout.

Dan Melleby ('11) provided all of the offense the Cougars needed in the first quarter. His three-point shooting helped vault the Cougars to the 22-8 lead after the first.

This was certainly not Chris Santo's ('11) best game as he fouled out late in the third with 11 points and eight rebounds. However, he did get to the line enough throughout the game to contribute as he helped the Cougars to a 47-16 half-time lead.

Really, everyone contributed in this game. The starters were out of the game by the fourth quarter as the reserves got the chance to play their game. Justin DeJesus ('11) took advantage of the opportunity, scoring 10 points for the Cougars.

The bench played out the string to close out on a 79-60 victory.

Player of the Game: Melleby. He was the game's leading scorer with 17 points and shot lights out from beyond the arc, going four for five.

Key Stats

Santo-11 points, 8 rebounds

Gurkin-11 points, 8 rebounds

Schlessel-8 points

Melleby-17 points

DeJesus-10 points

Gold-6 points, 5 assists

Rose-5 assists

Roseman-6 points

East makes history with 65-55 win over Pleasantville

The Olympic-Cape challenge took place once again on Saturday February 11 at St. Augustine Prep as East took home their win number 17 on the year. This victory gave East their fifteenth straight win breaking the previous record of 14 straight wins set by the 1993-94 and 1998-99 squads.

The game started off very slow and very unusual for the Cougars. After winning the tipoff and scoring the first basket of the game, the Cougars looked like they were missing something, and that something was motivation. They had not shown up for this game and it showed it on the court as East started to slowly fall apart. Pleasantville went on a 12-3 run over the next two minutes and after another minute had the lead by two points when Coach Valore called his first timeout. It's very unusual to see Valore call a timeout in the first quarter so when he does, you know he is mad.

After the timeout, Pleasantville scored a quick three pointer followed by a Marc Schlessel ('12) three rounding out the first quarter 21-17 Pleasantville.

The second quarter was not much better. After a few interchanging baskets between both teams, East started to pick up their slack off of a Jesse Gold ('12) nice bounce pass to Jake Gurkin ('12) to make the Pleasantville lead 26-21. Dan Melleby ('11) then dished out one of his 8 assists of the game to CHris Santo ('11) who got an and-one opportunity but failed to convert on the free throw. East then got the ball back but turned it over resulting in a Pleasantville three to make the score 30-23. Santo then had turned it over for the fourth time in the quarter after just turning the ball over 11 times over the last eight games. At this point, Valore had had enough and did something he had never done before: take Santo out of the game. Justin DeJesus ('11) subbed in for Santo at the 4:37 mark in the second and surprisingly East started to perform a little better.

Schlessel connected on a three, which led to a followup three by the opponent in which Valore decided to put Santo back in, but this time for Gurkin. Another thing Valore does not do. After a few baskets by both teams and a timeout by Pleasantville, Gurkin went back in for Santo for another minute in which the half ended with a nine point lead for Pleasantville 37-28.

In the locker room, Valore was not happy. He had nothing to say to the team so he walked out leaving it up to the captains to turn the game around and keep the Cougars stellar season in track. Santo made a motivational speech which seemed to work as once East came back out to play, the played like a completely different team than the first half.

Melleby dished it out to Santo for a three point play followed by Gurkin making 1-2 from the line. East than went on an impressive 12-7 run over the next four minutes when they tied it up with just over a minute to play in the quarter.

On the next possession, Gold drew an intentional foul making one free throw to take a one point advantage. On the inbound following the free throws, Santo passed it to Gurkin for a layup giving East a three point lead at which point they never looked back. Gold forced a turnover and was fouled making his first free throw but missed the second ending the quarter with an East Lead of 48-44.

In the final quarter, East made shot after shot, but so did Pleasantville until the fouling started. In a span of two minutes they went from four fouls to the limit of 10 giving East the double bonus every time they were fouled for the rest of the game. East shot 22-28 from the line behind Santo's impressive 12-14 performance.

East won this game 65-55 behind a combined 50 points from Santo and Schlessel.

MVP goes to Chris Santo. Not just for his 30 point 15 rebound performance, but for his motivational speech during halftime that saved the Cougars' hopes for a victory that would make history in Valore's final season as a coach.

Stats:
Santo- 30 points, 15 rebounds 3 steals
Schlessel- 4-11 form three with 20 points, 3 rebounds
Gurkin- 12 rebounds and 7 points along with 4 blocked shots
Rose-4 assists
Melleby- 5 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists
Gold- 4 assists


East finishes up their Olympic conference schedule this week against Washington Twp (2/15) and a tough Eastern team fresh off of an upset over St. Augustine (2/17)

Cougars handily defeat Cherokee, 64-48

On Thursday, the Cougars easily beat an inferior Cherokee team 64-48. In the process, they extended their winning streak to 14 games.

