OIB Ortho Boys Basketball Team of the Week: Middletown North

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

The highlight of the Middletown North boys basketball season in 2023-24 was a win over rival Middletown South in the Shore Conference Coaches Cup championship game — a triumph that went a long way in helping the Lions get over a season that ended with a losing record, no wins against a brutal division schedule and no appearance in the Shore Conference Tournament.

So, when this year’s Lions team dropped the rivalry showdown against Middletown South on Jan. 3, they looked at the bright side. Last year, the win over Middletown South was the highlight of the season. This year, the Lions have resolved to make it the turning point.

Since dropping to 3-4 with the loss to its crosstown rival, Middletown North has gone 13-2 over its last 15 games and will charge into the Shore Conference Tournament next week as the Shore Conference Class B Coastal division champion, as well as the third Shore Sports Insider OIB Ortho Team of the Week of 2025.

Colin Byrne with 22 points tonight — all after the 1st quarter — in Middletown North’s 50-33 win over Henry Hudson. Midd North is 9-2 in its last 11 and Byrne is averaging 19.7 per game for the season. pic.twitter.com/UrlLRorXFh

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) January 28, 2025

The division championship for Middletown North is its first since sharing the outright Class A North championship with Christian Brothers Academy in 2010-11, when the two teams split their regular-season series and beat everyone else in the division. As for the Shore Conference Tournament, Middletown North is back in the field after a two-year absence and on track to earn its highest seed in the tournament since drawing the No. 7 seed in 2017.

Middletown North’s last five wins helped the Lions wrap up the Class B Coastal title, including two wins over their primary competition for the championship. The Lions upended Henry Hudson twice in a span of eight days, clobbering the Admirals at home, 50-33, then beating the 2023-24 Class B Central champions, 56-44, on the road to officially clinch the title.

Senior Colin Byrne has been Middletown North’s standout since day one and is averaging 18.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists on the season. Sophomore Nate Tyburczy has been a reliable running mate at 9.2 points, while junior Brayden Marcotte (5.5 points, 3.0 assists) has been an unsung distributor and defender.

The difference-maker during the last several weeks has been 6-foot-6 junior Eddie Lopez. After spending the first month of the season recovering from a foot injury, the junior has rounded into form and has re-emerged to form a dynamic duo with Byrne. Lopez is averaging 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game and since Middletown North’s trip to Springfield, Mass. for the Hoophall Invitational, Lopez has posted 14.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 blocks in 10 games. Middletown North is 9-1 in those games.

Lopez’s return has also brought out the best in Byrne, who is averaging a full assist more per game over the last 10 games as he did during the first 12 while still scoring 18.9 per game.

Middletown North projects for a seed in the Nos. 10-to-13 range of the Shore Conference Tournament and, with a win in the first round of the SCT, will likely be guaranteed a home game in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III playoffs as well.