Boys Basketball 2025 Shore Conference Tournament Round-of-16 Preview, Picks

Boys Basketball Shore Conference Tournament Round of 16

Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025

No. 15 Point Beach (16-6) at No. 2 CBA (16-3), 5:30 p.m.

Point Beach earned some major validation Tuesday in round one, when the Garnet Gulls withstood a huge comeback by Howell, made clutch shot after clutch shot in the fourth quarter and picked up its first win over an SCT-qualifying team this season. The game started out in ideal fashion for Point Beach, which pushed the pace with its pressure defense, and after Howell took its first lead with 1:15 left, junior Jacob Edgecomb delivered the go-ahead three and a pair of clutch free throws.

All that adds up to a trip to CBA, where the Garnet Gulls will be playing with house money against the ultimate legacy program of the Shore Conference. Point Beach has some good length and size with Danny Cavanaugh and Scot Crowley to go with the guard play of Edgecomb and sophomores Tyler Preston and George Breckenridge, plus the do-it-all hustle of junior Elijah Ives. The problem the Gulls run into is that CBA has all of those elements in spades. Seniors Justin Fuerbacher and Kevin Pikiell have been shut-down players on defense and capable scorers and the supporting cast is a mix of senior grinders, junior standouts and an imposing 6-foot-8 sophomore in David Buelly.

The Colts have allowed a number of opponents to hang around into the fourth quarter but they have pretty routinely buried teams when they have had the chance. How long can the Garnet Gulls stay in it? That is not for certain but at least they showed that if they can keep it close, they are not afraid of a pressure situation.

The Pick: CBA, 73-55

 

No. 10 Red Bank Catholic (13-9) at No. 7 Holmdel (12-7), 5:30 p.m.

One of four rematches in the round of 16, RBC and Holmdel are clashing for the third time this season and the visiting Caseys are hoping the third time will be the charm. Each of the first two meetings were competitive wins for Holmdel, which used a major run in the second quarter to win at RBC and rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit to stun the Caseys, 60-59, in the second meeting.

Beating the Caseys for a third time will mean again keeping RBC’s potent perimeter attack from running wild, which Holmdel has mostly done well in both meetings. The senior group of C.J. Karis, Daxx Corneiro, Joe Curreiri and Ire Adesina is full of committed defenders and the rest of the team follows suit. Holmdel can also counter with a well-rounded offense capable of keeping up with RBC, with junior Jack Vallillo the top option to go with the seniors.

To finally finish off Holmdel, RBC will have to force the Hornets into tough shots – no easy task against a team that shares the ball as well as Sean Devaney’s squad does. Short of a lights-out shooting game, the Caseys will have to get it done with Sean Saxton, Ryan Prior and Jake Frankel on defense and the glass. With that as a base, that trio, plus James Hankowski and Gavin Biasi have the firepower to finally break through.

The Pick: Red Bank Catholic, 67-61

 

No. 9 Colts Neck (11-7) at No. 8 Wall (17-4), 5:30 p.m.

In most years, the 8-vs.-9 game is for the right to get trounced by an athletically superior team and that could be the case for the winner of this game. On the other hand, while Manasquan has been unmatched by any Shore Conference opponent outside St. Rose, the Warriors have a roster that Colts Neck or Wall can come close to matching at one or two positions.

As for making it to the quarterfinals, Wall heads into Thursday with an advantage over Colts Neck: the Crimson Knights are healthy. Colts Neck leading scorer Lukas Sloan has dealt with multiple ailments over the last two weeks and missed the Cougars’ last game – a win over Manalapan that clinched the Class A North public division title. Without Sloan – or with him at less than 100 percent – Colts Neck will have a challenge on its hands dealing with a Wall team that can score from several angles and plays solid team defense with its collection of athletes.

Colts Neck will lean on a senior-heavy group, led by Bryce Belcher, Dan Buoncore and Jack Freid, plus experienced junior point guard Dillon Younger. The defense is still capable even without Sloan, but scoring to keep up with Wall’s balanced scoring. Junior Dan Hennessy is the top scoring threat for Wall, but Colts Neck will also have to account for junior Liam Killea, senior Brian McKenna and senior Demitri Tu. Throw in a capable big in Tom Ekberg and a deep bench and Wall has enough weapons to keep its resurgent season rolling into the weekend for a potential showdown with Manasquan.

