Rancocas Valley boys win sectional title

Mustafa El-Amin could not believe his own eyes.

El-Amin's teammate, Rancocas Valley junior forward Mike Bersch, had just knocked down his sixth three-pointer of the first quarter without a miss, this time drawing a foul.

"I was thinking, Mike can't miss right now," El-Amin said. "I've never seen that before."

Bersch finished the first half 8 for 8 from beyond the three-point line, then went 2 for 3 in the second half to lead the Red Devils to a convincing 70-51 win over Trenton Central in the Central Jersey Group 4 championship in Woodbridge.

"I just couldn't miss," Bersch said. "I was putting up anything."

Bersch went 11 for 13 from the floor and finished with a game-high 32 points.

"We knew what he was capable of," second-year coach Jay Flanagan said. "He was unstoppable in the preseason and the scrimmages. If he shoots like that, we can beat anybody."

The Red Devils, who won a sectional title for the first time under Flanagan, advanced to the state semifinals at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Atlantic City. Rancocas Valley (24-4) will play South Jersey champ Atlantic City.

Bersch never let what was expected to be a competitive game between the top two seeds materialize. He drained his first triple from the right wing on the Red Devils' opening possession.

Trenton Central (22-6) never sniffed the lead, as Bersch's barrage led to a 20-point first-half margin. El-Amin and point guard Andre Byrdsong knew a good thing when they saw it, driving and dishing to Bersch whenever they could.

"Our job is to penetrate," El-Amin said. "If he's open, he's going to get the ball."

Bersch's sharpshooting overshadowed a strong game from RV forward Kendall White. Usually the team's defensive stopper, White had 16 points.

"If you get Kendall the ball in the box, he's going to lay it in every time," El-Amin said. "I really loved the way he played."

Trenton's 6-foot-8 center, Lorenzo Freeman, had 19 points, but no other Tornado had more than eight.

"In my two years here, we've played zone five times," Flanagan said. "This was one of them, and we did a good job with it."

Flanagan earned an ice bath and a ride around the court on his players' shoulders. The large Rancocas Valley contingent also stormed the court in celebration.

"It was like a home game," Bersch said. "We always have a lot of fans. We had like four buses of fans come up."

It probably would have been more, if they had known about Bersch's hot hand.

Rancocas Valley 24 18 15 13 - 70

Trenton Central 12 8 18 13 - 51

RV: Andre Byrdsong 12, Mustafa El-Amin 5, Mike Bersch 32, Kendall White 16, Larry Awosanya 1, Nnamdi Njoku 4.

TC: Ronnie Choute 3, Donovan McCleese 2, Robert Owens 2, Lorenzo Freeman 19, Darelle Robinson 9, Darren Elam 8, Justin Williams 8.