Shore Sports Insider Week 8 Boys Basketball Top 10

Shore Sports Insider Boys Basketball Top 10 — Week 8

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The opportunities to turn the top 10 upside down are dwindling and the remainder of this week presents one of the few chances left for a team to knock St. Rose and Manasquan from their solid perches at one and two in the Shore. Only one of the two will advance to the Shore Conference Tournament final and then either Christian Brothers Academy or Rumson-Fair Haven will have a chance to beat the winner in the SCT final. Would that guarantee a new No. 1? Maybe, but Manasquan has already beaten both CBA and Rumson, and St. Rose has already beaten Manasquan twice, so there are potential scenarios that could make the No. 1 spot a debate by the end of the week.

If you are looking for maximum chaos, Manasquan beating St. Rose, followed by either CBA or Rumson beating Manasquan would make for a close call at No. 1. Any version of a St. Rose championship, meanwhile, would basically end the chase for No. 1 in 2024-25.

1. St. Rose (17-7, 10-0) Last Week: 1

During the second half of its Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal vs. Central, St. Rose flexed its muscle, holding Central leading scorer Jaycen Santucci to three points after he scored 18 in the first half and outscoring the Golden Eagles, 40-21, after the break. With a 29-game winning streak against the Shore Conference, St. Rose looks poised to capture a second straight Shore Conference Tournament title.

2. Manasquan (19-3, 8-2) Last Week: 2

There were three dominant performances Saturday at the boys Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals and Manasquan’s performance was the most dominant. The Warriors beat Colts Neck by 30 while holding the Cougars to 31 points. It was the kind of relentless defensive performance that Manasquan has made routine and will attempt to repeat Wednesday against rival St. Rose – the only Shore Conference team to beat the Warriors this season.

3. Christian Brothers Academy (18-3, 10-0) Last Week: 3

For the second time this season, CBA proved to be a mismatch for Holmdel, blowing open the game with a 15-0 run during the second quarter to turn a two-point lead into a 17-point advantage. The Colts are healthy and getting great production from its four returning starters – Justin Fuerbacher, Kevin Pikiell, Connor Andree and Charlie Marcoullier – with plenty of support from a rotation that goes deeper than any in the conference outside St. Rose.

4. Central (21-3, 10-0) Last Week: 4

The Golden Eagles were served an unfair draw in the SCT, which not only served them a dangerous Freehold Boro team in the first round, but then fed them to St. Rose in the quarterfinals. Central did all it could with the opportunity, fighting off a challenge from Freehold Boro to earn the shot vs. St. Rose, then playing the Purple Roses tight for a half before running out of answers in the second half. Central has one last piece of business with its senior led team in 2025: win its first ever NJSIAA sectional title.

5. Red Bank (19-4, 10-0) Last Week: 5

Red Bank ended a period of nearly two decades without a trip to the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals, but left Middletown South with a bad taste after losing to a Rumson team the Bucs beat twice during the regular season. Those two regular-season wins and a Class A Coastal division title keep Red Bank a spot ahead of Rumson, but that will be little consolation for the Bucs while they lick their wounds ahead of the state tournament as Rumson plays for a spot in the SCT final. Red Bank’s special season will resume when the NJSIAA Tournament begins on Feb. 26, with the Bucs eying a run at an overall Group III championship.

6. Rumson-Fair Haven (17-5, 7-3) Last Week: 6

A third loss to Red Bank would have been hard for Rumson to overcome during the NJSIAA Tournament, so finally conquering the Bucs could be a breakthrough moment for this talented group. After failing to close out some key games during a 15-5 regular season, Rumson closed out the Bucs on Saturday to earn its first SCT semifinal appearance in seven years. It has been 10 years since the Bulldogs have played at Monmouth in the SCT final and they will be looking to end that wait by beating CBA on Wednesday.

