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Damian Williams propels Shore boys basketball past Selinsgrove

MARK NANCE/For The Express Jersey Shore's Cayden Hess dribbles down the court against Selinsgrove during Tuesday's game.

Damian Williams dominated inside for Jersey Shore on Tuesday night as the Bulldogs picked up their first win following an 0-2 start. Williams’ performance was highlighted by a 10-point second quarter as the junior ended the night with 17 points and 13 rebounds in Jersey Shore’s 64-55 victory over Selinsgrove.

“I’m not usually that dominant on the offensive end but we had a mismatch. I was a little bit bigger, so we abused it,” Williams said. “If it is there, and I have that size difference I’m going to take it every time.”

Both teams came out shooting the rock well. Jersey Shore made its first four attempts from the field and Selinsgrove’s first 12 points came from deep. The Seals had a narrow 16-15 lead over the Bulldogs at the end of the first quarter.

Then it was time for Williams to take over.

The second quarter was dominated by the forward. Not only did Williams post solid numbers, but he did it in an efficient way by knocking down seven of eight shots.

MARK NANCE/For The Express Jersey Shore's Damian Williams tries to score as he's defended by Selinsgrove's Randy Richter during Tuesday's game.

Jersey Shore coach Scott Munroe said the Bulldogs found the mismatch and exploited it.

“He worked hard, and he made in effort to get in there and he know when he had the mismatch. It was working, and that’s the thing we try to say just make basketball simple,” Munroe said.

Despite a strong second quarter from Williams, Jersey Shore found itself down 32-29 at the break.

Selinsgrove’s 3-point success continued into the second as the Seals knocked down seven of 16 in the first half. Ryan Reich, who finished  with a game-high 20 points, sank a trio of 3s in the opening half for Selinsgrove.

The Seals opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run, stretching their lead to nine just two minutes in.

MARK NANCE/For The Express Jersey Shore's Damian McAllister tries to score against Selinsrove during Tuesday's game.

Brett Foor had a productive third quarter for Selinsgrove, the senior guard connected on three 3s to help the Seals pull away.

Although, the Selinsgrove lead was short lived. Jersey Shore’s Cayden Hess helped bring the Bulldogs back when he scored five points in less than 15 seconds. The senior converted an and-1 and then scored again on a layup after a steal.

Selinsgrove clung to a 49-48 lead at the end of the third. That is when Jersey Shore’s defense took a stand. Role players Branden Wheary and Owen Bloom provided meaningful, efficient minutes off the bench to help lock down the Seals offense. Selinsgrove was limited to just six points in the game’s final quarter.

The combination of stout defense with Tristan Gallick’s 12 second half points was enough to put the Selinsgrove away.

Munroe said the victory gave his team some much needed momentum.

“It’s a relief. We needed to get a little momentum on the offensive end, we have been pretty stale offensively, so we have been talking all about working the ball inside,” Munroe said. “Especially to Damian Williams, focusing on that to get ourselves some easy looks and maybe get the rest of our offensive flowing and that’s kind of what worked well for us tonight.”

The Bulldogs (1-2) are back in action Thursday as they take on Milton.

Jersey Shore 64, Selinsgrove 55

SELINSGROVE (55)

Brett Foor 3 2-2 11, Ethan Harris 0 1-1 1, Isaiah Ulrich 5 0-0 14, Ryan Reich 7 2-2 20, Theo Feiler 1 2-2 4, Randy Richter  1 0-0 3, Spencer George 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 7-7 55.

JERSEY SHORE (64)

Damian Williams 8 1-1 17, Cayden Hess 3 2-2 9, Tristan Gallick 7 0-0 17, Logan Bailey 2 4-4 10, Branden Wheary 1 1-1 3, Damian McAllister 2 2-2 6, Owen Bloom 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 10-10 64.

Selinsgrove 16 16 17 6 – 59

Jersey Shore 15 14 19 16 – 64

3-point goals: Selinsgrove 12 (Ulrich 4, Reich 4, Foor 3, Richter); Jersey Shore 6 (Gallick 3, Bailey 2, Hess).

Records: Jersey Shore (1-2), Selinsgrove (0-2).

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