Manasquan Gets First Sectional Title Since 2009 With Wire-To-Wire Win

Photo above: Manasquan players celebrate with their loyal student body.

MANASQUAN – In a game in which Manasquan was never really threatened, the Warriors put on one of the finest displays of team basketball by anyone in the Shore Conference this season - in one of the biggest games of their program’s illustrious history.

Led by senior transfer Kyle Bradshaw’s game-high 23 points, the second-seeded Warriors took care of a red-hot Bordentown team 61-45 Monday night in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II final played before a sold out and jammed packed gymnasium at Manasquan High School.

Bordentown had defeated No. 1 seed Lakewood in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven in the semifinals on the road to advance into the final.

It was Manasquan’s fourth sectional title and first since 2009 when they defeated Middlesex 59-36 for the title as the No.2 seed. Manasquan will now face South Jersey Group II champion Camden at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11 at Perth Amboy High School in the Group II semifinals.

Bradshaw – the Warriors sixth man - scored all eight of Manasquan’s third-quarter points, and the defense held the dangerous Scotties to only two points in third quarter when Manasquan put their stamp on the game before playing out the fourth quarter.

Led by senior’s Luke O’Shaughnessy and Aiden McMenamen, the Warrior defense shut down Bordentown’s top-two scoring threats in junior guard Myron Gordon and sophomore guard Darnill Brown in a way the high-scoring duo have not been accustomed to the entire season.

“We have a bunch of Robin’s and no Batman,” Manasquan coach Bilodeau said. “That’s pretty much how we look at these guys. Everybody just goes out there and does their thing.”

Gordon, who just two games ago scored his 1000th point of his young career and averages 22.6 points per game, was suffocated by O’Shaughnessy’s pressure man-to-man defense and was held to 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting after scoring 28 points in their upset over Rumson.

“I knew he was a great ball handler, crafty and a guy who can get to the rim,” O’Shaughnessy said. “I tried not to give up a step, contest his shot and limit his penetration to the rim.”

“The whole game plan was to stop Gordon,” Bilodeau said. “I thought he was the most athletic player we’ve played all year. O’Shaughnessy did a great job on him limiting penetration and contesting his every shot.”

McMenamen kept Brown - Bordentown’s best three-point shooter – from getting comfortable outside with some in-your-face defense that forced Brown into a 1-for-7 shooting night with only two points. Brown entered the game with 63 three-pointers on the season and left with 63.

“First and foremost it was stopping Gordon, who is a heck of a player,” McMenamen said. “After that it was just making sure (Brown) didn’t get anything easy.”

Once again, Manasquan junior forward Ryan Jensen dominated in the paint, hauling down a game-high 18 boards and blocking a team-high four shots to go along with 14 points, four assists and a steal.

Junior Jack Sheehan jump-started the game hitting a 3-pointer 40 seconds into the contest and McMenamen buried two three’s in the first quarter as the Warriors stormed out to a 23-16 first-quarter lead. Jensen had six points, grabbed five rebounds – two offensive – with a block and two assists in the quarter.

McMenamen opened the second quarter with his third 3-pointer of the night but the pace of the game quickly slowed after that as both teams stepped up their defensive intensity and good looks at the basket were at a premium. Jensen and Bradshaw each had four points in the quarter as the Warriors left the floor leading 36-28 at the half.

“We said in the locker room at half that the third quarter was when they were going to make their run if they were going to make one,” Jensen said. “So we knew we had to shut them down there.”

The Warriors did just that, as they took control of the game in the third quarter behind Bradshaw’s eight points and a defense that limited the Scotties to two third-quarter points on 1-for- 7 shooting and forced five turnovers to take a overwhelming 44-30 lead into the fourth quarter.

“I think their confidence went down when we went on a little bit of a run,” Bradshaw said. “And once we saw that, we stepped on the gas pedal a little bit more and after that it was pretty much over.”

Manasquan built their lead to 20 points late in the fourth before a couple of meaningless buckets by Bordentown put a little window dressing on the 61-45 final.

Bradshaw – who wasn’t healthy until the middle of the year - added 10 rebounds, three blocked shots, two steals and one assist in arguably his best game in his limited playing time at Manasquan.

“This is huge, this is my first year in any high school playoffs and to win the CJGII title is unreal,” Bradshaw said. “We’ve had our ups-and-downs but those downs made us the team we are now and we’re right where we need to be.”

“We were pretty good defensively throughout the year but had trouble scoring at times,” Bilodeau said. “But we’ve been playing better and better and scoring more and getting easier baskets. Kyle and Aiden – who missed time in the middle of the season – are healthy now and we seem to be hitting our stride.”

O’Shaughnessy added a team-high eight assists, two steals and contributed five points while McMenamen ended with nine points and one rebound, assist, steal and blocked shot. Sheehan was solid finishing with nine points, three boards and three steals.

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