OIB Ortho Boys Basketball Team of the Week: Marlboro

2025 OIB Ortho/Shore Sports Insider Boys Basketball Team of the Week Series

In every year prior to the current 2024-25 season, this year’s Marlboro boys basketball team would have been eliminated from the Shore Conference Tournament before the final week of the regular season began. The Mustangs were 7-11 with two games to go before the SCT cutoff, which would not have been enough to reach a .500 winning percentage in time to qualify for the tournament under the rules in past years.

This season, however, Marlboro’s rugged schedule and its handful of impactful wins gave the Mustangs a chance to fight their way in and needing a pair of wins to guarantee that opportunity, they got the job done.

After dealing with frustrating losses and scattered injuries throughout the year, Marlboro beat both Ranney and Manalapan to qualify for the Shore Conference Tournament and made the most of their SCT opportunity by beating Barnegat Tuesday in the opening round. Its February rally makes Marlboro the fourth Shore Sports Insider OIB Boys Basketball Team of the Week in 2025.

Not only did Marlboro need to go 2-0 against two Class A North divisional opponents to qualify for the Shore Conference Tournament, but had to do so in two road games. First up was an opponent that ended up seeded higher than Marlboro: No. 13 Ranney. The Mustangs and Panthers played a tight game from start to finish, but Marlboro pulled out the 53-50 win in Tinton Falls, led by 21 points from sophomore Nolan Gong and 18 by senior Cole Newman on five three-pointers.

Three days later was another tight game on the road and once again, the Mustangs delivered. Gong (15 points) and Newman (13) were crucial again, but it was senior Dan Crasto leading the way for Marlboro with 18 points in the 56-51 win over the Braves. The Marlboro defense also executed a sound gameplan, completely shutting down Manalapan’s supporting cast. Top two scorers Aiden Sosinov and Dean Aviles combined for 49 points, but the rest of the team scored just two.

Those two wins not only secured a spot in the SCT for Marlboro, but when the dust settled ahead of Sunday’s seeding, Marlboro earned itself a home game against Barnegat — a team Marlboro beat, 71-43, during the regular season. Round two was much tighter, but Marlboro again got the better of the Bengals, fighting off Barnegat in a 51-42 win. Once again, Gong (22) and Newman (12) led the scoring charge for Marlboro.

Marlboro has played its recent stretch without two of its starters from early in the season due to injury: junior Christian Elmasri and sophomore Dylan McEwan. That could once again catch up with Marlboro when the Mustangs play at No. 1 seed Manasquan Thursday, but making it to Thursday’s round of 16 under difficult circumstances has given the young Mustangs a season highlight to look back on no matter what happens the rest of the way.