Boys Basketball – SSN All-SCT Team, MVP

Shore Sports Network All-Shore-Conference Tournament Team

Tournament MVP

NyQuan McCombs, Mater Dei Prep

Mater Dei coach Ben Gamble has been beating the drum all year for McCombs, repeatedly calling him the “best on-ball defender at the Shore.” It’s hard to argue win Gamble after the tournament McCombs had, which included holding Marlboro’s P.J. Ringel to three points, Ranney’s Bryan Antoine to 14 and Toms River North’s Darrion Carrington to four.

His fourth-quarter defense against CBA point guard John Salcedo was the spark that ignited his team’s comeback  from an 18-point deficit against the Colts, delivering Mater Dei its first ever Shore Conference Tournament title. McCombs also averaged 10.5 points, four assists and 2.5 steals per game during the tournament.

All-Tournament First Team

Pat Andree, CBA – Averaged 23.2 points and scored a tournament best 93 total points in four SCT games.

Jack Sheehan, Manasquan – Sheehan had the best individual performance of the tournament with his 35-point effort with big shot after big shot in Manasquan’s 80-77 triple-overtime win over Rumson.

Elijah Barnes, Mater Dei Prep – Averaged 10.2 points and was Mater Dei’s interior presence during its tournament run.

Ryan Jensen, Manasquan – Put up 20 points and 27 rebounds in the win over Rumson, which followed 20 points and 22 rebounds against Southern one round earlier.

Jaden Rhoden, Toms River North – Led Toms River North in scoring in wins over Toms River East and Long Branch and averaged a team-best 14 points per game during the tournament.

Second Team

Brendan Barry, Rumson-Fair Haven – Barry’s 36 points in the triple-overtime loss to Manasquan were most in a single game by any player in this year’s tournament.

Elijah Mitchell, Mater Dei Prep – Scored 16 points in a win over Toms River North and led the defensive effort that held Pat Andree to 14 points in the championship game.

Scottie Lewis, Ranney – After scoring 20 points to carry Ranney to a win over Freehold Township, Lewis scored 10 points and was a rebounding machine in a loss to eventual champion Mater Dei Prep.

Anthony Velazquez, Long Branch – His 28 points led Long Branch to a big win at Colts Neck and Velazquez then scored all 15 of his points in the second half as Long Branch nearly pulled off a major comeback against Toms River North.

Amir Tyler, Lakewood – Averaged 22.3 points, six assists and 6.3 steals in Lakewood’s three SCT games, including 24 points, eight assists and seven steals in a win over Point Beach.

Third Team

Elijah McAllister, Rumson-Fair Haven – Averaged 7.1 points, 10 rebounds, and 8.7 blocks in three tournament games, including 10 blocks in the triple overtime loss to Rumson despite fouling out in regulation.

Phil Lingat, Toms River East – Hit the game-winning shot just before the buzzer to beat Donovan Catholic and finished with 44 points in two games for Toms River East.

Bryan Harris, Mater Dei Prep – The Player of the Game in the Seraphs’ championship win over CBA, Harris contributed 14 points and six boards in the final at Monmouth University.

Kyle Elliot, Mater Dei Prep – Scored a team-high 17 points in a semifinal win over Toms River North and averaged a shade under 10 points during the tournament with his usual active defense.

Hunter Petrick, Toms River North – Scored double-figures in each of Toms River North’s four games and averaged 12.5 points in those games.