Cherokee stayed tight with the Cougars in the first quarter. The scoring was well-balanced in the first as Chris Santo ('11) led the way with six points. Marc Schlessel ('12), Jake Gurkin ('12) and Dan Melleby ('11) also scored in the quarter to help the Cougars gain the 16-13 lead.

The Cougars began to pull away in the second. Gurkin scored five early points to give the Cougars a six point lead. The Cougars never looked back as Santo and Schlessel led them to a 38-21 half-time lead.

The game was essentially finished by the half as the Cougars cruised to the 64-48 win.

Player of the Game:Schlessel. Schlessel scored 19 points and 10 rebound to help the team in all angles in this victory.

Key Stats

Santo-26 points, 5 rebounds

Schlessel-19 points, 10 rebounds

Gurkin-14 points, 12 rebounds

Cougars extend winning streak by defeating Lenape

The Cougars continued their 13-game winning streak by defeating a tough Lenape team 42-37 yesterday. It was the typical low-scoring affair that games against Lenape usually are as the Cougars put themselves in better position to win the division by making up for their earlier loss to Lenape.

The first quarter contained virtually no scoring. Neither team scored for almost three and a half minutes until Jake Gurkin ('12) drained a three with 4:35 left. Lenape scored four in a row to take the lead. Chris Santo ('11) capped of Cougar scoring for the quarter with a layup with 2:33 left and the Cougars trailed 6-5 going into the second.

The second quarter was also very tight. Lenape further extended their lead by scoring the first three points of the quarter. Then, Marc Schlessel ('12) momentarily shifted the momentum back to the Cougars by recording a steal then going in for the layup. Schlessel was not finished as he hit a three later in the quarter. Gurkin tied the score and then Dan Melleby ('11) scored to take the lead off of a Jesse Gold ('12) assist. Santo hit a free throw before the quarter ended to give East the 15-14 lead.

Santo opened the second half with a bang as he scored East's four points off of a Schlessel steal, then on two free throws. Right when Lenape began to cut into the five-point Cougar lead, Gurkin and Santo struck again as they both scored to bring the lead back to five. Santo scored once again on a pass from Melleby that appeared to be a shot but in reality was an alley-oop pass as Santo converted for a layup. Santo capped the scoring in the quarter with an offensive rebound and a put-back for the five-point lead. Lenape cut the lead back to two as the Cougars held a 27-25 lead going into the fourth.

Gurkin opened the fourth quarter scoring within the first 15 seconds. On a later Cougar possession, he scored on a pass from Gold to extend the lead to six. After a Lenape field goal, the Cougars extended the lead to eight via a Gold pull-up jumper and a Melleby three. Of course, Lenape stormed right back to cut the lead to one. However, during this time, Santo perhaps epitomized this game as he dove out of bounds to make a save on an errant pass, obliterating the East bench and anyone in his way. This win was going to be difficult no matter what. Santo extended East's lead to three as the time dwindled in the game. Lenape scored again to cut the lead to one. With 17 seconds left, Lenape sent Schlessel to the line for a one-and-one. He converted on both free throws to give East the three-point lead. Lenape failed to score on their next possession and Santo hit two more free throws to ice the game and give East the 42-37 victory.

Player of the Game-Santo. On his way to scoring 17 points, he fought past early struggles and a tough Lenape defense to give the Cougars the win.

Key Stats

Santo-17 points, 5 rebounds

Schlessel-7 points, 3 steals

Gurkin-11 points, 7 rebounds

Melleby-7 assists

Gold-4 assists

East crushes Seneca 77-32

In the final game before playoff seeding, East beat Seneca locking up the number two spot throughout the playoffs resulting in all home games until the final round if they reach it.

The game started out close as the score was 3-2 Seneca through one minute of play, but after that East stopped slacking and went on a 16-5 run to end the quarter. Chris Santo ('11) only score two points in the quarter. The majority of the quarter points came from Dan Melleby ('11) and Jake Gurkin ('12) who each had seven.

The second quarter was even more pathetic than the first as East outscored Seneca 23-2 behing Santo's 13 points. Standing out in the half was Sam Rose ('11) dishing out seven assists in just 11 minutes, and Gurkin stealing the ball for his career high five times. Santo had yet to miss a shot going 6-6 from the field.

