Shore basketball: No. 1 St. Rose continues dominance, pounding No. 2 Manasquan, 63-44
MANASQUAN – With St. Rose having beaten Shore Conference foes by an average margin of 41.2 points this season, the No. 1 team in the Asbury Park Press Top 20 rankings presented a daunting challenge for No. 2 Manasquan Monday night.
And while the final margin was only 19 points, with Manasquan playing even over the final two quarters, the end result was a 63-44 St. Rose win, as the Purple Roses employed a stifling defense to build a 33-10 second quarter lead before cruising to a 16th straight victory.
Senior Gio Panzini led the way for St. Rose (16-1) with 17 points, including 14 in the first half, while sophomore Jayden Hodge finished with 15 points and senior Matt Hodge had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“To start the game, we had a turnover and Jayden came down and punched it off the backboard,” Panzini said. “That really set the tone for the game. We were like, ‘we’re going to break these guys down eventually on offense, but our defense is going to help us win this game.’ ”
The frenetic atmosphere inside the Manasquan High School gym had little impact on the Purple Roses, with wins over top programs including Rutgers Prep and St. Benedict’s this season. They built a 21-7 lead after the first quarter, stretching it to 27-7 on a 3-pointer by freshman Avery Lynch midway through the second quarter.
“Our bread-and-butter is to lock up defensively, and if we do that and don’t turn the ball over we’re usually in pretty good shape regardless of how we play offensively,” said St. Rose head coach Brian Lynch. “I don’t think we played especially great tonight. We missed a lot of free throws and layups, but we did defend.”
Junior Griffin Linstra led Manasquan with 16 points, as the Big Blue fall to 13-2. Manasquan’s only other loss came against Toms River North in the championship game at the WOBM Christmas Classic.
While Matt Hodge, the 6-8 Villanova commit, has been the Purple Roses’ catalyst, the 6-5 Panzini has been on a run of strong play. He had 14 of his 16 points in the second half Saturday to key a comeback win over Ramapo, and had 12 points and eight rebounds in a recent win over Red Bank Catholic.
“What annoys me is that I think he’s being under-looked at the college level,” Lynch said. “He hasn’t gotten a solid offer at the Division 1 level and I think a lot of guys are looking at him and see his size, his athleticism, his ability to shoot the ball – he’s playing with a chip on his shoulder. Every game is a chance for him to say, ‘you’re missing out on somebody.”
Manasquan cut the lead to 13 points early in the third quarter, coming out with a 6-0 run to open the second half. But Manasquan quickly built the lead back to 21 points thanks to a baseline jumper by Matt Hodge, a 3-point play by junior Evan Romano and a 3-pointer by Panzini.
What was likely a preview of the Shore Conference Tournament final was their first meeting since Manasquan won, 41-37, on Jan. 19, 2023 on its home court, with the teams splitting a pair of games last season when Manasquan on the NJSIAA Group 2 title and St. Rose lost in the Non-Public B final to Roselle Catholic.
.Here are some other big games of the week.
Monday, Jan. 22
No. 3 CBA 61, No. 9 Marlboro 53
The Colts emerged in a battle of top-10 teams, with junior Kevin Pikiell poured in 22 points to lead the attack as the Colts win their eighth straight game. Junior Justin Fuerbacher chipped in with 12 points, as did sophomore Connor Andree. Marlboro was led by senior Steve Scimone’s 20 points, while classmates Brave Haugh (12 points) and Dan Elmarsi (10) hit double figures for the Mustangs.
No. 5 Holmdel 54, No. 14 Freehold Borough 50
Holmdel built a 41-30 lead after three quarters and held on for an important A Coastal victory, ending Freehold’s five-game winning streak. Leading the way for the Hornets was James Vallillo with 14 points, while Jack Vallillo and Ben Kipnis each hit double-figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Freehold was paced by Qua’Mir Everett’s double-double, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
More: See what teams are making moves this week in the Shore boys basketball Top 20
Tuesday, Jan. 23
No. 4 Rumson-Fair Haven 57, No. 10 Colts Neck 46
The Bulldogs got 14 points from junior Riley Gill and 11 from senior Thor Carlston in an important B North win over the Cougars, with their lone Shore Conference loss coming in an early-season defeat against CBA. Colts Neck was led by Junior Vova Trosko and classmate Lucas Sloane, who scored 12 points apiece, while senior Mike Belcher hit double figures with 10 points.
More: 10 standout Shore basketball players from the week of Jan. 15-21
Thursday, Jan. 25
No. 6 Red Bank Catholic 71, No. 4 Rumson-Fair Haven 63
The Caseys pulled off a big B North victory behind 24 points from junior Ryan Prior. RBC also got 16 points from Pasquale Sabino, while Colin Cavanaugh added 14. The Bulldogs were led by David Carr's 21 points, while Nick Rigby added 17.
Friday, Jan. 26
No. 1 St. Rose 73, No. 3 CBA 46
The Purple Roses used a 23-0 first-half run to bury the Colts in Belmar, winning their 18th straight game after a season-opening loss to the Patrick School. Villanova commit Matt Hodge scored 19 points, while sophomore Jayden Hodge, his brother, added 18. Senior Gio Panzini continued his run of strong play with nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Colts, winners of nine straight coming in, were paced by junior Kevin Pikiell’s nine points, while junior Justin Fuerbacher added eight.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ basketball: No. 1 St. Rose dominates No. 2 Manasquan, 63-44
