Boys Basketball 2025 Shore Conference Tournament Quarterfinal Preview, Picks

2025 Shore Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025

At Middletown South High School

No. 4 St. Rose (16-7) vs. No. 5 Central (21-2), 11 a.m.

Through the end of January, this matchup seemed more likely to materialize in the SCT championship game than in the quarterfinals, but Central dropped a game to Cinnaminson while missing a starter and St. Rose three of its last four games outside the Shore Conference to slip to the No. 4 seed.

This is a rough draw for both teams, with St. Rose the deserving No. 1 seed that should be facing Colts Neck on Saturday rather than a 21-2 Group IV team led by a Shore Conference Player of the Year candidate in Jaycen Santucci. Central’s plight is even more obvious, with the Golden Eagles trying to reach the SCT semifinals for the first time in program history, with the best team in the Shore Conference standing in the way.

St. Rose’s road to victory is for the Purple Roses to play their game, led by a trio of third-year starters in Jayden Hodge, Evan Romano and Bryan Ebeling. Sophomore Avery Hodge has been a top-three scorer on the team, while junior Tyler Cameron, sophomore Tyler Hager and freshmen Izayah Cooper and Oymere Rene have contributed to the swarming defense and balanced scoring from the supporting cast.

For Central to have a chance to win, the Golden Eagles will have to hound that supporting cast into a sub-par shooting day. Central will mix in defensive looks to try to keep St. Rose guessing and a winning formula for the Golden Eagles will involve that defense turning turnovers into offense. Senior Aidan Graham and sophomore Derek Roth are coming off productive round-of-16 performances, while Santucci and seniors Jayson King and Royalty Riley will have to deliver as the big three they have been all year. Six-foot-7 forward Elijah Reeder could be an x-factor against a St. Rose team without much traditional size, but Central’s hopes of an upset come down to an A-game from the senior core, with Santucci leading the way.

The Pick: St. Rose, 66-50

 

No. 2 Christian Brothers Academy (17-3) vs. No. 7 Holmdel (13-7), 12:45 p.m.

When these teams met in December, Holmdel was an unknown entity and CBA a team that looked primed to make a run at its first Shore Conference Tournament final appearance in eight years. CBA’s 63-36 win lined up with the returning rosters of each squad, but has time has passed, that victory looks even more impressive for the Colts.

Holmdel has played its way back into the top 10 of the Shore Conference even after graduating the bulk of its offense from last year’s SCT semifinalist. To get back to Middletown South, Holmdel beat Red Bank Catholic for a third time. Five of Holmdel’s seven losses are to teams in the top six of the Shore: twice each to Red Bank and Rumson-Fair Haven and once to CBA. The other two are to Trenton and Lenape, so when the Hornets have got toe-to-toe with teams on their level, they have found a way to win.

To advance, however, Holmdel will have to figure out a way to beat what is likely the second-best roster in the tournament. CBA has seven legitimate starting options and all of them can put the ball in the basket, led by seniors Justin Fuerbacher and Kevin Pikiell and juniors Connor Andree and Charlie Marcoullier. Holmdel relies on how connected its own team is and CBA’s ability to score at every position on the floor will make it harder for Holmdel to exploit its own balance as a strength.

CBA also boasts length in its lineup, led by the 6-foot-5 Fuerbacher, 6-6 Andree, 6-2 Pikiell and 6-8 sophomore David Buley. Holmdel’s only player over 6-1 is 6-4 junior Connor Paul, so Holmdel will have to pressure CBA’s ball-handlers, battle for positioning and keep the Colts to one shot. On the other end, the shooting of Jack Vallillo, C.J. Karis, Daxx Corneiro, Joe Currieri and Ire Adesina will have to be collectively on-point. It will take a perfect game and if any team can come close to executing it, it is Holmdel.

The Pick: CBA, 58-47

 

No. 3 Red Bank (19-3) vs. No. 6 Rumson-Fair Haven (16-5), 2:30 p.m.

This is the third meeting between division rivals in the Shore Conference Tournament and in each of the first two meetings – between St. Rose and Jackson Memorial and Holmdel and Red Bank Catholic in the round of 16 – the team that swept the regular-season series won the third meeting as well. That bodes well for Red Bank, which won an overtime classic at Rumson-Fair Haven in the first showdown between the Class B Coastal rivals, then won the second meeting comfortably in front of its home crowd.

This is not just any rivalry, though. These two teams are neck-and-neck on talent and in each of the two regular-season games, Rumson matched up well on the glass with the Bucs. The Bulldogs’ issue, however, was its shooting. In the two losses, Rumson shot a combined 9-for-55 (16.4 percent) from three-point range and that percentage would look worse if not for two threes in the final 10 seconds of the more recent meeting after the game was already decided.

In Red Bank’s 55-51 win at home, the Bucs held Rumson leading scorer Luke Cruz to four points, including none in the second half. The 6-9 junior is averaging 17.9 points and will be looking for a bounceback performance against the Bucs on Saturday. Rumson will also need a shooting boost from players like Drew Cavise, Riley Gill, Luke Lydon and point guard David Carr.

In its win over Rumson earlier this month, Red Bank had just welcomed senior and leading scorer Ryan Fisher back to the lineup after he misses a week while recovering from a concussion. He was not at his sharpest, but Fisher hit big shots down the stretch and his energy was a catalyst in the win. With Fisher briefly sidelined, sophomores Will Galligan and Justin Valentino have emerged as all-around reliable players for the Bucs, with senior Zayier Dean a constant running the offense. Ron Richardson, Anthony Moore and Trey Moore have also given Rumson problems at times on the glass, even giving up the size to Cruz.

For Rumson to flip the script and prevent a three-game sweep at the hands of its rival, the Bulldogs will need a much better shooting game while also doing a better job matching Red Bank’s energy on the glass and on the defensive end. In a game that will almost certainly go down to the wire, Dean is the difference-maker in a game like this, as he has proven throughout the year. Rumson has its pride and will do its best to finally get one from the Bucs, but Red Bank has the playmaker.

The Pick: Red Bank, 52-49

 

No. 1 Manasquan (18-3) vs. No. 9 Colts Neck (12-7), 4:15 p.m.

Colts Neck has had some outstanding teams since 2012, including one that won the program’s first and only NJSIAA sectional championship in 2016. Since that 2011-12 season, however, the Cougars have not played in a Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal, which will finally change when they take the floor for the final game of the day on Saturday at Middletown South. Thirteen years ago, Colts Neck made it all the way to the SCT championship game and lost a heartbreaker to Neptune and had not been past the round of 16 since until the Cougars knocked off Wall on Thursday.

In its return to the quarterfinals, Colts Neck will face a Manasquan team that is playing in its 14th consecutive SCT quarterfinal round as the Warriors pursue a seventh straight appearance in the Shore Conference Tournament final. Only one other program has played in seven straight finals, which Neptune did from 1961-67, so history will be on the line for the Warriors.

Colts Neck rode senior Bryce Belcher (19 points) to the win over Wall, but the headline was that senior Lukas Sloan suited up for the Cougars after missing the prior two games. Sloan is the team’s top scorer for the season and Colts Neck will need him as a scoring threat to have a chance to beat the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

Manasquan wins games with its defense first and is opportunistic offensively, with sophomore Rey Weinseimer and senior Griffin Linstra handling the bulk of the scoring. Colts Neck will have to take at least one of the two out of the equation because if both Weinseimer and Linstra have big games, scoring enough points against the Manasquan defense might be asking too much.

The Pick: Manasquan, 57-42

2025 Round-of-16 Picks Record: 6-2

2025 SCT Picks Record: 8-4