Seneca almost had as many fouls (8) as they did points (10) in the first half.

Opening up the third quarter East made two quick baskets to extend their dominant lead to 35. Seneca finally scored a point after being held scoreless for nine minutes by the Cougars' fantastic defensive playing. They went on to score four points in this quarter to East's 18 totaling the score after three quarters to 57-14.

At this point, legendary Coach John Valore took out all starters except for Santo. Gurkin had a career night leading East at this time with 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals. Marc Schlessel ('12) scored only eight points, but defensively he was unbeatable grabbing seven rebounds. Rose ended the game with 8 assists and Melleby added on 11 points along with five steals and four assists.

The bench players came in for the fourth quarter, showing East's great depth of a team behind seniors Edou Zaken, Justin De Jesus and Alex Kauth who scored 2, 2 and 3 respectively.

Santo added 11 points this quarter totaling 31 for the game without missing a two pointer. He also grabbed six rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Stats of the game:
Santo- 9-9 from two, 3-6 from three for 31 points
Schlessel- 8 points, 7 rebounds
Gurkin- 7-12 from the field with 18 points, 11 rebounds 7 steals and two blocks*
Rose- 8 assists
Zaken- 2 points 2 assits
Melleby- 11 points, three rebounds five steals and four assists
De Jesus- 2 points and three rebounds with one blocked shot
Kauth- 2 points
Spiegler- 3 points**
Davis- 1 assist

Player of the game: Jake Gurkin. He proved he is dominant in all aspects defensively grabbing his career high 7 steals. Gurkin is known for his blocking and rebounding ability but he showed he can simply do it all.

*-career high
**-Spiegler made his first shot in his two year career


Come see East play Lenape today February 8 at home as the winner will lock up the Olympic Conference.

Cougars get big win against Winslow

As one of the final games before Monday's playoff cutoff date, the Cougars simply had to beat Winslow Township for seeding purposes. They accomplished this and more by beating Winslow 65-53.

The Cougars distributed the ball very evenly in the first quarter. Jake Gurkin ('12), Sam Rose ('11), Chris Santo ('11) and Marc Schlessel ('12) each scored to give the Cougars the 19-13 advantage. Schlessel started to heat up towards the end of the quarter, hitting two threes to extend the East lead.

Sam Rose opened the Cougar scoring in the second by hitting a three-pointer to open the gap to five after Winslow scored the first four points of the quarter. Santo then hit two free throws followed by threes from Gurkin and Schlessel to open up the lead to 11. Winslow closed the gap to six before Schlessel hit yet another three. The Cougars carried a 35-26 lead into the half.

Winslow made the game even closer in the third. They cut the lead to three before Gurkin hit a shot to bring the Cougar lead to five. Santo and Melleby scored later in the quarter to fend off Winslow as the tried to take the lead. They never could though, as East took a 43-39 lead into the fourth quarter.

Melleby hit a three-pointer to open the quarter. After a Winslow score, Schlessel hit another three to bring the lead to eight. Santo brought the lead to ten on the next possession before Winslow proceeded to cut the lead to six. After two more Santo free throws, Winslow went on a mini-run to cut the lead to three. Santo refused to let the Cougars lose the lead as he scored yet again. After another Winslow three, the Cougars finally managed to pull away behind a Gurkin offensive rebound putback and a Santo steal followed by a dunk on the breakaway. The Cougar lead was six as Winslow attempted to have a miraculous comeback but ended up going backcourt right after the inbounds pass for a turnover. The Cougars never gave Winslow another glimmer of hope on the way to the 65-53 win.

Player of the Game-Gurkin. Although he was only the third-leading scorer on the team, Gurkin put up the double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also manned the middle very effectively as he garnered five blocks.

Other Key Stats

Santo-18 points, 9 rebounds

Schlessel-19 points, 4 assists

Rose-6 points

Melleby-8 points

Gold- 9 assists

East downs Pennsauken 74-69

In a tight game on Tuesday, the Cougars defeated Pennsauken 74-69.

The Cougars played a solid first quarter as they took a 19-13 lead by the end of the quarter. Marc Schlessel ('12) led the way with seven points in the quarter and Chris Santo ('11) had six. However, Pennsauken looked to be a tough team as they could really matchup with the Cougars.

The Cougars took a seemingly commanding lead in the second quarter as they stretched the lead to 16 midway through the quarter via a Schlessel layup. Jesse Gold ('12) made his presence known in the quarter as he played aggressively, hitting a three-pointer and two free throws to help lead the run. Pennsauken soon tightened the gap and the Cougars led 43-34 at the half. Santo has 18 points at the half and Schlessel had 14 as they led the scoring for the Cougars.

