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Early season scouting report reveals strengths/weaknesses of local teamsBy Jack YellinBoys basketball has been a very hot item in the early winter season. And both Bridgeton and Cumberland Regional have provided a lot of excitement early on. Here are the early season scouting reports on the teams as they enter the heart of the schedule. BridgetonCoach Charlie Kates’ Bulldogs were 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the conference going into today’s battle with St. Joseph on the road.Bridgeton is at home on Wednesday against a tough wildwood team before they hit the road again on Friday with league-leading Middle Township.A peek at a future opponent’s scouting report showed the following:Terrence Hester and Dwayne Robinson are outstanding players. The Bulldogs have a lot of quickness and love to apply defensive pressure. They prefer to play a transition game.Controlling the tempo is an important key to beating Bridgeton. Keeping the score in the 60s or lower is very important. Taking care of the ball (no turnovers) also is a key.Bridgeton has not show an effective half court game nor have they displayed a delay game. They will take bad shots when pressured and beating them to rebounds also is important. Hester is an outstanding shooter inside the paint. He has a lot of fine moves, but he is a very emotional player. Being physical with him takes him out of his game.This scouting report is a fair one but is not completely true.Kates does have a delay game. IN a loss to Hammonton, Bridgeton lost its focus and apparently didn’t see his signal to call a timeout when they had the lead and the ball.A similar situation occurred against St. Augustine Prep. Both games, however were lost because someone failed to box out on critical rebounds.Former Bridgeton transfer Bill Fahber scored a crucial basket against the Bulldogs for the Hermits with his rebound bucket late in the game.Another fact in the early season is Bridgeton’s inability to win at home. Before Wednesday, the Bulldogs were 0-3 at home. Kates points out that there are many distractions at home.Let’s just chalk up the Bulldog experience at Atlantic City as just that. Kates’ team got a lesson in the style and level of play he wants for his younger Bulldogs.

C.A. National Basketball archive – S.A. 1992

Bulldogs come up short at home againBob Henessey got hot. Dwayne Robinson did not.And Terrence Hester could not carry the load alone for Bridgeton High Thursday night against St. Augustine. At home.That’s right, another home defeat, the third straight for the Bulldogs. They’ve won three games – two at the Colt Classic and one at Lower Cape May.Thursday night was not one of those 91-90 sneaker-burners like the Pleasantville game.Nor was it patience personified like the Hammonton loss. This was a 58-53 win for a team that did not sing a field goal from 1:00 left in the third quarter until 1:00 left in the game. St. Augustine found another way to win. First, they sent in the artillery in the form of Henessey and two three-pointers midway through the third period. That opened up an eight-point lead.Then they dribbled and they passed and they drove the lane and they drew fouls and they made them – 24 for 31 for the game. And when the Bulldogs pulled even with 2:12 left and even forged a point ahead at 1:53, the Hermits responded with two big buckets inside to salt it away.Wasted in the loss was a 27-point performance by Hester.The big center scored over 50 percent of his team’s points and pulled down almost as many rebounds. But he wound up an island in this one.Robinson, who can get his body seven feet off the ground in a high jump and dunk the ball with ease on a basketball court, had another woeful shooting night at home.He got into foul trouble early, sat the bench for much of the second and third quarters and couldn’t match Hester’s heroic efforts at the end.When St. Augustine’s lead climbed to 51-42 with less than four minutes to go, the Bulldogs looked out of it. They had suffered through an eight-point third quarter and had nine Hester points to show for the fourth period. But St. Augustine let them back in the game.Two backcourt violations and a charging foul set the table for a nine-point Bulldog run that tied the game at 51-51 with 2:12 remaining.Robinson stuffed in a rebound, Vic Hannah sank a 10-footer and Hester laid in two points before Robinson found the range with a three-pointer to tie it.St. Augustine came back with a free throw, but Corrie Williams sank a pair to give Bridgeton the lead for the first time since Hennessey’s three-point antics in the third period.The Hermits had gone a full eight minutes without a field goal, relying on free throws to hold the fort. Just when it looked like the Bulldogs had erased three periods of erratic play, St. Augustine found the basket again. Matt Hafty took a feed inside for his lone basket of the game. Then Brendan Fagan stole the ball and Bill Fahber was there to ram home a rebound at 0:46.That made it 56-53 and the Bulldogs needed three. Robinson missed from that range and Matt Clark sank a pair of free throws for the Hermits. Robinson missed again from the hinterlands and the Bulldogs are still 0 for the season at home. It was 13-12 after one period and 26-25 at the half. The game had all the makings of a cliff-hanger until Henessey suddenly started bombing from three-point range in the middle of the third period. They were his only buckets of the game, but they were lethal.Brian Carroll added his own three-pointer – also his only basket of the game – seconds later and St. Augustine gained an eight-point lead.Hester spent the next eight minutes trying to carry the Bulldogs on his back. When Robinson and Hannah joined in with four minutes to go, it looked like enough to carry the night. But it wasn’t to be.The biggest thorn in Bridgeton’s side in the fourth quarter was Matt Miles. Miles dribbled and drove his way into a 9-for-10 performance from the line to finish with 13 points, high for the Hermits. Robinson followed Hester with 11 points for the Bulldogs. Give St. Augustine credit. They did what they had to do. Give the Bulldogs some time. They may be the best 0-3 home team in the state right now.


