Boys Basketball NJSIAA Tournament Preview: The Shore in Group 1

In each of the last five seasons, Group I played host to at least one charter school champion, including three different teams in Central Jersey in the last three years. It began with Paterson Charter in 2020 and 2022, followed by Eagle Academy of Newark in 2023 as the Central Jersey champion.

In 2024, however, the quality of the teams coming from the charter ranks — and the calls for the NJSIAA to regulate them — hit a fever pitch. College Achieve of Asbury Park steamrolled the competition to claim the Group I championship before the withdrew from the NJSIAA the following season. In College Achieve’s absence, Thrive Charter — which operates at the site of the former Trenton Catholic Academy and has essentially picked up where TCA left off — has emerged as the preeminent Group I program in the state.

The presence of College Achieve two years ago and Thrive over the past two seasons has made it difficult for a handful of solid Shore Group I programs to break through. Shore Regional lost to Eagle Academy in the 2023 Central Jersey Group I final, then to College Achieve in the 2024 Central Group I semifinals. The Blue Devils could run into Thrive in this year’s sectional final.

Point Pleasant Beach, meanwhile, has prepared itself with a challenging schedule for a Group I school and hopes that leads to a championship upset. Henry Hudson is in year three of its renaissance and would like a sectional championship appearance to be part of their story — a lofty dream considering its quarterfinal opponent would be Thrive.

 

Central Jersey Group I

Shore Teams in the Field: No. 2 Point Pleasant Beach, No. 4 Shore, No. 8 Henry Hudson, No. 16 Keansburg
Top Seed: Thrive Charter
Defending Champion: Thrive Charter
Favorite: Thrive Charter. The defending Group I champions are the heavy favorite to repeat, which means they are the overwhelming favorite to repeat in Central Jersey Group I. The Titans have been ranked in the state this season, while their primary competition this year – Point Beach – has been ranked in the Shore’s top 10 at its peak. Point Beach has the talent to potentially give Thrive a close game in the championship, but the Garnet Gulls will have to get there first.

Dark Horse: No. 14 South Hunterdon. The first requirement of a sleeper in Central Group I to be on the side of the bracket opposite Thrive. The second is the show some signs of life against other top teams in the section and South Hunterdon meets both requirements. The Eagles don’t play a loaded schedule, but they have run up against first-round opponent Middlesex, as well as potential quarterfinal opponent and No. 6 seed Manville. All three games (two six-point losses to Manville) were competitive, so South Hunterdon can consider itself a legitimate semifinal hopeful as a No. 14 seed.

Manville, meanwhile, can’t really be considered a sleeper considering the Mustangs reached the sectional final two years ago and the semifinals a year ago – both times losing to the in-vogue charter school that won the whole thing. With that said, Manville is Point Beach’s greatest threat before the championship round and when comparing those two teams, Manville is the more tournament-tested of the two.

On the opposite side of the bracket, No. 12 New Providence is a dangerous team just for the schedule it as played. A 7-17 record is hardly intimidating, but the Pioneers are battle-tested enough to pose a real threat to No. 5 Piscataway Magnet and should catch the attention of Shore should that be the quarterfinal matchup.

Bracket Breakdown: The four semifinal favorites are Thrive, Shore, Manville and Point Beach, with the top two seeds the clear favorites to make it to the final. Both have had slip-ups in this season, but it would take a very rough game from either to lose before the championship round.

Shore (19-6) hopes to be in position to take advantage of an off-night for Thrive in the semifinals, with the Blue Devils boasting a senior-led roster that has a chance to win 20 games to go with the Class C North division championship they have already won. Two years ago, they ran into College Achieve in the semifinals and the year prior, the Blue Devils lost to Eagle Academy of Newark in the championship game. The Blue Devils hope this is their year to spring an upset against a favored charter school.

Two other Shore teams are hoping to give Thrive a game prior to Shore, including Keansburg in round one. That is probably too much to ask of Keansburg, but the Titans have come on strong over the course of the season with a promising group of sophomores that have complemented a quality group of seniors.

Henry Hudson, meanwhile, is hoping its draw won’t be its downfall. The Admirals have to open up with No. 9 Bound Brook – a team with some success to its name in Central Jersey Group II in recent years – before a potential date with Thrive in the sectional quarterfinals. Had Henry Hudson inched up to No. 7, it would have been in a great spot as a potential dark horse finalist, but getting matched-up on the same side of the bracket as Thrive will likely send the Admirals home before the second week of the tournament.

Prediction: Thrive Charter over Point Beach. If, Henry Hudson, Shore and Point Beach all hold serve at home, Thrive would be in line to win the Central Jersey Group I championship by beating all four Shore Conference teams in the field.