Pennsauken managed to make the game even tighter in the third. Despite the best scoring efforts of Dan Melleby ('11) and Santo, Pennsauken crept within three until Schlessel hit another three pointer to take the six point lead. A scary moment occurred with a couple of minutes left in the third as Schlessel went up for an offensive rebound and landed on the back of a Pennsauken player then came crashing to the floor. He seemed very hurt as he hit the wrist he broke before the season started. However, he managed to come back into the game for the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Pennsauken hit an amazing half-court shot to end the quarter at 57-53 that could not help but bring back painful recollections of East's last-second loss to Pennsauken last year on a buzzer-beater from deep.

Jake Gurkin ('12) scored two quick East baskets in the fourth to counter the Pennsauken offense. After these baskets, Pennsauken cut the lead to two. Then, Gurkin fouled out, leaving the Cougars with a seemingly gaping hole in the middle of the floor. The Cougars seemed to be missing Gurkin greatly as Pennsauken capitalized and took a four-point leas in his absence. Melleby then made a layup to cut the gap to two. Then, Santo came back and hit two free throws to tie the game. Another free throw on the next possession from Santo gave the Cougars the lead. Pennsauken then hit one free throw of their own to tie the game back up. Then, Melleby scored on a backdoor layup to give the Cougars a two-point lead with about two minutes left. On the next East possession, Gold was fouled and calmly hit two free throws from the line for the four-point lead. Pennsauken hit a free throw of their own to cut the lead to one possession. On the next Cougar possession, Gold was fouled again but missed the front end of the one-and-one. He remained unfazed as he made the play of the game by stealing the ball from Pennsauken before they could get a shot off to essentially seal the victory. Gold hit three more foul shots before the game ended and Melleby made two more.

Player of the Game: Gold. He played confidently out there as he took the ball himself more frequently and made plays. His free throw shooting was clutch and his steal towards the end potentially saved the game for the Cougars. Gold hasn't been a player to fill up the stat sheet but his steady presence on the court has been huge thus far in the season.

Key Stats

Santo-27 points, 6 rebounds

Schlessel-17 points

Gurkin-8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks

Gold-9 points, 4 rebounds

Melleby-13 points, 5 assists

Santo breaks another record as East beats North Burlington 82-48

The annual Jeff Coney Classic took place at Rancocas Valley High School on Saturday January 29, 2011. The Cougars played in the sixth game of the tournament and it was an easy game all the way through.

East took a demanding lead to start off the game after one minute of play, Chris Santo ('11) stole the ball from North Burlington, which broke East's all time steals record set by Nick Katsikis in 1986. Santo went along to steal the ball four times putting his career total at 218.

The quarter by quarter breakdown goes as follows...

East 23-17 after the first
Halftime score- 44-25 Cougars
After the third East was up 65-39 and finished off with the win of 82-48 after pulling their starters.

Santo's record breaking ability has been outstanding now holding 10 total East records will still half of this season to play.

Stats of the game:
Santo- 27 points on 11-18 from the field, 13 rebounds, four steals and four assists
Schlessel- 25 points making 5-10 three pointers, and stealing the ball four times
Gurkin- 8 points and 7 rebounds along with four blocked shots and three assists
Rose- 7 assists
Melleby- 4-8 from the field with 12 points and four assists
Gold- 4 assists
DeJesus- 7 points and three rebounds in garbage time

East is now 11-3 on the year with three games to play before the cutoff date for playoff seeding

East demolishes Princeton Day School 84-46

East extended their win streak to eight games after this blowout happened in the DiBart gym on Monday January 24, 2011.

Things started off unusually, as there was a pre-game technical foul on Princeton's star player, Davon Reed ('13). During warmups, he grabbed and hanged on the rim after a dunk, which results in an automatic technical foul. So instead of the usual tipoff, the game started with two Chris Santo free throws along with a Cougar inbound.

Dan Melleby ('11) threw it down court to Marc Schlessel ('12) for a quick layup and after that basket, East never looked back. Reed made a three pointer cutting the lead to one point, but that would be the closest the Panthers would get to taking a lead. Over the next four minutes, East went on an 11-0 run which followed with a Melleby layup and a Schlessel three pointer making the score 20-3 with three minutes left in the first. After his three pointer, Schlessel hustled down the court to block a shot for the first time in his career. Sam Rose ('11) then fed the ball to Jake Gurkin ('12) who made a three to put the Cougars up by 20 points. Reed then made his second three pointer to give the Panthers their six points in the quarter. East finished the quarter with 28 points shooting 8-12 for two and 3-5 from three.

