Boys Basketball Shore Conference Tournament Preview, Picks: SCT Semifinals

Shore Conference Tournament Semifinals

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026

At Brookdale Community College

No. 1 Christian Brothers Academy (21-3) vs. No. 5 Marlboro (18-4), 6 p.m.

At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Marlboro will become the eighth team from the Shore Conference to take on CBA in regular-season or postseason game in 2025-26. More importantly, the Mustangs will attempt to become the first team from the Shore to beat CBA.

The top-seeded Colts have just two in-state losses this season and they are both to the two teams currently ranked Nos. 1 (Bergen Catholic) and 3 (Gill St. Bernard’s) in the state as of Tuesday. CBA survived four close games vs. Shore opponents – two vs. Manasquan and one each vs. Red Bank Catholic and Rumson-Fair Haven – on the way to a 13-0 record vs. the Shore this season. The two SCT wins were not close in the fourth quarter, but were close through one quarter, with CBA leading Point Pleasant Boro, 13-8, through one quarter in the round of 16 and Holmdel leading CBA, 15-14, after one. In both games, CBA won by a margin in excess of 30 points.

CBA has shown a willingness – perhaps even a preference – to settle into the game during the first quarter, which has allowed the likes of Manasquan, Point Boro and Holmdel to get off to strong starts in recent games. If that characteristic has kept the games close for a time, CBA’s depth and the standout play of sophomore Izayah Cooper and Conor Andree on both ends of the floor has been what separates the Colts later in games.

While Marlboro cannot match CBA’s 11-man rotation, the Mustangs have balance throughout their starting five that will be a major asset in trying to take down the tournament’s No. 1 seed. In Saturday’s win over Howell, two different players – junior Dylan McEwan in the third quarter and senior Ajay Mathews in the fourth and overtime – went on runs in which they scored 10 straight Marlboro points. That included 16 in a row by Mathews that helped send the game into overtime and set up senior Rob Glorioso for the game-winning three-pointer with 30 seconds left in overtime.

McEwan and Mathews have been two reliable sources of scoring, while Mathews and junior Nolan Gong both can run the point in their own style. The versatility of Mathews at to play the point and also off the ball at 6-foot-2 allows Marlboro to find favorable matchups that can free up any of those three guards, plus senior guard Christian Elmasri.

Senior center Drew Lubeck will be put to the test by CBA’s front court and so far this season, Lubeck has answered all challenges. The 6-6 senior is putting up double-digit rebounds per game and serving as an alternative source of scoring to complement the guards. CBA boasts Andree and 6-8 junior David Buley in its front court and it will be on Lubeck to deal with them in the paint and on the boards without running into foul trouble.

Marlboro’s only Shore Conference Tournament championship came after beating CBA in the SCT semifinal round, while CBA is looking to end a 16-year drought that is four times longer than any other conference championship dry spell for CBA since its first SCT championship in 1984. Marlboro’s balance is enough to keep the Mustangs in the game in the same way that Rumson, Manasquan and RBC stayed in games vs. CBA, but the Colts are getting closer to their end goal and will have too much firepower in the end.

The Pick: CBA, 71-54

 

No. 2 Wall (19-1) vs. No. 3 Red Bank Catholic (18-6), 7:45 p.m.

With 5:30 to go in the fourth quarter of their December showdown at the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic in Toms River, Wall and Red Bank Catholic were locked in a three-point game that could have gone either way. Wall led, 37-34, at that point but for the final five-plus minutes, the Crimson Knights put on a defensive clinic while doing just enough on offense to secure a 44-34 win. For the math-averse, that is a 7-0 finish to the game for Wall over the final 5:30 against the Shore’s No. 3 team and one of its most well-rounded offenses.

Nearly seven weeks later, Wall is still doing it with defense, as the Crimson Knights displayed in a 41-39 win over Manasquan in Saturday’s quarterfinals. The Wall offense went ice cold with no points over the final five minutes, but won the game by holding Manasquan scoreless over the final three minutes, with an assist from the offense chewing up 90 seconds during a possession late in the fourth.

Wall’s balance was also operating at peak performance, with fourth-leading scorer Jake DeBrito leading the Crimson Knights with a game-high 10 points, including eight in the first half. Leading scorer Brian McKenna (17 points per game) contributed a modest six for the game – all in the second half – and Wall still found a way to beat the Shore’s most tournament-tested program of the last decade.

If it’s not McKenna or DeBrito, senior Dan Hannessy has proven dangerous as a scorer of late, while senior point guard Liam Killea is a catalyst even when he is not scoring. Senior Joey Ambrozy can keep defenses honest with his shooting, while juniors Donovan Buist, Navin Tu and Marius Rossi have been difference-makers off the bench. That Wall bench first showed its potential late in the KWCC in December and has only improved since then.

Red Bank Cathoic has a similar make-up to its lineup, highlighted by four capable scoring guards who can also defend, plus a 6-foot-7 forward in Tyler Hager who will make finishing at the rim even harder for a Wall team that has trouble in that department more than most teams of its caliber.

Like Wall, RBC got a scoring lift from one of its lower-scoring guards, with senior Ryan Saxton – the team’s fifth-leading at better than seven points per game – delivered to 14 points to back up 17 by junior Gavin Biasi in Saturday’s 60-55 win over Ranney. RBC won despite a quiet shooting game from senior James Hankowski (13 points per game), who hit two three-pointers for six points.

Wall’s stellar team defense will be tested again against Biasi, Hankowski, Saxton and junior Ryder Ciorciari on the perimeter, while Hager will look to force match-up problems. In Wall’s only loss of the season – a 52-46 defeat at the hands of Colonia – the Crimson Knights proved vulnerable against players who are exceptional at creating their own shot. RBC is more of a unit on offense and Wall’s defense would seem to match up well, as they did in December. The key for RBC is can the Caseys match Wall’s defense, keep McKenna in check and spring Hankowski for a three-point heater that could potentially break the game. Hankowski was the one player who nearly sank Wall in December, but the Crimson Knights put the clamps on him over the final five minutes and RBC’s offense dried up.

On Wednesday night, there is plenty at stake: Wall has not been to a Shore Conference final since 1974 and RBC has never been to one at all. When it comes to the game plan, there won’ be any messing around on either side, which means players like Hankowski and McKenna will have to work for their points and someone else will have to step up. Both teams have excelled in those conditions, but only one of them is 19-1.

The Pick: Wall, 47-43