Manchester Connection: Spence, Myers Help Sterns Close JSBL Thursday Win

MANASQUAN — Savon Myers never got to play on the same high school team as one of his basketball mentors, Jakari Spence, but he followed in his predecessor’s footsteps as a freshman starter at Manchester Township High School the year after Spence transferred to Toms River North as a sophomore.

Now, six years after Spencer graduated from Toms River North and four years after Myers did the same at Manchester, the two childhood friends are reunited in the Jersey Shore Basketball League and showed their enduring connection Thursday in a hard-fought win for their team.

Spence scored a game-high 31 points for Stern’s Trailer, including a key three-pointer to quiet a late-game run by defending league champion ACI/Robin’s Nest and sent Stern’s to a 105-91 victory Thursday night at Manasquan High School.

ACI cut an 18-point first-half deficit to one, 88-87, in the fourth quarter, which prompted a timeout by Stern’s. Out of the timeout, Spence calmly drilled a three-pointer, and ACI would not get closer than four points the rest of the way.

While Spence finished with seven rebounds and two assists, Myers — a 6-foot-6 forward with proven point-guard skills — contributed 18 points, six rebounds and a blocked shot while playing mostly in the paint.

“I don’t want to give Jakari too much credit,” Myers joked. “I have been around Jakari a lot growing up, and I have learned a lot from him. We have been playing basketball since before high school. Playing with somebody like him, you tend to just get better by being around him. I can say I definitely took a lot from him. He has been like my big brother, and that’s helped shape me into the athlete I am today.

“We have been going at it for years, and we’re still going at it, but that’s my boy.”

After each started their high school basketball careers at Manchester, both Spencer and Myers went on to become among the most well-rounded Shore Conference players of their respective times, and each finished off their career with a First-Team All-Shore selection by Shore Sports Network. Myers was all over the local leader board as a senior during the 2021-22 season, finishing fifth in the Shore Conference in scoring (19.3 points), first in rebounds (14.2), 23rd in assists (3.3), seventh in steals (3.4) and sixth in blocked shots (2.6). One year earlier, during the COVID-shortened 2021 season, Myers finished no worse than 13th in all five categories as a junior: 17.9 points (13th), 12.6 rebounds (second), 4.2 assists (seventh), 3.9 steals (first) and 1.5 blocks (11th).

As a senior at Toms River North in 2019-20, Spence helped lead the Mariners to their first Shore Conference Tournament championship game since 1996. He earned his First-Team All-Shore spot by finishing fifth at the Shore in scoring (21.2 points per game), first in assists (6.1), and 17th in steals (2.3). Myers topped his mentor in steals that season with 3.6 and also posted 12.6 points and 7.8 rebounds as a sophomore.

“I’m his biggest critic because I want him to go further than anyone can imagine,” Spence said of Myers. “Basketball has taken me so many places, and I’m blessed. I hope to just instill that in him because he has helped me grow. I love watching him play, and I used to tell him: ‘You can go score, rebound, and get assists. You can do it all. That helps you, and it helps everybody on the team.'”

While Spence completed an accomplished career at Monmouth University in the spring of 2025, Myers is continuing his college basketball career at Division II Eastern New Mexico, where he will play as a redshirt junior after transferring from Redlands Community College in Oklahoma. After starring in both basketball and as an All-Shore quarterback in football at Manchester, Myers spent a year at Covenant College Prep in Belmar, then played the first of his two junior-college seasons at Brookdale Community College. In his one season with the Jersey Blues, Myers averaged 16.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.4 blocked shots while shooting 51 percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point range, and 71 percent from the free-throw line.

“Football translated to the basketball court because of my size and strength,” Myers said. “Football was big for me, but once I got out of high school, I realized what I wanted to do, and that was keep playing basketball.

“I can play point guard, I can play down low — anything we need. I’m like that utility-type player: I can be that star player if you need me to be, but I’m cool wherever you put me. I’ll do whatever the team needs me to do.”

Mason Jones is the third former Manchester standout on Stern’s Trailer, with Jones graduating in 2013. Jones scored five points and pulled in five rebounds in the victory.

Spence is an established MVP candidate in the JSBL, and he had help from the rest of his team on Thursday beyond Myers. D.J. Campbell put up 19 points and seven rebounds, Rasheen Merlin added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Matawan High School alum Larry Smith provided key minutes, during which he contributed five points, three rebounds, and two steals and defended multiple positions.

“I always call (Smith) the Swiss Army knife,” Spence said. “He can do anything. If you need him to score, he can score. If you need him to play the four, he can. He can play the five; he can play the one. He can play any position, and I just think it’s a blessing to be out there with guys who want to compete.”

Stern’s also had the services of former Ranney School star Scottie Lewis, who arrived midway through the first quarter Thursday after showing up at halftime in Tuesday’s win and scoring 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Lewis did not find the range on Thursday while shooting 1-for-11 and chipping in with a pair of blocks on the defensive end. Former Ranney teammate Bryan Antoine, with whom Lewis won a Tournament of Champions title and two Shore Conference Tournament championships while at Ranney, is also on the Stern’s Trailer roster, but was not in the gym Thursday night.

With Manchester well-represented on the Stern’s side, ACI/Robin’s Nest had its usual Neptune flavor, with former Scarlet Fliers teammates Jared Kimbrough and Dwaine Jones leading the way and Sam Fagan figuring into the supporting effort. Kimbrough and Samier Kinsler powered the second-half comeback and finished with 22 points each, with Kimbrough also hauling in 12 rebounds and handing out three assists. Jones poured in 20 points to go

 

County Line Auto Body Stays Unbeaten

The lone remaining unbeaten team in the JSBL remained that way thanks to a big third quarter and another balanced performance from up and down the roster.

Former Villanova and SMU (Southern Methodist) forward Markus Kennedy led the well-rounded effort with 24 points and nine rebounds as County Line Auto Body took down the WCT Warriors, 105-91, to run its record to 4-0 this summer.

Kennedy was one of seven County Line players to crack double-figure scoring, with Leon Daniels backing up Kennedy with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals for the team’s lone double-double. Jachai Simmons and Kyle McGee each scored 14 points, Ahmad Biggins threw in 13, and Josh Treadwell and Will Brown threw in 12 apiece in the win. The lone County Line player without a double-figure point total was Brendan Mariani (one point), and he led his team with six assists to go with five rebounds and two steals.

WCT played with only five players on Thursday and was led by Jacob Morales, who had 36 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. Three Shore Conference alumni helped the cause, beginning with former Lakewood star Ryan Savoy, who posted 26 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, five steals, and two blocked shots. Former Rumson-Fair Haven forward Scott Gyimesi also finished with a double-double, going for 19 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Manasquan alum Quinn Peters netted 10 points and hauled in five boards for WCT, which led 47-45 at halftime before County Line grabbed control with a 32-15 advantage in the third quarter.