KWCC Championship Preview: Wall, Freehold Twp. Begin 2026 Rivalry

41st Kevin Williams Christmas Classic

Jim Ruhnke Bracket Championship Game

Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025

At RWJBarnabas Health Arena, Toms River

7 p.m.

 

Freehold Township vs. Wall

Freehold Township

Head Coach: Todd Smith
Record: 4-1
Tournament Seed: 3
Current SSI Ranking: 7

Road to the Final

Quarterfinals: The Patriots erased an 11-point third-quarter deficit to pull past sixth-seeded Central, 58-52, behind 23 points and six rebounds from junior forward Jake Schultzel. Junior forward John O’Neill added 13 points, six rebounds and two assists for the Patriots.

Semifinals: After falling behind, 12-4, through one full quarter, Freehold Township dominated second-seeded Jackson, 60-36, outscoring the Jaguars, 38-11, combined in the second and third quarters. Schultzel again led the way with 17 points and 10 boards, while junior guard Dakota Lasater turned in a spectacular defensive performance that held Jackson star guard George Boley to three points.

Starting Five (with KWCC averages)

Cole Gerigk, Jr., 5’11” (7.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.5 blocks)

Sam Hawksby, Jr., 5’10” (4.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steals)

Dakota Lasater, Jr., 5’10” (7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.5 steals)

Jake Schultzel, Jr., 6’4″ (20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks)

John O’Neill, Jr., 6’4″ (8.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.5 blocks)

KWCC/WOBM History

Freehold Township has been a staple of the Kevin Williams Classic for the better part of a decade and in 2016, Freehold Township won the championship against a stellar field. That was Freehold Township’s last and only championship at the tournament formerly known as the WOBM Christmas Classic, with the Patriots also reaching the championship game of the Steve Gepp Bracket in 2022, when the tournament was split into two brackets without any regard for the expected quality of the teams in either bracket. Freehold Township lost to Jackson in the Gepp Bracket final that year, while Manasquan dominated the Ruhnke Bracket on the way to winning both the Shore Conference and NJSIAA Group II Tournaments later that season.

 

Wall

Head Coach: Bob Klatt
Record: 4-0
Tournament Seed: 4
Current SSI Ranking: 9

Road to the Final

Quarterfinals: Senior guard Brian McKenna scored 10 of his 18 points during a second-quarter hot streak and Wall’s defense held Red Bank Catholic scoreless over the final five-plus minutes of the game to advance with a 44-34 victory over the fifth-seeded Caseys.

Semifinals: Facing a Manasquan team that it has not defeated this century, Wall held Manasquan scoreless for the first 13:48 of the game in establishing a 21-0 lead and went on to rout the top-seeded Warriors, 40-20, to exorcise a whole lot of demons for the players on this year’s team, as well as Wall players of the last two-and-a-half decades. Senior point guard Liam Killea led Wall with 15 points and McKenna pitched in 10 points and eight rebounds, as Wall never led by fewer than 11 points after taking a 12-0 lead in the first 3:30 of the game.

Starting Five (with KWCC averages)

Liam Killea, Sr., 5’10” (12.0 points, 2.5 assists)

Jake DeBrito, Sr., 6’0″ (3.0 points)

Dan Hennessy, Sr., 6’2″ (5.5 points)

Brian McKenna, Sr., 6’3″ (14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds)

Joey Ambrozy, Sr., 6’3″ (4.5 points, 5.5 rebounds)

KWCC/WOBM History

Wall is looking to win a Christmas Classic championship for a second straight year after winning the Steve Gepp Bracket in 2024 with three of this year’s starters (McKenna, Killea and Hennessy) also occupying starting spots a year ago as well. Despite many cracks at the WOBM Classic over the years, Wall had never played in a December championship game in Toms River prior to last year, making Tuesday’s game Wall’s first championship appearance ever in the top bracket of the tournament.

 

A Rivalry is Born

Wall and Freehold Township have met in each of the last two WOBM Christmas Classic Tournaments, with each team beating the other both no more than two points. With many of this year’s players playing key roles a year ago, Wall beat Freehold Township, 60-58, in the Steve Gepp Bracket semifinals and both teams went on to have seasons that suggested they would have been worthy of playing in last year’s top bracket.

This year, not only will the Crimson Knights and Patriots meet for a third year in a row and with the Jim Ruhnke Bracket championship on the line. They are also in the same division — a Shore Conference Class A Central division that also includes three other teams off to hot starts: Buc Holiday Classic finalist Howell (4-1), Middletown South (4-1), and Manalapan (3-1).

After playing for a Kevin Williams Classic championship on Tuesday, Wall and Freehold Township will meet again in 17 days for their first Class A Central clash and again 17 days after that for a Feb. 2 tilt that could have major division championship implications.

Both teams are athletic rosters made up of dual-sport athletes, with Wall more of a guard-heavy outfit that can break a game open from the perimeter and Freehold Township boasting more of an interior presence while lacking as much shooting as Wall has. The most glaring contrast between the teams is the collective age of the players, with Wall sporting an all-senior lineup and Freehold Township running out an all-junior starting five.

Beyond a Christmas Classic championship, with Southern Regional’s loss Monday to Lawrence — a team Freehold Township defeated on a neutral court on Dec. 20 — Tuesday’s championship game in Toms River will essentially be for the No. 3 ranking in the Shore Sports Insider Top 10 to open 2026, with Christian Brothers Academy (5-1) and Rumson-Fair Haven (6-0) likely to occupy the top two spots for a second straight week.