SHORE CONFERENCE BASKETBALL RECAP

 SHORE CONFERENCE BASKETBALL RECAP

By Mike Ready
 
BOYS TOP 10
 
No. 1 MANASQUAN (14-1, 7-0) – The Warriors are still without Player of the Year favorite Alex Galvan, who’s still nursing a high ankle sprain, but to their credit really haven’t missed a beat. After nearly upsetting No.2 Roselle Catholic last Saturday, they easily took care of No. 18 St. Peters Prep by 21 points. Then on Tuesday they coasted to a 78-46 win over Shore Regional with sophomore guard Ben Roy scoring a career-high 30 points. 
 
No.  2 TOMS RIVER NORTH (13-2, 8-0) – The Mariners easily disposed of No. 8 Wall, 66-50, at Saturday’s Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase at Southern. They then destroyed Jackson Memorial, 76-40, on Monday as they ran their A South winning streak to a remarkable 67 consecutive games. Jakari Spence leads the team in scoring averaging almost 24 points per game. The Mariners pushed their streak to 68 games behind Najae Hallenbeck’s monster game in a 74-54 drubbing of Toms River East. The senior center scored 30 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in the win. 
 
No. 3 MIDDLETOWN SOUTH (12-1, 7-0) – The Eagles beat Freehold Township, 87-62, to complete a first trip through the Class A North schedule. Senior guard James Anderson is leading the team in scoring averaging close to 17 points per game.  
 
No. 4 MARLBORO (10-4, 6-2) – Sophomore Jay Seidler scored 29 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the Mustangs’ 82-66 win over Howell on Tuesday. Marlboro has been playing without Jon Spatola but still beat Freehold Township and Neptune prior to beating Howell. On Thursday, senior Alex Ratner, averaging 22 points a game, matched a career high with 36 points, including the 1,000th point in his varsity career; however, the Mustangs fell to CBA, 79-75, as the Colts reeled off their third straight win. 6-foot-5 sophomore Jack Seidler is averaging 22 points and nine rebounds a game as his breakout season picks up steam. 

 
No. 5 HOLMDEL (10-2, 6-1) – The Hornets won their fifth game in a row routing No. 9 Red Bank Catholic  by 18 points handing the Caseys their second consecutive loss after reeling off three straight wins. The win keeps Holmdel just one game back of No. 1 Manasquan in Class A Central. Alex Baker leads the Hornets in scoring hitting for 15 points per game. In their win over RBC, senior Derek Chan had a game-high 20 points. 
 
No. 6 MANALAPAN (7-3, 5-2) – The Braves won their fifth-straight game with an impressive 73-32 win over Long Branch. Senior Ryan Knoor, who’s averaging 21 points per game, led all scorers with 15 points while senior Chris Clark added 14. The Braves have upcoming games with Middletown South and Marlboro and a couple wins there and they’ll be in the hunt for the A North title. 
 
No. 7 WALL (10-4, 8-0) – After taking a 10-point loss to No. 2 TRN, the Knights bounced back with impressive wins against Matawan and Red Bank Regional. Quinn Calabrese tops Wall in scoring with a 14 point average. Calabrese had a game-high 23 points and Pat Lacey added 16 while Logan Peters had nine points and a team-high eight rebounds. 
 
No. 8 MATAWAN (7-5, 6-1) – After winning four in a row and five of six, the Huskies lost two in a row, including a 62-52 loss to Wall. Wall outscored Matawan, 26-13, in the second quarter and that did them in. Senior Ethan Okello dropped a team-high 16 points in the loss and John Buekers added 14. Buekers averages nine rebounds a game. 
 
No. 9 CBA (7-8, 4-4) – The Colts worked themselves back into the top 10  with three straight wins, including an impressive 79-75 win over No. 4 Marlboro on Thursday. Colin Farrell had a team-high 24 points and while junior Dane Moran added 17 as four Colts scored in double digits. 
 
No. 10 RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN (8-3, 4-2) – The Bulldogs make their first appearance in the top 10 after reeling off three straight wins by an average of 20 points. In their 72-47 win over Long Branch, senior Geoff Schroeder scored a game-high 29 points. The Bulldogs will have their work cut out for them with upcoming games against Marlboro, Manasquan, RBC and Middletown South. 
 
