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Shore boys are optimistic this year

Jersey Shore entered as the season as a potential District 4 Class AAAA title contender. Halfway through the season the Bulldogs are 4-7.

And yet they remain a championship contender.

Yes, the record is not what Jersey Shore wants but the pieces are there. They are starting to fit as well and Jersey Shore has won its last two games. In a wide-open district which features no dominant team this season, optimism remains high.

“Everyone is balanced. Teams are beating other teams and then losing to teams who those teams beat,” forward Damian Williams said after scoring 12 points in a 49-42 win against Selinsgrove. “It gives us the motivation and intensity to keep going strong.”

Williams is one of four starters back from last year’s team which reached the district quarterfinals. He also is one of three players averaging more than nine points per game. Jersey Shore features a quality blend of athletic ability, quickness, size, depth and shooters. That is what had many labeling it a contender in the preseason.

That is why so many still do. It’s not like Jersey Shore was getting blown out in its losses. Four of those seven defeats were by seven points or fewer and two came after holding double-digit leads. That included being up 13 two weeks ago at Shikellamy before losing, 53-51.

Changing the mindset has been crucial and it appears Jersey Shore is clearing that hurdle. South Williamsport and Selinsgrove pushed it hard in these last two contests, but Jersey Shore maintained its leads both times, held them off and gathered more confidence. The Bulldogs also erased a 17-point halftime deficit against defending District 4 Class AA champion Wyalusing at the Hughesville Christmas Tournament.

“I felt like when we were in that real bad streak we’d go in at the half and be like, ‘How are we going to lose this?’ That was our mentality,” Jersey Shore coach Scott Munro said. “I said at halftime (against Selinsgrove) that we have to turn that around and say, ‘Ok, how many are we going to win by?’ When somebody is down, keep them down. That has to be the mentality instead of ‘Oh no I can’t touch the ball, Oh no I can’t miss a shot.'”

Jersey Shore has started doing that and looks as dangerous as any team in this evenly-matched Class AAAA field. The Bulldogs held second-half leads against defending champion Danville (7-2) and runner-up Mifflinburg (7-2) as well as defending District 4-6 Class AAAAA champion Shikellamy. It is a shot here, a defensive assignment missed there that made the difference. All those things are fixable.

Jersey Shore knows it, too. That’s the most important thing. This team still believes.

“We were all down and we finally got out of it. We’re doing it the right way,” Damian McAllister said after a 14-point, 8-rebound performance against Selinsgrove. “We lost a lot of games, close ones that we shouldn’t have lost. Realistically, we should be way above our record. We’re all working together now and we’re right there with everyone else.”

“We sort of struggled earlier in the year. We weren’t clicking as a team like we did last year,” Williams said. “It feels like that’s starting to fall into place and it feels like we’re starting to play like we’re capable of.”

And that is why Jersey Shore can not be discounted. The early struggles may cost Jersey Shore a high seed come playoff time but seeds really do not matter this season. Eight teams likely will qualify and right now Jersey Shore is No. 8. In years past the gap between the top and No. 8 seeds often was Grand Canyon-like. This season it is so small a pin might have trouble getting through.

Jersey Shore did not like it’s start this season but that’s over. The Bulldogs control their future and it’s starting to look brighter and brighter.

“Other years we’ve gone in as 7 or 8 and I thought we really don’t have a good crack at it, but this year, the kids and I think we can do something,” Munro said. “Sure we hit a rut and we started poorly and we shouldn’t have done that, but the saving grace this year is it’s wide open. We still have a shot no matter where we finish as long as we get in.”

“Things are definitely coming together between us,” McAllister said. “We’ve been busting our behinds at practice every day. We’re looking to make a run this year.”

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