End of the Road: New Egypt Upset Bid Falls Short vs. Thrive
MONROE TWP. — For three quarters of Wednesday NJSIAA Group I semifinal at Monroe High School, the New Egypt boys basketball team was following the same script that won the Warriors four road games and produced their first ever sectional championship in most improbable fashion.
Eight more minutes adhering to that script would have given New Egypt an even more improbable result. Instead, the defending Group I champion had its own script to follow.
New Egypt took reigning Group I champion Thrive Charter into the third quarter tied up, but the Central Jersey Group I champions turned up the heat in the fourth, held New Egypt to two points, and ended one of the most memorable state-tournament runs in recent memory with a 59-45 win over the Warriors.
“We truly thought we could win,” New Egypt coach Mick Hughes said. “We needed some things to go right and I think they were going right and for three quarters, we had this place going. We had the crowd on our side, we had a lot of momentum and we were doing what we do well. Then, we wore down a little bit, they made plays in the fourth quarter and that was really it.”
New Egypt senior Nolan Arnold. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)
In the final game of his record-setting career at New Egypt, senior Nolan Arnold led all scorers with 19 points, including during a third-quarter surge by New Egypt that put the Warriors — the No. 14 seed in South Jersey Group I section — in position to pull off their biggest upset of the tournament. Arnold also grabbed five rebounds, handed out seven assists, nabbed three steals and blocked a shot by 6-foot-4 Thrive senior big man Marjon Skillman.
“Obviously we’re disappointed, but with those guys, we came so far,” Arnold said. “The run was great and that was special. We put up our best fight today, we knew it would be tough and it was.”
Sparked by eight straight points to open the second half, New Egypt played its way to a 43-40 lead in the final seconds of the third quarter and after a jump ball, Thrive had possession underneath the New Egypt basket. Senior Tyler Hammond sprung free in the left corner and buried a three-pointer as time expired to send the game to the fourth quarter tied, 43-43.
Tyler Hammond hits the corner three to end the third. Headed to the 4th: New Egypt 43, Thrive 43. Buckle up. pic.twitter.com/GCtOhyktcN
— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) March 11, 2026
“We were still tied going into the fourth quarter,” Hughes said. “If you would have told me at the beginning of November, ‘Hey, you’re going to be tied vs. Thrive in the fourth quarter of the state semifinals,’ you show me where I sign. I would sign up for that every single day. We were right there.”
On Thrive’s first possession of the fourth quarter, Hammond hit another three from the right wing to give the Titans a 46-43 advantage, which they would not relinquish. Arnold picked off a pass and took it in for a layup to pull New Egypt within 46-45, but Thrive finished the game on a 13-0 run over the final 6:45. During the final quarter, the Titans pressured New Egypt into nine turnovers, which pushed the Warriors’ game-long turnover total to 21.
“I told my guys we are playing against a team that has nothing to lose and that’s always tough,” Thrive coach Khalid Lewis said. “They might be a number 14 seed but they are here for a reason. I knew our pressure was going to get to them eventually, but it just took a long time to get to them.”
New Egypt senior Clyde Ferris takes a shot over Thrive senior Teriyon Page. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)
“They came out in a diamond-and-one (press) and that’s literally all we saw in South Jersey,” Hughes said. “So we felt good about that. They still got us a couple times just because of how quick they are, but I thought we handled it well. Once they started bringing the man pressure later in the game and started to get into our legs late in the third or fourth quarter, that’s when it gets tough. They are the number 17 team in the state, they’ve got a stable of athletes that can come into the game and wear you down. We like to keep the ball in Nolan’s hands, but you have to be able to keep the ball moving. At the end of the day, a really good team forced us into some mistakes.”
Thrive’s 13-0 run to finish the game was its second big swing of the game. During the second quarter, the Titans scored 11 unanswered to turn a 23-18 deficit into a 29-23 lead. A basket by Arnold ended that run, but Thrive added four more points to push the run to 15-2 before junior Paul Kennedy banked in a foul-line jumper to cap the half and send New Egypt into halftime trailing, 33-27.
Halftime: Thrive 33, New Egypt 27. Paul Kennedy quiets the run with a shot off the glass. If not for the offensive glass, Thrive might be in some real hot water. pic.twitter.com/GQ2lqRrzKS
— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) March 11, 2026
“We faced a lot of defenses like that in the playoffs, so we were ready,” Arnold said. “But they were fast. The fourth quarter hit, we were a little tired, we wore down a little bit and turned it over. They are quick and they play great defense.
“We stuck to the game plan, stay calm, pass it if we get in trouble. There are going to be turnovers, because they are a great defense, so we just stuck with it, even if we go down — just like the last three games. We hit a little speed bump and then we come right back.”
New Egypt took over the lead at the end of the first quarter on three consecutive made three-pointers to close the period. Senior Ryan Reynolds tied the game with a corner three, followed by a go-ahead triple by classmate Clyde Ferris. Arnold then canned a three at the first-quarter buzzer to send the Warriors to the second quarter with an 18-14 lead.
