Cinderella wore black: ACI/Robin’s Nest stuns Sterns Trailer to win first JSBL championship

MANASQUAN —When Jalen Gaffney knocked down a go-ahead jump shot with just 3.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter, it certainly looked like Sterns Trailer was set to continue its Jersey Shore Basketball League dynasty.

Instead, Dwaine Jones saw an opportunity.

“It was that type of game,” Jones said. “Two really good teams, and I thought whoever had the ball last was going to win.”

Gaffney’s jumper put Sterns Trailer up by two and on the brink of securing a fourth straight JSBL championship, but Jones had other plans. After receiving the inbound pass in his own end, the star point guard sprinted across half court before pulling up and banking in a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds on the clock to give ACI/Robin’s Nest a wild 85-84 victory and its first JSBL title in an instant classic on Tuesday night at Manasquan High School.

“I know with my speed I can get the ball down the court in two or three dribbles,” Jones said. “I just won a Summer Slam championship and we’ve had a crazy run here. I ain’t got no legs, so we’re going for the win, baby. I knew I was pulling up for a three. The rest is history. I’m really speechless about that shot. I’m still in awe right now.”

“I didn’t even stress,” standout power forward Jared Kimbrough said. “I looked at the clock after they scored and I knew we had enough time. Me and Dwaine have such a good connection. He looked at me and said ‘Jared’, and I was like, ‘I got you’. I did whatever I could do to help get him open. He did the rest.”

Having won three straight JSBL titles entering this summer, Sterns Trailer was the preseason favorite and did nothing to change that sentiment by entering the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. They were the favorite on Tuesday night, but ACI/Robin’s Nest sent an early message by storming out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter. Sterns Trailer battled back and eventually took a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. In the final frame, ACI/Robin’s Nest made key plays at both ends of the floor to put itself in position to pull the upset.

It was off shooting night for Jones after he scored 36 points in a semifinal win over Intern Helpers, but the former Neptune High School standout still managed to deliver 18 points and seven assists, plus the game-winning shot, and was selected as the playoff MVP. Kimbrough was a monster on defense with four of ACI/Robin’s Nest’s seven blocks and was excellent on the offensive end with a team-high 22 points and 15 rebounds. Sam Fagan delivered 16 points, including a huge three-pointer with 1:15 to play, while Samier Kinsler also scored 16 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Ibn Loyal added seven points and nine rebounds while also providing toughness on defense.

For Sterns Trailer, star point guard and league MVP Jakari Spence scored a game-high 30 points on 12 of 26 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Versatile power forward Parker Dortch scored 25 points and collected 12 rebounds. Shooting guard Kevin Mateo added 14 points and center Rasheen Marlin had nine points and six rebounds.

“I’ve been around a lot of summer leagues in my day and I don’t know if I’ve been a part of a game that exciting,” ACI/Robin’s Nest head coach Joe Fagan said.

 

We before Me

ACI/Robin’s Nest won its first JSBL championship and halted Sterns Trailer’s bid for a four-peat by doing what most teams in the league struggle to do consistently: play as one. For the squad led by Neptune head coach Joe Fagan and former Jackson All-Shore standout and recent Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Jimmy McDonnell, it is their foundation.

“It’s everything. Basketball is a ‘we’ game, not a ‘me’ game,” Fagan said. “When (team owner) Robin (Pallandrano) and Greg Kapalko approached me (to coach when the team debuted in 2022) I said I’m going to go get my guys, guys who have played for me and know that I’m all about the ‘we’.

“Coach Jimmy and my dad make sure we’re a ‘we’ team and not a ‘me’ team,” Sam Fagan said. ‘There’s a lot of ‘me’ teams and ‘me’ players in this league. We don’t have those and I think that’s the most obvious reason we won. Everyone is playing together and not doing it for themselves.”

Joe Fagan coached his son Sam along with Jones, Kimbrough, and Micah Kerr at Neptune. McDonnell played for Fagan when he was the head coach at Jackson. Sean Grennan, a former Donovan Catholic standout, had Fagan as his AAU coach. There was a collection of Neptune fans and former Scarlet Fliers basketball players in attendance during the semifinals and championship game who made their presence felt in support of their guys. The team played with a level of cohesion that is difficult to attain in the JSBL.

“I just think that’s a credit to our coaches,” Jones said. “Me and Sam brought in all of our best friends and guys we’re close with. We don’t just go get big. names. We had Myles Powell one time this year and that kind of gave me a chip. Everybody said we wouldn’t win a championship without Myles Powell. It means the world to me for us to win it like this without any ‘big names’. I think there’s nobody better than us when we play team basketball.”

Toughness and team defense were also part of the ACI/Robin’s Nest identity. They needed every bit of it against a Sterns team that had asserted its will all season with Dortch, Merlin, and 6-foot-8 forward Derrick Woods. Kimbrough was magnificent while Loyal and 6-foot-8 center Marquail Hardiman helped prevent Sterns from dominating the paint and the glass.

“I know I got the playoff MVP but I told the JSBL guys in an interview that Jared is the real MVP,” Jones said. “Without Jared, I don’t get some of the opportunities that I did. He’s the one putting his body on the line.”

