St. Rose wins first Shore Conference boys basketball title, topping defending champ Manasquan
WEST LONG BRANCH – It was a two-year journey for St. Rose, including a pair of heartbreaking losses last season and some supersized expectations over the past few months. And it all culminated with a 32-minute coronation Sunday as the Purple Roses secured the program’s first-ever Shore Conference Tournament title.
Shaking off an early challenge from defending champion Manasquan, St. Rose rolled to a 48-27 victory at OceanFirst Bank Center, as the Purple Roses continued their dominance of local teams this season.
There’s still work to be done, with St. Rose a favorite to win the NJSIAA Non-Public B state title, after losing in last year’s final. But this was the first major title for a program that ramped up quickly since the Hodge brothers arrived from Belgium in 2022.
And it was Jayden Hodge, the 6-5 sophomore who already holds a handful of high-major offers, doing most of the damage, finishing with 19 points. Meanwhile, his brother, 6-8 Villanova commit Matt Hodge, scored 11 points, including a 3-point play in the opening seconds of the second half that pushed the lead to double-digits for the first time.
“It means a lot,” Jayden Hodge said. “Last year we came up short against Ranney in the semifinals so we couldn’t make it here – it means a lot to the school, to me and my brother. We did our best and got the W and would like to come here next year and get the win.”
“So special to come back as a coach and do this and be a part of it,” said St. Rose head coach Brian Lynch, who won three SCT titles as a player at CBA. “This is what drew me back into coaching in high school, to be a part of it. Our guys went through a lot of adversity last year and learned from it and now we’re walking away with a trophy. It says a lot about our guys and says a lot about the character of the kids that we have. “
More: Shore Conference Tournament Boys Basketball Final Four: See who's advancing to final
St. Rose improves to 25-2, with its only losses coming in the season opener against the Patrick School and against Montverde (Fla.), top-ranked in the USA TODAY Super 25, in the recent Metro Classic.
“First one in school history, first one for me, too, so I can finally sit up there with my brother, Shane, who has a few,” said junior forward Gio Panzini, whose older brother, Shane, won a pair of SCT baseball titles while pitching for Red Bank Catholic.
Getting aggressive
The game was actually knotted at 12-all after the first quarter before St. Rose began to inch away, with Jayden Hodge scoring on a steal and slam to open the second quarter, giving his team a lead it would never relinquish.
The lead stretched to 24-16 at halftime, before St. Rose began to pull away in the third quarter. It was 38-18 after a score inside by freshman Avery Lynch with 2:10 left in the third quarter, eventually taking a 41-20 advantage into the final quarter.
“Manasquan is very well coached and they’re going to do a lot of things to trip us up," Lynch said. "So after the first quarter I said the only way we can play is aggressive. We don’t know any other way, so if you are going to start second guessing yourself now it’s not going to work. We’re going to struggle. So I’d rather go down on the attack. And guys started to make plays and find holes, to attack with the pass and the dribble."
But it was St. Rose’s defense that was the star, with Manasquan getting just one field goal total in the second and third quarters. The key matchups had Panzini taking away Manasquan's 6-7 senior sharpshooter Alex Konov, who was held scoreless, and Matt Hodge on Manasquan's 6-5 junior Griffin Linstra, who finished with 12 points but had just two points in the second half.
“Coach always says lock in defensively and your going to win games, so that is what we do,” Panzini said. “We just guard up man and if one guy gets beat you are going to have four guys rotating over to help. It helps that we are big and athletic and can block a bunch of shots, but it's about a want. You have to want it.”
Up next
St. Rose has not won an NJSIAA Non-Public B state championship since 1977, losing last year’s final against Roselle Catholic. They open state play as the top seed in South Non-Public B on Monday, Feb. 26.
Manasquan, the top seed in Central Group 2 and defending Group 2 champion, begins state play Wednesday when the host South River (6:30 p.m.) against South River in a rematch of last year’s Central Group 2 final.
“The goal this year was to win Shore Conference and then our sectional and then states," :Panzini said. "So now we have two more trophies to grab and I know with this team we can take it."
PREGAME
Shore Conference Basketball Tournament Final: St. Rose vs Manasquan, preview, prediction
WEST LONG BRANCH – History will be made today at OceanFirst Bank Center. Regardless of who wins today’s Shore Conference Boys Basketball Tournament final.
