JSBL: Monday’s Quarterfinal Previews

The Jersey Shore Basketball League playoffs tip-off beginning on Monday night. All 8 teams automatically qualify in the single elimination bracket. Please check back on Tuesday morning for the other two quarterfinal game previews.

 

Jersey Shore Basketball League Quarterfinals

Monday, July 28, 2025

at Manasquan High School

7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

Free Admission

(1) Sterns Trailer (6-2) vs (8) WCT Warriors (2-6), 7 p.m.

Sterns Trailer Playoff Roster (Most Recent College/High School)

Bryan Antoine, 6-5, Guard (Radford/Ranney)

Parker Dortch, 6-7, Forward (Anderson/Northern Burlington)

Jalen Gaffney, 6-3, Guard (Florida Atlantic/Westtown School PA)

Kevin Mateo, 6-1, Guard (Brookdale/Hackensack)

Rasheen Merlin, 6-9, Center (Winston-Salem State/Washington Twp)

Larry Smith, 6-1, Guard (Matawan)

***Jakari Spence, 6-2, Guard (Jacksonville/Toms River North)***

Evan Weiner, 6-7, Forward (OCC/Manchester)

Derrick Woods, 6-8, Forward (Saint Peter’s/Pennsbury PA)

*Eddie Hendrix, 6-4, Forward (Monmouth Regional)*

*Hendrix will be Sterns Trailer’s regular category playoff exception*

***Spence is suspended for the first playoff game due to an ejection for arguing with an official in the final regular season game***

WCT Warriors Playoff Roster (Most Recent College/High School)

Jinup Dobuol, 6-8, Forward (Monmouth/Phoenix Prep AZ)

Chima Ekekeugbor, 6-5, Forward (Barton/CBA)

Tim Gjonballa, 6-9, Center (William Paterson/Jackson Liberty)

Griffin Linstra, 6-5, Guard (Tufts/Manasquan)

Zayon Marsh, 6-6, Forward (Goldey-Beacom/Immaculate Conception)

Thomas Menegus, 6-8, Center (Georgian Court/Southern Regional)

Jorge Mercado, 6-4, Guard (Seton Hall/Columbia Secondary NY)

Quinn Peters, 6-6, Forward (Monmouth/Manasquan)

Ryan Savoy, 6-4, Forward (Nichols State/Lakewood)

Andre Wells, 6-0, Guard (William Paterson/Matawan)

*Ryan Frauenheim, 5-9, Guard (Babson/Manasquan)*

**Ryan Pettit, 6-2, Guard (Lafayette/Rutgers Prep**

*Frauenheim will be the WCT Warriors regular category playoff exception*

**Pettit will be the WCT Warriors special category (active D1) playoff exception**

 

For the second summer in a row, Sterns Trailer and the WCT Warriors will meet up in the playoffs. The teams squared off once this season with Sterns Trailer coming out on top by a score of 126-112. The first matchup was dominated by 2025 MVP Jakari Spence who scored 51 points on an incredible 22-for-34 from the field. The good news for the WCT Warriors is that the MVP will not be in uniform since he is serving a one-game suspension due to an ejection in the last game of the regular season. The bad news for the WCT Warriors is that the three-time defending champions still have a loaded roster.

Sterns Trailer keys to the game:

1. Run the offense through Kevin Mateo

In the regular season championship victory over Sea View Jeep, it was Kevin Mateo who picked up the slack in the second half after the Spence ejection. Mateo finished with a team-leading 40 points. When given the opportunity to shoot at high volumes, Mateo has proven that he can heat up and take over games against some of the best teams in the league.

2. Continue to be the more physical team

In the 2024 playoff match-up featuring a handful of the same players on each team, Sterns Trailer was able to be the aggressor with tight defense, strong drives to the basket, and solid box-outs. They are the older and far more experienced team and are stronger across the board. Players like Antoine, Dortch, and Gaffney have played really high level basketball. They need to show a team full of active college players and a couple recent college graduates the difference between the two levels of basketball.

3. Avoid getting into a three point shootout

As good as Sterns Trailer has been, they sometimes go through stretches where they settle for long three point shots. Despite their run of dominance, they have not been a great outside shooting team this year as they shoot just 31% from deep as a team including Spence’s 39% from deep. Mateo is shooting about 35% from three and Gaffney is around 33%. The only other player with solid outside shooting numbers is Woods, but he has attempted just 11 triples on the season.

WCT Warriors keys to the game:

1. Embrace the role of the underdog

No one is expecting a group of predominantly college kids to defeat a group of predominantly professionals who have won the last three championships. There is zero pressure on the last place team so they should play loose and pressure free. If they can take the game one possession at a time on both offense and defense, and manage to stay in the game late into the second half, real pressure will start to build on Sterns Trailer, even in a summer league.

2. Get Andre Wells the ball in transition

Despite all the star power on the top-seeded team’s roster, its the WCT Warriors that have the most explosive player on the court. Wells, a 1st Team All-JSBL Selection, was absent when the teams squared off earlier in the season. He did not have his best game when the teams met in last year’s playoffs. If he can get going in transition and draw some early fouls on some of the Sterns defenders, it will open up the court for opportunities for his teammates.

3. Take care of the ball

In the first match-up, the WCT Warriors crushed Sterns Trailer on the glass with a 51-36 margin, but they gave it back in the turnover battle losing it 15-7. Some of that can be contributed to not having their point guard. Regardless, they are going to have a hard enough time scoring on and defending against the league’s top team conventionally, they do not need to give them easy baskets.