The second quarter was almost as exciting as the first for East fans as the Cougars continued to embarrass Princeton Day School. The Panthers did score 15 points but the Cougars had a comfortable enough lead after the first. East scored 21 points putting the halftime score at 49-21. Santo alone had more points than Princeton with 24, shooting 8-11 with one tree pointer and two rebounds at the half. Rose was on his way to a career night with six points and six assists. Schlessel was shooting 4-6 from the field with 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. Gurkin had three blocks at the half and Melleby had four points with four rebounds.

The second half was almost the same as the first as East scored 25 points in the third quarter to Princeton's 12 and this would be the last few minutes of playing time for the Cougars' starters.

In the fourth quarter, Coach Valore sent in the deeper part of their bench with Alex Kauth ('11) Justin DeJesus ('11) Edou Zaken ('11) and Steve Spiegler ('11). The garbage minutes didn't keep East from playing aggressively as DeJesus grabbed a career high seven rebounds along with a layup. Spiegler right away intercepted a pass that led to East scoring two of their 10 fourth quarter points. Kauth helped East making both of his two pointers giving him four points and Zaken added in a layup of his own rounding out all of the points for the quarter. At the four minute mark, Valore pulled Jesse Gold ('12) from the game to put in sophomore sensation Hank Davis ('13) who within the first 30 seconds of playing time recorded a block. Valore seemed to have enough time to put in one final player for the game in Kevin Barry ('13) who got his first bit of varsity play time and he used it wisely as he grabbed an offensive rebound earning him his varsity letter.

Player of the game: Sam Rose. He had the best night in his career scoring eight points on 3-4 shooting along with nine assists, 4 rebounds and three steals

Other stats of the game:
Santo- 37 points on 15-21 (5-5 free throws), nine rebounds and two blocks
Schlessel- 17 points 6-9 from field, eight rebounds and a blocked shot
Gurkin- 4 rebounds, four blocks and three assists
Melleby- 12 points on 5-8 from field, five rebounds and five assists
DeJesus- 7 rebounds, two points and a block
Kauth- 2-2 from the field with four points two rebounds and two assists

East will go on to play 10-3 Camden Catholic on Thursday January 27 at 7 pm to extend their winning streak to nine games.

Cougars dispatch Camden 68-44 to improve to 9-3

On Thursday, the Cougars defeated an uncharacteristically weak Camden team, 68-44. A usually strong program, Camden is in the midst of a down year.

Camden stayed close with the Cougars for the first quarter as East struggled shooting the ball a little bit. Marc Schlessel ('12) opened the game with a three-pointer. Then a Dan Melleby ('11) basket gave East the 5-0 lead. After a Camden score, Chris Santo ('11) answered to give East the 7-2 lead. Santo added two more points later in the quarter as Jake Gurkin ('12) scored five to give the Cougars a 14-9 lead going into the second.

The Cougars widened the lead in the second. Santo added seven more in the quarter to lead the team. Schlessel hit another three and two of two foul shots in the quarter and Gurkin continued to play well as he entered the half with ten points, three blocks and three steals. The Cougars took a 31-20 lead into the locker room.

The Cougars absolutely dominated the third quarter. Santo opened the quarter with the first six Cougar points to open the lead to 16. A Gurkin layup and the foul shot after extended the lead further. A Schlessel three opened the lead to 20. The Cougars controlled the game from here as a Schlessel three-point buzzerbeater ended the third to give the Cougars a 49-25 lead.

Player of the Game-Gurkin. Although a modest scoring game compared to Santo's, he scored a solid 14 points. However, he made a huge impact on the defensive end, grabbing 10 boards, a career-high four steals and five blocks.

Key Stats

Santo-27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists, 2 blocks

Schlessel-14 points,, 5 rebounds, three steals, 5 assists

Gurkin-14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 5 blocks

Rose-4 steals, 3 assists

Melleby-8 rebounds (career high), 3 assists

Gold-6 assists (career high)

Kauth-2-2 from three, 6 points

DeJesus-3 rebounds

Cougars add on to win streak by defeating Eastern

In a crucial conference game, the Cougars battled on their way to a 58-52 victory over Eastern. The DiBart Gym felt like the playoffs once again as East faithful stood the entire game as they watched the Cougars win. Much of the critical action happened in the second half of the game.

