Shore Sports Insider Week 5 Boys Basketball Top 10

Shore Sports Insider Boys Basketball Top 10 — Week 5

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It is the final week of January and the No. 1 team in the Shore Conference has not changed since the preseason rankings dropped on the morning of the first game at the conference. That fact does not do justice to how close Christian Brothers Academy has come in recent weeks to losing a game and, potentially, its spot at No. 1  — even if the Colts remain the consensus favorite for the Shore Conference Tournament, which begins two weeks from Tuesday. What was once a conference that could be described as “CBA and everybody else” can now be described as “CBA, then Wall, then everybody else” and we are a couple bounces of the ball away from CBA and Wall, then everybody else.

As for the “everybody else” part, the free-for-all has only intensified since the start of the season, with teams throughout the top 20 or so beating one another and playing competitive games. Wall has remained above the fray so far, which means unless the Crimson Knights struggle over the next two weeks, the competition as it pertains to the Shore Conference Tournament will be most heated for the No. 3 spot.

1. Christian Brothers Academy (14-3, 6-0) Last Week: 1

Following a scare vs. Red Bank Catholic on Jan. 17, CBA faced another challenge from a Shore Conference team on Tuesday, when Manasquan cut a 17-point deficit to one in the final three minutes before CBA eventually pulled out a 50-46 win. Following a win over Holmdel, the Colts then ended their week with a loss to Gill St. Bernard’s, but they still came out of the week with a slight edge over Wall for the top power-point mark in the Shore Conference. As CBA tries to rediscover its form, it will tackle St. Rose, Rumson-Fair Haven and Middle Township at Stockton in the Metro Classic this week.

2. Wall (13-0, 6-0) Last Week: 2

In beating Howell for a second time this season Thursday, Wall took a giant step toward winning the Class A Central division. The Crimson Knights hold a two-game lead over the second-place Rebels and will enter the final week of January as the last remaining undefeated team in the Shore Conference. If Wall is to head into February still perfect, it will have to handle its business on the road vs. both St. John Vianney and Middletown South.

3. Red Bank Catholic (12-4, 5-1) Last Week: 4

This is where it gets tricky. For the first time this season, RBC has a loss against a team ranked lower in the top 10. Marlboro knocked off the Caseys in a well-played, tightly-contested, overtime game that earned the Mustangs a season split with RBC to go with a one-point victory for RBC in its gym earlier this month. The other loss is to Rumson, which has occupied either the No. 2 or No. 3 spot all season, but RBC’s consistency – including a near-upset of CBA – gives the Caseys a bump forward despite suffering a loss this season. Games against Ranney and Colts Neck will likely hold RBC’s division-championship fate in Class B North and the first of those games comes Tuesday vs. Ranney.

4. Marlboro (12-3, 4-2) Last Week: 8

The Mustangs stampede into the top five this week on the heels of its overtime win over Red Bank Catholic, which is part of a 7-1 stretch that includes only a five-point road loss to Colts Neck. That loss to the unranked Cougars is what is keeping Marlboro from the No. 3 spot at the moment, but it was not enough to keep the Mustangs behind Howell – another team with which they split a two-game set. One admirable trait of Marlboro so far is the Mustangs have not lost a game by more than five points, with close losses to RBC and Howell to go with the Colts Neck loss. Winning a share of Class B North will require some help, plus the rematch with Colts Neck is coming up on Friday.

5. Howell (11-3, 4-2) Last Week: 5

If quality losses are a deciding factor in ranking teams two-through-six, Howell has the strongest case to be No. 3. The Rebels lost a four-point game to Marlboro in their opener and their only two losses since are to undefeated Wall. Where Howell comes up short vs. Marlboro is those two losses to Wall were by an average of 20 points and Howell’s next best win within the Shore Conference (other than against Marlboro) is against Freehold Township. A win over East Brunswick (15-3) is some serious ammo to move up to No. 3 as well, but the ability of RBC and Marlboro to stay close vs. each opponent gives both a slight edge over Howell at the moment.

6. Rumson-Fair Haven (13-4, 4-2) Last Week: 3

The only team ahead of Rumson in the Top 10 that has beaten the Bulldogs is CBA, which the Colts did by a score of 79-48 while Luke Cruz was out for RFH. Rumson even has a win over a team in the top five, with a road win over Red Bank Catholic in December – also without Luke Cruz. Consistency, however, has been an issue for RFH and health has played a big part of that. Rumson has a 14-point loss to unranked Middletown South in which the Bulldogs were weighed down by injury or illness to four planned starters, although the recent loss at Red Bank (7-10) came with everyone but senior Drew Cavise back in the starting five. An inspired bounceback performance vs. Union Catholic on Saturday looked like a Rumson team that could challenge CBA or Wall for a championship, which plays into the question of consistency heading into the last week of January.

