NJSIAA Boys Basketball Tournament Preview: The Shore in Group 1

NJSIAA Tournament: Group I Playoff Preview

Three Shore Conference teams went into the 2024 Central Jersey Group I Tournament with teams they felt could win a sectional championship in most seasons and two of the three met their end against a College Achieve team that was a once-in-a-generation anomaly for Group I. The Knights steamrolled the rest of Group I — including Shore Regional and Point Pleasant Beach — on the way to a state title in their only season as an NJSIAA member school. The state and College Achieve agreed that the program would leave the NJSIAA for the 2024-25, so there is renewed hope for Point Beach, Shore, Henry Hudson and Keyport in Central Jersey this season.

While it will not be impossible for one of those teams to take home the trophy, it certainly won’t be easy. Thrive Charter is the No. 1 seed and a reincarnation of Trenton Catholic — a program that was highly competitive in Non-Public B and often ranked in the state before it closed as a non-public institution and reopened its doors as a charter school. On top of the addition of Thrive, Bound Brook rejoins Group I after about a decade in Group II, where the Crusaders had some good runs in the postseason.

Thrive is attempting to become the third different charter school of the last three years to win the Central Jersey Group I title, with Eagle Academy preceding College Achieve as the champion in 2023-24.

For the first time in 15 years, the Shore Conference will have a team in South Jersey Group I thanks to the addition of New Egypt. The Warriors are the first team since Point Beach in 2009-10 to represent the Shore Conference in the South Jersey Group I bracket, which has typically been a deeper, more competitive tournament than its Central Jersey counterpart, although the emergence of the charter schools of the last several years has closed the gap.

Central Jersey Group I

Shore Teams in the Field: No. 3 Point Pleasant Beach, No. 6 Henry Hudson, No. 7 Keyport, No. 13 Shore
Top Seed: Thrive Charter
Defending Champion: College Achieve Asbury Park
Favorite: Thrive Charter. The school that was formerly Trenton Catholic until it closed its doors and reopened as a Charter outfit, Thrive has made its mark in its first official year of existence and is the latest pop-up charter school to enter the Central Jersey Group I Tournament as a favorite. Eagle Academy did it as the No. 1 seed in 2023, College Achieve steamrolled the competition amid plenty of grumbling from the stands and in the media a year ago and now it’s Thrive’s turn to see if it has assembled a championship team in year one.

Dark Horse: No. 8 Bound Brook. The Crusaders have been a contender within Central Jersey Group II for the last several years and now return to Group I as a team that could be dangerous as a battle-tested team with program pedigree. Bound Brook’s draw is not ideal – if it can beat No. 9 Piscataway Magnet, it will likely head to Trenton to play Thrive in the quarterfinals – but veteran coach Anthony Melesurgo will have his team as ready as it can be for the challenge. Keep an eye on Shore as well. The Blue Devils have been inconsistent lately, but they have a winnable first-round game vs. No. 4 Manville that could lead into another winnable game in the sectional quarterfinals.

Bracket Breakdown: While Shore battles on the Thrive side of the bracket, Point Beach, Henry Hudson and Keyport will all have a chance to battle No. 2 Middlesex for a spot in the championship game. Middlesex won its lone game of the season vs. the Shore Conference, beating Shore Regional in January.

Heading into the tournament, Point Beach is playing like a team that looks poised to make it to a sectional final. The Garnet Gulls are 13-2 over their last 15 games with losses to Wall (No. 5 in Central Group II) and Christian Brothers Academy (No. 3 in South Non-Public A and the runner-up in the Shore Conference Tournament). Point Beach has a balanced, athletic roster that will challenge every team on its side of the bracket.

Henry Hudson and Keyport are two teams that have made noise in Central Group I in recent years and are both hoping this is the year that they break through. Led by senior Jack Fitzpatrick, Henry Hudson is very similar to the roster that made the CJ Group I semifinals a year ago, while Keyport has had a bounceback season thanks to the trio of Nico Dispenza, Andrei Matthews and Kai Arrington.

