Boys Basketball: State, Shore Contenders Descend on Boardwalk Showcase

The Hoop Group Boardwalk Classic has played host to many a regular-season matchup for both teams from inside the Shore Conference and beyond it. The event has played host to current NBA players and called multiple venues home and this year’s showcase will be at its third location in the last three years.

Middletown South High School plays host to the Boardwalk Showcase for the first time this Saturday, with three games on the slate – each featuring at least one team from the Shore and with three state-ranked teams making an appearance across the three games.

 

Jackson (SSI No. 6) vs. Colonia, 1 p.m.

Colonia spent the 2024-25 as one of the state’s top public-school teams thanks to one of the state’s best players and even though the Patriots lost a Group III semifinal heartbreaker to Ramapo, they rostered just one senior contributor and were set up to be even better in 2026. Then, four-star recruit and Providence commit Aiden Derkack transferred to emerging national power Spire Academy in Ohio, senior Rutgers football commit R.J. Wortman left Colonia to enroll early in college, and two other potential returning contributors opted not to play this season.

That leaves Colonia with two returning starters from last season’s 27-5 squad that won the Greater Middlesex Conference championship, followed by an NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group III title. Senior Dylan Chiera and sophomore Jayce Rodriguez are the lone starters back from the championship squad and Rodriguez has been the Patriots’ breakout scorer at 22 points per game through eight games. No other Colonia starter is averaging double-figures, with freshman Desmond Rudanovic second on the team at 7.6 points per game.

While Colonia enters Thursday 2-6, Jackson sports the inverse at 6-2. The Jaguars dropped a crucial road game at Southern Regional on Tuesday in a matchup of the two expected favorites in the Class A South division and will have to be on their collective game against Central Regional, Donovan Catholic and Barnegat before getting another shot at Southern on Jan. 23 in Jackson.

As for the immediate future, Jackson will have a chance to showcase a talented squad on the Boardwalk stage for the first time in 12 years, when it was Jackson Memorial playing at the event. Senior George Boley has settled in as one of the top all-around players in the area and enters Thursday averaging 15.1 points and 3.4 assists. The offensive x-factors for Jackson have been seniors Jimmy Pappalardo, sophomore forward Mi’Aire Anderson and senior Yaseer Johnson, with senior Randy Holmes Jr. a two-way weapon in the starting five.

 

Christian Brothers Academy (SSI No. 1/NJAM No. 4) vs. Linden (NJAM No. 6), 2:30 p.m.

The highest-profile game at this year’s Boardwalk Showcase features the Shore’s top team facing a Linden squad making its second straight weekend appearance at the Shore after taking down previously undefeated Montgomery at Manasquan Saturday in the first Warrior Classic event.

Linden is led by second-year head coach Mike Rice – the former Rutgers University men’s coach who also helped lead the Patrick School to a Tournament of Champions title in 2017. Rice is also a Monmouth County resident whose son, Mike (Red Bank, Point Beach), and daughter, Katie (Red Bank Catholic) played in the Shore Conference within the last decade, so there is a connection to the area for the Tigers’ head coach.

Rice and his team have had an eventful start to the season, to say the least. Rice was suspended for one game for violating NJSIAA rules prohibiting coaches from having team contact out-of-season, but it has not stopped Linden from making some early noise. The Tigers had Plainfield – the state’s No. 1 team, according to NJ Advance Media – on the ropes before a three-pointer at the buzzer by standout junior Micah Gordon denied Linden the upset.

Linden also has losses to three other teams in the state Top 10: Morris Catholic, St. Peter’s Prep and Roselle Catholic. The Tigers also beat a Montgomery squad that was 8-0 and planted in the top 10 prior to the 53-51 loss to Linden, plus own wins over Rutgers Prep, Thrive Charter of Trenton and Gill St. Bernard’s. – all teams ranked in the state top 20 at some point this season. Senior Jayden Holman (15.3 points), senior Jekhi Burnham (13.0) and junior Asante Jones (12.3) have been Linden’s three-headed monster on offense during a strong, 6-4 start to the season.

CBA will another on the list of state-ranked opponents for Linden, with the Colts up to No. 4 after taking down Roselle Catholic a last weekend’s Big Jersey Showcase at Don Bosco Prep. The Colts have flashed their depth throughout their 7-1 start heading into Thursday, with only junior Avery Lynch (16.0 points), sophomore Izayah Cooper (12.7) and David Buley (10.5) all averaging at least 10 points. Senior Connor Andree has also been a leader for the Colts as an all-around forward, while returning senior starter Charlie Marcoullier just recently returned from a groin injury that kept him out of CBA’s first six games.

Sophomore Oymere Rene, senior Charlie Messano, senior Matt Veisz and junior Will Grier have all been difference-makers off the bench in helping CBA extend its rotation beyond its balanced starting five. The formula has led the Colts to dominate most of their opposition so far, with Roselle Catholic the only N.J. team to come within 17 points of CBA thus far.

Middletown South vs. Rumson-Fair Haven (SSI No. 2/NJAM No. 15), 4 p.m.

The Boardwalk finale features host Middletown South taking its shot at the Shore’s No. 2 team and the No. 15 team in New Jersey, according to the most recent NJ.com rankings. Rumson heads into Thursday night a perfect 9-0, which is the best record in the Shore Conference and one of two unbeaten records in the conference along with 6-0 Wall.

The Bulldogs made it through their first four games without 6-foot-9 senior Luke Cruz, who made his season debut in a win over Roselle and has since averaged an even 20 points, 14 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.6 blocked shots over five games. He has also done all of that scorer without relying heavily on the three-point shot; Cruz hit four during a 30-point outing vs. Red Bank on Monday after hitting three total over his first four games.

Senior Luke Lydon was the scorer standout prior to Cruz’s return and has been a two-way menace for opponents of the Bulldogs. Lydon is averaging 18 points, which includes a 38-point outburst in a win over Red Bank Catholic. He also regularly draws the defensive assignment guarding the other team’s top perimeter player.

Senior Blake Ahmann, freshman Clint Martin and junior Casey Moore have been the emergent starters for the Bulldogs, with Ahmann (12 rebounds per game) one of the Shore’s top rebounders in the early part of the season and Martin coming off back-to-back double-digit scoring outings heading into Thursday’s action.

Rumson will try its hand stopping Middletown South’s freshman duo, which has been as productive as any freshman class since 2015-16, when Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis were freshmen at Ranney. Ryan Gannon is coming off a 28-point performance in a win over St. John Vianney in which he scored all 11 of his team’s overtime points, which came after he scored the final two points of regulation with a pair of game-tying free throws.

Gannon is averaging 16.6 points, while 6-foot-5 classmate Evan Wells is second on the team at 12.9 per game. Senior Matt Trimble is also averaging double-figures as a scorer at 10.6 per game and 6-foot-6 senior Beckett Oliver gives the Eagles some size to throw at Rumson’s big, physical lineup.