St. Rose, Montgomery Bring International Flavor to Ninth Jimmy V Showcase

2025 Jimmy V Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase

Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025

At Central Regional High School, Bayville, NJ

Make your plans to attend our Annual Jimmy V Showcase at CR this Saturday! @CR_athletics @NJHoops @Matt_Manley @kminnicksports @ACPressMcGarry @FydSports @SJSportsZone @lqdsportsSHORE @JSSInsider @shoresportsman @DickieV @CrhsPit1 @NJBCA_Official @OfficialKEmmons @FlavaFraz21 pic.twitter.com/Rf7Zrfk3yb

— Mike Clemente (@ClementeHoops) January 14, 2025

This year’s Jimmy V Classic at Central Regional will have an international flavor, with the headline game pitting two teams that have become known around the state for their European influence.

Over the last three seasons, St. Rose has asserted itself as one of the state’s best teams thanks to a pair of Belgian brothers – one of whom is still shining at St. Rose. After older brother, Matt, graduated last spring as the Shore Conference Player of the Year and headed to Villanova, Jayden Hodge is enjoying a standout junior year for the 8-4 Purple Roses: 20.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 block per game.

St. Rose also boasts a three-year starter in Bryan Ebeling who hails from Italy, giving St. Rose two international starters to counter the duo that Saturday’s opponent will send out to the court.

Montgomery has been one of the best public-school teams in the state this season, with the Cougars entering Saturday on a 10-game winning streak after dropping a 48-44 season-opener to Hudson Catholic. Last year, Montgomery won the Central Jersey Group IV title and had its season end at the hands of Lenape in the Group IV semifinals.

The Cougars are on a mission to get to the Group IV final this season and are pursuing that goal with a diverse roster – both in skill and demographics.

Two of Montgomery’s starters are refugees from Ukraine and both are impact talents, particularly 6-foot-9 Franklin & Marshall commit Bohdan Biekietov. Fellow Ukrainian and 6-6 senior forward Kyryl Streltsov has added even more size to the Montgomery lineup that will challenge a St. Rose team that does not have a true big man, but does boast its fair share of length and athleticism among its collection of guards.

As impactful as Bohdan and Streltsov have been for Montgomery, the player to watch on the Cougars is smooth, 6-5 guard Ethan Lin – the team’s leader in scoring at 19.6 points per game. Lin scored more than half his team’s points (26) in the loss to Hudson Catholic and put up 27 in a 55-52 win over Ridge earlier this week.

Montgomery is currently ranked No. 9 in the state, according to NJ Advance Media, with St. Rose checking in at No. 10.

St. Rose and Montgomery are scheduled to tip-off at 2:30 p.m. in the fourth game of the day at Central Regional. Here is a look at the rest of the seven-game slate on Saturday.

Donovan Catholic (5-7) vs. Ewing (8-3), 10 a.m.

The most thrilling finish at last year’s Jimmy V Showcase came thanks to Donovan Catholic and guard Ryan Jacobs, who knocked down a pull-up at the buzzer to give the Griffins a win over Robbinsville. On Saturday, Jacobs and his squad will take on another Colonial Valley Conference team in Ewing, which is off to a strong start in 2024-25. Donovan Catholic has had some encouraging moments against a challenging schedule that has been the main culprit for the Griffins’ sub-.500 record.

Rumson-Fair Haven (7-3) vs. Robbinsville (7-7), 11:30 a.m.

After last year’s heartbreaker vs. Donovan Catholic, Robbinsville takes on a Rumson team that has experienced two gut-wrenching losses this week. The Bulldogs squandered double-digit leads in consecutive losses to two of their rivals – Red Bank Catholic and Red Bank – and will be looking to get back on track with a complete performance on Saturday. Each team has some quality size, led by junior 6-foot-9 UPenn commit Luke Cruz on Rumson and 6-5 junior Tyler Bunnell (17.2 points per game) for the Ravens.

Toms River North (5-6) vs. Red Bank (11-1), 1 p.m.

Red Bank rolls into the Jimmy V as one of the Shore’s best and coming off its most inspired win of the season. The Bucs erased an 11-point second-half deficit to win an overtime thriller at Rumson – their first win over Rumson since 2019. Senior forward Ronald Richardson has been getting more comfortable with each game as a complementary piece along with fellow seniors Zayier Dean, Ryan Fisher and Anthony Moore. On the other side, Toms River North is not as experienced or as athletic as it has been in recent years, but seniors Sherrod Nelson and Mekai Morse have been steady and freshman Jake Greenberg leads an underclass group that is starting to get its footing.

Central (11-1) vs. Monroe (4-8), 4 p.m.

The host Golden Eagles will be a considerable favorite, but don’t sleep on a well-coached Monroe squad that reached the Central Jersey Group IV final a year ago and is trying to replace most of that team. Monroe lost to Montgomery, so both CJ IV finalists and two South Jersey Group IV semifinalists (Central and Toms River North) will be in the building on Saturday. Central is looking to either match Red Bank as the first two teams at the Shore to 12 wins, or, if Red Bank loses, Central will try to be the first to 12.

Freehold Boro (9-5) vs. Rutgers Prep (8-6), 5:30 p.m.

Freehold Boro’s games against high-level opponents this season have not gone well, so the Colonials will have to raise their game in the boys finale on Saturday. The Colonials gave Rumson-Fair Haven a scare last weekend and were competitive in a loss at Red Bank, but their only win over a team with a winning record so far has come against Ranney. That being said, Freehold Boro has the horses to hang with Rutgers Prep – ranked No. 15 in the state – on a good day and its players like the big stage, so expect to get the best version of the Colonials against what is likely to be the most talented team Freehold Boro plays this season.

St. John Vianney (11-2) vs. Red Bank (9-2), 7 p.m. (Girls)

Both SJV and Red Bank enter this game ranked in the state top 20 – the Lancers No. 4 and the Bucs at No. 15. Vianney has practically lived on the showcase circuit this season, with only three of its 13 games coming in a regular-season setting. Red Bank has been no stranger to the big stage either, with the Bucs winning the WOBM Christmas Classic in December and playing in showcase games on back-to-back days last weekend. Red Bank’s two losses are to perennial Shore Conference Tournament championship hopefuls Red Bank Catholic and Manasquan, which is a label that certainly applies to St. John Vianney. The Bucs will try to put it all together against the current No. 1 team at the Shore.