St. Rose girls basketball has bloomed in New Jersey

Impressively, the St. Rose (Belmar) girls basketball team emerged from an eight-day gauntlet against three state powers and Shore Conference rivals unscathed, establishing itself as Neptune's top challenger in next month's Shore Conference Tournament.

While wins over Rumson-Fair Haven and Red Bank Catholic certainly gave the Purple Roses legitimacy, last Saturday's 49-41 triumph over St. John Vianney and its five Division I recruits behind two of New Jersey's top juniors in forward Samantha Clark and guard Kasey Chambers was huge. After hitting the game-winning free throws against Red Bank Catholic, Clark contributed 15 of her 24 tallies in the second half against St. John Vianney. Chambers added 13 points.

Even more noteworthy, St. Rose limited what has been the state's top non-public program to only 11 points over the final 24 minutes after trailing by as many as 10 during the opening half.

HADDONFIELD HALTS 41 YEARS OF HISTORY
Before Haddonfield came to town, the last time Paulsboro lost a home Colonial Conference wrestling match came in 1970. For a little perspective, the last time the Red Raiders failed to protect their home turf came just before The Beatles disbanded.

When Sam Haley won his 171-pound bout on points, Haddonfield ended one of New Jersey wrestling's greatest streaks ever, pinning a 33-31 loss on Paulsboro last Saturday that continued to establish the Bulldawgs as a South Jersey grappling power.

Last season, Haddonfield shocked Camden Catholic, the biggest win in the Bulldawgs' history until now.

HIGH POINT WRESTLING IMPRESSES AGAIN
At last Saturday's National High School Coaches Association Final Four last Saturday in Forks Township, Pa., High Point (Sussex) again displayed why it is the state's best team with a pair of impressive team victories.

Especially noteworthy was the Wildcats' 42-29 triumph over an Easton (Pen.) lineup considered the Keystone State's best. Billy Hagany clinched High Point's latest triumph with a second-period pin at 125 pounds. Both squads are ranked in the Top 20 of the Amateur Wrestling News magazine - High Point is 15th, while Easton is 18th.

TOP PERFORMERS
* Shaun Cooke, Point Pleasant Boro boys basketball: He scored 13 of his 28 points, including a 9-for-9 performance at the charity stripe over the final eight minutes, in a 57-43 win over Monsignor Donovan last Friday.

* Michael Gilchrist, St. Patrick boys basketball: The senior swingman and future Kentucky standout powered a 64-40 win over Linden on Sunday with 19 points, 11 boards, eight assists and three blocks.

* Patrick Kearns, Brick Township Memorial ice hockey: The senior defenseman scored a pair of power-play goals in a 4-3 triumph over Red Bank Catholic on Jan. 20.

* Janeah Jackson, Benedictine Academy girls basketball: The senior forward scored a career-best 35 points to reach the 1,000-point mark in loss to Dayton last Friday.

* Evan Mahoney, Central Regional (Bayville) boys swimming: The senior earned Most Outstanding Swimmer accolades by setting Ocean County Championships records in the 50- (22.02) and 100-yard (47.41) freestyle while also contributing to the gold-medal 200 medley relay (1:44.41).

* Shane McLaughlin, Northern Valley (Old Tappan) boys basketball: The senior point guard scored 11 of his team's final 12 points, finishing with a game-high 23 tallies in a 66-59 win over Kennedy at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic last Saturday in Paterson.

* Robert Poole, Paul VI boys basketball: His 17-point performance pushed him past the 1,000-point plateau in last Saturday's victory over Delaware Valley Charter (Penn.).

* Dan Ries, Brearley (Kenilworth) wrestling: Earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors after scoring a third-period pin to win his 145-pound weight class, helping Brearley run away with the team title.

* Robert Ukawuba, East Brunswick boys basketball: The sophomore forward canned all 17 of his free-throw tries and finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds in 71-56 win over Piscataway on Jan. 19.

* Asmar Williams, Holy Spirit boys basketball: The senior guard's 32-point effort allowed the Spartans to outlast rival Atlantic City, 71-53, last Saturday.

RECRUITING NEWS
New Egypt's star 6-9 center, Desmond Hubert, told HoopGroup.com his two finalists are North Carolina and Maryland. If he picks the Terps, Hubert could team up with Seton Hall Prep standout guard Sterling Gibbs, who has already signed with the ACC program.

Monsignor Donovan's 6-1 guard Sean Grennan originally committed to Davidson, but the Southern Conference school thought the recruit let his grades slip, forcing the lead guard to look for a new stop. He is said to be favoring Seton Hall, although St. Louis, Vermont, Marquette and East Carolina are in the running.

UPCOMING EVENTS
* Linden at Plainfield boys basketball, Thursday: A rematch between two of the state's best public-school programs, which Linden won by a 57-52 count at home Dec. 17. Plainfield's three other losses have been to powerhouses Rice (N.Y.), St. Anthony and St. Patrick.

* St. Anthony (Jersey City) boys basketball in SNY Invitational, Friday-Saturday: Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley, Sr., and his Friars, ranked No. 2 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 boys basketball rankings, will come through the Holland Tunnel to Long Island University Wellness and Recreation Athletic Center to headline a four-team field also featuring New York powers Boys and Girls, Mount Vernon and Rice. Providing the Friars beat Mount Vernon as expected Friday night, we could see a Saturday championship game matching future members of Rutgers' backcourt in St. Anthony's Myles Mack and Boys and Girls' Michael Taylor.

* 104th Annual Millrose Games, Friday: Held at New York's famed Madison Square Garden, the meet will feature Garden State standouts such as Paramus Catholic sprinter Myasia Jacobs, St. Peter's Prep's Najee Glass and Red Bank Catholic's Molly McNamara.

* Neptune vs. Shabazz (Newark) girls basketball, Saturday: A pair of undefeated, perennial public-school powers will tip off at the Prudential Center as part of the Newark National Invitational in this potential Tournament of Champions preview. Shabazz has a terrific inside-outside tandem in junior guard Aliyyah Handford and freshman forward Zaire O'Neil, while Nepturne counters with experience in the form of Rutgers recruits Syessence Davis and Shakena Richardson.

* St. John-Vianney (Holmdel) at Rumson-Fair Haven girls basketball, Monday: A big Shore Conference rematch that saw St. John Vianney prevail by a 54-47 score on Jan. 6. Will playing on its home court give Rumson-Fair Haven and its four Division I commitments the advantage this time around?

BRIEFLY
Congratulations to Clifton hockey coach John Danko, who won his 300th game last Friday when his Mustangs defeated River Dell. ... Ron Signorino, Jr., was named the head football coach at Toms River South. ... The Pequannock (Pompton Plains) boys basketball team earned the top seed in the Morris County Tournament for the first time since the last 1980s, when current coach Jeff DeBell played for the Golden Panthers.