Senior All-Star Game: Boley Grabs MVP; Midd. North’s Lopez, Freehold’s Cush Regain Winning Feeling

MIDDLETOWN — At different points in their respective high school basketball careers, Jackson Township’s George “Geo” Boley and Middletown North’ Eddie Lopez decided to chase their basketball dream by leaving their home town team for the most competitive practice environment they could find.

In the end, both seniors found their way back home and represented their respective high schools one last time as teammates in Tuesday’s Shore Conference Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game at Collins Arena on the campus of Brookdale Community College. Boley earned game MVP honors with 23 points total and Eddie Lopez hit a pair of key three-pointers late while chipping in 11 to spark the Larson Ford/County Line Auto Body squad to victory in the four-team, three-game event.

Boley scored a game-high 16 points in a 62-55 win over a Sterns Trailer/OIB Ortho team led by the Wall trio of Brian McKenna, Liam Killea and Dan Hennessy and paced on the scoresheet by Brick Memorial’s Sean Collins (13 points). Boley scored the first four points of the Elam session, with Lopez hitting the free-throw that sealed the victory.

Each of the three games ended with an Elam finish, which stipulated that the winning team would be required to scored five points more than the point total of the team leading after the clock expired on regulation. At the end of game 1, Boley’s squad led the Wall trio and Co., 57-55 and promptly ended the game with a pair of drives to the basket by Boley, followed by a fastbreak outlet from Holmdel’s Jack Vallillo to Lopez, who was fouled attempting to convert the game-ending layup. The second of his two free throws hit the target of 62.

“This was kind of a full-circle moment for me,” Boley said. “I remember playing here in the Ocean County Eighth Grade All-Star Game four years ago, so it’s kind of fun to be part of both those events on the same court, one at the beginning and one at the end. I think it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life and always be able to look back on and say, ‘I got to be a part of this and play with my friends one last time.'”

Larson Ford/County Auto Body’s opponent in the final game of the event was OIB Ortho/WCT, which won game one, 72-70, over Seaview Jeep/Robin’s Nest on a pull-up by Rumson forward and Shore Sports Insider Player of the Year Luke Cruz. Southern guard Jake Sliwinski nearly helped Seaview Jeep/Robin’s Nest steal the game with a pair of threes during the Elam session and finished with a game-high 20 points, but Cruz capped a 14-point game one with the winning shot.

In the championship game, Boley led a more balanced scoring effort by scoring seven points while also handing out three assists. Freehold Boro’s Mike Cush and CBA’s Charlie Messano helped Larson Ford/County Line overcome an 11-2 start by OIB/Robin’s Nest, with Boley catching fire in the middle of game three, which was one 20-minute period separated by three break’s to allow for substitutions. Ranney’s Shaan Nayar, Cruz and Manalapan’s Dean Aviles led the scoring for OIB/Robin’s Nest, with Aviles and Nayar each scoring seven in the final game.

Down the stretch of the final showdown, Point Boro’s Jovin Steinmetz hit a three-pointer and a tough drive to the basket to tie the game, while Vallillo and Lopez each knocked down key three-pointers as well. Lopez’s three capped the scoring and gave his team a 46-43 lead at the end of the 20-minute period, then hit a three in the Elam stage to move Larson Ford/County Line to within two of the win with a 49-44 lead. Vallillo then sent a pass up ahead to Manasquan’s Jack O’Reilly, who finished in transition to win the game, 51-44.

Boley earned MVP honors for his 23 points in two games, which caps a First-Team All-Shore season for the well-traveled guard. Boley began his high school career at Roselle Catholic, before transferring to College Achieve Charter School in Asbury Park for his sophomore year. He was part of a sophomore group at College Achieve that included Jordan Pierre, who also participated in Tuesday’s Senior All-Star Game while representing Neptune High School. Following two years traveling to different counties, returned home to Jackson Memorial for his junior season, which he began by sitting for the required 30 days as a second-time transfer and still managed to produce an All-Shore season for the Jaguars.

“I feel like it worked out amazing for me,” Boley said. “I didn’t really get a chance to play much my first two years. Being at at Roselle Catholic with Simeon Wilcher, Mackenzie Mgbako and working out and training with them those practice really elevated my game to another level. At College Achieve, it was Deuce Jones, Nas Hart and those guys, so when I came back to Jackson, my mindset was different, my body was different, my skill set was different. Even though it was kind of rough those two years, not getting to play and get those reps up, the training and the mindset really helped me elevate my game.”

