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