“I coached Jared in high school and have coached him here, and that’s the best defensive game I’ve ever seen him play,” Joe Fagan said. “His help was early, he got some incredible blocks outside of his area, and then he came down on the offensive end and played his ass off. He has another level as a player. His best basketball is still ahead of him.”

After a slow start to the season, Jones recruited his former college teammates at West Virginia State, Loyal and Kinsler. Their style of play was a perfect fit.

“That’s on me for picking them up late,” Jones said. “They changed the dynamic of the team with the toughness they bring.”

“We’re a bunch of tough guys so we’re not going to let anyone bully us,” Kimbrough said. “We’re not a team that’s going to lay down and let you do whatever you want.”

 

Robin’s Nest sets an early tone

It was all ACI/Robin’s Nest for the first five minutes of the game. Jones buried a three at one end before Kimbrough made a defensive play at the other and went coast-to-coast for a thunderous dunk that whipped the crowd into a frenzy and put his team up 19-5. Sterns Trailer, led by Spence and Dortch, regained its composure and trimmed the deficit to 28-20 heading to the second quarter.

Spence converted a three-point play and then scored again to pull Sterns within a point with 3:15 left in the first half. Dortch then sank two free throws to give Sterns a 35-34 lead, its first advantage since the opening minute of the game. Spence scored off a driving layup and Merlin converted from beneath the basket to give Sterns a 39-34 edge with under two minutes left until halftime. Kimbrough answered to cut it to 39-36, then blocked a shot that led to a Kinsler three that knotted the score at 39. A bad pass and turnover led to Mateo scoring on a layup for a 41-39 Sterns lead, but Fagan responded with one of his four three-pointers to give ACI/Robin’s Nest the the lead with 30 seconds on the clock. Hardiman connected on one of two free throws in the closing seconds for a 43-41 halftime lead.

“Our conversation at the half was to keep doing what we’re doing and stay disciplined on defense,” Kimbrough said. “Keep rebounding and getting stops. If we let them kill us on the offensive glass this game would have been over. We knew exactly what we needed to do and we had Jimmy leading the way.”

 

Sterns battles back

Robin’s Nest grew it’s lead to double digits midway through the third quarter when Fagan drained a three and then connected on a jumper for a 54-43 lead with 5:35 left. Sterns showed its championship pedigree by responding to retake the lead with Spence, Dortch, and Mateo leading the charge to give their team a 62-59 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Sterns looked like it might begin to pull away when Dortch beat the shot clock for a 70-61 lead with 7:05 to play, but a Fagan jumper and a driving layup by Jones quickly made it a five-point game and set the stage for a thrilling final five minutes. After a bucket by Spence made it 74-67, Kinsler scored, was fouled, and made his free throw to make it a 74-70 game. The teams traded baskets on the next six possessions before Sterns called a timeout following a bucket by Loyal that made it 80-76 with 2:39 left.

 

An epic finish

Off the timeout, Loyal delivered a block on Dortch that led to a Kimbrough dunk off an assist from Jones on a high pick and roll, cutting the Sterns lead to 80-78 with 1:50 left. Jones then forced Spence to take a difficult shot from the baseline that hit the side of the backboard and gave Robin’s Nest possession with 1:37 to go. Robin’s Nest called a timeout to draw up a play, and it was a good one. Jones inbounded the ball to Kimbrough on the other side of the court, who then dropped it off to Fagan while setting a screen. Fagan swished the off-balance shot to give Robin’s Nest an 81-80 lead with 1:15 left. That play call and its execution were a microcosm of ACI/Robin’s Nest’s championship run.

“Jimmy McDonnell did a hell up a job this year drawing up all the plays for us,” Joe Fagan said. “He’s fresh out of the NBA and he lives for the game. He did a tremendous job getting us quality shots at important parts of the game. That three Sam hit was Jimmy’s play. He’s an unbelievable coach. Any college or pro team not trying to pick him up is making a mistake. I don’t know how many guys have a master’s degree in engineering who are coaching basketball. The guy can build a bridge so drawing up plays is easy stuff for him.”

“I think an underrated skill in basketball is screening, and Jared does it every time,” Jones said. “He deserves a lot of credit. He came up big for us in those last four minutes.”

Sterns grabbed the lead right back when Mateo spun and scored with an acrobatic layup for an 82-81 lead with 30.1 seconds left. Kimbrough was fouled on the ensuing possession, missed the first shot and hit the second to tie the game at 82.

The rest is JSBL history. Gaffney hit a jumper off a Dortch screen for an 84-82 lead before Jones hit one of the most memorable shots in league history to give his team an improbable championship.

“I messed up on defense,” Sam Fagan said. “I didn’t know there was a screen and Jalen scored. I thought all hope was lost for a minute there, but Dwaine is super confident and he didn’t care. I’ve seen him do that in high school. He went right down the floor and got a good look.”

“When Sam got hurt sophomore year Dwaine took over the team and carried us to the state semifinals,” Joe Fagan said. “He has that ability. What impressed me tonight is he was struggling but he kept battling, kept battling, and put himself in position to get that banker. I’m really happy for him.”