After moving schools twice in his first three years, the school moved on Boley. The Jackson Township School District voted to merge Jackson Memorial and Jackson Liberty into one Jackson Township High School, which is located at the site of what was once known as Jackson Liberty. It was Boley’s fourth different home gym in four years, so adjusting to a knew setting with new teammates has not been foreign to him.

With a chance to play with almost the same team as he played with in 2024-25, Boley helped Jackson go 18-7 with the first Shore Conference Class A South division championship for a Jackson school since Jackson Memorial in 2013-14. Jackson Liberty also won a Class B South title in 2018-19, which was the previous division title by a Jackson high school boys basketball program before this season. The Jaguars also knocked off East Brunswick on the road in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV quarterfinals behind a 25-point performance by Boley. He finished the season averaging 17.1 points, four rebounds, 3.1 assists while playing nearly every minute of every game.

Boley is ready for his next big move, which is still in the works as his senior high school season comes to a close. The coaching staff at Brookdale is hoping he plays his home games at Collins Arena next season, while Boley said he is weighing his options to play a post-grad year at a prep school, as well as interest from a handful of low-major Division I programs.

“I’m proud of our team,” Boley said. “I feel like we’re the best team to come out of Jackson — Jackson Memorial and Liberty. We worked hard all four years, even though I wasn’t with them for all four years. We had a goal this year and even though we weren’t able to achieve it, we got as close as we possibly could.”

Lopez Scratching Surface After Another Partial Season

Unlike Boley, Lopez did not begin his high school career far from home at a non-public power or the en vogue charter school. Instead he fought through injuries to carve out a foundation within the Middletown North program, which he began to do by the end of his sophomore season.

In his junior year, a foot injury stalled the start of his season and by the time he started to settle in for the stretch run, it was already February and Middletown North was bounced from the NJSIAA Tournament by then-defending Central Jersey Group III champion Freehold Boro in the first round.

Finally healthy, Lopez wanted to make the most of his senior year and he decided the best way for him to do so was to transfer to College Achieve, where he expected to practice against more than a dozen other basketball-serious players like him. In early late November, however, he had a change of heart and opted to re-enroll at Middletown North to play with his hometown teammates.

“I didn’t feel the pressure to have to carry the team,” Lopez said. “The guys made me feel at home, even when I first came back.”

Officially, the transfer to Middletown North was a second transfer for Lopez, which meant he would be required to sit the first 30 days of the 2025-26 season instead of the 22 required for first-time senior transfers. First-time transfers who are not yet seniors are not required to sit.

“I love the competition,” Lopez said. “I want to play people just as good as me, or better — whatever the case may be. You’re not going to get better without that.

“That’s my family (at Middletown North). I had a couple of teammates and a couple coaches here to watch and support me, so it was special.”

Middletown North stumbled to a 2-7 start without Lopez and while a 6-12 record after his return was only slightly better, the Lions were far more competitive with their 6-foot-6 senior in the lineup. Lopez admitted having to shake off some rust upon his return, but he still managed to average 17.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game during his 18-game campaign.

“There were a few games that didn’t end the way we felt like they should have,” Lopez said. “Individually, I felt like I could have done more. Overall, though, it was a fun season. We bonded and just played basketball. It was rough at the beginning after not playing for the first month. I didn’t have my legs yet, but once I got going, I felt like we started to play like the team we wanted to be.”

In his final game, Middletown North mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally to send its first-round Central Jersey Group III game into overtime at second-seeded Westampton Tech. The Panthers pulled out a 68-59 overtime win to deny the Lions a first-round upset as a No. 15 seed, then went on to win their first ever NJSIAA sectional championship by defeating Middletown South in the sectional championship game. Lopez closed out his career with 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.

“It felt good for all of us to take a team like that to overtime and have a chance,” Lopez said. “We kind of knew it was going to be them or (Ewing) that was probably going to win the section, so going in, we felt like, ‘Hey, let’s give them our best shot.’ We took them to overtime, so it felt good knowing we could compete with a team like that.”

Lopez plans to play at Brookdale next season, with the aim of continuing to improve his conditioning as a prepares to play his first full season of basketball after health and transfer rules got in the way during his days at Middletown North.