The first quarter was dominated by Marc Schlessel ('12). He had ten points in the quarter, on his way to 15 in the game. He also had three rebounds and two steals in the quarter. Chris Santo ('11) contributed nine points, while him and Schlessel both shot four of five from the field. Dan Melleby ('11) had three assists in the quarter and Jake Gurkin ('12) had the other two Cougar points as East led 21-17 at the end of the quarter.

East managed to tie the game by halftime via although Santo and Gurkin had four points apiece in the second quarter. Jesse Gold ('12) also had two assists in the quarter.

Santo scored the first nine Cougar points in the third by way of two two-point field goals, a three-pointer and two Free throws. Eastern managed to stay close as they held a 40-38 lead near the end of the quarter. However, Melleby ended the Cougar scoring for the quarter with a three to take a 41-40 Cougar lead.

Eastern scored the first four points of the fourth. Then Schlessel hit a runner to pull East within one. With about 4:30 left, East had a chance to take a one-point lead but Santo missed a layup, something that almost never happens. However, he made up for it by pulling East to within one by hitting two free throws after another Eastern basket. After an Eastern three, Santo hit two more free throws to put the Cougars within two points. Santo's magic was not nearly done for the game as he came right back to tie the game with a jump shot that banked-in off the backboard. Even though they say bank shots don't count, any Cougars fan would take it on this day. Another Santo turnaround jump shot gave the Cougars a two point advantage. However, Eastern refused to go away as they hit a three-pointer for another lead. Then, Schlessel hit the shot of the day, a three-pointer from the corner to give East the two-point, 54-52 lead which it would never relinquish. Eastern went right back down the court and missed their opportunity to tie the game with 30 seconds left. Usually, teams foul right away when they are down with little time left without a shot clock. But Eastern waited and the Cougars got sneaky as they passed the ball inside after avoiding the foul for ten seconds and Gurkin capitalized on the layup to give the Cougars a four-point lead. Santo hit two more foul shots to close out the game for the 58-52 win.

Player of the Game-Santo. His 32 points led the way but what really stood out was his intelligence not to foul out after gaining his fourth foul late in the third quarter. If Santo had fouled out, Eastern likely would have won. Also, Santo did amazingly well from the line, an area in which he has struggled this season as he went eight for eight.

Key Stats

Santo-32 points, 8/8FT, 9/18 two-point FG, 2/2 three-point FG, 7 rebounds

Schlessel-15 points, 7 rebounds, 3/8 three-point FG, 3/5 two-point FG, 3 assists

Gurkin-8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 4 assists

Melleby-3 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds

Gold-5 assists

Cougars win huge game against Shawnee 58-53

In a game against a 2nd-ranked Shawnee team languishing in a two-game losing streak, the Cougars came up big to earn a 58-53 victory. The game had a playoff-type atmosphere, with Shawnee bringing a large group of fans to cheer on their team. The players on the court played with the same intensity felt in the stands as the teams scrapped for every loose ball and had to work for every positive outcome.

The first quarter was back-and-and forth. the Cougars jumped out to an 8-2 lead via baskets by Chris Santo ('11), Sam Rose ('11) and Marc Schlessel ('12). Shawnee came right back on an 8-0 run to take the 10-8 lead. However, Santo scored the next six Cougar points to take a 14-11 Cougar lead into the break at the end of the quarter.

Shawnee scored seven straight to open the second. Then, Jesse Gold ('12) stole the ball from a Shawnee player and capitalized on an open layup. Two Dan Melleby ('11) threes and a Jake Gurkin layup ('12) kept East close at the half, down 24-30.

Schlessel opened up the second half with a three and East took a lead after subsequent scores from Santo and Gurkin. Santo scored five more points in the quarter to keep East within two going into the final seconds of the half. Then, Gold made the play of the game as the time dwindled in the quarter. He drove hard to the hoop and put up a fancy layup to tie the score with two seconds left in the quarter.

Santo scored the first four Cougar points in the fourth. Then Schlessel hit a key three-pointer to put the Cougars up by three. Three Chris Santo points later, the Cougars gained the lead they would not lose at 51-49. They hit their foul shots at the end of the game to win, 58-53.

Player of the Game: Santo carried the team on his back this game with his 29 points and 10 rebounds. Jesse Gold also deserves credit for his solid play once Rose got into serious foul trouble early on in the game. His layup to end the third quarter was one of the great plays of the season to this point.

