County Tournaments took center stage, especially down the Shore on Tuesday. Which teams and players stood out? Shore scored a big 61-51 win over Brick Memorial. Alex George Alex George 6'2" | PG Shore | 2024 State NJ and Liam…
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Shore scored a big 61-51 win over Brick Memorial.
Alex George
Alex
George
6'2" | PG
Shore | 2024
State
NJ
and
Liam Gajewski
Liam
Gajewski
6'1" | PG
Shore | 2023
State
NJ
combined for 29 points but they got a surprise boost from senior Donovan Hughes who chipped in 15 points.
Josh Michigan
Josh
Michigan
6'4" | SG
Compass Prep | 2024
NJ
had a game high 23 in the loss for Brick. Fellow senior guard
Brian Starrett
Brian
Starrett
6'2" | PG
Brick Memorial | 2023
State
NJ
was held to 8 points in the loss, while
Dorian Alston
Dorian
Alston
6'5" | SF
Brick Memorial | 2023
State
NJ
dropped 13. The Blue Devils move on to face Toms River North on Thursday.
Continuing the surprise role players breaking out theme was Southern Regional in a 54-53 win over Ocean Twp. Tom Menegus was held scoreless but junior Caden Schubiger continued to step into a leadership role by scoring 15 in the win. Promising sophomores
Zayier Dean
Zayier
Dean
5'10" | PG
Ocean Township | 2025
State
NJ
(18) and
Ron Richardson
Ron
Richardson
6'4" | SF
Ocean Township | 2025
State
NJ
(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.
Ranney is a deceptively low seed in the Shore Conference Tournament after the addition of
Jahlil Bethea
Jahlil
Bethea
6'3" | CG
Ranney School | 2023
State
NJ
. He and senior
Isaac Hester
Isaac
Hester
6'0" | PG
Ranney School | 2023
State
NJ
form what is possibly the top backcourt in the Shore–that includes ‘Squan and Saint Rose. The two split 40 and junior Drew Buck added 18 as the Panthers raced past Lacey 85-59. Seniors Troy Buxton(20) and
Chris Venturoso
Chris
Venturoso
6'3" | SG
Lacey | 2023
State
NJ
(14) led Lacey in defeat.
A still-shorthanded Hudson Catholic survived a spirited challenge from Saint Mary’s of Rutherford, 56-51. Junior
Alex Massung
Alex
Massung
6'2" | PG
Hudson Catholic | 2024
State
NJ
and sophomores
Chazz Dubois
Chazz
Dubois
6'5" | SF
Hudson Catholic | 2025
State
NJ
and
Omari Moore
Omari
Moore
6'3" | SG
Hudson Catholic | 2025
State
NJ
stepped up to lead the scoring charge as the Hawks held off a strong game from junior
Luke Gaccione
Luke
Gaccione
5'10" | PG
St. Mary's (Rutherford) | 2024
State
NJ
and the Gaels. 6’4″ junior Julian Leveille added 14 in the loss.
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
Ladji Dembele
Ladji
Dembele
6'8" | PF
St. Benedict's | 2023
State
#192
Nation
NJ
had a double-double(13&14) for the Bees and Peter’s got a good shift from 6’7″ senior
Jackson Tindall
Jackson
Tindall
6'7" | PF
St. Peter's Prep | 2024
NLG
. Both teams saw balance across the board as Benedict’s got help from Braylyn Smith,
Alexzaye Johnson
Alexzaye
Johnson
6'4" | PG
St Benedicts Prep | 2023
State
NJ
and others while St Peter’s got some production out of
Richie Rosa
Richie
Rosa
6'0" | PG
St. Peter's Prep | 2026
State
NJ
and
Peyton Miller
Peyton
Miller
6'1" | PG
St. Peter's Prep | 2025
State
NJ
in the defensive slugfest.
South River’s seniors, led by
Roman Santos
Roman
Santos
6'5" | SF
South River | 2023
State
NJ
,
Lazaro Rodriguez
Lazaro
Rodriguez
6'4" | SF
South River | 2023
State
NJ
, Issac Linarez and
Jeremy Grospe
Jeremy
Grospe
5'10" | CG
South River | 2023
State
NJ
, came from behind to knock off Franklin 72-20. Santos had 21 and Rodriguez 19. Sophomore
Alex Grospe
Alex
Grospe
5'10" | PG
South River | 2025
State
NJ
had 14 assists in the win. 6’4″ senior Cameron Snowden had 20 in defeat for Franklin. The win should give the Rams confidence to compete with bigger schools going into the GMC Tournament.
6’7″ sophomore forward and football prospect Jayden Elijah 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 Amir Martinez and Muhlenberg bound Colin Haluska Colin Haluska 6'3" | SF Matawan | 2023 State NJ .