Either top-seeded St. Rose is going to win the program’s first-ever local championship, or defending champ Manasquan, seeded third, is going to pull off an upset for the ages.
Tip-off on the Monmouth University campus is at 2 p.m., with the girls’ final getting underway at noon. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the box office, which opens at 10:30 a.m.
Here’s what you need to know for today’s SCT final:
The teams
St. Rose (24-2), whose only losses were against the Patrick School in the season opener, and Montverde (Fla.), No. 1 in the USA TODAY Super 25, in the recent Metro Classic, is the heavy favorite, winning its first three SCT games by an average of 38 points, including a 76-38 win over No. 4 CBA in the semifinals. They beat Manasquan, 63-44, on Jan. 21.
What Manasquan (19-5) has is tradition and history. The reigning Group 2 champs are playing for a Shore Conference title for the sixth straight year. That equals CBA’s run of six straight (1992-97) as the second longest run of finals appearances since Neptune won seven straight SCT titles from 1961-67. And Manasquan’s 19-point loss to St. Rose ranks as the closest any Shore Conference team has come this season.
Potential starting lineups
St. Rose
Matt Hodge, Sr., F, 6-8
Jayden Hodge, So., G, 6-5
Gio Panzini, Sr., F, 6-6
Evan Romano, Jr., G, 6-3
Bryan Ebeling, Jr., G, 6-3
Top reserves
Tyler Cameron, So., G, 6-1
Avery Lynch, Fr., F., 6-5
Manasquan
Griffin Linstra, Jr., G/F, 6-5
Alex Konov, Sr., F, 6-7
Rey Weinseimer, Fr., G, 6-2
Jason Larned, Sr., F, 6-3
Luke Roy, Sr., G, 6-1
Top reserves
Ryan Mulvaney, Sr., F., 6-4
Jack O’Reilly, So., F., 6-5
Key matchup
St. Rose’s Matt Hodge can score when he needs to, but has done a great job facilitating as well, leading the team in assists, as well as points and rebounds. But if he needs to, the 6-8 Villanova commit can turn it on, scoring 38 points against Rutgers Prep, 30 against the Patrick School, 27 against St. Benedict’s and 21 against Montverde and Union Catholic.
Manasquan’s Griffin Linstra, who has stepped into the void left by the departure of Darius Adams and the injury to Ryan Frauenheim and powered the team all season. He had 16 points and five rebounds against St. Rose, and comes off a 21-point, 9-rebound, 6-assist semifinal performance against Holmdel in which he took the game over in the third quarter.
Point of interest
Another area to watch is the battle between Manasquan freshman point guard Rey Weinseimer and St. Rose junior Bryan Ebeling, who missed the semifinals with the flu but is expected to be ready for the final. Ebeling is one of the St. Rose’s top defenders, and Weinseimer’s ability to handle St. Rose’s pressure, including traps, and get Manasquan into its offense will be critical.
X Factors
If St. Rose has once glaring weakness this season it’s an inability to shoot free throws. It cost them in last year’s SCT semifinal loss to Ranney, and they were 5-of-22 from the line against Manasquan earlier this season. If it’s a close game in the fourth quarter, this could be the Purple Roses’ Achilles heel. Jayden Hodge has struggled from the line over the past two seasons.
Manasquan has been in this situation before, and what it does year-after-year is produce players with a competitive fire that comes through in big games. A key early on will be to look at the defensive intensity Manasquan is bringing. They don’t back down, and if they can get into St. Rose and make some stops early, that confidence could go a long way.
What St. Rose has to do
The Purple Roses will try to land a big blow early, and their ability to hang a big run on Manasquan to give themselves so early breathing room will be important. They’ve done that to teams all season. They opened with a 33-10 run into the second quarter in their first meeting with Manasquan, which turned out to be their largest lead of the game.
What Manasquan has to do
The most important thing for Manasquan will be controlling the pace. No one can survive a run-and-gun game against St. Rose. They’re very good in transition, and once they start dunking on you it snowballs. Manasquan also has to shoot the ball well. Senior Alex Konov is a sharpshooter from the outside, and getting him good looks will be imperative. And Manasquan must keep the Purple Roses off the boards, which will not be easy with their length. Not allowing second-chance points, a staple of the St. Rose offense this season, can help keep this game within reach.
Prediction
St. Rose 75, Manasquan 60.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: St. Rose basketball wins first Shore Conference Tournament title
