WILDWOOD – One of South Jersey’s best sports rivalries will be renewed Monday when the Wildwood
and Wildwood Catholic high school boys basketball teams meet in the conclusion of the six-day, 80-game Boardwalk
Basketball Classic.
The Crusaders and Warriors get together at 2:30 p.m. for the Andrew Alameno Memorial Boys Island
Championship at the Wildwoods Convention Center. The game will be broadcast live by WCZT-FM 98.7 radio.
The game will feature a contrast in styles. Wildwood, which won the Bill Osborn Memorial Boys Bracket title earlier in
the tournament, has the most size of any team in Cape May County. Meanwhile, Wildwood Catholic, which lost in
overtime in the championship of the Frank McAlarnen Memorial Boys Bracket earlier in the event, possesses one of
the area’s best backcourts.
The Warriors enter the game at 3-2. They are led by athletic 6-5 senior center James Bevans, who has shot
incredibly well at this year’s Classic, making 21 of 25 shots while scoring 49 points in two tournament games. Matt
Schiff, a versatile 6-2 junior forward, has added 32 points in two tournament games. Junior point guard Kevin Fetsick
and 6-6 senior forward Russell Davis add depth. And, adding even more intrigue to the matchup, 6-4 junior forward
Donny DeLeo, who accounted for 19 points and 11 rebounds in his previous game, will be playing his first contest
against his former team after transferring from Wildwood Catholic last winter.
Wildwood Catholic (1-5), two-defending South Jersey Non-Public B champions, has struggled so far this season
against a very challenging early schedule, but seems to have increased its level of play at the Boardwalk Basketball
Classic, gaining a good comeback win against Oakcrest before taking a good Philadelphia Electric team to overtime
after trailing by as much as 15 points in the fourth quarter.
The Crusaders, who essentially start five guards, are led by seniors Clark Hindelang and Pat Kelly. Hindelang, a
gritty player who is the emotional leader of the team and one of the top rebounding guards in South Jersey, scored 34
points and collected 18 boards in his two previous Boardwalk Basketball Classic games. Kelly, one of the top deep
threats in the region, knocked down six three-pointers and scored 43 points in his two previous BBC outings. Other
key players for Wildwood Catholic include junior point guard Julian Miller, senior guard Matt Mangold and senior
forward Wellie Gonzalez.
Wildwood Catholic won last year’s Alameno game, 57-54, after taking a 17-point halftime lead.
The game is named in memory of Andrew Alameno, a 1982 graduate of Wildwood Catholic High School and a former
member of the Wildwood Crest Bach Patrol who was killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New
York City on Sept. 11, 2001.
Fans can follow the game live online at www.bbclassic.net, which will feature an up-to-date statistical web cast of
the contest.
— BRIAN CUNNIFF
| Contrast in styles as Warriors, Crusaders meet in final Boardwalk Classic game |
