In the final minute of their 59-50 win over Manchester in the opening round of the WOBM Christmas Classic, Toms River East coach Tom Carpenter sent a substitute player in for Ray Cochran. The Raider fans then rose to their feet and gave Cochran a loud standing ovation as headed to the bench where he was embraced by his coach and teammates. He had scored 8 points and there were many in the Poland Spring Arena who probably had no idea why the crowd stood for a couple of minutes and continued to applaud the senior. Those that did know realized they had witnessed a courageous performance by a young man suffering like few of us could ever imagine.
Kathleen Cochran, just 44 years old died rather suddenly Friday which was the opening night of the basketball season. Despite dealing with the shock and loss of his mother Ray decided to play in East’s home game that night against Lacey and amazingly the outcome would rest with him. He sent the game into overtime with a big basket in the final seconds and then had a chance to be the hero but in what seems like a cruel twist of fate missed a pair of free throws as the Raiders lost by one point.
However losing a basketball game is nothing compared to the devastating loss of his mother and he would go home to share that agony with his three younger brothers and sisters and father Raymond. The next game for East would be Sunday at 5pm, the same time the viewing for Kathleen would end and certainly nobody really expected Ray to play. But there he was with his teammates and shortly after the start of the game his entire family arrived and sat behind the Raider bench having just come from the funeral home.
Kathleen Cochran, just 44 years old died rather suddenly Friday which was the opening night of the basketball season. Despite dealing with the shock and loss of his mother Ray decided to play in East’s home game that night against Lacey and amazingly the outcome would rest with him. He sent the game into overtime with a big basket in the final seconds and then had a chance to be the hero but in what seems like a cruel twist of fate missed a pair of free throws as the Raiders lost by one point.
However losing a basketball game is nothing compared to the devastating loss of his mother and he would go home to share that agony with his three younger brothers and sisters and father Raymond. The next game for East would be Sunday at 5pm, the same time the viewing for Kathleen would end and certainly nobody really expected Ray to play. But there he was with his teammates and shortly after the start of the game his entire family arrived and sat behind the Raider bench having just come from the funeral home.
Cochran would score 8 points and help his team advance into the quarterfinals on Saturday against Toms River North. However it’s not the biggest thing on his mind….today is the funeral for his beloved mother and he has to be the big brother for Patrick, Logan & Erin. He’s already shown that being “big” is not a problem.
The first round of the WOBM Christmas Classic saw all the higher seeded Girl’s teams prevail but there were some minor upsets on the Boys side where 5th seeded Raritan, #6 Central and 7th rated Toms River South all lost.
# 12 Lacey knocked off Raritan 47-41 in a game that saw both teams struggle from the free throw line. Next up for the Lions is a quarterfinal date with 4th seeded Brick Memorial, who ripped Wall 56-41 as Matt O’Brien scored all 15 of his points in the first half. #11 Southern upset Central 60-49 behind Joe Tomczuk’s 24 points and will face #3 Point Boro, who coasted past Old Bridge 57-35. 10th seed Ocean, used six three-pointers from Scott Nelson to outlast Toms River South 53-42 in double overtime and meets St. Rose in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The second-seeded Purple Roses used Joey Quinn’s 25 points to coast past Brick 70-47. The other round-of-8 matchup is an all-Toms River affair as the top-ranked North Mariners (49-44 winners over Jackson) will play 8th seeded East, who topped Manchester 59-50.
Form held up when it came to the Girls bracket with top-seed Rumson rolling past Monsignor Donovan 75-26 to move into the quarterfinals Friday against Toms River North. The Mariners ripped Lacey 51-29 behind Dana Coronato’s 12 points. #2 Shore used 18 points from Liz West to rout Toms River East 55-28 and will play #7 Wall, who came from behind to topple Jackson Memorial 47-36 as Kathryn Campbell scored 23 points.
Southern had no trouble with Old Bridge 62-39 as Kristen Sharkey scored 21 points for the third-seeded Rams, who will oppose #6 Ocean, a 44-30 winner over Point Boro. 4th seeded Manchester led by Camille (22pts) & Gabrielle (18pts) Valmon raced past Toms River South 59-30 and plays Raritan in the quarterfinals. The fifth-seeded Rockets shut down Central 31-21 in the opening round.
After a break for Christmas the tournament resumes with the Girls Quarterfinals and Consolations on December 26th with the Boys to take the court the following day.
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