Of the four potential opponents from the Shore, the one with the best chance to knock off the top-seeded Titans is clearly Point Beach, which has gone toe-to-toe with some of the Shore’s better teams during the course of the season. Manasquan beat Thrive on a neutral floor and Point Beach lost to Manasquan in overtime after one of its starters was ejected early in overtime. The Garnet Gulls also have competitive losses to Red Bank Catholic and Jackson and survived a triple-overtime classic vs. Southern in the Shore Conference Tournament first round. The Point Beach roster has been through some intense battles together and should be ready for a run to the finals, perhaps even a serious challenge to Thrive.

Round-by-Round Picks

First Round
(1) Thrive Charter over (16) Keansburg
(8) Henry Hudson over (9) Bound Brook
(12) New Providence over (5) Piscataway Magnet
(4) Shore over (13) Roselle Park
(14) South Hunterdon over (3) Middlesex
(6) Manville over (11) Dunellen
(10) Dayton over (7) South Amboy
(2) Point Beach over (15) Perth Amboy Magnet

Quarterfinals
(1) Thrive Charter over (8) Henry Hudson
(4) Shore over (12) New Providence
(6) Manville over (14) South Hunterdon
(2) Point Beach over (10) Dayton

Semifinals
(1) Thrive Charter over (4) Shore
(2) Point Beach over (6) Manville

Championship
(1) Thrive Charter over (2) Point Beach

 

South Jersey Group I

Shore Teams in the Field: No. 14 New Egypt
Top Seed: Salem
Defending Champion: No. 7 Woodbury
Favorite: Salem. It has been 18 years since Salem won a sectional title and the bracket is set up for the Rams to end the wait this March. They are undefeated this season vs. Group I teams and three of their five losses are to quality Group IV programs: Cherry Hill East, Atlantic City and Williamstown. Another of Salem’s losses is to Rutgers Prep, which is the favorite to reach the Non-Public B final out of South Jersey. Salem takes a 7-0 record vs. teams in the section into the tournament, including wins over both potential quarterfinal opponents: No. 8 Woodstown and No. 9 Paulsboro.

Dark Horse: No. 12 Glassboro. A challenging schedule should have the Bulldogs primed for their first-round game at No. 5 Burlington City and No. 4 KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy enters the tournament on a three-game losing streak, albeit against Bishop Eustace (Non-Public B), Pennsauken (Group IV) and Northern Burlington (Group III).

No. 11 Pitman also has a favorable draw playing No. 6 Penns Grove – a team the Panthers already beat once this season. Pitman, however, also has a loss to New Egypt, so perhaps the Warriors are in play as a sleeper as well, although their first-round draw at Haddon Township is a tough one. If New Egypt can put together a pristine game in the opener, the bracket could open up for the senior-heavy Warriors.

Bracket Breakdown: The Shore Conference has very little history in South Jersey Group I, although there was a brief stretch in which Point Pleasant Beach was classified in South Jersey during its early days as an emerging contender in Group I under former coach Nick Catania. New Egypt has also been a Central Jersey team in recent years and the shift to South Jersey is a difficult one because the section tends to be deeper than the Central Jersey section.

With the program’s all-time leading scorer Nolan Arnold leading the way, New Egypt will try to give its seniors a memorable send-off with a state-tournament upset or two. The Warriors were in danger of missing the tournament altogether, but a late rally to qualify has provided them a jolt heading into round one.

Prediction: Salem over Woodbury. A No. 7 seed reaching the championship game is not a usual occurrence, but it is not unheard of, especially when the No. 7 seed is a battle-tested team like Woodbury. The Thundering Herd have played some true N.J. heavyweights (Camden, Haddonfield, Plainfield, Lenape) and while it has not been the most consistent team at 13-15 overall, Woodbury will not be overwhelmed by any environment as the defending sectional champion.

Ultimately, Salem is well set-up to reach the final while playing on its home floor and its resume reveals a team that is both consistent and tested – a great combination for any team heading into the NJSIAA Group I Tournament.

Round-by-Round Picks

First Round
(1) Salem over (16) Riverside
(9) Paulsboro over (8) Woodstown
(12) Glassboro over (5) Burlington City
(4) KIPP Cooper Norcross over (13) Wildwood
(3) Haddon Twp. over (14) New Egypt
(11) Pitman over (6) Penns Grove
(7) Woodbury over (10) Audubon
(2) Palmyra over (15) Gateway

Quarterfinals
(1) Salem over (9) Paulsboro
(4) KIPP Cooper Norcross over (12) Glassboro
(3) Haddon Twp. over (11) Pitman
(7) Woodbury over (2) Palmyra

Semifinals
(1) Salem over (4) KIPP Cooper Norcross
(7) Woodbury over (3) Haddon Twp.

Championship
(1) Salem over (7) Woodbury