 
BUBBLE TEAMS: Red Bank Catholic, Saint John Vianney, Ranney, Mater Dei Prep, Pt. Boro, Southern 
 
 
 
GIRLS TOP 10 
 
No. 1 SAINT JOHN VIANNEY (12-0, 8-0) No. 1 in the state – The undefeated Lancers continue to roll with wins over No. 10 Neptune, Ocean Township and Middletown North by an average of 50 points. Ranked No. 1 in the state, the Lancers have notable out-of-conference wins against Staten Island Academy, Gill St. Bernard’s, Riverside Baptist (MD), and Washington Township. Sophomore guard Madison St. Rose leads the team in scoring (16 pts) and rebounds (6) per game. 
No. 2 RED BANK CATHOLIC  (12-1, 7-0) No. 2 in the state – The Caseys have reeled off 10 straight wins since their 10-point loss to Long Island Lutheran, ranked No. 1 in New York and fourth nationally. They also have Shore Conference wins over No. 5 Rumson-Fair Haven, No. 7 Manasquan and No. 4 St. Rose by 15 or more points. 
 
No. 3 MANCHESTER (12-2, 8-0) No. 6 in the state – The Hawks’ only losses are to out-of-state powers St. Francis (MD), ranked 16th in the nation by eight points and Montverde (FL), ranked 44th nationally. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier with upcoming games against Winston-Salem Christian, ranked 19th in North Carolina and No. 3 Trenton Catholic.  Junior Destiny Adams leads the team in scoring (18) and rebounding (11.7). 
 
No. 4 ST. ROSE (9-4,6-1) No. 5 in the state – St. Rose has won three in a row following their 41-40 loss to No. 4 Cherokee (13-0), including a 16-point win over No. 7 Manasquan. They have quality wins over No. 8 Rutgers Prep and No. 10 Rumson-Fair Haven and Fort Myers (FL) and Rock Bridge (MO). Senior guard Brynn Farrell leads the team in scoring averaging 24.4 points per game.
 
No. 5 RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN  (10-2, 6-2) No. 10 in the state –  Since their back-to-back losses to RBC and St. Rose, the Bulldogs have reeled off six wins in a row, including wins against Bishop Eustace and No. 12 St. Thomas Aquinas. The Bulldogs have been without injured standout Grace Munt all season and the team has done a nice job stepping up in her absence. Senior guard Paige Slaven leads the team in scoring averaging 12.7 points per game, while senior center Lucy Adams averages 9.3 rebounds a game and 3.5 blocks. 
 
No. 6 RED BANK REGIONAL (10-2, 6-1) No. 14 in the state – The Bucs’ two losses have been to Manchester and SJV. Since their loss to the Lancers, they’ve won five straight, including New Dorp (NY) and No. 10 Neptune. Junior Chloe Teter (14.4 pts.), Taylor Christian (13.7 pts.) and Amelia Medolla (10.5 pts.) give the Bucs a nice one, two, three scoring punch. 
 
No. 7 MANASQUAN (8-4, 4-3) No. 11 in the state – With only two seniors on the team, this young Warriors team is learning on the run and last week they were taught a tough lesson losing by 16 and 18 points, respectively, to St. Rose and Red Bank Catholic. They rebounded nicely with a 51-39 win over Shore Regional, but face a hard road ahead with many of the top teams in the state on the schedule. 
 
No. 8 MARLBORO (10-2, 8-0) – The red-hot Mustangs have won seven games in a row and have a one-game lead in A North. Saturday’s game against RFH will be a good measuring stick for Marlboro moving forward. Junior forward Jessica Riepe leads the team in scoring with a 13.3 average and five rebounds. 
 
No. 9 JACKSON MEMORIAL (10-2, 9-0) – The Jaguars have a 2.5 game lead in A South and have won five in a row, including an 11-point win over second-place Toms River North. Kristina Donza scored a 
game-high 31 points and pulled down 11 boards in the win over the Mariners. For the season, Donza averages 26.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. 
 
No. 10 NEPTUNE (8-4, 5-3) – The Fliers have rebounded from a brutal stretch where they lost three in a row to Marlboro, Red Bank Regional and Saint John Vianney, with wins against Midwood (NY) and Colts Neck. They’ll be favored in the next four games before facing the Bucs and Lancers in the back end of the home-and-home series. 
 
BUBBLE TEAMS: Toms River North, Middletown South, Freehold Township, Trinity Hall, Colts Neck, Holmdel, Long Branch
 
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