Key Stats

Santo-29 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals

Schlessel-11 points, 3 rebounds

Gurkin-4 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks

Rose-2 points, 3 assists

Melleby-6 points, 4 assists

Gold-6 points, 5 assists

Cougars brush aside Washington Township

Athletes always say last season doesn't matter. The Cougars proved it on Thursday by destroying a Washington Township team they lost twice to last year. Even though Township lost a Division I player in Matt Lopez and a star point guard in Nick Favatella, the Cougars proved they weren't intimidated by the school they lost to last year on the way to a 58-31 victory.

The first quarter was a display of absolute domination by East. East started off with an 11-0 run and withheld Township from scoring for the first 5 minutes of the game. Marc Schlessel ('12) contributed seven points in the quarter, highlighted by a three and an offensive rebound put-back. Chris Santo ('11) had six points in the quarter along with the play of the quarter. Santo blocked a Township shot on defense then went the length of the court for an amazing reverse layup and was fouled on the play. Jake Gurkin ('12) and Sam Rose ('11) also contributed offensively in the quarter to give East the 18-2 lead heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter was low-scoring for both teams. The Cougars put up eight puts, but Township also scored eight so the lead remained comfortable. Gurkin led the scoring charge with five in the quarter but he also made some great plays on the defensive end. At one point, when Township threatened to score, Gurkin blocked a shot and then proceeded to catch the ball and throw it off of a Township player as he fell out of bounds to gain the Cougars possession. The Cougars took a 26-10 lead at the half.

Against this clearly inferior opponent, it was obvious the Cougars would take home the win. the second half opened with scores from Dan Melleby ('11) and Gurkin to widen the gap to 20. The game was effectively over as the Cougars cruised to a 58-31 victory.

Player of the Game-Santo. He not only scored 21 points but contributed 12 rebounds, four blocks and six steals.

Key Stats

Santo-21 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, six steals

Schlessel-9 points, five assists

Gurkin-11 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks

Rose-6 points, 6 steals

Gold-five assists

Santo reaches 2000 points as Cougars beat Triton 77-57

In a game that the Cougars were in control of from the tip off, Chris Santo ('11) reached two milestones. With four minutes left in the first half, Santo scored his 2000th career point off of a jump shot assisted by Jesse Gold ('12). He went on to score 30 points for the game along with eight rebounds.

His other great accomplishment for the game was stealing the ball nine times during the game, breaking the 10 month old single game steals record of eight, set by Ben Gerstein ('10).

A small ceremony was held after the game where the whole team gathered together for a picture congratulating Santo on this amazing achievement that places him in the top 35 all-time scorers in South Jersey history.

A game that was pushed up a full hour due to an impending snow storm only had a few fans to witness such an amazing accomplishment as East won their third straight game.

Other key stats: Marc Schlessel ('12) 19 points eight rebounds five assists and four steals, Sam Rose ('11) career high 10 assists with four rebounds and three points, Dan Melleby ('11) had 12 points, Jake Gurkin ('12) blocked five shots and Jesse Gold dished out seven assists.

Valore turned to his deeper bench in this game to rest his players for their upcoming tough schedule. Washington Twp. on January 13, Shawnee on January 15,

Edou Zaken ('11) came in to score six points shooting 3-4 on the night, Alex Kauth ('11) came in for a few minutes where he grabbed a rebound, Steve Spiegler ('11) got in his first game of the year getting a rebound and one steal, Hank Davis ('13) checked in the game and Justin DeJesus ('11) came in making his only attempted shot along with two free throws. He has still yet to miss a shot in his two year varsity career.

Player of the game goes out to none other than Chris Santo for achieving an accomplishment that may never be reached by an East student ever again. Congratulations Chris!

Cougars defeats Cherokee 74-55 for the first time since January 2008

In a game where East needed to win, they did not disappoint. From the tipoff to the final seconds of the game, the Cougars dominated the ball on both sides of the court. Things did look a bit iffy to start of the game, however. Jake Gurkin ('12) and Dan Melleby ('11) were benched in the first quarter on a coach's decision, but East still managed to outscore the Chiefs 15-12 without either starter. Edou Zaken ('11) and Jesse Gold ('12) started for East.

East started off the game with a Zaken layup just seconds into the game. They had a quick six-point lead, until Cherokee made two shots in a row to cut it to 6-4 in East's favor. Later in the quarter on a breakaway, Chris Santo ('11) missed a dunk, but grabbed the first of his 11 rebounds to put it back in for a layup.

