Plenty of depth in this year's SCT fields
Red Bank leads group of locals with legitimate shots at glory
BY VIN RAPOLLA
Staff Writer

You hear the phrase "must-win games" all too often over the course of a season.

Coaches like to use the label as a motivational tool, hoping the added significance will help instill a sense of desperation in their teams, who may have displayed some effort issues at times during the regular season.

But once you reach this week in the high school basketball season, the cliché phrase finally fits the billing. From here on out, they're all must-win games for the teams entering the postseason.

There are several local hoops teams in the must-win predicament this week, as the Shore Conference Tournament gets under way with first round games tonight.

Freehold Township is the obvious top seed in the boys bracket, as the undefeated Patriots have been nothing short of dominant from the opening day of the season. That put Neptune at No. 2, followed by Christian Brothers Academy.

CBA has more often than not entered this tournament as the team to beat. This year however the Colts got off to a bit of a slow start (6-3) against a very difficult schedule, as the Colts young lineup took a little time to get accustomed to playing together. As they enter the Round of 16 Friday night against the winner of tonight's Long Branch-Point Boro game, the Colts are 15-6 on the year, and a much better team than they were when the season began.

It's tough to ever consider the Colts a sleeper pick, but based on how dominant Freehold Township has been this year, anyone other than the Pats has to be considered a sleeper in this tournament.

Red Bank Regional (20-2) is another talented team that could have received the No. 3 seed, if not for a recent loss to a surging Raritan team. Because of that loss, the Bucs slipped to the four spot, where they will take on the winner of tonight's Southern-Toms River South match up on Friday.

"The fourth seed is something we expected," said head coach Scott Martin. "We've seen both teams earlier in the season, but the bye gives us a round for scouting."

As for the Bucs' chances beyond tomorrow night's game, Martin believes his team is ready to make a run at the title.

"We feel like we've got a good shot to win it," said Martin. "If we're going to win we've got to beat some of the best teams. It's a tough road."

But facing several tough games in a row is nothing new to the Bucs. After watching his team negotiate what may be one of the toughest divisions in the Shore (Class A Central), Martin is confident his team will fare well in the postseason. Four teams from the A Central division made the tournament and a fifth, Manasquan, just missed the tournament on the last day of the season.

"We play in one of the toughest, if not the toughest divisions in the Shore Conference," said Martin. "Any team can pretty much beat anyone."

As far as their gameplan for the postseason, expect more of the same from the Bucs - which means look for Kyle Fitzgerald and Casey Peters to be the playmakers down the stretch.

"These two have been our catalysts all season," said Martin. "They've played consistently all year long."

The team will also utilize its depth, as Martin boasts an eight-man rotation, with all players seeing substantial time.

"We've got a great supporting cast," said Martin. "Our eighth guy will be just as important as our starters."

St. John Vianney, the eighth seed, is a team that is looking to surprise people in this year's tournament. The Lancers (15-5) were the second best team behind Red Bank in the Class A Central Division this year, and are certainly capable of making some noise here. Unfortunately, should they get past the winner of tonight's Shore-Henry Hudson contest on Friday, they'll most likely face Freehold Township in the quarterfinal round.

However, in the interest of not looking too far ahead, a Shore-SJV match-up on Friday would be one of the more attractive second-round games of the tournament, as the Blue Devils (17-4) are a quality team that has plenty of experience and firepower this season. The B Central division champion Blue Devils have a very tough road in this tournament, but the more they play, the more it will help them in the upcoming state tournament.

On the other side of the bracket, the Monmouth Regional Golden Falcons also face a tough slate of games. As the sixth seed, Monmouth will get the winner of last night's Manchester-Monsignor Donovan contest tomorrow night in the second round.

Monmouth is a team that has really come on of late, and is one of the more dangerous teams in the bracket. Should they win tomorrow night, they will likely get a shot at CBA in the quarterfinals, in what will be another intriguing match-up.

With head coach T.O. Brunson stepping down after the season, don't be surprised if the Golden Falcons give their coach a memorable going-away gift this postseason.

While Freehold Township is the heavy favorite to win the boys title, the girls tournament is surely much more difficult to predict.

In fact, just seeding the top four spots was a chore in itself, as all four teams have earned consideration as the top team going in.

While Rumson-Fair Haven got the top seed in the girls bracket, both Red Bank Catholic and SJV could just as easily have gotten the nod. The Lancers, after dropping early match-ups to both RFH and RBC, came back later in the year to avenge those losses. In fact, short of a Jan. 6 loss to St. Rose, the Lancers have been the best team in the Shore - and like CBA, is a much better team than it was in the beginning of the year.

Head coach Dawn Karpell took over the SJV program after several successful seasons at Holmdel, and has certainly helped build her reputation as one of the state's budding coaching stars. While much of the Lancers' success can be credited to the team's improved shooting and cohesiveness, opposing coaches also

point to the Lancers' improved defensive play. SJV is once again an imposing team on both ends of the floor, which will certainly make them a tough out in this year's SCT.

As the third seed, the Lancers will host the winner of tonight's Howell-Toms River North match-up on Friday, while Rumson will take on either Jackson or Mater Dei, and RBC will host either Lacey or Ocean.

Neptune got the fourth seed after putting together a stellar regular season (18-1), with their lone loss coming on Friday to RBC, 56-48. While the Scarlet Fliers have not played as difficult a schedule as the top three seeds have, they have played consistently well against all comers, and will be another tough team to knock out.

Neptune will host the winner of tonight's Holmdel-Toms River East match-up on Friday.

Freehold Borough (15-3), seeded sixth, is entering the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the Shore, and is being picked by a lot of people as the sleeper of the tournament. Former Mater Dei star Jen Brzucki is the new coach for the Colonials (taking over after Allison MacFarland resigned shortly after the season began), and has instilled an up-tempo offense that has Freehold scoring at a feverish pace this year.

Another team entering the SCT with high hopes is the Middletown South Eagles. Head coach Tom Brennan's squad put together a fine regular season en route to winning the Class A North crown. South finished the regular season 16-2 overall, but was undefeated, 12-0, in division play, beating another up-and-coming team, Colts Neck, twice. Middletown South is a veteran team that will hope to use its experience and depth to make a run at the tournament crown.

While Colts Neck was expected to beat Central in the first round last night, Monmouth Regional was expected to knock off Southern last night in the first round, setting up a second-round battle with the Cougars tomorrow night. Monmouth, seeded eighth, has shown a habit of saving its best basketball for the postseason under head coach Audra Corson, and is another team capable of stringing together some upsets in this bracket.

The only other local team to earn an SCT nod was the Ocean Township Spartans, who got the 18th seed and a match-up with 15th-seeded Lacey last night. The winner gets RBC tomorrow in the second round.

Red Bank Catholic was thought to be the Shore's top team for most of the season, and looked the part on Sunday beating Our Lady of Lourdes, 59-36, behind Kristen Danella's 19 points and Jenna Strich's 12. Needless to say, the Caseys enter the tournament playing extremely well.

The same can be said of Rumson-Fair Haven, who were impressive themselves in a 39-26 win over Holy Spirit at the Shootout at the Shore at Mainland Regional in Linwood on Sunday. The Bulldogs used a balanced offensive attack and a trademark defensive effort to knock off the state's seventh-ranked team, and give head coach George Sourlis his 450th career win.

- Doug McKenzie contributed to this story