Week in Sports: Patriots Take Lead in Basketball

Hockey

After another loss to divisional rival St. John Vianney, 7-4, last Saturday, the rebounded well, getting their second win of the season in a 5-2 win over Manalapan. They are now 2-6 and are in last place in the Shore B.

The Colonials fell even further below .500 this week, falling to Southern Regional in their only game, 5-3. Freehold Boro has a record of 3-5 and faces a difficult divisional road to finish the season.

The Braves continued to struggle this week, dropping two more games to add to their current four-game losing streak. Manalapan fell to Manasquan, 4-2 on Saturday before dropping a 5-2 decision to Freehold Township. It has been a tough opening season for head coach Brad Gardner, as his Braves are 1-10.

After a difficult opening month of the season, Marlboro head coach Wayne Anderson appears to finally have his team on the winning side of things. The Mustangs downed Jackson Liberty, 7-1, and Ocean Township, 3-1, as Marlboro creeped closer to a .500 mark. They are 4-6 and will look to continue winning in hopes of playing post-season hockey.

Boys Basketball

The Colonials dropped their only game of the week, falling to Matawan Regional, 53-37. Freehold Boro got their major contribution from Hugo Perez, who led the team with 16 points.

The Huskies were led in the win by senior guard Larry Smith, who finished with 21 points and Kashawn Barnes tallied 12 points and seven rebounds for Matawan Regional.

Girls Basketball

The Lady Patriots continued to stay focused with a 63-57 win over Monroe this week. Stephanie Martinez scored 16 points and Michelle Johnston buried home 14 points to help Freehold Township remain atop the A-North. Victoria Wagner also contribued for Freehold Township, putting home 10 points.

Freehold Township got their only loss of the season later in the week, falling to Middletown South, 51-48, despite having a nine-point first quarter advantage.

The Colonials fell to Marlboro, 38-32, in girls basketball action this week. Camerin Spahn lead Freehold Boro with 10 points on the day. Freehold Boro also last to Red Bank Catholic, 56-39.

Haley Unger scored 13 points for Marlboro in their win over Freehold Boro. The Mustangs attacked early and often, holding a 34-19 lead after three quarters. 

The Lady Braves lost two tough games this week as they continued to struggle. Kelly McNutly had 15 points for Manalapan in a 67-43 loss to Middletown South. Manalapan also fell to Holmdel, 67-42, being out-scored 17-4 in the first quarter.

Holmdel continued to look impressive this week, winning both games they played in. The Lady Hornets buried Raritan 48-5 behind 18 points from Tara Inman along with Victoria Cardaci's nine points. They went on to beat Manalapan, 67-42, later in the week.

Wrestling

The Patriots held off the Colonials in their cross-town match-up this week, taking the match, 38-30. John Baumann at 170 pounds and Zach Pitteus at 182 pounds each got pins for the Patriots, leading them to the win.

The Patriots also won two out of three matches in their quad meet on Saturday. After falling to Manalapan, 35-33, they beat Manasquan, 65-9, and Monsignor Donovan, 70-6.

The Colonials won two out of their three matches in a quad meet on Saturday. Freehold Boro got the best of Monmouth Regional, 45-21, and Red Bank Catholic, 39-32, before falling to Ocean Township, 69-6.

It was a busy week for the Braves wrestling team, who won all three matches in their quad match on Saturday. Manalapan topped Freehold Township, 35-33, Monsignor Donovan, 61-3, and Manasquan, 57-15. 

The Braves also beat Middletown South later in the week, 45-17, vaulting themselves to second place in the A-North standings.

The Mustangs lost both matches of their tri-meet on Saturday. They fell to Christian Brothers Academy, 54-15, and Governor Livingston, 48-21. They also dropped a close match to Middletown North, 34-28.

Jimmy Ilvento finished in first place at the Buc Classic this week in the 170-pound class for Holmdel. The Hornets also got place winners at 113 (Billy Martin, 3rd), 220 (Tom Fazio, 3rd) and heavyweight (Anthony Fernicola, 3rd).

The Hornets dumped Manasquan in team action this week, 42-36, behind four straight wins to close out the match.

Matawan Regional won both ends of their tri-meet on Saturday, topping Piscataway, 46-28, and Sayreville, 57-12. They also won later in the week over JP Stevens, 48-24. The Huskies got wins in four out of the finals six matches to pull away from JP Stevens in the win.