7. Jackson (10-4, 4-1) Last Week: Not ranked

After a couple weeks on the outside, Jackson is back in the top 10 after two huge Class A South victories over Central and Southern. The Jaguars came back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit by dominating Central in the third quarter during a 58-48 win on the road, then pulled away to beat Southern, 64-40, at home. With two wins over Manasquan, Jackson jumps the Warriors for the No. 7 spot and while a 24-point loss to Freehold Township is justification for a lower ranking, Manasquan also beat Freehold Township on the road by 13. Jackson’s shortcoming this year is when the Jaguars have lost, they have lost big, with an average margin of 24.5 in their four losses – the closest of which was a 16-point loss at Southern.

8. Manasquan (8-6, 4-2) Last Week: 6

Since dropping a second game to Jackson in its final game of 2025, Manasquan is 6-2 with its two losses coming against Rumson and CBA. The Warriors had no answers for a motivated Rumson squad on Jan. 15, but responded with a major upset bid vs. CBA five days later. CBA led that game by 17 with 10:30 to play and Manasquan cut that lead to one before the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter and lost, 50-46. When Manasquan finds its rhythm on offense, it can give just any Shore team a serious challenge, because the defense has been reliable throughout the year, including in wins over Point Beach, Freehold Township and Holmdel. The public division championship in Class A North is still on the table if Manasquan can complete season sweeps of both Red Bank and Holmdel this week.

9. Point Pleasant Beach (14-3, 5-1) Last Week: 7

A loss to Brick Memorial put Point Beach’s spot in the top 10 in peril, but the Garnet Gulls still have a solid-enough résumé. They had already beaten Brick Memorial twice prior to last week’s loss, which snapped a nine-game winning streak and was followed by an easy win over New Providence. Point Beach’s other two losses are in overtime to Manasquan and by five points to Red Bank Catholic and while the Garnet Gulls don’t currently own a win over another Top 10 team, they have the two wins over Brick Memorial, plus one each vs. Point Boro, Central and Toms River East that can be considered strong results. The week ahead will feature three rematches, with Point Beach slated for home games vs. Point Boro and Toms River East, followed by a Saturday trip to No. 3 Red Bank Catholic.

10. Freehold Township (9-6, 3-3) Last Week: 9

The No. 10 spot comes down to five teams, with Holmdel, Central, Ranney and Colts Neck also boasting reasonable cases to be included this week. With head-to-head wins over Holmdel and Central in December, Freehold Township is hanging on to its Top 10 spot by the slimmest of margins after losing by 16 to Middletown South last week. The other losses are all to ranked teams (Wall twice, Howell, Manasquan and Red Bank Catholic) and Freehold Township also owns a decisive win over Jackson. The Patriots are also still getting healthy, with junior point guard Cole Gerigk returning to the lineup after missing three weeks with a broken nose. That will come in handy during an upcoming stretch that includes Howell, St. John Vianney, Wall and Middletown South before the Shore Conference Tournament.

 

Dropped Out

Central (11-5, 4-1) Last Week: 10 – Following a close call vs. Toms River North on Jan. 17, Central got picked off by Jackson before bouncing back to win three straight vs. teams with losing records.

 

The Next 10

Holmdel (7-5, 2-4) – If not for a head-to-head loss to Freehold Township, Holmdel would be back in the Top 10 this week thanks to its respectable record vs. a loaded schedule.

Ranney (7-7, 3-3) – At the risk of sounding like broken record, if not for a loss to Holmdel, Ranney might have the strongest case to be the No. 10 team this week thanks to wins over Colts Neck and Middletown South

Colts Neck (9-5, 4-2) – The Cougars are likely the No. 10 team this week if not for a loss to Ocean on Saturday, which joins a list of losses to unranked opponents (Red Bank, Toms River East, Colts Neck) that is keeping the Cougars out.

Brick Memorial (10-7, 3-3) – A 20-point win over Middletown South and a road win over Point Beach are part of a 5-1 stretch for Brick Memorial that has the Mustangs looking like an SCT dark horse if the draw is not too daunting.

Red Bank (7-10, 2-4) – With 10 losses, it is hard to make a case for Red Bank as a Top 10 team, but a win over Rumson to go with a win over Colts Neck and close losses to RBC, Jackson and Marlboro make it worth a conversation.

Middletown South (10-6, 4-2) – It shouldn’t come as a major surprise that consistency has been a challenge for a team that relies heavily on two freshmen. In a span of eight days, the Eagles lost by 20 to Brick Memorial, beat Freehold Township by 16 and lost by 22 to Holmdel.

Ocean (10-7, 5-1) – If not for a home loss to Matawan, Ocean would be heading into this week with a serious case to be ranked and even as is, the Spartans are starting to look the part following Saturday’s win over Colts Neck.

Southern (8-7, 3-2) – While they don’t have any real marquee wins, the Rams also don’t have any bad losses, but they do have some ugly ones, including Friday’s 24-point loss at Jackson to go with double-digit losses to Central and Colts Neck.

Monmouth (9-5, 3-2) – Last week was the toughest of the season for Monmouth, which earned a tough win over Shore, followed by competitive losses to Ocean and No. 5 Howell.

Point Pleasant Boro (9-6, 4-2) – After giving Hudson Catholic a scare on Jan. 17, Point Boro had trouble with a pair of Toms River team, barely slipping past Toms River South and dropping a tight game to Toms River North.