Seabreeze Ford/Sea View Jeep Shore Conference Boys Basketball NJSIAA Scoreboard: Wednesday, March 4

Seabreeze Ford/Sea View Jeep Shore Conference Boys Basketball Scoreboard

 

Wednesday, March 4

NJSIAA Tournament

Sectional Semifinals

Central Jersey Group III

(4) Middletown South 64, (1) Lawrence 62 (OT)

Freshman Ryan Gannon poured in 30 points on six three-pointers, including the game-winning three-pointer with five seconds left that sent the Eagles (17-11) to their first sectional final since 2008 thanks to a road win over the top-seeded Cardinals (19-9).

Gannon also sent the game to overtime with a game-tying three-pointer with six seconds left in the fourth quarter — the second straight game in which Gannon has hit a game-tying three in the final 10 seconds to extend the game. He did so Monday with nine seconds left in the first overtime during a 66-62 overtime win vs. Hopewell Valley in the sectional quarterfinals.

Senior Michael Fitzpatrick added 14 points on four threes for Middletown South, which will play at No. 2 Westampton Tech Saturday in the Central Jersey Group III championship game after the Panthers took down No. 3 Ewing in the other semifinal.

 

Central Jersey Group I

(2) Point Beach 49, (6) Manville 35

Junior Ryan Mahoney scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds and the Garnet Gulls (21-7) used a red-hot start to beat the Mustangs (19-9) and earn a spot in the sectional final for the first time since 2018.

Mahoney scored nine of his points in the first half and fellow junior Tyler Preston scored eight of his 11 before the break to help stake Point Beach to a 35-17 halftime lead. Senior Elijah Ives added 10 points for the Garnet Gulls, who stormed out to a 28-8 lead before the midway point of the second quarter before slowing down.

Manville went on a 13-0 run during the end of the third quarter and into the fourth to cut Point Beach’s lead to 38-32, but Mahoney broke the dry spell with a three-point play to push the lead back to nine. Point Beach missed four of its next five free-throw attempts, but made its last seven to put the game away.

Point Beach will travel to play top-seed and defending Group I champion Thrive Charter Saturday in the Central Jersey Group I championship game.

(1) Thrive Charter 73, (4) Shore 25

Senior Finn Watson scored a team-high 10 points and the Blue Devils (21-7) fell to the defending Group I champion Titans (20-5) on the road to close out their 21-win season, which ended with a third sectional semifinal appearance in the last four years.

Thrive will host No. 2 Point Beach in Saturday’s championship game.

 

South Jersey Group III

(3) Ocean City 53, (7) Toms River South 32

Senior Shane Gambarony scored 12 points and the Indians (16-13) were within seven points at halftime, but the Red Raiders (23-6) blew the game open in the second half to end Toms River South’s run and earn a spot in the sectional final Saturday at home vs. No. 4 Delsea.

Luke Tjoumakaris led Ocean City with 16 points and nine rebounds, while senior Brady Gibson backed up Gambarony with eight points and nine rebounds in Toms River South’s first sectional semifinal appearance since 2015.

 

South Jersey Group I

(14) New Egypt 58, (2) Palmyra 56 (OT)

Senior Nolan Arnold hit a pair of go-ahead free throws with 26 seconds left and the Warriors (14-14) made one last stop on the defensive end to pull out another road upset, this time over the Panthers (21-8) to reach their first sectional championship game since 2011.

Senior Ryan Reynolds hit two of his seven three-pointers in the game during the overtime period, the first of which tied the game, 52-52, with 2:15 left and the second of which cut Palmyra’s lead to 56-55 with 42 seconds left. Reynolds finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

New Egypt embarked on a 15-3 run to turn a tie game into a 45-33 lead with 5:30 left. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Palmyra began a 14-2 run that tied the game to close the fourth quarter, capped by a game-tying three-pointer by sophomore Julian Corry with 34 seconds left. The lone basket by New Egypt over the final 5:30 was a goal-tend call, credited to junior Paul Kennedy.

Senior Clyde Ferris poured in 17 points and grabbed six rebounds for New Egypt while Arnold posted 11 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals in the win. Warriors senior Dylan Harper dished out five assists and picked up three steals to go with five points that came on two end-of-quarter baskets in the final seconds of both the second and third.

Once again, New Egypt will hit the road Saturday for the sectional championship game, which will be hosted by top-seeded Salem after the Rams defeated KIPP Cooper Norcross in the other semifinal.