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May 2, 2012

Matt Bosch chooses Moravian

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


During the winter, Ocean City High School sports fans were given a rare treat. Two different basketball players passed 1,000 career points during the same season. It only happened once before in OCHS history.

As you were told first in The Gazette’s online daily – Shore News Today – junior Julia Duggan has decided to play her college basketball at Rider University in Lawrenceville NJ.

Matt Bosch, the other half of the 1,000-point team, has now accepted an offer to play basketball at Moravian College in Bethlehem PA.

“It was the best academic decision for me,” said Bosch. “It’s pretty clear that I won’t be playing in the NBA so it’s important to focus on getting the right education.” Bosch plans to study environmental sciences. “I’ve always loved the outdoors,” he said, “and I really enjoy my biology class.”

Moravian is a Division III school that plays in the Landmark Conference against teams like Drew, Susquehanna, Catholic University, Scranton and the US Merchant Marine Academy. At the end, Bosch was also considering offers from Cabrini College and Wheeling (WV) Jesuit.

Bosch scored 520 points this year, the sixth highest total in OCHS history. He finished his career with 1,163 points, the eighth highest total by a Raider. He also grabbed 609 rebounds, joining Homer Baker, Bob McAllister and J.D. Asselta as the only four Ocean City boys to score 1,000 career points and grab 500 career rebounds.

Bosch developed into the complete player as a senior. He didn’t make a single three-pointer in his first two years in the lineup but made 30 this year, putting him among the league leaders. In the CAL, Bosch was the leading scorer, led in free throws made and field goals made and was among the top five in rebounds and blocked shots.

Bosch teamed with Chris Turner for some impressive numbers, too. They scored 1,913 career points between them, the third highest total by two players in the same class in school history.

Rider is a Division I school that plays in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference against teams like Fairfield, Iona, Marist, Manhattan and St. Peter’s. Rider will be the host school next March when the NCAA Women’s Eastern Regional is held at the Sun Bank Center in Trenton. Duggan had also been recruited by Quinnipiac, Mount St. Mary’s and Fairfield.

Duggan’s stats are pretty amazing, too. She has scored 1,170 points, already No. 7 in OCHS history. She also has grabbed 863 rebounds, on her way to 1,000 in that category, too. She has 42 double-doubles and this past year averaged a double-double – 16.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

“The whole process was a little crazy,” Duggan said, “but I’ve appreciated all of the schools. I felt comfortable at Rider and it’s not that far from home.”

Bosch agreed about the recruiting process. “Moravian has been talking to me since the start of the season,” he said. “I’m extremely glad the decision has been made and it’s all over. But the way the coaches followed me was a great compliment. I really enjoyed talking with them about basketball.”

Bosch also got some advice from an opposing coach. “Coach Gillespie of Holy Spirit told me it was a great place,” Bosch said. “He went there and he really liked it.”

Moravian is coached by Jim Walker, who has been there for 33 seasons. Rider’s head coach is Lynn Donovan Milligan, a former star player at Eastern High School in Voorhees. One of her assistants is Pam Durkin, who played on two state championship teams at Sterling High School.

Ocean City fans will have another season to enjoy the skills and intensity of Julia Duggan in 2012-13. Matt Bosch has played his last game for the Raiders. But Moravian plays two or three games a year in New Jersey and Rider is not far away at all.

So these two college choices may not only be good for the two 1,000-point scorers, it could also give OCHS fans more opportunities to see them play during the next five years.


Read more of Tom Williams' columns