“I have been hurt a lot the last few years so I really just need to play and get my game up,” Lopez said. “Even though I’m finally healthy, I’ve got to get bigger, condition more, get stronger and just keep getting better.”

Cush Returns to Main Stage at Brookdale

Freehold Boro sharp-shooter Mike Cush also plans to make his home at Brookdale after high school following a breakout individual season for the six-foot guard. After starting on a star-studded Colonials team as a junior a season ago, Cush was right at home on Tuesday, putting up 14 points in the two games to help Larson Ford/County Line Auto Body capture two wins.

Cush was a sophomore reserve two years ago, when Freehold Boro went on its Cinderella run to the Group III championship game, which included the program’s first NJSIAA sectional championship since 1973. After losing to Ramapo in the 2024 final, the Colonials looked primed for another run in 2025, this time with Cush as a junior starter alongside three seniors — Brian Tassey, Aidan Hamlin-Woolfolk and Qua’Mir Everett — with championship experience.

Freehold Boro knocked off Lopez and Middletown North in the first round of the Central Group III playoffs, then stunned top-seeded Red Bank for a second straight year to reach the sectional semifinals. Cush delivered 12 points in the round-one win, then helped his team get off to a strong start on the way to an eight-point outing at Red Bank.

The run ended in the sectional semifinals, with Colts Neck taking down Freehold Boro on the way to winning its first ever Group III championship. The senior trio graduated, which left Cush and fellow senior Damier Lester as the returning starters, along with fellow experienced seniors Max Girandola and Joe Haney. On top of the graduations of the seniors, Freehold Boro had to replace coach Ben DiBiase after he took the head boys basketball job at Red Bank, which the Colonials did by promoting assistant Andrew Guy to head coach.

“Coming into it, I knew I had to be the leader,” Cush said. “Going from more of a catch-and-shoot guy my junior year to now, being a ball-dominant scorer my senior year. I feel like I prepared myself very well with my offseason training and all the things I worked on, transitioning from more ‘off-the-catch ball-fake to get downhill’ to more of  ‘off-the-dribble, hesitation, quick first step.’

“I saw some of the same inexperience my freshman year and I saw how the seniors on that team handled it and just tried to incorporate little bits and pieces of how they handled it and combined it with how I wanted to handle it. I feel like I handled it in the best way I could and I think my stats and accolades prove that. Honestly, I had a really fun season and even though we would have liked to win more games, I think we won more than people expected us to. I think I overachieved, honestly.”

With a new coach and new team around him, Cush delivered a huge statistical season for a Freehold Boro team that started 5-2 before a much tougher division schedule compared to recent years caught up with the Colonials. Despite the uptick in competition, Cush managed to average 18.8 points per game, good for eighth in the Shore Conference. His shooting was on-point throughout the season, with his 54 three-pointers ranking 15th in the conference and his 82 percent clip at the free-throw line ranking 11th.

“I had numerous high-scoring games and I heard the talking: ‘Oh, it’s because he’s taking every shot,'” Cush said. “I’m taking those shots because I have to. It was about keeping everything cool-headed, not losing my cool, keeping the team afloat. We were projected to go 2-20, dead last in the division and we stayed afloat. Hopefully, our younger guys can carry the load next year and hopefully we can get back to a state title two, three years down the line.”

Cush felt the need to hunt for shots during his season with the Colonials and while he certainly did not shy away from knocking down shots on Tuesday at Brookdale, he also showed he can find open teammates, which he did by hitting Messano with a pinpoint bounce pass for a back-door layup during the final game of the All-Star event.

“It was definitely nice because I went from four months straight of being face-guarded and having to beat someone off the dribble just to make simple passes to being able to just play out there,” Cush said. “The first game, (Point Beach guard Jacob) Edgecomb was picking me up from three-quarter court, which was not a fun flashback, but I’m used to that and I think it’s made my game a lot more polished.”

After a season that featured far more losing than Cush had grown accustomed to at Freehold Boro, picking up a pair of wins on his future home floor was a sweet ending for a player who experienced the thrill of being part of a championship contender and the challenges of being the top scorer on an inexperienced team.

“I think I can be a versatile player during the next phase of my career because I have done both roles,” Cush said. “If you need me to play three-and-D, I can play three-and-D. If you need me to be more of a main option, get downhill and hit pull-up jumpers, I can do that as well. I’m more of a back-and-forth kind of guy, so I think I can help a college team.”