The Pick:

Sterns Trailer 112-WCT Warriors 88

The three-time defending champions are too strong, too experienced, and too talented to lose this game if they are remotely close to having a normal roster. The WCT Warriors could hang around for a half or so if Sterns Trailer decides to play with their food.

 

(2) Intern Helpers (6-2) vs (7) Ortho-NJ (2-6), 8:30 p.m.

Intern Helpers Playoff Roster (Most Recent College/High School)

Ahmad Biggins, 5-8, Guard (South Suburban/Atlantic City)

Leon Daniels, 6-5, Guard (Alabama State/Atlantic City)

Jaymere Hadden, 6-4, Forward (Stockton/Millville)

Emmett Hall, 6’8, Center (Mendham)

Noah Harris, 6-1, Guard (Southern New Hampshire/Rutgers Prep)

Christian Lyons, 6-6, Forward (Gloucester CC/Pennsauken)

LJ Robinson, 6-5, Guard (Drew/Manchester)

Ray Salnave, 6-3, Guard (UMBC/Cardozo NY)

James Stanback, 6-7, Guard (Stockton/Keansburg)

Josh Treadwell, 6-5, Guard (Coppin State/Marist)

*Brandon Alexander, 6-5, Guard*

*Charles Funchess, 6-8, Forward (Hampton)*

**Chris Smith, 6-2, Guard, (Louisville/St. Benedict’s/Lakewood)**

*One of either Alexander OR Funchess can be activated as the team’s regular category playoff exception*

**Smith will Intern Helpers’ special category (former NBA) playoff exception**

Ortho-NJ Playoff Roster (Most Recent College/High School)

Mike Aaman, 6-8, Center (Wagner/Raritan)

Colin Byrne, 6-4, Guard (Stonehill/Middletown North)

Tommy Conniff, 6-11, Center (Lehigh/Oratory Prep)

Mike Dunne, 6-4, Guard (Hartford/Matawan)

Doug Edert, 6-2, Guard (Bryant/Bergen Catholic)

Justin Fuerbacher, 6-5, Forward (Middlebury/CBA)

Aaron Goldstein, 6-0, Guard (Staten Island/Xaverian NY)

Kavion McClain, 5-10, Guard (Monmouth/Whitehaven TN)

Denzel Mensah, 6-3, Guard (PSU Wilkes-Barre/South Plainfield)

George Papas, 6-5, Guard (Monmouth/Union Catholic)

Jaycen Santucci, 6-4, Guard (Georgian Court/Central Regional)

*Jesse Steele, 5-8, Guard (Monmouth/Millburn)*

*Trevis Wyche, 6-1, Guard (Saint Peter’s/St. Peter’s Prep)*

*One of either Steele OR Wyche can be activated as the team’s regular category playoff exception*

 

Intern Helpers and Ortho-NJ matched up once earlier in the season with Intern Helpers earning a 101-98 victory in a game where Ray Salnave exploded for 32 points. Little can be surmised from that match-up as both teams were missing numerous players that will be expected to be present for the playoffs.

Intern Helpers keys to the game:

1. Pressure the three point line to prevent Ortho-NJ from getting hot

Intern Helpers has had the most pressure oriented defense in the league this season often picking teams up in full court man-to-man defense. If both teams have all their big names present, it will be crucial to get out and defend sharpshooters like McClain, Papas, and Edert who are all capable of taking over a game without stepping foot inside the arc.

2. Put your strongest body on Mike Aaman and force him to switch on defense

Ortho-NJ has made a living winning playoff games by pounding the ball inside to their big lefty. Aaman has been able to successfully back down every post defender that he has faced in this league. He is going to score his points inside, it is important for Intern Helpers to put length on him with players like Lyons, Hall, and Funchess if they opt to active him to make his shots as difficult as possible to finish. Offensively, their goal should be to force him to switch onto guards like Smith, Treadwell, Daniels, and Biggins in an effort to tire him out and score. They will have to hit a few jumpers early on to get him out of drop coverage.

3. Blitz the ball out of Kavion McClain’s hands

Ortho-NJ was winless until McClain showed up and since then they have won two games with McClain finishing with 36 and a league-record 71 points respectively. Ideally, they can put a long, quick defender like Daniels or Stanback on him to make him hit difficult shots. Similarly to Aaman, they also need to make him work on defense possibly by isolating him in the post with a strong guard.

Ortho-NJ keys to the game:

1. Play together and stay composed

Intern Helpers are a well-oiled machine in terms of players that have played together, built team chemistry, and understand each other’s games. Ortho-NJ has been a revolving door of different players that not all played together much. They have not handled adversity well as three different players have quit the team mid-game and others have received ejections. They need to take their focus off the referees and the other team and focus on themselves in order to find success. To their credit, they have done a much better job with that the last two games.

2. Find balance in the back court

Ortho-NJ’s back court is loaded in talent and scoring ability, but their are a ton of mouths to feed on offense. The team has looked best with McClain running the show at point guard, but players like Papas, Edert, and Wyche are all capable of looking good on the ball as well. It should be a matter of finding the hot hand early and going back to the well until the defense stops it.

3. Rotate the front court

There have been stretches this season where Ortho-NJ has played Aaman or Conniff far too many minutes. It’s a lot to ask a center to play 35+ minutes in the JSBL. If they can rotate the two efficiently and even find stretches where they can use some of their forwards in that role, they can keep them fresh and effective.

The Pick:

Intern Helpers 97-Ortho-NJ 96

There is not much of a talent gap in this game. Ortho-NJ underachieved significantly during the regular season, but are traditionally one of the better teams come playoff team. This one can go either way, but we will take the team that has had more stability this season.