January 29, 2003
Deadline approaching for CAL hoop teams
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
Basketball coaches often talk about circling games on their calendars, the games that they need to win or
in which they are hoping to pull off an upset.
One date that is circled on every coach’s calendar is Feb. 8. At midnight on that date the NJSIAA bell will
toll and every coach hopes it will toll for him.
If a coach doesn’t have at least a .500 record when retiring that night, the season will end for his or her
team in February. Those who qualify get to play again in the NJSIAA Tournament starting Mar. 3.
A total of 15 Cape-Atlantic League coaches are already sleeping soundly. Their teams are assured of at
least a .500 record by the deadline. Eight others are tossing and turning, wondering what they could have
changed to avoid already having been eliminated.
The other 16 aren’t sleeping at all. They’re staying up all night trying to figure out the different won-loss
combinations over the next 10 days that can get them into the post-season.
First, the qualifiers.
In boys basketball, Atlantic City and Egg Harbor Township will be part of the Group 4 action. AC has never
failed to qualify, EHT has made it five straight years. Lower Cape May ended a three-year drought by
qualifying in Group 3 and Mainland joined them with a win over Clearview on Monday. It will be the fifth
straight year for the Mustangs. Pleasantville has qualified in Group 2 for the 12th straight time, defending
champion St. Augustine is back in Parochial A along with Holy Spirit, and Wildwood Catholic and St.
Joseph are in the Parochial B field. St. Joe made it Monday by beating Cape May Tech.
Among girls teams, Absegami has now made it seven straight years in Group 4 and Atlantic City joined
them Monday with a win over Oakcrest. The Falcons, guided into the light by rookie coach Katie Ford,
have qualified in Group 3 after failing the last seven years. Ocean City is also in the Group 3 tournament,
Holy Spirit in Parochial A and Sacred Heart in Parochial B.
The CAL boys teams that cannot qualify are all from Cumberland County - Millville, Vineland, Bridgeton
and Sacred Heart. The girls teams with no tournament coming this year are Millville, Middle Township,
Cape May Tech and Our Lady of Mercy.
That brings us to the boys teams whose coaches are up all night. Defending state champion Middle
Township needs just one win to qualify. Oakcrest also needs just one win, but it is at Ocean City, at Holy
Spirit and faces Lower Cape May at home in its three remaining games. Ocean City needs two wins
among Oakcrest, Triton, EHT, Mainland and Absegami.
Buena’s boys must win four games, meaning they must beat either Wildwood Catholic, Middle or Mainland.
Hammonton must win four of five to end a 10-year streak of failure and two of those games are with Lower.
Absegami needs five straight wins, including EHT. And Cape May Tech, trying to qualify for the first time,
must win four straight, including Wildwood Catholic and Pleasantville.
The girls teams on the bubble through Monday include Mainland, which needs just one win to make it for
the 19th straight year. St. Joe also needs just one win. Lower Cape May, Buena and Wildwood Catholic
are mathematically alive, but would need superb efforts to qualify. The others – Vineland, EHT, Bridgeton,
Hammonton and Pleasantville (which has failed 14 straight years) – all have a better than even chance.
All of the circumstances outlined here are based on the remaining schedules as they were submitted at
the start of the season.
There is, as you can see, lots of good, meaningful basketball coming up over the next 10 days.