March to Remember: Rumson, New Egypt Play for History
There are only two Shore Conference boys basketball teams still playing in the 2025-26 season and two weeks ago, both would have described their respective seasons as disappointing.
But that was in February and, as the saying goes, this is March.
Rumson entered the NJSIAA Tournament at a respectable 16-8 overall after finishing fourth place in the Shore Conference Class A North standings and getting bounced in the Shore Conference Tournament round of 16. That netted the Bulldogs the No. 7 seed in the Central Group II playoffs, which was a modest showing considering they returned three starters from a sectional finalist, including an 6-foot-9 All-Shore Player in Luke Cruz.
That No. 7 seed turned out to be a positive, as it kept Rumson on the side of the bracket opposite No. 1 seed Wall and two teams – Holmdel and Manasquan – that beat the Bulldogs during the regular season.
In New Egypt’s case, the regular season was closer to devastating than it was disappointing. With a week before the NJSIAA Tournament cutoff date, the Warriors were outside the top 16 of the South Jersey Group I section and even after rallying to qualify with three wins in their last four games before the cutoff, they had a lower power-point total than Keansburg – the No. 16 seed in the Central Jersey section. With four returning seniors in the starting lineup from a team that finished 12-13 while playing in a challenging division in 2024-25, this season appeared to be all but lost.
Once the tournament started, however, New Egypt found itself. As the No. 14 seed, the Warriors picked off the top three seeds in the South Jersey section, plus No. 6 Penns Grove to win the program’s first ever sectional championship.
During the most important days of the season, Rumson and New Egypt have been at their best and after claiming sectional championships for themselves, all indications are both will have to be at their absolute best to keep their seasons going.
NJSIAA Group Semifinals
At Monroe High School
Group II
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Rumson-Fair Haven (20-8) vs. Middle Township (18-11), 5 p.m.
Teams at a Glance
Rumson-Fair Haven – Central Jersey Group II Champion
Head Coach: George Sourlis
Last Group Final Appearance: None
Road to the Semifinal: Defeated No. 10 Point Pleasant Boro, 75-74 (OT); No. 2 Metuchen, 59-27; No. 3 Ocean, 67-58; No. 5 Manasquan, 47-33
Projected Lineup
Casey Moore, Jr., 6-0, Guard
Luke Lydon, Sr., 5-11, Guard
Clint Martin, Fr., 6-1, Guard
Blake Ahmann, Sr., 6-3, Forward
Luke Cruz, Sr., 6-9, Forward
Off the Bench
Zach Halpern, Sr., 6-1, Guard/Forward
Drew Cavise, Sr., 6-3, Guard/Forward
Middle Township – South Jersey Group II Champion
Head Coach: LaMarr Greer
Last Group Final Appearance: 2002
Road to the Semifinal: Defeated No. 13 Barnegat, 77-52; No. 12 Sterling, 79-53; No. 1 Haddonfield, 50-45; No. 2 Camden, 67-64
Projected Lineup
Mason Murawski, Jr., 6-2, Guard
Angelo Panzini, So., 5-10, Guard
Chase Moore, Sr., 6-5, Guard/Forward
Alex Daniel, Sr., 6-1, Forward
Kanye Perkins, Jr., 6-7, Forward
Off the Bench
Adam Bouabbache, Sr., 6-2, Forward
Michael Farrow, Jr., 6-2, Guard
It is fitting that the two Group II semifinalists at Monroe on Tuesday will be playing one another considering their journeys to get to this point are so similar. In each of the past two seasons, Rumson and Middle both lost in their respective sectional finals to the same opponent – Rumson to Manasquan and Middle to Camden – and finally conquered that same opponent in a hostile road environment in Friday’s sectional final.
At the same time, both programs have a recent sectional championship to their names, in part, because their nemesis was moved out of the way in that particular season. Rumson-Fair Haven won the 2022 Central Jersey Group II championship while Manasquan was classified in Group III and Middle won the 2023 South Jersey Group II title after Camden was disqualified from the state tournament for its role in a brawl with rival Camden Eastside. Coincidentally, that 2023 Middle team lost to Manasquan in the Group II semifinal at Central Regional and the 2022 Rumson team fell to Camden at Egg Harbor High School.
For the South Jersey champion Panthers, they are attempting to reach the Group II championship game since winning the state title in 2002. They are coached by their most accomplished basketball alumnus, LaMarr Greer, who led Middle to back-to-back Group II championships in 1993 and 1994 and was a McDonald’s All-American before going on to play at Florida State.
Rumson, meanwhile, is still seeking its first trip to a state final and are 0-4 all-time in the group semifinal round. The Bulldogs were overmatched by Camden in both 2017 and 2022 and lost a tight, low-scoring game to Haddonfield in 2018. They also fell to Gateway in the 1973 Group II semifinal.
While Middle’s coach is its most distinguished player, Rumson is coached by its most decorated head basketball coach. George Sourlis spent 30 seasons as the head coach of the girls basketball program at Rumson, where he developed the Bulldogs into a Group II contender that won 14 sectional championship – including 10 in a row from 2000 to 2009 – and five overall state championships.
Both Greer and Sourlis are now trying to transfer their legendary status to coaching boys basketball and one of them will take a huge step on Tuesday night in Monroe. On the court, both have battle-tested teams that mix size, athleticism and skill, with the 6-foot-9 Cruz an encapsulation off all three attributes. During the tournament, Cruz is averaging 25 points, 13.75 rebounds and 2.75 blocks per game.
Rumson has a number of players who have proven capable of taking on leading scoring roles while Cruz was sidelined due to injury at three different times this season. Senior Luke Lydon went off for 38 points in a December win at Red Bank Catholic, senior Blake Ahmann posted 35 points and 18 rebounds in a regular-season win at Manasquan and freshman Clint Martin averaged 16.3 points per game during a seven-game stretch in January, with Cruz out of the lineup the first five of those games.
