Boys Basketball – Shore Conference Top 10

During the regular season, trying to put the top teams in the Shore Conference in some sort of rank order can be a chaotic process, but the Shore Conference Tournament provides some concrete evidence to form a list. This week’s rankings are easy from No. 1 to No. 4, but there are still going to be arguments for the next six spots.

The NJSIAA Tournament will throw another monkey wrench or two into the debate, as it usually does, but for right now, there is a relatively clear picture of the best teams in the Shore Conference.

1. Point Beach (23-1, 14-0) Last Week: 1

It’s not surprising that a team stepped up and challenged Point Beach the way Jackson Memorial did on Sunday, but it is a little more surprising that the Garnet Gulls played back-to-back games this early in the tournament in which the outcome was legitimately in the balance. Matawan is a good match-up for Point Beach because the Huskies don’t have the sheer combination of size and athleticism that Southern and Jackson Memorial had, but the Gulls are looking decidedly more vulnerable than they did a week ago.

2. Christian Brothers Academy (16-4, 13-0) Last Week: 2

The top two seeds in the tournament seemed to be a good deal ahead of the rest of the field, and yet it was Point Beach and CBA that had to scratch and claw for their wins while the other two favorites – No. 3 Lakewood and No. 4 Matawan – each won by double-figures. CBA showed it can win a tight game, but some questions remain regarding the Colts’ ability to handle a quick team that can apply pressure in the back court.

3. Lakewood (21-3, 14-0) Last Week: 3

For 14 minutes of its 42-28 win over Long Branch, Lakewood looked like a team ready to defend its SCT championship despite a different-looking team this year. Then, the Piners offense disappeared and what started as a dominant performance turned out to be a survive-and-advance affair. The good news for Lakewood is the defense never let up and if the Piners can somehow sustain that initial level they showed in getting out to a 25-5 lead, then they are capable of big things over the next three weeks.

4. Matawan (19-3, 10-2) Last Week: 5

It’s easy to pick on Matawan for losing to Freehold in the second meeting between the teams and having to pull wins out of the fire against St. John Vianney and Freehold the first time around, but whenever this group has been met with a challenge, it has responded. This next game against Point Beach will be quite the challenge, but regardless of the outcome, Matawan has acquitted itself well in the SCT and should be considered a serious threat to win the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II Tournament.

5. Manasquan (18-3, 13-1) Last Week: 4

The Warriors were humming heading into Sunday’s SCT quarterfinal and even led Matawan 14-4 before everything fell apart for the A Central champs. Outside of Holmdel’s win over Freehold Township, Class A Central hasn’t had too much success outside the division, but it’s not clear that any of the other teams below Manasquan on this list are good enough to jump them.

6. Long Branch (14-7, 8-4) Last Week: 6

Even though Neptune finished ahead of Long Branch in Class B North and Neptune just played CBA tough, the Green Wave come in a spot ahead because they have had better results against overall common opponents. Like Manasquan, Long Branch’s hold on its spot is not all that strong and the NJSIAA Tournament could certainly change things for better or worse.

7. Jackson Memorial (18-6, 11-2) Last Week: 8

The Jaguars could make a case to be the No. 5 team in the Shore Conference after playing Point Beach tougher than any other Shore team this year and that end result is still not out of the question for the end of the year. At this point, though, Long Branch is a little bit better in the quality wins department and Manasquan does not have two losses to a team lower in the rankings like Jackson Memorial has to Southern.

8. Neptune (13-8, 9-3) Last Week: 7

The Scarlet Fliers drop one spot only because Jackson Memorial played a tight game against the No. 1 seed while Neptune played a slightly less tight game against the No. 2 seed. Neptune might have a better chance than Jackson Memorial to do damage in its state tournament bracket, which would mean the Fliers could still jump the Jaguars, Long Branch and Manasquan by season’s end.

9. Southern (13-8, 10-4) Last Week: Not ranked

It’s been said over and over that Southern has a couple bad losses that call their legitimacy into question, but the Rams also have shown they play up to good competition. As long as it can win a home game in the first round of the South Jersey Group IV tournament, Southern will get another crack at Atlantic City in the quarterfinals after losing to the two-time defending Group IV champion in the same round last year.

10. Red Bank Catholic (15-5, 11-2) Last Week: 10

The Caseys have a couple early-season losses to teams below them in the rankings, but RBC gets a pass for being a much different team now. The Caseys might have a case to be a little higher than No. 10, but just as it does with Manasquan, the A Central track record outside the division limits how high they can go.

Dropped Out

Freehold Township (15-7, 11-2) Last Week: 9 – A tough home loss to Holmdel drops the Patriots from the rankings, but there is still the Central Jersey Group IV Tournament and a road game at CBA that could give them one last push.