The Manasquan boy basketball team lost two of its top scoring options from a year ago, but current Warriors players and opponents alike don’t anticipate any sort of fall from grace. Perhaps that’s because the Warriors just made a successful transition in a similar situation last season.

The participating coaches tagged Manasquan with the No. 1 seed in the 31st annual WOBM Christmas Classic bracket, which was released Monday morning in Toms River at the annual kick-off breakfast. The Warriors are first-year entrants in the tournament and – along with the rest of the boys field – will open up their tournament schedule on Sunday and will do so having lost three-year starters Jack Fay and Tommy Toole from last year’s Class A Central championship team. The Warriors will play No. 16 Brick in the first round in the final game of the first round on Sunday.

“It’s a brutal tournament to seed because of how many quality teams there are,” Manasquan coach Andrew Bilodeau said. “A lot of the Ocean County teams return some good talent from last year and the Monmouth County teams – like Freehold Township, Red Bank Catholic and St. Rose – are all good teams. Everybody stinks at this time of year, but by the end of the year, you could have some teams from this tournament that have really good seasons.”

Despite the loss of Fay – the team’s leading scorer in 2013-14 – and Toole, the Warriors return two more standout juniors in Ryan Jensen and Jack Sheehan. Jensen carved out a role as a freshman two years ago, while Sheehan was a breakout guard for Manasquan last year.

“We’ve done it in the past and now we’ll have to do it again this year,” Bilodeau said. “One of the good things about having players like that is the younger players who play with them get a chance to play in big games. So when we get into those situations this year, it’s not something that’s new to any of them.”

Manasquan senior Luke O'Shaughnessy joined the team during the middle of last season and will be one of several returning contributors on the Warriors. (Photo by Cliff Lavelle)
Manasquan senior Luke O'Shaughnessy joined the team during the middle of last season and will be one of several returning contributors on the Warriors. (Photo by Cliff Lavelle)
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Seniors Matt Paturzo, Aidan McMenaman and Luke O’Shaughnessy contributed to a deep roster last season and are three of the players that Bilodeau refers to when he speaks of players stepping into bigger roles. O’Shaughnessy did not join the Warriors until midway through the season after starting the season with Christian Brothers Academy before transferring to his hometown school.

“I think we have a bunch of really good all-around players and we don’t really have to worry about any one thing, like who is going to score the points, because there are a bunch of guys who can do any job,” Paturzo said. “It’s going to be tough replacing Jack and Tommy because they are two really good players, but I think we have the pieces to replace them collectively.”

Manasquan also welcomes transfer Kyle Bradshaw from Monmouth Regional. Although he has suffered through a lot of losing with a struggling Falcons program, Bilodeau sees a versatile 6-foot-4 player with skill who will help replace some of the lost scoring.

“Kyle has been injured this preseason, but we’re expecting him to be cleared in the next day or two,” Bilodeau said. “He’s a good player who can do a lot of different things for a team, and we expect him to be a key part of the team this year.”

On the other side of the WOBM bracket, Red Bank Catholic is the No. 2 seed and if the seeds hold true, the Caseys would face a familiar foe in the final. Manasquan and Red Bank Catholic faced each other three times last season: twice during the Shore Conference Class A Central schedule and once in the Shore Conference Tournament. The two split the regular-season series and Manasquan routed Red Bank Catholic at home in the SCT round of 16.

“I was sitting out when they beat us last year, and I got to play against them in the Shore Conference Tournament,” said O’Shaughnessy of Red Bank Catholic. “It’s a little disappointing that we’re not in the same division this year because I was looking forward to that rivalry. Hopefully we can have a good tournament and if we get far enough, maybe we get a chance to play them.”

Red Bank Catholic returns four starters from last year’s team, led by junior Eddie Hahn, fresh off quarterbacking the Caseys football team to its first NJSIAA state sectional title since 1976. The Caseys open the tournament Sunday against No. 15 Jackson Memorial, last year’s runner up and a perennial contender in the tournament over the last five seasons.

Monmouth County locked down the top three seeds, with Freehold Township earning the No. 3 seed. Senior guard Jason Czajkowski was an all-tournament selection last year and leads a strong group of returning players.

At Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, Toms River North and Manchester are the top two seeds from Ocean County and are also the last two boys champions. Manchester made a surprising run to the championship as a No. 7 seed last year, beating top-seeded Jackson Memorial in the final. The Hawks graduated the Most Outstanding Player of last year’s tournament, KaShaun Barnes, but return the junior trio of Jordan Torney, Shavar Reynolds and Israel Almestica.

Jackson Memorial senior C.J. Blue defends Manchester junior Shavar Reynolds during last year's WOBM Final. Both players return to lead their teams into this year's Classic.
Jackson Memorial senior C.J. Blue defends Manchester junior Shavar Reynolds during last year's WOBM Final. Both players return to lead their teams into this year's Classic.
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The Mariners return as much talent as any team in the Shore Conference and looked very different by the end of the season compared to the team that lost to Manchester in the first round in last year’s WOBM Classic. Senior Jordan Craig was a consistent source of double-doubles by the end of the season.

Sixth-seeded Brick Memorial will take on No. 11 Point Boro in the opening game of the tournament on Sunday. The Mustangs return a deep, diverse collection of talent around senior sharpshooter Aaron Scheiderman, while Point Boro will try to overcome the loss of standout scorer Peyton Wejnert, who transferred to Southern after leading the Shore in scoring as a sophomore. Sophomore guard Jon Venturi was a breakout player as a freshman during last year’s WOBM Classic and will be a feature player for the Panthers this season.

Donovan Catholic and St. Rose are two of the more consistent programs in the Shore Conference and will square off on day one of the tournament. Donovan is the No. 7 seed behind another deep roster that returns seniors James Fata and Alex Morte to the starting lineup. The Purple Roses, meanwhile, must replace a host of seniors from a year ago while welcoming back swingman Nolan Slattery.

In addition to Manasquan, Marlboro and Middletown South enter the tournament for the first time this season. Marlboro takes on No. 9 Toms River South in the first round as the No. 8 seed after enjoying a breakthrough season as a program last year under coach Mike Nausedas. Seniors George Elghoul and Matt Ringel lead the Mustangs in the top-half of the seeds.

The Eagles, meanwhile, endured an injury-plagued season in 2013-14 and will be the No. 13 seed in the tournament with a first-round date against Toms River North.

Toms River South will have a similar look on the court to last year, but a new face on the bench. Nine-year head coach and longtime Ocean County staple John MacIntosh stepped down prior to the season and first-year coach Curt DeFillippo takes over a team that returns an athletic backcourt duo in seniors Tymere Berry and Khaleel Greene.

There are no real upsets in preseason tournaments, which means high seeds have reason for hope in the Christmas Classic. No. 12 Lacey returns All-Tournament center Chris Iappico and will pose a challenging match-up for defending champion Manchester in the first round, while No. 15 Jackson Memorial is looking to make a statement with new coach Kevin McQuade while in the unfamiliar role of underdog.

Toms River East opened last year’s tournament with an upset of No. 2 Wall as the No. 15 seed and took Manchester to the wire before bowing out in the second round. The Raiders return most of their young roster from a year ago with second-year coach Jim Dempsey and will look to knock off No. 3 Freehold Township this time around.

Brick could be the tournament longshot at No. 16, but senior Brian Oehme leads a Green Dragons squad that expects to be significantly improved.

 

Tournament First-Round Schedule

Sunday, Dec. 21
At Toms River North Gym

(6) Brick Memorial vs. (11) Point Boro, 1 p.m.
(3) Freehold Twp. vs. (14) Toms River East, 2:45 p.m.
(7) Donovan Catholic vs. (10) St. Rose, 4:30 p.m.
(2) Red Bank Catholic vs. (15) Jackson Memorial, 6:15 p.m.
At Pine Belt Arena
(5) Manchester vs. (12) Lacey, 1:30 p.m.
(4) Toms River North vs. (13) Middletown South, 3:15 p.m.
(8) Marlboro vs. (9) Toms River South, 5 p.m.
(1) Manasquan vs. (16) Brick, 6:45 p.m.

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