The second quarter (now with Gurkin and Melleby in the game) started off with a Cherokee three pointer by their leading scorer, Bryan Cooper who had 17 for the game. After a few alternating shots and a Gurkin layup, East was up 25-19 when Cherokee called their first timeout. Melleby turned the ball over on the next drive and Cooper made two 3-pointers in a row tying the game up at 25. Gurkin single-handedly started to increase the lead with a offensive rebound turned into a hook shot followed up by another layup. Gurkin had six points in the quarter. After Cherokee made two free throws, Marc Schlessel ('12) started to make his shots (a three-pointer followed by two foul shots giving East their final point of the half with 34 to Cherokee's 29.

The third quarter is what really finalized the game for the Cougars. Schlessel threw a no look pass to Gold who made the three. Sam Rose ('11) dished it out to Gurkin for a layup making the score 41-31. Gold then made his second 3 pointer of the quarter and his eighth point of career high 14. Rose once again passed it to Gold for another three, which sent the crowd screaming. Gold not only showed up on offense, but sprinted back court to steal the ball passing it to Rose who assisted a Gurkin three making the score 50-35. Cherokee called a timeout to settle down their players as the score of this quarter was 16-6 only four minutes in. Following the timeout Cherokee made a three. On the next possession, Schlessel missed a three pointer in which Santo tipped in. Santo then had another put back shot giving East 54 points as of the 2:37 mark on the clock. Cherokee then made two foul shots which led to the third and final Rose to Gurkin three. Gurkin at this point had not missed a shot for the game. Cherokee then went on to make one of two from the line and on the next play, Gurkin missed his first shot on a jumper with 25 seconds remaining in the third with the score 59-46. Cherokee went on to miss two shots underneath the basket when Santo grabbed the rebound dribbling down court to take a final shot in which he made at the buzzer giving East 28 points in the third quarter with the score 62-46.

The fourth quarter was not a fun one to watch, as it resulted in East holding the ball for just under three minutes. East still managed to outscore Cherokee 12-9 in the final quarter beating them 74-55 after losing three straight to them dating back to the 2008-2009 season.

Stats of the game: Chris Santo- 7-13 from the field with 22 points 11 rebounds. Marc Schlessel- 15 points six rebounds and a career high 7 assists (leading the team). Jake Gurkin- 19 points in just three quarters of play shooting 8-10 from the field. Sam Rose had five assists, Jesse Gold had 14 points shooting 5-6 with two free throws also dishing out 5, and Justin DeJesus making his only shot of the game bringing his season total to 6-6 from the field.

Player of the game: The entire team. They showed up to play this game on both sides of the court and showed the fans what type of team they truly are.

Cougars lose close game to Lenape 30-29

Chris Santo ('11), who was not expected to start, let alone play because of a concussion suffered during practice was cleared by his doctor and he ended up leading East in scoring with 14 points along with 11 rebounds. However, the Cougars could not succumb the talent of Lenape's stellar team as they went on to lose a low-scoring game by one point.

Dan Melleby ('11) who also suffered a concussion, was not cleared to play so he sat out resulting in Jesse Gold ('12) starting at the three position moving Santo to the five and Jake Gurkin ('12) played the four spot.

The game had a slow start to it as both teams missed the majority of their very minimal shots taken. The score after one quarter was Lenape five to the Cougars' four points.

East was playing phenomenally on the defensive end, but could not seem to score any points. Half way through the second quarter Valore pulled Sam Rose ('11) from the game to put it future starting guard Hank Davis ('13) for his first varsity appearance. Davis showed his spectacular speed hustling up and down the court assisting a basket to Santo. Davis, known for his great shooting ability, only attempted 2-three pointers in the game. At the half East was down 16-9.

Once the third quarter started, East finally started to wake up holding the Indians to five points the whole quarter. East had only missed three shots in those eight minutes as they went on their way to score 13 points taking a one point lead after suffering a seven point deficit.

In the final quarter, the referees starting to call fouls that they failed to call in the first three quarters all which happened to be against East. So with 10 seconds to go in the game they were both tied when Gurkin got called for a shooting foul. Lenape made the first and missed the second with three seconds left. Gurkin grabbed one of his 10 rebounds tossing it pass half court to Mark Schlessel ('12) who attempted a three with 1.5 seconds left banking it off the backboard handing East their third loss for the season. Lenape moved on to 6-0 as East dropped to 2-3.

Player of the game: Chris Santo. Once again he led East in scoring in a game where he was not expected to play. He brought his career total to 1933 points. He also did not turn the ball over once for the first time this year.

East's next game is Thursday January 6 @ Cherokee at 7 pm.