During the NJSIAA Tournament, Lydon, Ahmann and Martin are all settling into their altered roles with Cruz back and playing at 100 percent effectiveness. Throw in well-rounded junior point guard Casey Moore and hard-working senior sixth-man Zach Halpern and the pieces are fitting at the right time for Rumson.
While Middle’s defensive play will be centered around either containing or working around Cruz, Rumson will have to worry about two top offensive threats for Middle. Junior Mason Murawski is the team’s leading scorer at 13.3 points per game, while 6-foot-5 senior Chase Moore is second at 12.4 while leading the Panthers with 6.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Junior Kanye Perkins will also be a concern for the Bulldogs as a 6-7 presence around the rim for Middle.
If you are looking for clues through common opponents, Rumson with Cruz on the floor played CBA much closer (50-44) than Middle did (74-53) but Middle played Lenape (65-58) than Rumson did (75-45). The caveat is Rumson did not have Cruz vs. Lenape in that December loss, so there may not be much to glean from comparing the two teams. Middle does have a loss to a Sayreville team that beat Holmdel at the buzzer, but Rumson also struggled vs. Holmdel this season with a 1-2 record vs. the Hornets.
Whatever matchup advantages may or may not exist, Tuesday is a golden opportunity for both programs and for Rumson, it is a chance to go where no Bulldogs team has gone before.
The Pick: Rumson, 55-51
Group I
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
New Egypt (15-14) vs. Thrive Charter (21-5), 5 p.m.
Teams at a Glance
New Egypt – South Jersey Group I Champion
Head Coach: Mick Hughes
Last Group Final Appearance: None
Road to the Semifinal: Defeated No. 3 Haddon Twp., 42-36; No. 6 Penns Grove, 47-48; No. 2 Palmyra, 58-56 (OT); No. 1 Salem, 48-46 (OT)
Projected Lineup
Nolan Arnold, Sr., 6-4, Guard
Ryan Reynolds, Sr., 6-0, Guard
Dylan Harper, Sr., 5-10, Guard
Clyde Ferris, Sr., 6-4, Forward
Paul Kennedy, Jr., 6-4, Forward
Off the Bench
Jake Milicia, Jr., 6-4, Forward
Thrive Charter – Central Jersey Group I Champion
Head Coach: Khalid Lewis
Last Sectional Semifinal Appearance: 2025
Road to the Final: Defeated No. 16 Keansburg, 96-25; No. 8 Henry Hudson, 80-44; No. 4 Shore, 73-25; No. 2 Point Pleasant Beach, 48-23
Projected Lineup
Tyler Hammond, Sr., 6-0, Guard
Javion Cesar-Jones, Sr., 6-4, Guard
Sean Turner, Jr., 6-0, Guard
Teriyon Page, Sr., 6-1, Guard
Marjon Skillman, Sr., 6-4, Forward
Off the Bench
Jamar Young, Jr., 6-1, Guard
New Egypt has been the underdog in every one of its NJSIAA Tournament games thus far, but to call the Warriors underdogs Wednesday would be an understatement.
When the Warriors shocked third-seeded Haddon Township in the first round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs, they immediately turned their attention to winning the whole section. Coach Mick Hughes indicated that he and his team suspected Haddon Township would be the toughest team New Egypt would play before the sectional final and once the Warriors actually made it to the sectional final at top-seeded Salem, they were used to the style of play Salem was likely to lean on in the championship game.
Now, New Egypt faces a Thrive Charter squad that can dominate in many ways. The Titans can overpower teams in the paint, catch fire from the perimeter, squeeze the life out of teams on defense, or pressure offenses into turnovers that speed up the game.
On top of that, Thrive has done nothing but end Shore Conference seasons during the tournament. On the way to winning their second straight Central Jersey Group I championship, the Titans routed Keansburg, Henry Hudson, Shore Regional and Point Pleasant Beach in consecutive games. Thrive held three of those opponents to 26 points or fewer (Keansburg, Shore and Point Beach) and Saturday’s 48-23 win over Point Beach was the only game decided by fewer than 36 points.
It is unlikely New Egypt will avoid becoming the fifth Shore victim to Thrive’s Group I machine, but if any team has the magic to make things interesting, it would have to be New Egypt. The Warriors have prospered since committing to playing a 2-3 zone during these playoffs and it stands to reason that will be the move Wednesday vs. Thrive. More than the defense itself, the strategy change has given New Egypt a style and an identity to embrace and given that it has already netted the program its first ever sectional championship, it will not be hard for the New Egypt players to fully buy into that identity on Wednesday.
Thrive will undoubtedly test New Egypt senior point guard Nolan Arnold, who has been the leader for the Warriors during the current run. Classmates Clyde Ferris and Ryan Reynolds have had major scoring impacts as well, but Arnold’s ball-handling, pinpoint passing and understanding of the offense and his teammates within it have made New Egypt hard to stop, particularly in crunch time.
It goes without saying, New Egypt will have to make more shots than it normally would and Thrive will have to miss more than normal. Even if an extreme shooting night tips the scales in New Egypt’s favor, the glass will be a concern. Titans forward Marjon Skillman and Javion Cesar-Jones led a dominant effort on the boards vs. Point Beach and while New Egypt can boast two true 6-foot-4 front-court players in Ferris and junior Paul Kennedy, Skillman and Cesar-Jones are a different kind of 6-4.
The New Egypt story is already one of the best in the state, regardless of what happens on Wednesday at Monroe. The town already celebrated its high school team winning a sectional championship as a No. 14 seed and if their Warriors can just keep it close going to the fourth quarter, they should throw them another parade through town.
The Pick: Thrive, 61-38