Clyde Ferris and Nolan Arnold cap a great start for New Egypt with back-to-back threes to end the 1st quarter. 18-14 New Egypt. pic.twitter.com/RznWsBVwzK
— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) March 11, 2026
Arnold kicked off the second half with a pair of free throws, followed by a layup by senior Clyde Ferris off a full-court feed from classmate Ryan Reynolds. Kennedy then hit a short fadeaway to tie the game, 33-33, and Arnold stole the ball and coasted for a go-ahead layup. The teams traded scores, with Ferris banking a go-ahead basket, followed by a goal-tend off another steal by Arnold that made it 41-38. Two more free throws by Arnold gave New Egypt its 43-40 lead.
New Egypt’s 2-3 zone, which it began playing exclusively in its first-round win at third-seeded Haddon Township on Feb. 27, slowed Thrive’s offense on the perimeter and closed off lanes to the basket, but the offensive glass kept the Titans above water throughout the game, particularly in the first half.
“We watched a lot of film on them and they gave teams a lot of problems with their zone,” Lewis said. “We have faced a lot of zone this year and every time we faced a team that came out in a zone, we made them come out of the zone — moving the ball, getting our shooters open, just attacking the zone and executing. Today, it was just the perfect storm. We came out not making shots and they live and die by that two-three, so if we couldn’t make them come out of it, they were probably going to hang with us. We knew they weren’t going to come out of it, so we had to make shots.”
Skillman led Thrive with 14 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals, with eight of his rebounds coming on the offensive glass. Skillman gave his team a 53-45 lead with a drop-step and two-hand slam with 2:25 left, which put Thrive on the precipice of victory.
Marjon Skillman with the dropstep and hammer. Thrive up 53-45 with 2:25 to go. pic.twitter.com/DJ7fby9DMc
— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) March 11, 2026
Hammond finished with 13 points and three three-pointers, while junior Jamar Young and senior Kim Ross combined for 17 points off the bench. Young posted nine points, six rebounds and three assist, with Ross scored four of his eight points on a pair of four-quarter and-one finishes in the paint. Senior Teriyon Page, meanwhile, led the defense with four steals, with three of them coming in the fourth quarter.
Kim Ross with the and-one to give Thrive a 51-45 lead. 3:22 to go. pic.twitter.com/rMkcYabsl7
— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) March 11, 2026
Ferris and Kennedy each chipped in eight points for New Egypt, with Kennedy also grabbing five rebounds. Reynolds hit a pair of first-half threes to finish up his career with a six-point effort.
New Egypt’s deepest ever run into the NJSIAA Tournament will not end in the state final at Rutgers University, which will host Thrive vs. Malcolm X Shabazz of Newark in the Group I final Sunday at 6 p.m. The Warriors won four straight road games in the South Jersey Group I playoffs, which included shocking the top three seeds in that section. Thrive represented another level of opponent, with the Titans entering Wednesday ranked No. 17 in the state by NJ Advance Media and coming off a sectional-championship run in Central Jersey Group I in which they limited their four opponents to an average of 29.25 points — including three games of 25 points or fewer.
“When we keep the game that close against a team that good, it’s a good feeling but obviously it’s disappointing to come up short,” Arnold said. “We stuck with them closer than most other Shore teams, so that’s a good feeling. We played our hardest.
“All the pressure was on them. We were a 14 seed, so we were just coming here to have fun and play our best ball.”
New Egypt junior Paul Kennedy shoots over Thrive senior Marjon Skillman. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)
Arnold ends his career as New Egypt’s all-time leading scorer with 1,695 points and capped his four years with the Warriors by averaging 16.6 points, seven rebounds, 6.2 assists and three steals per game during the NJSIAA Tournament. It was a fitting end for Arnold and his teammates after a disappointing 8-12 start that nearly landed the Warriors out of the playoffs altogether.
“We were disappointed with (the regular season), but once we knew we were in and we were facing Haddon Township first round, we felt like we could make a run,” Arnold said. “That was a big game. Once we won that, we knew we could keep going.”
Four of New Egypt’s starters are set to graduate in the spring, with Kennedy the lone non-senior in the starting five of Arnold, Ferris, Reynolds and Dylan Harper.
“We have always been so close,” Arnold said of the seniors. “We have been best friends for however long, so that kept us together through everything this year. Once we made the playoffs, we told each other, ‘Let’s just stick together.’ I don’t know if it has fully hit us yet. This is the first (sectional title) ever and it might be the last one. Who knows? It is history and we are kind of settling in and realizing what we have done.”
“The only issue is, the band is breaking up,” Hughes said. “We had a great farewell tour here. Now, we’re going to go our separate ways and they are probably happy they don’t have to hear me in practice anymore saying the same stuff. But these kids are amazing. They gave me four great years and I’ll have their back for life.”
