Central Regional's Lang Crosses 1,000-Point Threshold

On the far west wall of the Central Regional High School gym, there hangs a banner with a list of names.

Harrie Garris. John Tice. Mike Clemente. Lauren Wagner. Jason Pozo. Jermaine Clay.

Evan Lang has been eyeing that banner since he set foot in the Central Regional gym as a freshman, wanting to one day add his name to the list.

“One day” arrived Friday night, as Lang crossed the 1,000-point total for his Golden Eagles boys basketball career as Central battled Manchester on the road. The Eagles walked out of the gym with a 73-61 overtime loss, however, as the Hawks rallied from an 18-point deficit before pulling away in the extra session.

It was a bitter ending on a night Lang had long awaited.

“It was tough,” Lang said, “especially because we led by 18. But we turned the ball over too much.”

How much of that was mental errors on the part of the Eagles and how much was the result of the Hawks turning up the aggressiveness on defense is hard to say, but Manchester definitely turned up the pressure in the second quarter.

Lang came into the game needing 15 points to reach 1,000, and he scored the first 14 relatively easily, with a couple of layups in traffic, a jumper, two long 3-pointers that would have been good from NBA range, and another short jumper. But with Lang sitting at 14 points, Manchester began double- and even triple-teaming him, never letting him get off a clean shot. He went into halftime still looking for No. 1,000, and it was nearly halfway through the third quarter before Lang got it.

With 4:23 left in the third quarter, Lang was fouled on a drive to the basket. The shot missed, putting him at the line for two shots. After a deep breath, he sank the first, securing his place on the banner. He hugged teammates, then his grandparents, before posing for photos with this father, Central coach Steve Zengel, and Lang’s brother, Eric, who is an assistant coach for the Hawks.

“It’s a huge accomplishment to be on there,” said Lang, who finished with 19 points, giving him 1,004 with several games yet to be played this season. The last boys player to reach the milestone was Ibn Moye in 2009, as he finished his four years at Central with 1,298 points.

Coach Steve Zengel, who was hired by the district in 2013, said Lang’s willingness to challenge himself both athletically and academcially -- he takes honors courses and is in the Ocean County College Jump-Start program, taking a course while he completes his high school diploma.

“It speaks to his character,” Zengel said. “He’s just a great kid.”

Take a look at video of Lang’s foul shot that marked point No. 1,000.