Season gives Ahr program quite a boost
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

EDISON - The Bishop Ahr High School boys basketball team ended its season with a 75-64 loss to St. Augustine in the state tournament. With the loss, the Trojans finished the year 17-7.

"They [St. Augustine] were just too big for us," Bishop Ahr head coach Dennis O'Keefe said. "Their size advantage was too much for us to overcome and that was the difference in the game."

Despite the early exit from the state tournament, the Trojans enjoyed a successful season in which they finished in second place in the Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division behind division winners Metuchen. The Trojans finished second in the standings, thanks to sweeping the regular season meetings with division rival Cardinal McCarrick.

"Beating McCarrick twice this season was definitely one of the highlights," O'Keefe said. "Overall, I think we played up to expectations."

While the future of the program seems to be in good hands, considering the successes of both the junior varsity and freshman teams this season, (the two squads went a combined 42-5) the Trojans will lose several key players to graduation this spring.

Ernst Ambroise heads the list of departures and exits after averaging 12 points per game his senior year.

"Ernst was a total team guy," O'Keefe said. "He's a very coachable player, and his attitude and approach to the game will be missed."

Ambroise's most memorable performance came against South River where he finished with 24 points and 18 rebounds.

Like Ambroise, Wessley Buffalo graduates this spring and departs with a 12 ppg average.

"Wessley has talent yet to be heard from," O'Keefe said. "He'd like to play at the college level, but we're not sure where he's headed yet. He played really well for us in the loss to St. Augustine."

Eric Chinchilla, a pivotal bench player this season, will also graduate in the spring. Chinchilla's highlight was lighting up Dayton for 23 points.

"He tied the school record for 3-pointers in a game with seven," O'Keefe said. "He gave us that outside threat that can be tough to find."

Seniors Matt Newcomb and Mike Shimanski are the team's other losses to graduation.

"Matt is easily the best kid to go from nothing to something over the course of a senior season," O'Keefe said.

"He was a steady head out there on the floor, and I'll miss that."

While the Trojans suffer some serious losses, the team's leading scorer Corey Francisco is due to return for his final season.

Francisco led the team with 19 points per game and surpassed the 1,000-point milestone this year.

"Corey is someone we expect a lot of in the future," O'Keefe said. "He had a great year and hopefully he will build off that."

Junior Zach Widdoss was the team's sixth man this season and is expected to make a big impact on next year's squad.

"He was our first big guy off the bench and he played consistently," O'Keefe said. "He gave us good size and strength, and we look for more of that from him down the line."

Along with Francisco and Widdoss, sophomore Michael Willamson will return to next year's lineup.

"Williamson played steady and had a very good rookie season," O'Keefe said. "I think the program is in good shape with better things to come."