The Pick: Wall, 52-47

 

No. 16 Marlboro (10-11) at No. 1 Manasquan (17-3), 6 p.m.

Coming off its first loss of the season to a team not named St. Rose, Manasquan will be rested and revitalized heading into the Shore Conference Tournament after five days to recover from the regular season and prepare for the postseason. The Warriors have been mostly healthy this season and have played like a team on a mission from the opening tip of the first game. They execute early and often, which makes it hard to get established against them and even harder to gain the upper hand if the game is still close in the fourth quarter.

Marlboro has the kind of shooting that can challenge Manasquan because the Warriors are not looking to trade three-point shots with opponents. So players like Nolan Gong, Cole Newman and Dan Crasto are going to come out firing, looking to give the Mustangs the upper-hand with the three-ball.

If Manasquan can avoid allowing a scorching-hot shooting night by Marlboro, Griffin Linstra, Rey Weinseimer, Jack O’Reilly and Logan Cleveland will wear down the Mustangs on both ends and if Weinseimer has the kind of shooting performance he is used to, Marlboro’s efforts on offense may not matter all that much.

The Pick: Manasquan, 65-49

 

No. 11 Middletown North (16-6) at No. 6 Rumson-Fair Haven (15-5), 6 p.m.

Two of the eight games on Thursday are rematches of season-opening games for at least one team and this is the first of those two. Rumson gave Middletown North a rude welcome to the new season by beating the Lions, 67-51, at a time in which Middletown North was not all the way healthy and still working through the process of finding an identity.

Over the last month, Middletown North has seemingly landed on its identity, which has been made easier by 6-foot-6 junior Eddie Lopez rounding into form alongside senior teammate and Lions leading scorer Colin Byrne. With both players healthy and producing, Middletown North is 13-2 in its last 15 games and nearly climbed into the top 10 of the SCT seeding.

Rumson is hoping to deliver a reality check to the Lions, who have played only three games vs. teams in the SCT since the loss to Rumson: a loss to Wall in December at the WOBM Classic and two wins over Henry Hudson. The Bulldogs will have the size and athleticism to match up with both Byrne and Lopez while also challenging Middletown North’s defense with an array of threats, led by 6-foot-9 junior Luke Cruz, who is coming off 33 points Saturday vs. St. Joseph Metuchen.

Rumson has not been as consistent shooting the ball, but has had some monster performances from the three-point line and anything resembling a good shooting night will likely be too much for Middletown North to deal with. If, however, Rumson shoots a high volume with a low percentage, there is an opening for the Lions to stun Rumson two months after they were no match for the Bulldogs. The actual outcome is probably somewhere in the middle.

The Pick: Rumson, 67-54

 

No. 20 Jackson Memorial (10-12) at No. 4 St. Rose (15-7), 6:30 p.m.

George Boley made his season debut for Jackson Memorial with 26 points in a loss to St. Rose and on Tuesday, Boley authored his best performance of the season. He scored a career-high 35 points to go with six rebounds, seven assists and four steals in a 76-58 win over Ranney while showcasing his ability to make a wide range of shots: runners, fadeaways, step-backs, catch-and-shoot three-pointers.

In Tuesday’s win, Jackson Memorial trailed Ranney, 53-44, in the final minute of the fourth quarter and closed the game on a furious 32-5 run. It was the kind of nine-minute stretch the Jaguars would like to bottle, take with them to Belmar on Thursday, and unleash for 32 minutes against the defending SCT champions. In two Class A Central division games this year, the Purple Roses handled Jackson Memorial and the last one was a true rout, 77-39. Boley’s 26 points in the first meeting helped make the score a more respectable 78-56, but there is still a lot of ground for the Jaguars to make up on Thursday.

