Red Bank Regional Blows Past Long Branch 41-18

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Going up for two of her game-high nine points is Long Branch junior Layla Bland (2).

The 2025 Blue Devil Christmas Tournament has seven high schools participating this year with each team playing three games. For the Green Wave of Long Branch High School, the girls had a rough start to the tournament.

Long Branch first played Freehold Township on December 27, and lost 58-20. The NJSIAA has a mercy rule for basketball this season. If a team has at least a 35-point advantage over an opponent in the second half, the clock only stops for timeouts and fouls. And the Green Wave fell victim to that new rule against the Patriots on Saturday.

Shannon Coyle, who has done a tremendous job in building the Long Branch girls’ program into a contender over the last few season, finds herself and the Wave struggling this season. After finishing 13-9 last year, they are off to a 1-4 start this season. The team has four juniors and three freshmen on its roster, a young inexperienced squad.

Makayla Carrera (33) a freshman at Long Branch High School looks to get a shot off during the game with Red Bank Regional.

In the loss to Freehold Township, Layla Bland, junior guard, finished with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals and one assist. Only two other LB players scored, Jadayah Bowles, junior, had four points and nine rebounds while Nevaeh Wheeler, junior, had two points, six rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals

Sunday, December 28, the Wave faced Red Bank Regional in the tournament. “They are a very big, fast and skilled team. We will do our best, but it will be a hard game for us,” said Coyle. Red Bank Regional entered the game against Long Branch undefeated at 4-0. Coyle is an elite coach, and takes every opportunity and makes it into a learning experience. “We are young, and we will make mistakes. However, we will get better with each game.”

The Bucs are coached by Adam Merklinger whose squad finished 18-10 last season and were 5-4 in the Shore Conference A Coastal division. Red Bank Regional entered the game with 14 players on its roster compared to the seven for the Green Wave.

The first quarter had the Bucs taking an 8-2 advantage over Long Branch. The Bucs were bigger, faster, and had very good ball skills. It was evident in the second quarter when the Bucs outscored Long Branch 13-5. However, to the credit of Merklinger, he did pull his starters and rotated the bench into the game.

Long Branch was having some issues with ball control, as Red Bank Regional scored double digit steals. The Bucs went into the halftime break with a 21-7 lead.

The third quarter had Red Bank Regional outscoring Long Branch 16-6. The final quarter had both teams adding four points each to their totals. Red Bank Regional took the 41-18 victory,  improved to 5-0 and have outscored opponents 229-115 so far. Their division is packed with talent, as Red Bank Catholic is also 5-0 as is Rumson Fair-Haven. Manasquan is 4-0 and St. John Vianney is 3-0, with St. Rose at 1-4.

Eight different Bucs scored in the win over Long Branch. Casey Miranda had nine, Riley Joyce and Synai Biychanton had seven, Catherine Doody had six, Riley Wheeler scored four, Kristen Connors and Ava Furlong each had three and Rilynn Kilcooley finished with two.

Long Branch had only three players score during the game. Layla Bland finished with nine and had four rebounds and one assist. Nevaek Wheeler scored seven, had two rebounds and one assist, while Jadayah Bowls finished with two points and 11 rebounds.

Long Branch is now 1-3 overall and have been outscored 150-111. In their division, B Central, Marlboro is on top followed by Monmouth Regional, Manalapan, and then Shore Regional is behind Long Branch with Raritan in last.

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Long Branch High School junior guard Nevaeh Wheeler (1), drives past a Red Bank Regional defender.