Cougars crush West to begin playoffs

The second-seeded Cougars manhandled Cherry Hill West today in the first round of the South Jersey Group IV playoffs, 76-48. The DiBart Gym was a stellar environment for the game, with a humongous section of Countrymen diagonal from West's student section.

The game started off somewhat ominously for the Cougars. West hung in there to start off the game as they jumped out to a 7-4 lead. It seemed as though West had a chance in the game for a moment. Then, the Cougars came roaring back, going on a 17-0 run with all of the scoring coming from Marc Schlessel ('12) and Hank Davis ('13). Schlessel had 10 points in the quarter while Davis contributed nine. The Cougars led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter.

West scored the first points of the second quarter. Then, Jake Gurkin ('12) countered with two baskets of his own to drive the lead up to 16. However, West cut the lead to 10 by the end of the quarter as the Cougars went into the locker room with a 30-20 lead. Schlessel had 13 points at the half, followed by Davis and Gurkin, who scored nine and eight respectively.

After allowing West to score the basket to start the second half, the Cougars took control once again. Jesse Gold ('12) pulled up and drained a three and then Schlessel went in for another layup. Schlessel and Gurkin carried the scoring load for the Cougars for the remainder of the quarter as the Cougars held a 47-30 lead heading into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Cougars made a mockery of West. West continually forced poor shots and the Cougars continuously capitalized. The Cougars cruised to the 74-48 win as they advanced to the second round of the South Jersey Group IV tournament.

Player of the Game: This award can go to three players in this game. Davis drained three-pointers early on, giving the Cougars momentum throughout the game. Gurkin was a force on both ends, scoring 18 points and gathering in 16 rebounds. Ultimately, this recognition has to go to Schlessel. He scored 30 points on the game, consistently taking what the West defense was giving him, as he continuously took advantage of West's weak interior defense.

Next up for the Cougars: Toms River North on Thursday at 4 p.m. The game will be held in the DiBart Gym. GO COUGARS!

Cougars finish off regular season with two tough losses

The Cougars capped the regular season off with two losses against two top teams. Last Monday, the Cougars fell to Eastern 57-52 in a hard-fought battle. The Cougars fell behind early and made a run too late to win the game.

Against Paul VI, the Cougars fell 53-41. Paul VI won with its athleticism and stellar defense, although the Cougars hung in there most of the game.

Cougars win overtime thriller over Haddonfield

On Saturday, the Cougars beat Haddonfield 62-59 at the Cougar Classic in an unbelievable game. It was an instant classic type of game, but it did not appear that way from the start for the Cougars. Haddonfield started the game on a 9-0 run and the Cougars looked out of it for the majority of the first half. Marc Schlessel ('12) attempted to keep the Cougars in the game in the first, scoring 9 points to keep the Haddonfield lead to two heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter was entirely Haddonfield. They dominated in every facet of the game, refusing to let the Cougars get off good shots as they held the Cougars to six second quarter points as they took a 30-16 lead into the locker room.

The Cougars attempted to work their way back in the third quarter. After Haddonfield scored a basket to open the quarter, the Cougars went on a 7-0 run thanks to a Jake Silpe ('15) three and a pair of Schlessel baskets. However, the Cougars could not fully close the gap despite Jake Gurkin ('12) scoring two baskets to counter Haddonfield scores. Haddonfield led 42-33 at the end of the third quarter.

Haddonfield opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a basket. Then, the Cougar hopes dimmed even further when Gurkin fouled out with a considerable amount of time left in the game. Haddonfield took a 46-33 lead before the Cougars registered a point in the quarter. Once again, the Cougars showed they were not done, as Gary Hettinger ('13) made a layup followed by a Jesse Gold ('12) three to cut the lead to ten. Then, Hank Davis ('13) hit another Cougar three to cut the lead to seven. Hettinger laid it in once again to cut the lead to five before Haddonfield scored three more points. Then, with about a minute and a half left, Gold hit a free throw to cut the lead back to seven. On the ensuing possession Haddonfield also hit one free throw, followed by Schlessel draining a deep three to cut the lead to five. Once again, Haddonfield struck back with a basket of their own. The Cougars would not go down without a fight, as Schlessel came right back by hitting a jumper with 20 seconds left. Haddonfield failed to score on their next possession. Then, Schlessel had the ball once again for the Cougars as he hoisted up a three that missed, but was fouled on the play. Schlessel proved to be extremely clutch, hitting all three free throws to put the Cougars within two. After a Haddonfield inbounds play, the Cougars fouled with 5 seconds left to send Haddonfield to the line for two shots with a 54-52 lead. The DiBart Gym was rocking as Haddonfield missed the first free throw and hit the second. The Cougars were down by three. On the initial inbounds play, Haddonfield tipped the ball out of bounds. So with 3.7 seconds left, Schlessel popped out beyond the arc and Gold saw him and hit him with a beautiful pass. Schlessel drained the three as time expired to tie the game in an electric atmosphere to send it to overtime.

Schlessel continued right where he left off in regulation during the extra session, taking the ball to the hole, making the shot and getting fouled to give the Cougars a 58-55 lead. Haddonfield hit a free throw on the next possession. Then, Andrew Brown ('13) hit a layup for the Cougars to give them the 60-56 lead. After a Haddonfield failed possession Schlessel gathered in a Cougar offensive rebound on a free throw and put it back up to give the Cougars a 62-56 lead. A Haddonfield three was too little, too late as the Cougars held on for a 62-59 win.