Hermits fight off Bulldogs

St. Augustine has 6-1 record

By GUY GARGANFor The Press

BRIDGETON – Patience and poise are basketball virtues that paid off Thursday night for St. Augustine Prep, the defending Cape-Atlantic League National Conference champion. St. Augustine led Bridgeton High School by nine points after three periods, but trailed by one point with under 2 minutes left. Matt Hufty and Bill Fahber scored to rally St. Augustine to a 58-53 win.The National Conference interdivision victory puts the Hermits at 6-1 while Bridgeton fell to 3-4 (1-3 CAL National).St. Augustine led 42-33 after three periods, but the game turned into a thriller with under 3 minutes left after the Bulldogs slowly chipped away at the advantage.Terrence Hester made a move around Faber to score from underneath and bring Bridgeton back to trail 51-48. Then it suddenly became a new game when Dwayne Robinson hit Bridgeton’s only three-pointer of the night to tie it. With 1:52 left, Corrie Williams gave Bridgeton a brief 53-52 edge.But then St. Augustine’s cool made the difference. Hufty scored after a feed from Raheem Rex and Fahber’s rebound bucket with 48 seconds remaining put the Hermits ahead 56-53. Matt Clark finished the job with a pair of free throws from the line.“We let them get the rebounds and second shots in the final two minutes and we didn’t take charge when we should have,” Bridgeton coach Charlie Kates said. The Hermits’ four-corners ball-control offense paid off early in the third period when a close game seemed to turn. Bridgeton led 27-26 early in the third period when the Hermits’ three-point shooting arsenal went boom-boom-boom. Bob Hennessy struck twice from behind the semi-circle for his only points of the night and Brian Carroll made it three St. Augustine treys in a row. The score was suddenly 35-27 St. Augustine, and for a good while, it was a different game as the Hermits controlled the action.The Hermits’ attack was led by Matt Miles, who scored 13 points, nine from the line. Fahber, a 6-foot-7 senior who transferred from Bridgeton two years ago, finished with 10. Hester, Bridgeton’s 6-6 junior forward, was nearly the equalizer with 27 points and a powerful game in the frontcourt.“Our game plan was to control Hester and Robinson and keep the ball at the perimeter. And for the most part, we did that,” St. Augustine coach Paul Rodio said. “Wewere playing without our point guard Jeff Budniak, who was out sick, but I don’t want to use that as an excuse. We want to … spread offenses in the second half to control the tempo.”


Rex stands tall as Prep overtakes Bridgeton, 72-64

“I was determined to grab rebounds in Bill Fahber’s absence. I had to sit out three minutes of the second quarter because of foul trouble and coach told me not to worry about scoring, just to get all the rebounds I could get.”St. Augustine Prep’s Raheem Rex

By TOM GANTERT, Staff Writer

RICHLAND – St. Augustine Prep basketball coach Paul Rodio would have been happy with just the rebounds. Raheem Rex gave him more. The 6-foot-6 Rex scored 14 points and had 13 rebounds Monday to lift St. Augustine to a 72-64 victory over Bridgeton in a Cape-Atlantic League National Division game.The Prep, 13-5, has to rely on Rex more for his rebounding since it lost 6-foot-7 Bill Fahber to an injury. St. Augustine can pick up the scoring slack with its smaller guards. “Raheem was the difference on the boards,” said Rodio. “Now that we don’t have the big kid, we need rebounding. Raheem can do both (rebounding and scoring). I think he’ll have to in big games.”St. Augustine rebounded from a one-point halftime deficit to outscore Bridgeton 37-28 in the second half. St. Augustine’s Bob Hennessy scored 10 points in the third quarter, including three 3-pointers. Hennessy finished with 14 points. The Prep’s Matt Miles, who had a team-high 17 points, scored seven points in the final quarter. “I was determined to grab rebounds in Bill Fahber’s absence..” Rex said. “I had to sit out three minutes of the second quarter because of foul trouble and coach told me not to worry about scoring, just to get all the rebounds I could get.”Bridgeton, 9-8, was led by Dwayne Robinson, who finished with 19 points. Terrence Hester fought foul trouble all night and eventually fouled out. He scored 12 points, but only took four shots in the second half.The Prep took the lead for good with 2:36 left in the third quarter when Hennessy hit his third 3-pointer to make it 48-47. Matt Hufty scored and Brendan Fagan added a basket to give St. Augustine a 53-49 lead after three quarters.


