Boys Basketball NJSIAA Opening Round Scoreboard, Feb. 22

NJSIAA Tournament

Opening Round

Central Jersey Group III

(5) Colts Neck 52, (12) Carteret 39

Senior Mike Belcher scored 14 points and helped ignite a dominant defensive effort to lead the Cougars to a first-round win over the Ramblers.

Sophomore Dillon Younger added 10 points and senior Vova Trotsko pitched in eight for Colts Neck, which will travel to play No. 4 Hopewell Valley Tuesday in the sectional quarterfinals.

(2) Nottingham 52, (15) Brick Memorial 50

Sophomore Sean Collins led a balanced Brick Memorial attack with 14 points to pull the Mustangs to the brink of a major first-round upset, but the defending sectional champion North Stars pulled out the victory in the final minutes.

Sophomore Austin Braaten added 11 points for Brick Memorial, while Jahmere Miller scored a game-high 20 to pace Nottingham, which will host No. 7 Freehold Boro in Tuesday's quarterfinal round.

(6) Ewing 60, (11) Middletown North 49

Senior Jason Quardt hit four three-pointers on the way to 18 points and the Lions took a seven-point lead into the second half, but the Blue Devils took control with a big third quarter and put the game away in the fourth.

Joel Cineus scored 19 points and Jamir Brown poured in 18 to lead Ewing, which outscored Middletown North, 23-13, in the third to surge in front, 43-40, heading into the fourth quarter.

Junior Colin Byrne added 10 points for Middletown North.

Ewing will travel to No. 3 Burlington Township Tuesday in the sectional quarterfinals.

(7) Freehold Boro 69, (10) Matawan 52

Senior Christian DiGiso scored 15 of his 24 points in the first half and junior Aidan Hamlin-Woolfolk scored 20 of his 25 in the second half as the Colonials rumbled to a win over the Huskies -- their first victory in the NJSIAA Tournament in 13 years.

Hamlin-Woolfolk also pulled down 11 rebounds, grabbed four steals and blocked two shots, while DiGiso handed out three assists, picked three steals and knocked down four three-pointers. Junior Brian Tassey battle through foul trouble to contribute eight points and junior Qua'Mir Everett posted six points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Freehold Boro.

Matawan took a 29-28 lead to halftime, but Freehold Boro countered with a 16-4 third-quarter run, capped by a banked three-pointer by Hamlin-Woolfolk at the buzzer to make it 44-33.

Freehold Boro shot 15-for-21 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to squash Matawan's hopes for a rally, including a 6-for-8 effort by Hamlin-Woolfolk.

Junior Chauncey Brown led Matawan with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals, while classmate Jayden Elijah chipped in 14 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Freehold Boro moves on to Tuesday's sectional quarterfinal round and will take to the road to play No. 2 seed and defending sectional champion Nottingham.

(1) Red Bank 56, (16) Ocean 43

Senior Braydon Kirkpatrick scored 19 and the Bucs got past the Spartans to earn a sectional quarterfinal home game Tuesday against No. 8 Robbinsville.

Junior Ryan Fisher added 14 points and senior Jameson Ackerman chipped in nine for Red Bank.

Sophomore Aidan Saint Louis scored a game-high 22 points and senior teammate Keith Allen poured in 16 to lead Ocean, which limited its former standout guard, junior Zayier Dean, to five points. Dean played his first two high school seasons at Ocean before transferring to Red Bank for this season.

Central Jersey Group I

(11) Point Beach 71, (6) Perth Amboy Magnet 44

Sophomore Jacob Edgecomb scored a game-high 22 points and the Garnet Gulls exploded for a 32-2 run during the third quarter to run away with a road win over Perth Amboy Magnet and earn a quarterfinal trip to play No. 3 College Achieve of Asbury Park.

Junior Scot Crowley added 13 points for Point Beach, which turned a 28-28 game heading into the third quarter into a 60-30 rout going to the fourth.

(1) Henry Hudson 68, (16) Highland Park 43

Jack Fitzpatrick scored a game-high 22 points and the Admirals rolled over the Owls to collect their first state tournament win in eight years, as well as their 20th win of the season.

Freshman JoJo Newell added 10 points and sophomore Billy Quinn pitched in nine for Henry Hudson, which will host defending sectional champion and No. 8 seed Eagle Academy of Newark Tuesday in the sectional quarterfinals.

(2) Shore 83, (15) Keyport 46

Senior Alex George matched a career-high with 33 points and the Blue Devils coasted to a first-round win over the Red Raiders to earn a quarterfinal home game vs. No. 7 South Hunterdon on Tuesday.

Senior Dom DiFiore added 12 points and classmate Joe Santi chipped in 10 for Shore.

Senior Mike Nichols went off for a career-high 30 points on seven three-pointers to lead Keyport, while junior Dominic Dispenza added 11 in the loss.

South Jersey Group III

(12) Barnegat 72, (5) Timber Creek 61

Junior Mason Krey scored 20 of his game-high 23 points in the first half to get the Bengals off to a strong start and Barnegat finished off a road win over the Chargers.

Senior Jamari Smith chipped in 16 points, including a exclamation mark of a dunk in the fourth quarter, while junior Cole Toddings netted 13 points and junior Kyle Greenleaf contributed eight for Barnegat.

Barnegat advances to Tuesday's sectional quarterfinal round and will travel to play No. 4 seed and defending sectional champion Moorestown.

(11) Triton 62, (6) Toms River South 39

Jayson Sanders-Cash scored 22 points an the Mustangs knocked off the Indians in Toms River to advance to the sectional quarterfinals Tuesday at No. 3 Camden Eastside.

Senior Kai Barckley led Toms River South with 15 points, while senior Jordan Jones added 10 and classmate Rob Peirson added nine in the loss.