Player of the Game: Schlessel. Schlessel was Mr. Clutch on Saturday, scoring 30 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter to revive the Cougars' faint hopes in the game.

Key Stats:

Schlessel-30 points

Gurkin-10 points

Gold-6 points, 7 assists

Hettinger-6 points

Silpe-5 points

Cougars destroy Washington Township 63-40

On Tuesday, the Cougars defeated conference-rival Washington Township 63-40. The game was over from the start as the Cougars ran out to a 9-0 lead in the first. On the game, Marc Schlessel ('12) scored 20 points to lead the team followed by Gary Hettinger ('13) with 10. Hettinger also had 10 rebounds on the game. Jesse Gold ('12) contributed 8 assists to the winning effort.

Cougars fall to Ocean City

On Saturday, the Cougars lost to Ocean City 52-45 at St. Augustine. Hank Davis ('13) led the team in scoring with 10, followed by Jesse Gold ('12) with 9.

The Cougars; next game is tomorrow against conference rival Washington Township at 3:45. The Cougars are 16-6 on the season.

Cougars crush rival Cherokee 61-40

On Thursday, the Cougars beat rival Cherokee at Cherokee 61-40. The win improved the Cougars' record to 16-5 on the season.

The first quarter was extremely close. Cherokee went on a 7-0 run after Jake Gurkin ('12) scored the first points of the game on a layup. The Cougars tied the game at 7 and took the lead when Jake Silpe ('15) went coast-to-coast for a layup. The quarter ended with Cherokee leading 12-11.

The Cougars began to take over the game in the second quarter. A Hank Davis ('13) three capped off an 8-0 Cougars run to start the quarter. Marc Schlessel ('12) scored the last five points of the half to give the Cougars a 26-16 lead heading into the locker room.

Gurkin had a monster first half with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks.

The Cougars continued to dominate in the third quarter. Another Davis three gave the Cougars a 19-point lead halfway through the third at 40-21. The Cougars closed the quarter with a 44-29 lead as Schlessel hit a buzzer beating three to end the quarter.

The fourth quarter went just as swimmingly for the Cougars as they extended their lead beyond 20 points to win 61-40.

Key Stats

Marc Schlessel : 17 points

Garry Hettinger : 2 points

Jake Gurkin : 14 points

Jesse Gold : 2 points

Hank Davis : 13 points

Jake Silpe : 13 points

Cougars fall to Lenape 59-39

The Cougars lost to Lenape Tuesday night by a score of 59-39, only their second loss within the division. The Cougars got off to a good start, trailing by only one after the first quarter, 14-13. A couple Lenape shooters getting hot plus poor shooting by East resulted in the Cougars finding themselves down seven at the half, 27-20. All hopes of a comeback evaporated quickly, as Lenape outscored the Cougars 29-12 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. This was a game the Cougars surely want to forget as soon as it ended, with the final score being Lenape 59, East 39.

The Cougars look to get back on track with a win @ Cherokee this Thursday at 6:00pm. A huge crowd would be nice to support the basketball team as they look to strengthen their record in the division in hopes of winning their 2nd consecutive Olympic Conference Title.

Cougars win two blowouts before the cutoff

In the last two games before the cutoff for playoff seeding the Cougars destroyed Winslow Township on Thursday and Seneca on Saturday.

On Thursday, the Cougars won at Winslow Township 85-62 to improve to 14-4 on the season. Hank Davis ('13) led the way for the Cougars, scoring 17 points in the victory. The Cougars had five players scoring in double figures for the game in Davis, Marc Schlessel ('12) (12 points), Austin Wetzler ('14) (11 points), Jake Gurkin ('12) (13 points) and Gary Hettinger ('13) (11 points).

On Saturday, the Cougars destroyed Seneca at East 77-45. Schlessel scored 24 points for the Cougars and Gurkin scored 21. The Cougars outscored Seneca 28-9 in the first quarter to essentially put the game away.

With the two wins, the Cougars reached Saturday's cutoff date with a 15-4 record. It looks as though they have earned the number two seed in the South Jersey Group IV playoffs and will face Cherry Hill West in the first round of the playoffs.

For now, the Cougars will try to win the conference and a big battle against Lenape looms on Tuesday.

Cougars Defeat Pennsauken 69-59

On Tuesday night, the Cougars defeated the Pennsauken Indians by a score by 69-59. CHE never trailed in the game, leading 22-9 after one, and 34-17 at half. Jake Gurkin ('12) had 15 points at the half, while Marc Schlessel ('12) had 12 points. With the exception of a couple Pennsauken runs, the game was never in doubt, as East led 53-39 after three, and finished with a 10 point win. Schlessel led the team with 27 points, while Gurkin was close behind with with 23 points.

The Cougars have two more games (@ Winslow Twp 2/2/12 and home to Seneca 2/4/12) before the cutoff for the playoffs. If East wins these two games, they will go into the cutoff with a 15-4 record, hoping to edge out Shawnee for the 3rd seed in the Group IV Playoffs.

Cougars drop two close games in a row

On Thursday, the Cougars fell to Camden Catholic 43-42. The game had a very slow tempo which favored Catholic and the Cougars failed to convert having possession with 4.5 seconds left at the end of the game.

On Saturday, the Cougars fell to Medford Tech 58-55. Although the Cougars lost, the game was extremely memorable as Marc Schlessel ('12) scored his one thousandth career point with 55 seconds left in the third quarter on a three-pointer.

The losses brought the Cougars record down to 12-4 on the season.