Rumson boys basketball braces for Manasquan in Central Group 2 final, after downing Holmdel

HOLMDEL – Inspect the schedule Rumson-Fair Haven coach Chris Champeau assembled this season and you'll find a who’s-who of Non-Public A programs, including Rutgers Prep, St. Peter’s Prep, CBA and Red Bank Catholic, with some Group 4s like Toms River North thrown in for good measure.

It might have hurt his team in seeding for tournaments, having to face powerhouse St. Rose in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals, while a No. 3 seed in NJSIAA Central Group 2 left them needing to hit the road to win a title. But the tough tests over the past two months led the Bulldogs to Holmdel High School Wednesday night, where they took control against the second-seeded Hornets and rolled to a comfortable 60-37 semifinal victory.

“I schedule all these monsters, but the way the state power points sometimes works, it doesn’t help you," Champeau said. "That’s why we’re sometimes vulnerable in the Shore Conference seeding and all that, which is fine. But I tell them what we did then will grow in a month, when we’re playing a game like this, against a scrappy team. So if we’re used to turning the ball over against St. Peter’s Prep, I hope when we’re playing these games it’s not going to matter.”

Which sets up the game they’ve been building for all season, with showdown with top-seeded Manasquan to settle the sectional championship set for Friday at 6:30 p.m., with Manasquan topping Delaware Valley, 45-43, to advance.

Rumson (20-6) is looking for its fourth sectional title since 2017, while Manasquan is going for its fifth straight sectional crown. The two have met four times in the postseason since 2016, but never in the final.

More: Chasing history: Red Bank basketball seeks first NJSIAA section title in 31 years

“This whole thing is like old school A Central tour,” Champeau said. “We haven’t been to Holmdel in years. And we also haven’t been to Manasquan in a long time, which I haven’t missed. But I’m fired up to go in there, a couple of local hometown teams battling each other. It’s refreshing.”

The Bulldogs got 15 points from senior guard Nick Rigby, to go with 11 points, all in the second half, and 16 rebounds from senior forward Andrew Goodes. Junior guard Riley Gill was a lock down defender who sank a pair of big first-quarter 3-pointers, as the Bulldogs hit 5-of-7 from deep in the opening eight minutes to grab a 19-9 lead.

“We’re confident,” Rigby said. “We’re focused on one game at a time and now we have a game with Manasquan, which we’ve been looking forward to all year.”

Holmdel finishes the season 21-4, having lost previously to Manasquan twice, and St. Rose. The Hornets, whose last sectional title was in 1999, were led by senior guard Nick Seeloch, who finished with 16 points.

After jumping out to a 10-point lead after one quarter, Rumson didn’t score for nearly six minutes to open the second quarter, but still took a 24-17 lead into halftime. They took control of the game in the third quarter, as Goodes scored 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, as the lead swelled 45-30 early in the fourth quarter.

Here is today's schedule and Wednesday's scores from sectional semifinal games involving Shore teams:

THURSDAY, FEB. 29

Central Group 3

(1) Red Bank 56, (4) Hopewell Valley 42

The Bucs (21-4) continued to march toward what would be the program’s first sectional championship in 31 years, rallying in the second half to win for the 13th time in 14 games.

Braydon Kirkpatrick led the way with 17 points, while Ryan Fisher and Jameson Ackerman finishing with 14 points. And it was Ackerman’s buzzer-beating three-quarter court basket to pull the Bucs within 20-18 at halftime that got the team going. Red Bank came out and scored the first 15 points of the second half.

Hopewell Valley pulled within a paint early in the fourth quarter, the Bucs pulled away for the victory, setting up their first appearance in a sectional final in a decade when they host Freehold Borough Saturday at 1 p.m.

(7) Freehold Borough 59, (6) Ewing 56

Aidan Hamlin-Woolfolk scored 15 points, but none bigger than his drive with a minute to play that put the Colonials up 57-56, as they went on to pull off a second straight upset on the road. The Colonials will try to make it three straight Saturday when they travel to top-seeded Red Bank (1 p.m.) to decide the Central Group 3 title, which would be the Colonials first sectional championship since 1973.

After building a commanding 40-24 halftime lead, the Colonials had to survive a furious rally. After taking a 49-38 lead into the fourth quarter, they still led 55-52 with three minutes to play before Ewing took a one-point lead.

The Colonials got 15 points from Brian Tassey and 12 from Qua’Mir Everett, offsetting a game-high 22-point performance by Ewing’s Cameron James.