If nothing else, a third edition of Boley vs. fellow standout junior Jayden Hodge will be a fun watch for the casual basketball fan at the Shore, but the supporting cast is where St. Rose will be such a challenge for Shore Conference Tournament opponents. Evan Romano, Bryan Ebeling and Tyler Cameron are SCT veterans, while Avery Lynch, fellow sophomore Tyler Hager and freshmen Izayah Cooper and Oymere Rene have quickly become indispensable. There will be a lot of non-seniors on the floor for the two teams, so regardless of the outcome, Jackson Memorial wants to show they are closer to the Purple Roses than the Jaguars were two weeks ago.

The Pick: St. Rose, 77-50

 

No. 12 Freehold Boro (17-6) at No. 5 Central (20-2), 6:30 p.m.

Coming off a 2023-24 season that was arguably the best campaign in the history of the program, Central is having an even better year in 2024-25. For their efforts, the Golden Eagles were served what might have been the hardest draw of any team seeded in the top eight of the field. If Central wins Thursday, the next stop will be Middletown South Saturday to likely face tournament favorite (but No. 4 seed) St. Rose in the quarterfinals – a frustrating draw for a Central squad that would be making program history just by reaching the SCT semifinals.

The difficult draw is not limited to Saturday either. Just to get there, Central has to get through a Freehold Boro team with championship DNA and dangerous talent. Seniors Brian Tassey, Qua’Mir Everett and Aidan Hamlin-Woolfolk led the run to the NJSIAA Group III championship game last winter and this year, the trio is rounding into form as the new postseason begins. The Colonials’ recent schedule has been much softer than an early schedule that included CBA, Manasquan, Red Bank, Rumson-Fair Haven and Southern, but they have faced Rutgers Prep and beat Wildwood Catholic within the last three weeks.

Central has its own trio of standouts that can counter Freehold’s big three. Senior Jaycen Santucci has had a season worthy of Shore Conference Player of the Year consideration, while classmates Jayson King and Royalty Riley have been excellent on both ends of the floor, particularly the defensive one. Central’s starting five also includes improving sophomore Derek Roth and unsung senior glue-guy Aidan Graham and when those two deliver in their roles while the Santucci-King-Riley trio shines, the Golden Eagles are very hard to beat. For Freehold Boro to pull it off, its big three has to outperform Central’s big three while avoiding a big game from either Graham or Roth. Playing at home, as the only 20-win team in the Shore Conference, Central still has the edge.

The Pick: Central, 56-54

 

No. 14 Southern (16-5) at No. 3 Red Bank (18-3), 6:45 p.m.

The last game of the round of 16 is the fourth rematch of Thursday’s slate and it goes all the way back to Southern’s season-opener. It was also Red Bank’s third game of the season and the Bucs played like a team that had worked out the kinks over the first two games and played a complete game in a 71-48 drubbing of the Rams in Southern Ocean County. From there, Red Bank has just gotten better, with senior transfer Ronald Richardson joining the fold in early January, sophomores Justin Valentino and Will Galligan continuing to improve and senior Zayier Dean raising his game over the last month.

Red Bank leading scorer Ryan Fisher missed a week of games due to a concussion, so getting him back to his top form will be a priority for Red Bank this postseason and that might be the in Southern needs to close the gap and pull off the upset. Fisher torched the Rams for 23 points in the first meeting and if Southern can reign in that scoring, a chance for an upset becomes more plausible. Galligan (20 points, six three-pointers) was also a menace in the first meeting and that was the first game he earned a spot on an opposing team’s scouting report, so Southern will be more prepared this time around.

On offense, the Southern formula is simple: about 40 combined points between Noah Perna and Jake Sliwinski, three three-pointers from senior Cooper Dempsey and 12-to-15 points from everyone else. That gets the Rams in the neighborhood if they can play a soldi defensive game and while Red Bank is capable of lighting it up, keeping the Bucs under 65 is not beyond Southern’s capability. Expect the Rams to be more prepared this time around, but for Red Bank’s home floor and the big-game prowess of Dean to be the difference.

The Pick: Red Bank, 63-55

2025 First-Round Picks Record: 2-2