NEPTUNE CITY -- He certainly may have been the only one in the entire building, but Brian Quick knew.After taking a shocking 17-point lead into the halftime break, the Rebels appeared to be flying high.Fifth-seeded Neptune had different intentions.Neptune stormed back in the second half, going on a 22-1 run to cut the lead to three as Howell led 53-50 early in the fourth quarter."We knew it was coming," Howell head coach Brian Quick said. "We knew it was only a matter of time and we just needed to weather the storm. We needed a basket."Howell did indeed weather the storm, winning 69-60 in the second round of the Shore Conference Tournament on Thursday night at Neptune High School in front of a sellout crowd.With the lead extended to 55-51 after a couple of Rebels' free throws, senior Kendall Simmons hit that basket.Left open after a drive from senior Ryan Keegan, Simmons knocked down a three-pointer to give Howell a seven-point cushion, 58-51."I've said it all year," Quick said, "Kendall [Simmons] is that player that could take us to the next level. Tonight, Neptune was that next level and he took us there."Simmons finished with 22 points and was te go-to-guy for the Rebels, who are seeded 12th.Keegan, nursing bruised ribs for the second straight game, was impressive once again, finishing with 21 points, going 4-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to ice the win.With Neptune hanging around late, senior Brian Jordan found Mike Murphy in the paint for a lay-up, giving Howell the 61-51 lead.Murphy added seven points and three rebounds."Aside from my kid being born and my wedding, it's the third most exciting moment of my life," Quick said. "We expect to win.""We came in here with a gameplan. We knew exactly what we needed to do, we knew it would work, and we thought we would win."Howell jumped out to a 23-14 lead after the first quarter, thanks to 12 points from senior Mike Porter.At the half, Howell lead 43-26."I told the guys to be brash, be confident," Quick said. "And they were, you could tell that tonight."With the win, Howell advanced to the quarterfinals -- farther than any team in the past.Still, Quick says the Rebels have work to do."We're going in tomorrow and we're going to prep," he said. "We feel like we can go in Saturday and win and we want to go all the way. We can do it."The Rebels will take on 13th-seeded Rumson at Brookdale Community College on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. Rumson is coming off an impressive win over fourth-seeded Middletown North.