Central Group 1

(5) Manville 50, (1) Henry Hudson 43

It was a special season for the Admirals (21-5), playing in their first sectional semifinal in 27 years. But the magical ride ended Thursday, as Manville got 23 points from Edryn Morales and 19 from Tyler Keslolitz to win on the road. Henry Hudson was led by junior Jack Fitzpatrick with 20 points, while freshman JoJo Newell had 12.

(3) College Achieve Asbury Park 71, (2) Shore 45

For the second straight year it was Shore getting bounced from the state tournament by a charter school. After falling in last year’s final to Eagle Academy, the Blue Devils went down against College Achieve Asbury Park, a startup program with a roster stocked with Division 1 talent.

LaSalle commit Deuce Jones paced four players in double figures for College Achieve (19-7) with 15 points, while 6-9 Eunique Rink added 12, and David Munro and Jebron Harris had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Blue Devils (19-9), who only trailed 32-19 at halftime, and got within six points in the third quarter, before the Knights went on an 18-0 run to put the game away. Shore got a game-high 19 points from Gianni Fiumefreddo, while Alex George added eight points.

South Non-Public A

(5) Paul VI 61, (1) CBA 52

CBA (18-7) looked like its bid to win its first sectional title since 2015 would stay on track, as the top-seeded Colts built a 28-21 lead at halftime. The lead eventually swelled to 42-29 in the third quarter, before Paul VI went on a 16-0 run to take a 45-42 lead.   The run eventually stretched to 26-5, as Paul VI took a 55-47 advantage in the final minutes.

Junior Justin Fuerbacher led CBA with 15 points, while junior Kevin Pikiell had 12 and senior Peter Noble added 10. Paul VI got 21 points and 15 rebounds from Isaiah Thomas.

South Non-Public B

(1) St. Rose 65, (5) Holy Cross Prep 39

The Purple Roses advance to face third-seeded Bishop Eustace, a 40-35 winner over second-seeded Gloucester Catholic, in Monday’s sectional final at Lenape High School, where they beat Bishop Eustace in last year’s final. The Purple Roses went on to lose to Roselle Catholic in last year’s Non-Public B final. The Purple Roses are looking for the program’s first state championship since 1977. Matt Hodge, who was sick and missed the last round, led the way with 21 points, while Gio Panzini added 13.

In this one, St. Rose (28-2) made quick work of Holy Cross Prep, going up 17-2 after the first quarter, building the lead to 37-11 at halftime. St. Rose’s only loses were in the season opener to the Patrick School, and at the Metro Classic to Montverde (Fla.), ranked No. 1 in the country.

RESULTS FROM WEDNESDAY, FEB. 28

Central Group 4

(1) Montgomery 60, (4) Marlboro 46

Two years after winning the Central Group 4 title, Marlboro was unable to get back to the final, falling to top-seed Montgomery to finish the season at 17-9. The Mustangs were led by Dan Elmasri and Steve Scimone, who scored 12 points apiece. Montgomery (23-3) has won all three of its state games comfortably, building a 33-23 halftime lead, as Steve Donahue finished with a game-high 16 points.

(2) Monroe 47, (3) Manalapan 44

Despite trailing by a point in the fourth quarter, Manalapan was not able to pull off the road upset in its first sectional semifinal in 25 years, as Anthony Leger finished with 18 points and Aiden Sosinov finished with 13 points. They were unable to offset a 24-point performance by Monroe's Nick Cicchetti.

Central Group 2

(1) Manasquan 45, (4) Delaware Valley 43

Manasquan moved within a win of its fifth straight sectional title, holding off a late challenge from Delaware Valley to advance to face Rumson-Fair Haven in Friday’s sectional final at Manasquan, with tipoff at 6:30 p.m.

Senior Alex Konov paced Manasquan with 12 points, while freshman guard Rey Weinseimer added 10, as they built a 26-17 halftime lead. Delaware Valley was led by Francis Denvir, who scored a game-high 20 points.

(3) Rumson-Fair Haven 60, (2) Holmdel 37

South Group 4

(1) Lenape 62, (4) Toms River North 59

Trailing sectional power and top-seed Lenape by 14 points on the road, the Mariners mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback, trimming the deficit to a single point at 60-59 on a score by Tariq Council. But Lenape was able to secure its third straight trip to the sectional finals, surviving a 14-point performance by Sean Gathers, who led the late charge. Micah Ford, Toms River North’s leading scorer, was held to just seven points before fouling out.

(2) Eastern 59, (3) Central 48

The Golden Eagles got 20 points from junior guard Jaycen Santucci, but Eastern built an 18-point lead midway through the fourth quarter en route to the victory.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJSIAA Boys Basketball semifinals: Rumson wins. Schedule, scores.