No. 10 New Providence also deserves a mention as a potential finalist from the bottom half of the bracket. The Pioneers played a quality schedule and should be ready for what the Central Jersey Group I bracket will throw at them.

Championship Prediction: Thriver Charter over Point Beach. Point Beach’s goal under coach Ed Goodman on a year-to-year basis is to be the last Ocean County team playing. Goodman might get Point Beach to that platform this year, as the Garnet Gulls are playing their best basketball and have a favorable draw to boot. Beating Thrive might be a challenge too tall for the Garnet Gulls at the moment, but they are ready for the opportunity and inching closer to a championship would be beneficial for what remains a young team.

Round-by-Round Predictions

First Round
(1) Thrive Charter over (16) College Achieve Central
(8) Bound Brook over (9) Piscataway Magnet
(5) Dunellen over (12) Highland Park
(13) Shore over (4) Manville
(3) Point Beach over (14) South Hunterdon
(6) Henry Hudson over (11) Florence
(10) New Providence over (7) Keyport
(2) Middlesex over (15) Perth Amboy Magnet

Quarterfinals
(1) Thrive Charter over (8) Bound Brook
(13) Shore over (5) Dunellen
(3) Point Beach over (6) Henry Hudson
(2) Middlesex over (10) New Providence

Semifinals
(1) Thrive Charter over (13) Shore
(3) Point Beach over (2) Middlesex

Championship

(1) Thrive Charter over (3) Point Beach

 

South Jersey Group I

Shore Teams in the Field: No. 10 New Egypt
Top Seed: Pitman
Defending Champion: Pitman
Favorite: Pitman. The reigning sectional champions won the title as a No. 2 seed last year and this time around, they flip seeds with No. 2 KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy, which was the No. 1 seed last year when it lost to Pitman in the sectional final. Elijah Crispin is one of the state’s top scorers at just over 28 points per game and he is likely to reach the 2,000-point mark for his career in Pitman’s final regular-season game on Monday.

Dark Horse: No. 11 Salem. The Rams have won five straight going into the NJSIAA Tournament and four of their losses this season were the result of a forfeit due to the use of an ineligible player. Even with the No. 11 seed, Salem has a draw that could work in its favor, with the Rams set up for a possible run to the sectional semifinals.

Bracket Breakdown: New Egypt is the Shore’s lone representative in South Jersey Group I and it marks the first time the Shore Conference has been represented in the South Jersey Group I bracket since the 2009-10 season. The Warriors have a junior-led team that has improved as the season has progressed, giving them a chance to pull a road upset in round one vs. a Woodstown team that handled New Egypt in December at New Egypt’s Warrior Classic.

As for the other contenders, KIPP Cooper Norcross is out to finish the job this year after losing to Pitman in last year’s final, while No. 5 Woodbury is a tested team that could upend No. 4 Audubon and No. 1 Pitman to get to a sectional final.

Championship Prediction: Woodbury over KIPP Cooper Norcross. Sophomore Devin Williams leads Woodbury into the tournament averaging 18.5 points per game, although that average was at 20.4 through the end of January. If Williams can find a second wind, Woodbury will be hard to put away, even for Pitman and KIPP Cooper Norcross.

Round-by-Round Predictions

First Round
(1) Pitman over (16) Wildwood
(9) Burlington City over (8) Penns Grove
(5) Woodbury over (12) Glassboro
(4) Audubon over (13) Paulsboro
(3) Haddon Twp over (14) Clayton
(11) Salem over (6) Palmyra
(7) Woodstown over (10) New Egypt
(2) KIPP Cooper Norcross over (15) Maple Shade

Quarterfinals
(1) Pitman over (9) Burlington City
(5) Woodbury over (4) Audubon
(11) Salem over (3) Haddon Twp.
(2) KIPP Cooper Norcross over (7) Woodstown

Semifinals
(5) Woodbury over (1) Pitman
(2) KIPP Cooper Norcross over (11) Salem

Championship
(5) Woodbury over (2) KIPP Cooper Norcross