Mater Dei Blows Out Over-Matched Keansburg

Photo above: Head coach Ben Gamble instructs his players during a timeout in Thursday’s game

MIDDLETOWN – Expectations were high coming into the season for the Seraphs with the only question being how long it will take to put all the pieces together. However, based on Thursday’s dismantling of winless Keansburg all those pieces seem to be falling into place just fine.

This season Mater Dei has welcomed in a new head coach, nine transfers from four different schools and brought back a number of key players from last season’s team. They were ranked anywhere from No.1 in the preseason polls to not showing up at all in the top 10.

Head coach Ben Gamble, a long-time St. Anthony assistant coach under Bobby Hurley and head coach at Cardinal McCarrick for one season before the school closed its doors at the end of the school year, feels his team still has a long way to before they truly come together as a team which is a scary thought for the rest of the Shore Conference if Thursday’s game was an indication of things to come.

The Seraphs (5-1, 4-0) raced out to a 17-0 lead and led 27-4 after one quarter as their quickness, size and athleticism was just too much for the Titans (0-6, 0-4) to contend with. Senior guard Nyke McCombs, who played for Gamble at Cardinal McCarrick, led five Mater Dei players in double-figure scoring with 20 points along with five assists and eight steals.

“We’re trying to get closer on the court and off the court to get our chemistry up,” McCombs said. “We’re trying to stay confident and get better every game and I think we’re handling it good as a team. It’s helped me having some of my former teammates on this team and we know we have a long way to go but we all have a positive attitude and trust our coach.”

Senior guard Kyle Elliot, a Marist High School in Bayonne transfer, added 19 points, four assists and a game-high nine steals while Central Regional transfer Elijah Barnes, a 6-foot-7 forward, chipped in with 17 points, three rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks. Two other McCarrick transfers, senior guard/forward Josh Green, 13 points and three boards and junior forward Elijah Mitchell, 11 points were in double-figures as well.

Eddie Lewis, a third team All-Shore wide receiver for the Seraphs this season, was a spark off the bench chipping in with four points, five steals, four assists and two rebounds. Lewis, a junior, was a starter as a freshman on the Seraphs basketball squad but elected to sit out last season.

Paul Eckleberry led Keansburg with five points.

Mater Dei is currently ranked No.2 in the Shore Conference and No.19 in the state by the Star Ledger. Their only blemish this season was a three-point loss, 38-35, to No.18 Pope John on January 3 when they held a two-point lead entering the fourth quarter. The Seraphs next game is Saturday in the 2016 Boardwalk Hoop Group Showcase versus Neptune (3-4, 2-2), ranked seventh in the Shore, then a huge Class B Central showdown against undefeated Ranney on Tuesday.

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