Longtime Hoops Relationships Prove Bountiful in JSBL Week 2 Openers

It’s been proven time and time again that basketball is a team sport, and all five guys need to play a part in winning games.

In Tuesday’s doubleheader slate of the Jersey Shore Basketball League, that adage rang true more than any other.

Two teams with longstanding connections up and down the roster came away with big victories to open up the league’s second week of play. Even if the pure talent advantage may have gone to the opposition, the chemistry and willingness to play together guided OIB Ortho and ACI/Robin’s Nest to respective victories.

OIB Ortho notches its first win of the season, led by Michigan’s breakout performance

OIB Ortho – previously known as Ortho-NJ – underwent a significant roster overhaul with a heavy influx of current college talent.

11 of the 15 rostered players currently attend Division II Georgian Court, and even the rest of the roster plays in the Division II or III level, or lower-level Division I.

But much of the roster has plenty of experience playing alongside each other for years, and it’s been on display for each of their first few games.

OIB Ortho finally broke through and won its first game of the season, 109-98, over Larson Ford, a team boasting four high-level Division I players on the floor. But the team’s chemistry and ability to capitalise on opponents’ mistakes powered Ortho to a victory in which they led by as many as 24 points.

Former Brick Memorial standout Josh Michigan led them all with a game-high 42 points on just 23 shots, rebounding from a shot to the face that required stitches to lead Ortho to a win.

“We got a group of guys that, you know, we grew up together playing ball, and we’ve been playing our whole lives, so we just know how to play together,” Michigan said after the game. “And we got a bunch of dudes that just play hard, honestly. And that’s the thing, we play team ball and play hard. It’s just, you can’t beat that combination, really.”

The two teams played a tough first quarter, with OIB Ortho holding a 28-26 lead, but OIB Ortho exploded in the second quarter, taking a commanding 65-42 lead into the locker room. OIB Ortho outscored Larson Ford 37-16 in the frame, taking control with a relentless motor attacking the basket and forcing turnovers.

Millersville guard Dante Weise (16 points, ten rebounds) and Georgian Court forward Justin Soranno (19 points, seven rebounds) continued to help run the show as well, continuing a longtime relationship between the trio on the floor.

“Me, Justin, and Dante, I mean, we’re in the gym four times a week together, and you could just see it, us three starting,” Michigan added. “We come out, we play together, we always come out hard, whether it’s in the half or at the beginning of the game, we always just make a statement. And being the underdogs against most of these teams, we know we have to make a statement.”

Larson Ford boasted a big-time advantage in the size and athleticism department, given the aforementioned high-level college talent, but OIB Ortho continued to prove the adage that there’s strong basketball at every level, as they have for all three games.

Larson Ford was able to put a dent in the deficit in the second half, outscoring OIB Ortho 56-44 in the final 20 minutes, but Ortho had built up such a lead that they were able to slow the game down and score timely baskets to keep Larson Ford at arm’s reach.

Larson Ford was paced by 32 points from former Roselle Catholic and Providence standout Corey Floyd Jr., 19 points from fellow former Lion and Temple standout Nate Pierre-Louis, and a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double from Alex Leiba (Penn State-Harrisburg/Pepperdine). Former Seton Hall and Florida State forward Shahid Muhammad added 13 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks.

With the size advantage, the visitors were able to put plenty of pressure on the basket, but OIB Ortho’s execution throughout the game proved to be too much.

Michigan – headed to Saint Anselm this upcoming season – and Ortho weren’t fazed by the opposition at all.

“At the end of the day, we know we’re hoopers,” he said. “There are hoopers at every level. I played against a bunch of Division I guys in my time, you know, playing basketball, so I know the gap is not that big. And we just got a fire under us, obviously, you know, to prove ourselves against them, and that’s what we did.”

After two hard-fought losses, where the JSBL’s preseason projected last-place team acquitted itself quite well, there was a feeling that it was only a matter of time until OIB Ortho got a win, and a convincing one at that.

They now sit at 1-2 and have performed as one of the league’s most surprising teams, though for Ortho themselves, the longtime relationships on and off the court brought no surprise.

ACI/Robin’s Nest wins second straight, downs RKE Athletic, led by similar longstanding ties

Speaking of a team with relationships that go way back, that plays with togetherness and toughness on the floor, defending champion ACI/Robin’s Nest kept the good times rolling with a 103-93 victory over RKE Athletic to start out their season 2-0.

Consider ACI/Robin’s Nest a leveled-up (or aged-up) version of OIB Ortho.

Much of the team has been playing together for many years, whether at Neptune High School or crossing paths in the collegiate ranks. Now, with much of the team having graduated from college and fully into professional careers, they’ve combined the chemistry of an up-and-comer with the straight-up high-level talent to become a dangerous group.

Similar to the first game, ACI/Robin’s Nest built a big lead in the first half and outlasted RKE Athletic despite a comeback attempt down the stretch.

The home team’s scoring outburst came in the first quarter, building up a 34-16 lead before anyone in the building could even blink off the back of a white-hot shooting performance after four minutes.

Also, similar to Larson Ford, RKE Athletic tried to mount a major comeback but simply missed too many shots in the early going and ran out of time late.

ACI/Robin’s Nest had five scorers in double figures, led by a game-high 28 from Jagan Mosely (St. Anthony’s/Georgetown), 19 points and 12 rebounds from Jared Kimbrough (Neptune/La Salle/Hartford), and 20 points with five assists from floor general Dwaine Jones (Neptune/Coppin State/WVSU/Charleston (WV)).

Forward Ibn Loyal (The Patrick School/WVSU/Missouri Southern State) added four threes in a blistering first quarter, as part of a 14-for-34 mark from beyond the arc as a team.

Even when it seemed like RKE Athletic had some momentum in the early minutes of the third quarter, ACI/Robin’s Nest put up two momentum-shifting runs in quick succession to build the lead by as much as 29 points.

RKE Athletic fought hard in the fourth, but didn’t have enough left to fully complete the comeback as they dropped to 1-2 on the year. They were paced by 18 points from James Stanback (Stockton/Keansburg), 17 and nine boards from Nick Davidson (Bloomfield), and 14 and 13, respectively, from Bryce Greene (Elizabethtown) and Kyle Cardaci (Saint Peter’s/Mater Dei Prep).

Former James Madison and Seton Hall forward Elijah Hutchins-Everett was a frontcourt bright spot, with 12 points and seven rebounds, while providing solid touch and playmaking in the low post.

Both of the JSBL’s Tuesday night winners proved that with solid chemistry and proven experience among teammates, pure talent can take a backseat.