Team Shore Falls in Offensive Shootout

On a hot, steamy Monday inside the gymnasium in Belmar, an old-fashioned offensive shootout was on display where defense was very much optional.

In the contest, Investors Savings Bank’s fast-paced style of play was too much for Team Shore to overcome in what was a 128-103 loss.

Mike Nardi, the leader of the Investor’s offensive attack, former Villanova standout and Italian league professional, had his way with the defense of Team Shore.

Although Nardi only scored 10 points, he was continuously able to put his teammates in a position to succeed. The play-making point guard dished out 10 assists in what turned out to be limited minutes, particularly in the second half.

Nardi was one of five players who scored in double figures for Investors Savings Bank.

Two of the benefactors of Nardi’s beautiful passes were big man Patrik Auda and Matt Rista. Auda finished with a game high 28 points and 10 rebounds.

Rista, the Point Borough native who played for legendary coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City, tallied 17 points and 10 boards for the victors.

“When you are playing against a younger team, you know they are going to give you their best shot early,” said Rista. “They’re either going to hit you hard, or they’re going to crumble, so for us we just wanted to get in their face and get out on offense, and today we did a pretty good job of that.”

Shore did their best in the early minutes of keeping up with the Investors Savings Bank offensive attack.

After a basket bytied the score at 10, about halfway through the first quarter, Investors went on a 24-5 run, which was capped by five 3-pointers.

From there, Investors' lead was never in doubt. Team Shore was never able to cut the deficit to single digits, despite some impressive offensive performances.

Despite the lopsided defeat, Team Shore received excellent performances from Point Pleasant Beach products Jordan Wejnert and Mike Rotando.

Wejnert matched Auda’s game high with 28 points of his own, 21 of which were in the second half. The UMBC product also grabbed 13 rebounds.

Rotando chipped in 18 hard-fought points and made a variety of nice passes throughout the contest.

Rista, who was getting his first chance to check out many of the Shore players, came away impressed with the talent of some of the Team Shore players.

“Those guys are going to be fine,” said Rista. “Last year, I was one of the younger kids in this league, and I got beat up a lot.

"The experience of playing in this league is great," Rista said. "There are some great players and those guys are so young, they’ll learn and get better.”

With the defeat, Team Shore falls to 1-4 in the league. It will try to snap its three-game losing skid at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday against Sterns Trailer.