Red Bank Regional breezes past Long Branch 70-37

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Joshua Da Cruz (11) a junior at Long Branch goes straight down the lane to the Red Bank Regional basket.

Red Bank Regional hosted the Green Wave of Long Branch on December 27, in the quarterfinals of the Albert E. Martin Buc Holiday Tournament. It was an easy outing for the Bucs as they dominated the Green Wave 70-37 and improved to 5-0 on the early season.

It looks as if Red Bank Regional is on track to match or better last season’s 21-5 overall record. They have fast, athletic players and a deep bench that they can rotate players in. During the win over Long Branch, they applied a very aggressive half court pressure which caused the Green Wave to commit many turnovers that resulted in points for the Bucs.

Senior Ryan Fisher was high man for the Bus with 19 points. Fellow seniors Gavin Gilmartin finished with eight and Zayier Dean scored seven. Three other Red Bank Regional players finished with five points each; Will Galligan, Anthony Moore and Quinn Gibb. Trey Moore and Jah’Mir Lane-Bailey each had four, Josiah Johnson, Bennett Lopez and Kelib Yap scored three points each. Rounding out the scoring was Vin Niesz and Nick Walker with two points.

Over the last five years, Red Bank Regional has a 58-53 record. This season they are in the A Coastal division of the Shore Conference, where they are 3-0. Also in this division are Red Bank Catholic, Rumson-Fair Haven, Middletown South, St. John Vianney and Holmdel.

With the loss, Long Branch drops to 0-3 on the season. They opened the season with a 53-49 loss to Barnegat, then a 71-48 loss to Point Pleasant Beach. Last season the Wave finished 4-19 overall and were 0-5 in the A Coastal division. Over the past five years they have a 15-84 record.

Junior guard Joshua Amaya Guzman was high man for Long Branch with 18 points in the loss to Red Bank Regional. He also had three rebounds and three steals in the game. Qua’Dir Brown, sophomore, had seven points, five rebounds in the loss. Nacier Hart, junior, finished with six points and three rebounds. Senior Andrew Mendes had three points, Cameron DeJesus scored two points and Josh Da’Cruz, junior hit a foul shot.

Long Branch has tall athletic players, but they need to settle in and make better choices on passes and shot selections. Darnell Tyler, head coach of the Green Wave, along with assistant coaches Navarro and Colbert will have time and the experience to get the team on the right track.

Long Branch will start 2025 with three consecutive home games, all against longtime rivals. January 3, at 5:15 p.m. they host Neptune. January 6, at 5:30 p.m. they host Ocean Township and January 9, at 4:00 p.m. they host Asbury Park.

For additional photos please visit www.Facebook.com/TheLinkSports