VIDEO: Old gym memories come alive as Middle tops Medford Tech to reach third straight South Jersey title game

Posted: March 6th 2025

A roof leak in its regular gymnasium forced the Middle Township High School boys basketball team to play Wednesday's South Jersey Group II semifinal game in its old gymnasium.

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE – For one night, it felt like a state playoff game from the late 1980s or early 1990s at Middle Township High School.

A leak in the roof that caused water to drip onto the floor of the school’s basketball programs’ regular gymnasium forced boys basketball team’s playoff game Wednesday against Medford Tech to be moved into the school’s old gymnasium, now referred to as the “B” gym.

It’s a gym that saw its share of thrilling playoff moments over the years, many of them produced by some of the former stars who were in attendance for Wednesday’s South Jersey Group II semifinal. Past standouts who competed in that gym as high school players that led Middle to multiple league, South Jersey and state championships such as Stephano Anderson, Charles “Boo” Farrow, Terence McNeal, Nick Elisano, Charlie McNeal and others, as well as former head coach Tom Feraco and his longtime assistant Rewi Thompson, were present among the sellout crowd that packed into the historic, tiny, venerable gym.

Using a fast start and a stifling halfcourt defensive effort, Middle grinded out a 49-41 victory over the Jaguars that most certainly satisfied those past legends. The win allowed Middle to check into the South Jersey title game for the third straight year.

The Panthers (21-8), seeded second in the section, will travel to top-seeded Camden – one of the best public-school teams in the state – on Saturday at 5 p.m. in an effort to win the program’s second South Jersey championship in three years.

LaMarr Greer, the architect of many of the thrilling moments produced in the old gym as a player in the mid 1990s, was there as well, of course, as the team’s current head coach.

“To me, it was the weirdest feeling because I’m coaching and I’m usually so driven and focused that I don’t notice what’s going on around me, but there were some little moments that gave me flashbacks,” Greer said with a smile. “It was like, ‘I’m coaching here. And Coach Feraco’s there in the stands.’ It was a weird feeling. At one point I was almost ready to cry. It was like, ‘I can’t believe I’m coaching here,’ and at the same time there’s Coach Feraco and Coach Thompson – the guys that coached me – in the stands. In that gym.”

The current group of Panthers made Greer, the past players and coaches and the entire crowd proud. They led from start to finish, jumping out to an 8-0 lead to start the game. Third-seeded Medford Tech (15-14) pulled within two at 15-13 early in the second quarter before Middle closed the period on a 7-2 spurt to go into halftime with a 22-15 lead.

Medford Tech got no closer than five points the rest of the way, as Middle opened a lead as high as 13 points at 43-30 midway through the fourth quarter. Only a couple of late, mostly meaningless baskets, including a 30-foot three-pointer just before the buzzer, allowed the Jaguars to top 40 points.

“Halfcourt defense is something we’ve really been emphasizing lately in practice, because we know it will travel,” Greer said. “When it comes to playoff basketball, your halfcourt defense is what’s going to get you to advance.”

Star senior guard Jamir McNeil had his fingerprints all over the victory for Middle. He scored 16 points, collected five rebounds and dished five assists. One of his assists was a lob that teammate Kanye Perkins turned into an electrifying dunk in the final minute that thrilled the crowd and put an exclamation point on the team’s victory. McNeil also threw down a pair of dunks on his own. More importantly, the Rider commit controlled the flow of play throughout.

“He’s grown up in these kinds of games,” Greer said. “This is the standard for him. This is three years in a row now he’s in a sectional final. This is all he’s used to now.”

Perkins, a sophomore transfer from New Zealand, enjoyed one of the best games of his young career to date. In addition to his late dunk, the 6-7 forward sank a pair of three-pointers and finished with 12 points to go with 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Junior Chase Moore flirted with a triple-double, posting eight points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Amir Elston also scored eight points.

Middle occasionally practices in the old gym and the current players will occasionally shoot and work out on their own there as well. A state playoff game in front of a capacity crowd was obviously much different, however.

“There’s a lot of history in there and it’s a much different environment,” Greer said. “The kids hear about it all the time, so they know, but now they got the chance to actually play in there. The crowd’s right on top of you. The student section’s right there. It’s intense in there.”