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