St. Augustine wins Cape-National Showdown

Hermits corner BulldogsBy DAVE ALLEN, Staff Writer

BRIDGETON – There was no place to run and hide for the Hermits Thursday night against Bridgeton, just four corners on a basketball court.That was enough.St. Augustine Prep went to a four-corner spread offense mid-way trough the third quarter, protecting an eight-point lead, and stayed with it the rest of the way, even after a 10-1 Bulldog run put Bridgeton up by a point with 1:52 remaining in the game.The result was two easy baskets, two free throws and a 58-53 win for the Prep (6-1) in the battle of Cape-Atlantic League National Division contenders.“We tried to shoot off it (the spread offense), which is normally not what we want in those circumstances,” Hermits’ coach Paul Rodio said. “We wanted to take time off the clock, but we had some layups and we made the right decisions.”The first decision was made by St. Augustine center Raheem Rex. Rex drew a Bridgeton defender to him and found a wide-open Matt Hufty for an easy layup and Hufty’s only two points of the game with 1:38 remaining.Bridgeton then wasted two opportunities to retake the lead with turnovers, once by stepping out of bounds and another time by throwing the ball away upcourt.That set the stage for Hermits’ center Bill Fahber, who transferred from Bridgeton to the Prep after his sophomore year.The 6-foot-6 senor followed Bobby Hennessy’s miss with 49 seconds left to give Prep a 56-53 advantage, a lead that held up with two insurance free throws by Matt Clark with 12 seconds remaining.“They really put it upon me to stick that one in there,” Fahber said of his ex-teammates.Fahber had 10 points for the Hermits and Rex nine. Matt Miles came off the bench to lead Prep with 13 points, hitting nine-of-10 free throws. St. Augustine Prep converted 24-of-31 free throws for the game, including a stretch of nine straight in the fourth quarter.The Hermits also hit three consecutive 3-pointers to open up the second half, including two by Hennessy, turning a one-point lead (26-25) at halftime into a 35-27 advantage and thus allowing the Prep to spread its offense out in four corners.Bridgeton’s Terrence Hester led all scorers with 27 points.“Our achilles heel all year has been turning the ball over at crucial times of the game … down the stretch, in the final two minutes,” Bridgeton coach Charlie Kates said. “We throw the ball away. Our guards are not making good decisions.”


Hennessy’s 3’s beat PleasantvilleRICHLAND – Bob Hennessy made four 3-point baskets and finished with a team-high 18 points to lead St. Augustine Prep School to a 74-62 victory over Pleasantville in a Cape-Atlantic League National Division game. Jesse Tweedle and Bill Fahber added 13 points a piece, Matt Clark 10 and Matt Miles nine. The Prep improved to 9-2.

Following an injury-plagued season at St. Augustine Prep, missing close to half of the games, 6-foot-7 senior Bill Fahber has committed to attend Fairleigh Dickinson University in North Jersey where he will play power forward as well as some small forward.


St. Augustine Prep 85, Sacred Heart 70

Prep sizes up win over Heart

Hermits take advantage of Walker’s absenceBy TOM GANTERT, Staff Writer

VINELAND – It was not a good night for Sacred Heart High School’s Charles Walker to miss.Sidelined with a severely sprained ankle, the 6-foot-5 Walker and his teammates were outsized by St. Augustine as the Prep jumped to an early lead and held on to win, 85-70, Saturday in a Cape-Atlantic League National Division game.The game was played before a standing-room-only crowd of about 600 fans. St. Augustine, 8-2, used a 16-0 spurt midway through the first half to take a 25-9 lead. Sacred Heart, 6-4, twice closed the deficit to eight points in the final quarter, but could get no closer.The Hermits’ front line of 6-foot-6 Raheem Rex (16 points, 9 rebounds) and 6-foot-7 Bill Fahber (12 points, 14 rebounds) combined to hold off Sacred Heart. St. Augustine had a 47-29 rebounding advantage.“Our game plan was to fun the ball and get the ball inside because we thought we had superior size,” said St. Augustine coach Paul Rodio.Sacred Heart struggled early and paid for it. The Lions made only 5-of-26 shots from the field in the first half. During the Hermits’ 16-0 run, the Lions went 0-11 over a span of six minutes, 22 seconds.“I thought it was a great defensive first half by us,” Rodio said. “The defensive pressure might have been the best all year for us in the first half.”Sacred Heart fared little better from the free-throw line, where the Lions made 11-of-18 free throws in the first half.“We knew without Walker we would have to shoot the ball to stay in the game,” said Sacred Heart coach Jim Mogan. “Shooting 5-for-26 and missing seven foul shots took us out of the game.”What put Sacred Heart back into the game was its superior ball handling and the second-half scoring of David Ripley. The Lions forced 14 turnovers while committing three and Ripley scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half.Brad Walinksi made a free throw with 4:20 left in the game to bring Sacred Heart within eight, 66-58, and Anthony Toner, who drew Rex’s fifth foul, soon followed with two more free throws to make it 68-60 with 3:58 left.But St. Augustine answered with consecutive three-point plays by Matt Hufty and Matt Miles to put the Prep up by 14, 74-60 with 3:30 left.


St. Augustine 72, Pleasantville 62:Bill Fahber scored 10 points in the second half to help St. Augustine to hold on to their lead for the win.


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