Defense Leads Ranney To First- Ever Shore Conference Tournament Title By Mike Ready

WEST LONG BRANCH – Top-seeded Ranney held second-seed Mater Dei to five first-quarter points and 10 total first-half points behind a suffocating defense that led the way in a wire-to-wire 52-28 win over Mater Dei for the program’s first-ever Shore Conference Tournament championship at the Ocean First Bank Center. 

The Panthers (26-4) shot a sizzling 7-for-10 (70%) from the field in the second quarter taking advantage of a 24-9 edge in rebounds that allowed them to unleash their fast-break offense on the way to a 22-point lead, 32-10, at the intermission. 

“In practice yesterday and walk-through today coach (Ranney head coach Tahj Holden) emphasized defense,” said junior Scottie Lewis, who led the first-half barrage with 14 points and five rebounds. “The offense will take care of itself it we take care of defense.”

It was Ranney’s third straight win over Mater Dei this season after beating them twice in the regular season to capture the Shore Conference B Central crown. 

“We know those guys pretty well, obviously, this is our third time playing them (this season),” said Holden, who won an SCT title as a player in 1999 with Red Bank before going on to play at the University of Maryland. “I went back and watched the film from the first game and we had a pretty good defensive effort there. I knew if we came out and contested shots and rebounded, they would have a tough time scoring on us. And that proved to be the reason we won the game.”

Ranney’s stifling defense held Mater Dei (23-5) to just 4-for-28 shooting (14.3 %) from the field in their 10-point first half. 

“We said before the game, if we come out defensively with a defensive mindset, we’re going to have a good opportunity to win this game,” Holden said. “And to give up only 28 points to a team that’s playing well is a great effort.” 

“I honestly don’t even know (how we held Mater Dei to 10 first-half points),” said junior Bryan Antoine, who finished with 10 points, two boards and three assists, steals and blocked shots. We were just focused on every possession. I found Savior (Akuwovo) for some layups, Ahmadu (Sarnor) came out and was getting to the rim. Scottie (Lewis) hit some tough shots and Alex (Klatsky) hit a three early. Everybody was doing their part and that got us going.”

Lewis, Antione, Klasky and Chris Autino entered Ranney as freshman three years ago with Sarnor transferring in from Pennsylvania last season as a sophomore and Akuwovo coming over from St. Anthony’s this season after it closed down. 

Ranney is ranked fourth in the state and has been the No. 1 team in the Shore Conference since the pre-season polls were released in early November. Everyone but Akuwovo from the ‘super six’ will be back next season and that team will most likely be ranked nationally before the season gets underway. 

“We put ourselves in a position to be pretty good three years ago,” said Holden. “All things have to come together and we have to compete and win games, but we knew we could be pretty good. It’s been amazing to watch. They play together year-round. When I watch them in the summer, I’m amazed how good they are and then I get them in the fall and I’m like, ’You guys have a lot of holes in your game.’ Now, we’ve fixed those holes and I have tried to let them be who they are on the court without giving them too much more to think about.”

Kenny Jones’ 10 third-quarter points helped Mater Dei outscore Ranney, 16-9, in the quarter whittling  down the Ranney lead to 15 points, 41-26, but Panthers defense struck back in the fourth quarter limiting the Seraphs to just two fourth-quarter points. 

In all, Mater Dei shot just 11-for-52 (21.2% percent for the game) and 2-for-22 from 3-point range after shooting 63 % (10-for-16) from three in a their semifinal win against Rumson-Fair Haven. 

Lewis (15 points) and Antoine (10 points), who are both being recruited by just about every major basketball program in the country, had unexceptional scoring nights compared to their norm, but Sarnor picked up the slack with 15 points after averaging 7.7 points a game this season. The 6-foot-2 junior guard added nine rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal while shooting 75% from the field to take home the MVP honors. 

“It’s a great feeling,” Sarnor said. “I’m so happy to be able to come out with this win. Last year, falling short, that gave us a chip on our shoulder this year to come out stronger and better than ever.”

Sarnor epitomizes what team play is all about. He’s seen his scoring average cut in half from a year ago after being asked to take on a more of a play- maker role this season when he was moved to point guard. 

“I’ve had to become more of a leader and point guard,” said Sarnor. “I want to get more people involved, because I don’t have to score 20 or 17 or whatever number. We have other players who can score, too, so it’s important for me to play defense and do my job – get my teammates involved. 

“Ahmadu all year has been doing anything we needed to win games,” said Holden of Sarnor’s unselfish play. “Whether it’s scoring, defending, rebounding, running the point for us – he’s not a natural point, per se – but he gets us into our stuff and he’s a really tough guy to guard. There have been games where he’s scored only four points, but had 10 rebounds and 11 assists, so he’s been delivering for us all year.”

On Ranney’s white pre-game hoodies there were two words printed on the front, “Unleash chaos” and that’s exactly what their defense did Saturday night. 

“We waited to take those hoodies out all year,” said Lewis, who added a game-high 11 rebounds to go with his 15 points. “We asked coach and he said today was the game. That’s what we did. We unleashed chaos.”

Along with his 10 points, Antoine added three assists, blocks and steals and two boards while Akuwovo finished with eight points, six in the second half, and eight rebounds. 

“To be honest it’s a little bit of a relief (winning first SCT title), but it’s also a joyous moment,” said Holden, who took over the Ranney program three years ago with the arrival of Lewis and Antoine. “Taking a program that wasn’t even in the Shore Conference until six years ago, and pretty rapidly building it up to a program that can compete in the state, Shore Conference and even nationally, is a pretty impressive thing. It’s all done with a good group of guys.”