Baseball might be Jesse Gold's favorite sport.
Or maybe football.
Definitely not basketball.
"It's my third sport," Gold said after leading Cherry Hill East to a 57-46 victory over Lenape on Tuesday in an Olympic American clash of unbeaten, Top 10 teams.
Gold brings more will than skill to the basketball floor. But he has a three-sport athlete's competitive fire that has helped forge the Cougars into a surprisingly tough and tenacious team.
Cherry Hill East (7-0 overall, 1-0 conference), the No. 5 team in The Inquirer's South Jersey rankings, didn't beat No. 7 Lenape (5-1, 0-1) with three-point shooting or transition offense. The Cougars made more than a few turnovers and missed a bunch of foul shots, too.
But they played sturdy, aggressive defense, held their own on the backboards, and scrambled for more than their share of loose balls. They answered every Lenape charge with one of their own.
"They don't back down," Cherry Hill East first-year coach Dave Allen said of his players. "If the other team makes a run, they come back."
Things have changed for Cherry Hill East. John Valore retired after 35 years as head coach. Chris Santo graduated last year after setting school records for points and rebounds.
This is a different kind of team, with a new coach in Allen, a fearless freshman in guard Jake Silpe (11 points, four assists, three steals) and three senior leaders who have given the Cougars a hard edge.
Senior forward Jake Gurkin led the way Tuesday with the first triple-double of his career: 16 points, 16 rebounds, 10 blocks. He was a man in the paint.
Senior guard Marc Schlessel scored in double figures for the seventh straight game, with 16. He got the Cougars started with a basket on the first possession, off a feed from Gold, and was 4 for 4 from the foul line in an otherwise ragged fourth quarter.
Gold's contribution was less evident on the stat sheet, although the 5-10 guard generated seven assists, four points, and three steals.
"I'm not the best shooter, not the best ball-handler, not the best passer," Gold said. "I try to be a leader and play hard-nosed defense. I'm competitive. I want to win."
Gold was part of a standout senior class of football players who put the Cougars back on the map this season with a 7-3 record. As a quarterback, Gold scored the winning points on a conversion run in probably the wildest game of the season, a 57-56 victory over Cherokee in double overtime.
