Tuesday Teams That Impressed

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>County Tournaments took center stage, especially down the Shore on Tuesday. Which teams and players stood out?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shore scored a big 61-51 win over Brick Memorial. <strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1273929' first='Alex' last='George'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1019862' first='Liam' last='Gajewski']</strong> combined for 29 points but they got a surprise boost from senior <strong>Donovan Hughes</strong> who chipped in 15 points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1400496' first='Josh' last='Michigan']</strong> had a game high 23 in the loss for Brick. Fellow senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1466410' first='Brian' last='Starrett']</strong> was held to 8 points in the loss, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1470873' first='Dorian' last='Alston']</strong> dropped 13. The Blue Devils move on to face Toms River North on Thursday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Continuing the surprise role players breaking out theme was Southern Regional in a 54-53 win over Ocean Twp. <strong>Tom Menegus</strong> was held scoreless but junior <strong>Caden Schubiger</strong> continued to step into a leadership role by scoring 15 in the win. Promising sophomores <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1411626' first='Zayier' last='Dean']</strong>(18) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1456866' first='Ron' last='Richardson']</strong>(12) powered the Spartans in the defeat. Ocean returns a host of talented players and will be a dangerous team next year if they hold everything together. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ranney is a deceptively low seed in the Shore Conference Tournament after the addition of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1400498' first='Jahlil' last='Bethea']</strong>. He and senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='902736' first='Isaac' last='Hester']</strong> form what is possibly the top backcourt in the Shore--that includes 'Squan and Saint Rose. The two split 40 and junior <strong>Drew Buck</strong> added 18 as the Panthers raced past Lacey 85-59. Seniors <strong>Troy Buxton</strong>(20) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='902747' first='Chris' last='Venturoso']</strong>(14) led Lacey in defeat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A still-shorthanded Hudson Catholic survived a spirited challenge from Saint Mary's of Rutherford, 56-51. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1050399' first='Alex' last='Massung']</strong> and sophomores <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1411623' first='Chazz' last='Dubois'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1411409' first='Omari' last='Moore']</strong> stepped up to lead the scoring charge as the Hawks held off a strong game from junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1153981' first='Luke' last='Gaccione']</strong> and the Gaels. 6'4" junior <strong>Julian Leveille</strong> added 14 in the loss. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The marquee contest of the night saw Saint Benedicts hold off St Peter's Prep 42-37 in Jersey City. The key players delivered the goods for both teams as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1400487' first='Ladji' last='Dembele']</strong> had a double-double(13&amp;14) for the Bees and Peter's got a good shift from 6'7" senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1206534' first='Jackson' last='Tindall']</strong>. Both teams saw balance across the board as Benedict's got help from <strong>Braylyn Smith</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='981596' first='Alexzaye' last='Johnson']</strong> and others while St Peter's got some production out of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1609109' first='Richie' last='Rosa']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1483438' first='Peyton' last='Miller']</strong> in the defensive slugfest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South River's seniors, led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1401568' first='Roman' last='Santos']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1269717' first='Lazaro' last='Rodriguez']</strong>, <strong>Issac Linarez</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267925' first='Jeremy' last='Grospe']</strong>, came from behind to knock off Franklin 72-20. Santos had 21 and Rodriguez 19. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1472517' first='Alex' last='Grospe']</strong> had 14 assists in the win. 6'4" senior <strong>Cameron Snowden</strong> had 20 in defeat for Franklin. The win should give the Rams confidence to compete with bigger schools going into the GMC Tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6'7" sophomore forward and football prospect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1949268' first='Jayden' last='Elijah']</strong> had the game of his season thusfar, going for 19pts and an eye popping 26 rebounds in a SCT victory at Colts Neck. He keyed the Huskies 58-44 victory. Matawan also got contributions from <strong>Amir Martinez</strong> and Muhlenberg bound <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1206543' first='Colin' last='Haluska']</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->