VIDEO: Old gym produces more magic for Lower Cape May as Bonner connects for 1,000th point in playoff victory

Posted: January 1st 1970

Lower Cape May junior Ty Bonner scored the 1000th point of his career in his team's state playoff victory over Barnegat on Thursday.

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

ERMA – The old gymnasium at Lower Cape May Regional High School produced some more magic for the school’s boys basketball team Thursday evening.

The Caper Tigers’ Ty Bonner enjoyed a night to remember as the 5-8 junior guard became just the fourth Lower Cape May player to reach 1,000 career points prior to his senior year in his team’s 58-51 victory over Barnegat in a first-round South Jersey Group II Tournament game.

Ryan Mallon’s three-pointer with 2 minutes, 38 seconds remaining broke a 49-49 tie and kick-started a 9-2 Lower Cape May run to close the game.

Mallon had struggled with his outside shooting in the game to that point but he didn’t hesitate to let his shot fly when presented with the opportunity from the right wing at a key moment in the game.

“The kid has a nice shot and I’m a firm believer in giving the green light to these guys and he hit it,” Lower coach Scott Holden said.

The victory sends eighth-seeded Lower Cape May (15-11) into the sectional quarterfinal round against No. 1 Camden. They’ll play the Panthers in Camden Monday. Camden is considered to be one of the best public school teams in the state.

“Obviously, they’re a massive favorite to win Group 2,” Holden said. “We’re going to go up there and see what we can do. We always say we practice for the real good teams and now we’re going to get the chance to play one of the best teams in South Jersey.”

Lower seemed poised to run away with the game by going on a 17-2 run that spanned parts of the second and third quarters, turning a 28-23 deficit into a 40-30 lead. Bonner, who had scored 17 points in the first half after entering the game needing 21 for 1,000, scored his milestone point on a twisting layup during the run early in the third quarter.

“Ty was all about getting the win first,” Holden said. “But him getting 17 points in the first half was nice. He didn’t have to press or worry about it. He got it over with, and then it was, let’s get the game on and try to finish it out.”

Shortly after the game was briefly stopped to celebrate Bonner’s accomplishment, a three-point shot by Brayden Melo gave Lower its largest lead at 10 points before Barnegat mounted a comeback.

The teams traded one-point leads a couple of times midway through the fourth quarter before Mallon’s shot broke a tie and gave the Tigers the lead for good. After a defensive stop, Mason Cronin upped the Caper Tiger advantage to six points with a traditional three-point play by sinking a free throw after being fouled on a fast-break layup.

The finish to the contest was sweet for Lower Cape May, which had lost quite a few games this season due to poor execution over the final four minutes of games.

“It was something I said in the huddle during one of the timeouts. I told the kids, ‘We’ve lost so many games giving up the lead at the end, so let’s show that we’ve learned something,’” Holden said. “We didn’t make too many mistakes down the stretch there at the end so that’s a step in the right direction.”

Bonner finished with a game-high 25 points to increase his career total to 1,004. He made four three-pointers and was 7 for 8 from the foul line. Bonner also dished five assists.

John Fernandez added 11 points and six rebounds and Cronin tallied nine points and game highs of 13 rebounds and four steals.

Cronin also took a critical offensive foul on a Barnegat player while the game was close in the fourth quarter.

Mason Krey led Barnegat (16-10) with 11 points. But the senior guard, who entered the game averaging a team-best 14 points per game, did not score in the second half.

Lower Cape May improved to 7-1 on the season in games played in its old gym. The lone loss was a one-point defeat to Ocean City in the regular-season finale. Lower was forced to play in the old gym for a game against Atlantic City on Jan. 9 due to a heating issue in its regular gymnasium. After picking up a 49-48 upset victory, the team decided to play the rest of its home games this season in the old gym. The Tigers did play one other game in the newer gymnasium due to wrestling playoffs scheduled for the old gym and lost that contest to Holy Spirit in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament.