Mainland Regional HS boys and girls basketball preview

LINWOOD, N.J. — The Mainland Regional High football team had a great season this fall, but the winter sports season is when the school really comes alive. The past couple of years, basketball season has been a great ride for Mustangs fans, as both the boys and girls teams have flourished.

Both teams won their respective Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championships a year ago, the girls team as the prohibitive favorite that rolled to a title and the boys team capturing the hearts of South Jersey hoops fans with an inspiring run to the program’s first league championship in history as the No. 8 — and last — seed in the field. It marked the only time in CAL Tournament history that the final seed in the field won the trophy.

Suffice it to say, the Mainland Regional boys basketball team won’t be sneaking up on anybody this year, especially after losing just one senior from last year’s starting lineup, point guard Christian Rodgers. Returning as part of a loaded junior class are standouts Cohen Cook, Jamie Tyson, Tim Travagline, and Keaton Loewenstern, as well as seniors Stephen Ordille and Mawali Osunniyi, younger brother of former St. Bonaventure star Osun Osunniyi.

Last year, the boys team scuffled throughout much of the season as Cook was coming off an injury and he and other football players, such as Ordille and Tyson, took some time to get into basketball form after a long football season. But after a loss to St. Joseph Academy of Hammonton, the Mustangs ripped off eight wins in their next nine games, including three in the league tournament. They knocked off top-seeded Egg Harbor Township in the opening round, then beat St. Joseph Academy in the semifinals and St. Augustine Prep, in overtime, in the championship game. Mainland finished 16-11 after starting out 7-9.

Mainland’s incredible postseason run finally came to an end in the sectional quarterfinals with a loss to Burlington Township, but it’s fair to say the bar has been raised heading into this season.

The bar is always high for the Mainland girls team, and this season is no different. The Stangs are coming off a 28-3 season that took them all the way to the state championship game, where they lost 62-41 to a very talented Sparta team. Gone are the likes of senior captains Camryn Dirkes and Kaitlyn Boggs, the last remaining links to Mainland’s only 2019 state championship. But there is plenty of returning talent, mainly in the form of the Stangs’ three tremendous guards.

Kasey Bretones heads up the offense as the point guard and she’s flanked by twin sisters Ava and Bella Mazur, younger sisters of former Mainland star Luke Mazur. All three of those players are juniors, as is 6-foot forward Sydney Stokes, who got a lot of minutes coming off the bench last year to spell Boggs.

“We’re excited, particularly about our junior class and the experience they bring back. They are tenacious,” said head coach Scott Betson. “We don’t have a true back-to-the-basket big on offense. Sydney got a lot of valuable experience last year playing in big games. She played a ton of minutes for us in the state semifinal and made some big plays. She gained a lot of confidence from that, and it’s her time to take over the spot that Kaitlyn Boggs left. She can play around the basket but she also likes to step out and shoot the ball, so we can be a little more creative offensively. We’ll have shooters everywhere.”

Mainland’s success this season will revolve around the twins, who have a ton of AAU basketball experience and are two of the toughest players to defend in South Jersey. Both can shoot the 3-point shot with great accuracy but are also adept at driving to the basket, dishing to teammates or getting fouled to gobble up points from the free-throw line.

“They are both so physical and tenacious when it comes to getting to the basket, and they both love to shoot the ball. They are a terror on offense,” Betson said. “The two of them, along with Kasey Bretones, will put people on notice quickly. All three of those kids are such good players.”

Mainland is going to need as much as they can get from its strong junior class considering the schedule the Stangs will be playing, which includes Atlantic City, Gloucester Catholic, Middle Township, Holy Spirit, and Wildwood Catholic.

“Every game is going to be interesting for us,” Betson said. “There are no nights off — Middle will be really tough, Atlantic City has one of the best players in the area (Mississippi State recruit Quanirah Montague), and I’m sure Wildwood Catholic will be tough for everybody.”

Despite the daunting list of opponents, Betson has full confidence in his group and believes this team can be as good as last year. “This is an interesting mix of returning experience and new faces, too,” Betson said. “The three guards have all the experience you could expect a junior to have — they are all returning starters on a team that lost in the state final. And Sydney was in the mix last year, too, but for girls like Ava Sheeran and Jane Meade, this will be relatively new. It’s going to be an interesting mix.”

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