Basketball

South Jersey boys' basketball scoring leaders through Sunday, Feb. 24: Player, School Games   Pts.   Avg    Stefano Okoro, Gloucester 24   670   27.9    Brandon Rembert, Penn Tech 23   598   26.0    Rashaan Holloway, Schalick 24   568   23.6    Christian Mortellite, Hammonton 24   515   21.4    Tim Delaney, Pitman 25   522   20.8    Elijah Cain, Medford Tech 25   519   20.7    Myles Powell, Medford Tech 24   497   20.7    Francis Christian, Wildwood 24   485   20.2    Lamar Morgan, Westampton Tech 24   480   20.

Tory Cavalieri, an Inquirer second-team all-South Jersey guard from Atlantic City, has made a commitment to attend the University of Maine on a basketball scholarship. Cavalieri said that he wasn't sure when he would sign a binding letter of intent but that he would be joining the team, which is led by former Rowan coach John Giannini. The NCAA's late signing period for basketball players began yesterday. "Maine is the best situation for me," Cavalieri said. "I knew a few of the players and felt really comfortable there.

Valley Forge Junior College football coach Jim Burner didn't decide to make Dante Coles a wide receiver while watching Conestoga High football games last year. Burner watched Coles play basketball and concluded that the Conestoga senior was just what the Trojans' passing game needed. "I never saw him play football at Conestoga," Burner said. "But he could catch a basketball. If you look at his hands, if you watch him dribble, you knew he could catch a football. " The 6-foot-3 freshman caught eight passes for 107 yards and one touchdown in Valley Forge's 49-42 loss to Navy Prep Saturday.

Through Saturday. Player   School   G   Pts   Avg.    Stefano Okoro   Gloucester   6    163   27.2    Christian Mortellite   Hammonton   9   232   25.7    Myles Powell   Medford Tech   5   125   25.0    Francis Christian   Wildwood   6   146   24.3    Xavier Lundy   Paulsboro   7   163   23.2    Rashaan Holloway   Schalick   8   185   23.1    Tim Delaney   Pitman   7   155   22.1    Justin Hansen   West Deptford   6   128   21.3    Josh Borrelli   Shawnee   7   149   21.2    Elijah Cain   Medford Tech   5   101   20.2    Coaches or athletic directors should send corrections to panastasia@phillynews.com

The second straight gold medal for the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team was a triumph of the sport's last generation of pioneers. In the 1980s, they took the American game from nowhere internationally, overwhelmed the Soviet Union to become the game's dominant force, and then finished their mission as prime-time players on national television. That third achievement might be the most significant in terms of the U.S. team's legacy to the game. While ratings aren't in yet from the team's 77-70 triumph over Yugoslavia, the gold-medal game in Seoul was played before undoubtedly the largest television audience in the sport's history.