No fans were in the bleachers screaming at referees. The players on the bench were several arms’ length apart. The coaches and minimal support personnel in the gym had their masks on. And the game went exactly the way Pinelands Regional girls basketball coach Keith Lowe expected.

“Barnegat always plays tough against us. It’s always a fight,” said Lowe after his Wildcats scored a 30-24 victory in both teams’ season opener on Jan. 26 at Barnegat High School.