County Line Auto Body upsets Sea View Jeep

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Justin Robinson (8) scored 47 points for Sea View Jeep in the oss to County Line Auto Body during opening night of the 58th season of the Jersey Shore Basketball League.

The 58th season of the Jersey Shore Basketball League (JSBL) tipped off on June 29, at Manasquan High School. The league has eight teams and games are played on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. The first game starts at 7:00 p.m. and the second gets going around 8:30 p.m.

The league features top NCAA Division 1 players as well as former D1 ballers and professional players. This season there is a new team in the JSBL, County Line Auto Body. They made their debut on opening night against one of the veteran teams, Sea View Jeep, who joined the JSBL in 1986.

One of the drawbacks of the league is that they are never sure what players will be showing up, as some have training camps or obligations with their primary teams. So, this season, the JSBL organizers developed a pool of players that can be utilized by a team in need on game night.

That new pool was tested on opening night. Sea View Jeep had only four players show up and pulled only one player from the reserve squad. County Line Auto Body had to wait 25 minutes for their players to show up and they had a total of nine when the game finally started.

Making a quick move to the hoop is Sea View Jeep’s point guard Jesse Steel. He finished with 17 points in the loss to County Line Auto Body.

One of the fan favorites and all-time scoring record holder for the JSBL, who averaged 48 points a game, is Justin “Scoop” Robinson. He is also the all-time leading scorer for the Hawks of Monmouth University and has played professional basketball in Russia, France, Italy, Turkey, Germany and this past season in Poland.

Robinson is known for his speed and extreme ball handling and deadly outside shooting. In that opening game against County Line Auto Body, Robinson had a slow start, but he eventually got his game on as he scored 25 of the teams 48 points. At halftime, Sea View Jeep was up 48-45.

However, the second half was the downfall for Sea View Jeep. They had only five players the entire game, and the only rest was during timeouts or foul shots. Meanwhile, County Line Auto Body was able to substitute four players into the lineup, giving everyone a chance to rest.

County Line Auto Body had a 14-1 run in the second half which Sea View Jeep was unable to close. Robinson put on his normal exciting show finishing with 47 points, making seven from way outside the three-point arch. He also assisted on eight baskets for Sea View Jeep.

Brandon Alexander, one of the new members of Sea View Jeep finished with 27 points and Jesse Steele, who also played at Monmouth University and West Point scored 17 points in the loss. Sea View Jeep squad is owned and coached by Tyler Schmelz.

County Line Auto Body is owned by Rich Gardella and has Steve Porter as their head coach. Leading the squad in points was Abdul Shanunu, who just graduated from Elizabeth High School and played one year each at; Sheridan College, Harcum College, Delaware State and Felician University. In the win over Sea View Jeep, he scored 25 points and nine rebounds.

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