Red Bank boys' basketball coach Nick Fike might be animated and energetic on the sideline, but he was at a loss for words after the game when asked about his team's performance Thursday night.
"It's been a long time since we've had this kind of athleticism here," Fike said after a long, thoughtful pause.
The host Lions used a suffocating defense to turn a six-point halftime lead into a blowout, outscoring Central 48-20 in the second half to win 80-46 in the District 6-AA matchup. The Lions had four double-figure scorers, led by junior Brandon Jones with 18 points.
"The majority of these boys are juniors and seniors, and they've been in those situations where we've been on the other side of that," Fike said. "They feel like they've got something to prove, and we executed like we were supposed to in the second half."
Jones came out of the locker room like a man on a mission in the third quarter after being visibly frustrated in the first half when he scored only six points and missed several shots from close range. He scored the first five second-half points for Red Bank (3-1, 1-0) and had 12 for the period, highlighted by a fast-break dunk and a foul that led to a three-point play.
Ten Lions players scored in the game. Most of the offense was driven by a smothering 1-3-1 half-court trap defense that led to 18 second-half turnovers for the youthful Purple Pounders (0-3, 0-2).
"I've run that defense since I got here, and now I've got the length and athleticism to go along with it," Fike said. "The boys are finally buying into what's being sold."
Those turnovers led to a few highlight-reel fast breaks for the Lions in the fourth quarter, with a dunk early in the period by Lucas Brown - who had 15 points for the game - and an alley-oop from Michael Watkins to Lakerrick Ellison that brought the house down and put an exclamation point on the victory.
Central's duo of Jermichael Walker and Darick Isom - who had 17 and 14 points - kept the Pounders close in the first half. There were five ties and five lead changes to start the game, with neither team taking more than a three-point lead until Red Bank went on a 10-0 run midway through the second quarter on its way to a 32-26 halftime advantage.
Red Bank's Tory Sewell also had 15 points, while Jaylein Sexton chipped in 12.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.