JSBL Thursday Night: Spence Stays Scorching for Sterns; Lyons, Treadwell Lead Helpers

MANASQUAN — Thursday was a balanced night of scoring across two lopsided victories in the Jersey Shore Basketball League double-header, but one man, in particular, earned the title of “walking bucket” while most everyone else was spreading the wealth.

Jakari Spence — the former Toms River North High School star and Monmouth University walk-on success story — went off for 44 points in a 118-93 Sterns Trailer win over Larson Ford on Thursday at Manasquan High School. The 44 points was 18 more than the next closest scorer during the two JSBL games played on Thursday and it followed up a 51-point explosion by Spence one night earlier.

Spence is leading the league in scoring at 39.4 points per game through five appearances in seven games and has Sterns Trailer within a half-game of first place in the league heading into the final week of the regular season.

Thursday marked another efficient scoring night for Spence, who shot 15-for-27 (56 percent) from the field, 6-for-10 from three-point range and 8-for-10 from the free throw line. He also pitched in three assists and two steals.

Matawan High School alum Larry Smith played the role of secondary scorer with 22 points while also pulling in 10 rebounds and dishing out three assists to go along with defensive presence as well (two steals, one block). Kevin Mateo (Brookdale)  pumped in eight points to go with three steals and former Red Bank forward Eddie Hendrex went for 16 points, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots.

With those four Sterns players combining for 100 points on 67 shot attempts, the Shore Conference’s all-time scoring leader blended in with 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Former Ranney star Bryan Antoine — who broke the Shore Conference career scoring record with 2,499 points — made all seven of his two-point attempts — including a driving, contested one-hand dunk — and also contributed five rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots in the victory.

Joshua Morris (Bloomfield) led Larson Ford with 26 points and nine rebounds, with St. John Vianney alum Alex Leiba chipping in 20 and nine to go with a pair of blocked shots. Zion Bethea (Pepperdine) also helped out with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Larson Ford.

Game 2: Intern Helpers 109, RKE Athletic 98

Christian Lyons (Gloucester CC) led six scorers in double-figures with 21 points and delivered a pair of acrobatic dunks in the third quarter as Intern Helpers opened up a 25-point fourth-quarter lead to activate the running clock and held off a late surge by RKE Athletic.

Coppin State product Josh Treadwell contributed across the board with 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals, while South Jersey native Jaymere Hadden (Millville High School/Stockton University) went for 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Former Monmouth guard Ray Salnave and Keansburg graduate James Stanback each pitched in 13 points, with Salnave dishing three assists and Stanback corralling six rebounds.

Tyler Armstrong (East Central University) scored a game-high 24 points for RKE and Manasquan alum and Monmouth University wing Jack Collins posted 20 points, 14 rebounds and three assists in the loss. Shack Scott (Wagner) added 15 points and nine rebounds, while NJCU alums Denzel Banks  and Jaheim Lewis contributed 14 points apiece. Banks also grabbed seven rebounds and handed out four assists for RKE.