Stukes, Stark lead La Salle past Judge
Shane Stark and Jarrod Stukes are understudies no longer. Both played in the background the last few seasons for La Salle High while others led the Explorers on the basketball court.
Shane Stark and Jarrod Stukes are understudies no longer.
Both played in the background the last few seasons for La Salle High while others led the Explorers on the basketball court.
On Monday night, however, they played headliners in La Salle's 56-47 Catholic League victory at Father Judge.
"This is a good win because it's the Catholic League, and Judge is always good," said Stukes, who led all scorers with 20 points.
Stukes, a 5-foot-9 junior, is the younger brother of former La Salle High standout Amar Stukes (2013), who is now playing at La Salle University. Another brother, Nadir, played at Engineering and Science (2011) and later at Rosemont College.
Stark finished with a game-high 16 rebounds (12 defensive) and added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Last season, the 6-foot-6, 210-pound senior played behind David Krmpotich, who is now at Colgate.
Before this season began, La Salle coach Joe Dempsey explained that Stark would need to step into a more prominent role down low.
"I was definitely excited because I was always behind 'Krump,' but now I'm more of like a main guy," said Stark, who will play at Ursinus next year. "I was excited. I knew it would be harder, but I was ready for the task."
On Monday night, his teammates were, too
On La Salle's 19 field goals, the Explorers netted 11 assists. It could be argued that the team's willingness to dish stems from its point guard, Stukes, who finished with four assists.
"I'm a point guard," he said. "A pass-first point guard, actually. I have a lot of shooters on my team. If I get them going early, then it opens up the lane for me and opens up the whole team."
Judge (7-4, 0-2) was led by junior wing Marc Rodriguez, who finished with 17 points. Matt O'Connor sparked the Crusaders off the bench, and his basket provided a 41-40 lead with 5 minutes, 33 seconds remaining.
The Explorers, however, finished on a 16-6 spurt and seized control.
Perhaps like a familiar former Explorer, Stukes scored eight points during that run.
"Amar's senior year was a big year," Stukes said, "so my eighth-grade year, I couldn't wait to try and do what he did in high school. Watching him play was always exciting."
La Salle 17 8 13 18 - 56
Father Judge 14 7 14 12 - 47
LS: Jarrod Stukes 20, Shane Stark 13, Ryan McTamney 9, Daniel Remolde 3, Phil Held 3, Matt Paulus 8.
FJ: Quincy Reed 8, Marc Rodriguez 17, Mike Power 6, Justin Fleming 2, Quinn Denofa 6, Matt O'Connor 6, Mackenson Juste 2.
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