Sport Shorts The Battle of Monmouth Rockets U12 soccer team will hold tryouts this month for the fall 2003/spring 2004 season. Players born between Aug. 1, 1991 and July 31, 1992, are eligible. The team is a professionally trained Monmouth-Ocean Soccer Association National I team based out of Matawan/Old Bridge. For additional information, call Jim Meindel at (732) 607-9237 or Steve Casari at (732) 566-4182. The Bayshore Bandits, a boys’ basketball team made up of youngsters from western Monmouth County, have qualified to compete at the AAU National Tournament after winning the boys’ under-13 Division II state championship. The Bandits defeated the Central Jersey Hornets, 78-69, to win the AAU state title. The Bandits went undefeated through their bracket to advance to the tournament semifinals where they beat the Central Jersey Cougars, 47-36, setting up their game with the Hornets for the state title. In the championship game, the Bandits fell behind the high-scoring Hornets, 10-5, early, but bounced back behind their balanced scoring. The Bayshore cagers had five players in double figures led by Gary Foster’s 26 and Carl Durand’s 16. A trapping defense helped the Bandits slow down the Hornets who had scored 95 points in their semifinal win over Linden. The Bandits are Carl Durand, St. Joseph’s, Keyport; Gary Foster, St. James, Red Bank; Tony Ganter and Brendon Rashley, St. Rose, Freehold Borough; Brian Nerney, Matt Rivers and Danny Miller, St. Mary’s, New Monmouth; Patrick Keenan and Garret Thiel, Thompson Middle School, Middletown; Kyle Vitali, the Ranney School; and Michael Slater, St. Agnes, Atlantic Highlands. Jim Nerney and Bill Thiel are the coaches. The National AAU Tournament is July 13-20 in Cocoa Beach, Fla. On May 31, cyclists from around the area will gather at Brookdale Community College to participate in the Jersey Shore Tour de Cure to raise $100,000 to support research for a cure for Diabetes. They will join 17,700 other cyclists and volunteers at nearly 72 sites throughout the nation this spring. The Jersey Shore Tour features a variety of routes planned for both the novice and experienced cyclist, including 11-mile, 25-mile and 62.3-mile distances. Registration times for each distance is as follows: The Coastline Cruiser — 62.3 mile route: 7 a.m. check-in time, 8 a.m. start time; the Oceanside Oasis — 25-mile route: 8 a.m. check-in time, 9 a.m. start time; the Scenic Farmlands — 11-mile route: 9 a.m. check-in time, 10 a.m. start time. The following are the weekend’s results from Mac’s Funball Basketball League at Waloo Park in Middletown. On Friday, Dave Koch and Kyle Thompson led the Lions to an 89-48 victory over the Colts, and Tim Witingham led the Hornets to a 48-42 win over the Titans to clinch second place. Jim Garrison had 10 rebounds for the Titans. On Saturday, Bret O’Brien’s 10 points and seven rebounds led the Colts to a dramatic double-overtime win over the Eagles, 48-42, while the Rockets beat the Titans 86-74 behind the strong play of Sean Mulhern and Brian Murphy. Summer basketball league sign-ups for boys ages 15-19 will be held May 30 and 31 from 4-5 p.m. at Waloo Park The fee is $75 for new players. The league runs from June 27 to Aug. 9.