By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
MILLVILLE — Mainland Regional High athletes don’t take too kindly to getting beat by their rivals across the 9th Street bridge, Ocean City. And vice versa. That’s the kind of rivalry this is — seeped in years of hotly contested games in any sport you can think of.
The Mainland boys basketball team lost at home to Ocean City back on Jan. 29, but the Mustangs returned the favor as they used relentless defensive effort to squeak out a 55-50 win over Ocean City in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament semifinals at Millville High on Wednesday night. The Bunting Family Pharmacy Game of the Week was a typical Mainland-Ocean City matchup, with both teams playing gritty defense and answering each other’s big shots.
The third-seeded Mustangs made enough plays in the final three minutes to fend off the No. 2 Red Raiders, whose only two other losses this season came against Middle Township, the No. 1 seed that knocked off No. 4 Atlantic City, 56-50, in the other semifinal. Mainland, which won the title two years ago as a No. 8 seed, takes on Middle Township on Saturday at noon at Egg Harbor Township High for the championship.
Mainland players said they knew Ocean City standouts Kori Segich and Dylan Schlatter were going to score at about their per-game averages, so it was imperative that nobody else was able to get hot. The Stangs made sure of that, as the rest of the Red Raiders managed just 11 points. Segich finished with 24 points, including four 3-pointers, while Schlatter added 15 points.
“Ocean City has been our rival forever, and losing to them earlier in the season motivated us for this game. Coming out here and getting the win was big for us,” said Mainland senior guard Stephen Ordille. “We knew Kori and Dylan are their star players, so we had to shut them down. We were able to switch up our defense in the second half and find our groove.”
“This was a great win. It’s always nice to get back at Ocean City, our rivals. I just think on the defensive end we played much better than we did the first time we played them,” added fellow senior Tim Travagline, who scored 15 points and added four rebounds. “We handled our business there. Of course Kori and Dylan are going to get theirs, but holding down the other guys was our main priority, and I think we did that well.”
After a see-saw game the whole way, Mainland (22-5, 11-1 Cape-Atlantic National) took the lead for good midway through the fourth quarter on a pair of Travagline free throws that put the Mustangs up, 44-43. Cohen Cook, who led the Stangs with 18 points, followed with a putback and added a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 48-43.
Mainland led by as much as 50-43 after Jamie Tyson found Travagline in transition with 2:17 remaining, but Ocean City (22-3, 9-2 CAL American) got to within 51-48 on a big 3-pointer and another jumper from Segich, all in the span of about 30 seconds.
The Stangs committed what could have been a costly turnover while nursing a 53-50 lead in the final 25 seconds, but Tyson stole the ensuing inbounds pass and fed the ball to Cook, who was fouled. He hit 1-of-2 from the line to push the lead to 54-50 with 20 seconds left, and a long 3-point attempt by Ocean City in the waning seconds fell short.
“This means everything. One of our goals in the beginning of the season was to win the CAL, so to be able to play in the championship means a lot,” Ordille said. “We’re going to go out there, have great preparation leading up to the game, and go out there and do what we do.
Added Travagline, “It’s great to get back to the championship, but there’s still one more game and it’s the biggest game. We’re taking nothing lightly. We still have one more game to go, and we’ll be ready. It just comes down to finishing out quarters well and playing hard defense, like we did tonight. We just have to knock down our shots, too.”
What’s next: No. 3 Mainland vs. No. 1 Middle Township on Saturday at noon at Egg Harbor Township High for the CAL Tournament championship. Ocean City travels to Lower Cape May on Friday at 7 p.m.
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