7. Holmdel (13-8, 6-4) Last Week: 7

With a loss to CBA on Saturday, Holmdel now has two losses apiece to three different ranked opponents: CBA, Red Bank and Rumson. Other than that, the Hornets have beaten Red Bank Catholic three times, Wall and Ranney, with their only other losses coming to Lenape and Trenton back in December. To this point, Holmdel has hit its ceiling at No. 7, but can earn itself one more shot at Rumson in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II playoffs if both teams can make it to the sectional semifinal round.

8. Freehold Boro (17-7, 10-0) Last Week: Not ranked

The Colonials climb back into the top 10 with a strong showing at Central on Thursday. Freehold Boro now has competitive losses at Rumson, Central, Red Bank and Southern, plus neutral site wins over Wildwood Catholic and Ranney. Now, the Colonials’ shift their focus to defending their Central Jersey Group III championship, which will likely take them on the road to Middletown North in the first round and, if they survive that, to Red Bank in the sectional quarterfinals.

9. Colts Neck (12-8, 6-4) Last Week: 8

The Cougars were in danger of dropping out of the rankings, then beat Manalapan to clinch the Class A North public division title and followed that up with a win at Wall in the SCT round of 16 to earn their first trip to the SCT quarterfinals in 13 years. Colts Neck was scrappy for about 18 minutes against Manasquan before the Warriors pulled away for the quarterfinal victory, setting Colts Neck up to regroup for the Central Jersey Group III playoffs.

10. Red Bank Catholic (13-10, 5-5) Last Week: 9

The Caseys have been unable to crack Holmdel in three tries, but remain a top 10 team because of a win over Rumson-Fair Haven. Rumson’s loss to RBC is the only loss by one of the Shore’s top six teams to a Shore Conference team outside of the top six, so it still carries significance. RBC also has wins over several teams on the top 10 periphery: Wall, Ranney, Marlboro, Point Beach, Donovan Catholic and Freehold Township.

Dropped Out

Southern (16-6, 7-3) Last Week: 10 – The Rams have a win over Freehold Boro, own common-opponent edges over Holmdel (Trenton) and Red Bank Catholic (Toms River North) and their worst loss is to a Donovan Catholic team that Southern later paid back with a win. All-in-all, Southern’s top 10 case remains strong, but could use one more big win to solidify it.

The Next 10

Wall (17-5, 10-0) – Losses to RBC and Colts Neck halted Wall’s climb toward the top 10.

Middletown North (16-7, 9-1) – A loss to Wall is going to make it hard for Middletown North to climb into the rankings, but the Lions will have a chance to make their case vs. Freehold Boro in the first round of the Central Group III Tournament.

Jackson Memorial (10-13, 5-5) – A red-hot fourth quarter carried Jackson Memorial to a road win over Ranney in the SCT, which helped the Jaguars wash away a rough road loss to Howell from the prior week.

Ranney (10-9, 5-5) – Losing to Jackson Memorial in the SCT prevented Ranney from getting a shot at St. Rose, but the Panthers can still get that shot by winning their first-round NJSIAA Tournament game.

Marlboro (10-12, 4-6) – The Mustangs might not finish the season at .500 or better, but they have endured a tough schedule and some key injuries while giving a young roster a chance to grow.

Point Pleasant Beach (17-7, 8-2) – Beating Howell in the first round of the SCT was a big step for the young Garnet Gulls, who now head into the South Jersey Group I section with a real shot to get to the sectional final.

Howell (12-11, 3-7) – The Rebels climbed into the Shore Conference Tournament with a strong final week of the regular season, then nearly pulled off a memorable comeback at Point Beach before the Garnet Gulls ultimately denied Howell the first-round win.

Donovan Catholic (11-11, 6-4) – One of two teams in the next 10 to still be playing in the Coaches Cup, the Griffins have two wins over teams that made the SCT (Southern and Barnegat).

Barnegat (15-7, 7-1) – The Bengals are an outright division champion for the first time in program history and are 11-3 since a 4-4 start to the season.

Freehold Township (10-11, 4-6) – The top seed in the Coaches Cup, the Patriots can push past the .500 mark this week by winning their way to the Coaches Cup final.