SCT finals produce first title for St. Rose boys while St. John Vianney girls win 17th crown
February 23, 2024 at 7:00 a.m.
The scenarios entering this year’s Shore Conference Tournament at Monmouth University were quite contrasting for the St. Rose, Belmar boys and St. John Vianney, Holmdel girls basketball teams.
The 2nd-seeded Lancers sterling history included 16 SCT titles but, for one of the few times in recent years, they entered the tournament not favored to win as Red Bank Catholic was top seed.
The top-seeded Purple Roses had never even reached the boys finals, but were almost everyone’s favorite as the state’s No. 1 ranked team.
Different storylines but the same result via the same effort – outstanding defense against teams from Manasquan.
St. John Vianney (20-7), which is ranked No. 5 in the state but has as many losses this year as in the past five seasons combined, held off the arch-rival Warriors, 33-27.
“People have been doubting us all year, they’ve been saying this is the year to beat Vianney,” SJV senior guard Julia Karpell said. “I’m so happy we won to just prove that it might not be the year. We lost a couple games but we’re still here.”
St. Rose (25-2) took the male Warriors, who were defending champions, and claimed a landmark, 48-27 victory.
“I told them how special it is to win any championship, but what makes this so cool is it’s the first one in school history,” coach Brian Lynch said. “These guys are gonna be remembered for a long time. It’s a really big deal for the school, for our program to make a new name for ourselves. We have a special group and I felt these guys deserved it this year.”
Ironically, each winner held Mansaquan to 27 points. As usual, defense wins championships.
“In these games there’s a lot of pressure,” Lynch said. “It’s a big moment, the lights go on and all of a sudden, the defensive pressure picks up. Making shots and the ease of scoring goes out the window. If you’re the more physical presence defensively and you control the boards, you take a lot of pressure off your offense. Then it gets tight down the stretch, that’s when you win the game.”
Usually a man-to-man, tracking defense, SJV mixed in some zone to surprise the Warriors. Getting the right system down has been a work in progress this year for a team that’s reloading.
“If we couldn’t figure out our defense it would be tough,” said Karpell, the Lancers’ lone returning starter and daughter of head coach Dawn Karpell. “I think we’ve figured out what’s gonna work. Our communication is better, we’re finally getting to know where each other thrives on the court. Everyone is starting to know what each other can do.”
It never gets old for the St. John Vianney girls basketball team, as the Lancers celebrate their fourth straight Shore Conference Tournament title and 17th overall at Monmouth University Feb. 18. Contributed photo
Karpell’s mom referred to Julia as the team’s transition player since she is the common denominator between the past and current champs. Dawn Karpell praised her daughter’s play and leadership after she collected 14 points and five rebounds to lead SJV to its fourth straight SCT crown.
“I played with the group that graduated last year since second grade,” Julia said. “I knew this was my time to step up and get everyone on the same boat. It took some time, but I think we’re hitting that at the right point of the season.”
Taylor Sofilkanich helped pace a team effort with six points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Aleena Dinker, who filled in when Zoe Brooks was hurt last year, Daniella Matus, Stella Lockhart, Madison Kocis, Brooklyn Taylor and Charlotte Bradley all had a hand in the victory.
Manasquan reached the final by upsetting top-seeded Red Bank Catholic in the semifinals, but that was no bargain for the Lancers who lost to the Warriors earlier this year.
“That month of growth we had from that game to this one was the difference; just being more locked in on what we had to do on both sides of the ball,” Karpell said. “We had a similar game plan this time around but played more of a zone, and that really messed with them. Offensively we moved the ball, worked for every shot.”
St. Rose did the same and pulled away in the second and third quarters behind Jayden Hodge (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Matthew Hodge (11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists). The brothers transferred from Belgium prior to last season because their father wanted them to play for his good friend, Lynch.
“It really starts with them,” the coach said. “They’re both high character kids and play the right way. They’re not selfish. When they worked out around the area other kids saw how they played and it was an attractive moment for them to say ‘Hey I like the way they play, the way they pass. They play good defense, I wanna go play with those guys.’ When they decided to come here that spawned a whole ripple effect of kids deciding to come here.”
Soon to follow were Italy transfer Bryan Ebeling and New Jersey transfers Gio Panzini and Evan Romano, who all played a part in the victory along with Avery Lynch (the coach’s nephew) and Tyler Cameron.
Despite being a heavy favorite, St. Rose drew inspiration from its 2023 disappointment. As the No. 2 seed, it was upset by 11th-seeded Ranney in the semifinals.
“Last year was a good example of not counting their chickens before they’re hatched,” Lynch said. “You learn from that. Our guys came in with that attitude of ‘Don’t expect anything, you gotta get out and earn whatever it is you’re trying to get.’
“We did a good job staying super focused throughout the whole tournament,” he continued. “There was a lot of pressure. We had beaten Shore teams by an average of 30 points. Everyone just assumed ‘Yeah St. Rose is gonna win.’ But after what happened last year, we knew it wasn’t a given.”
When it came to SJV, Karpell enjoyed the fact her team’s championship was not a given this year.
“It makes it more fun,” she said. “It makes it more intriguing for fans, like ‘Who’s gonna win?’”
As it turned out, SJV won again, and St. Rose won for the first time – with lockdown defense being the common denominator.
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The scenarios entering this year’s Shore Conference Tournament at Monmouth University were quite contrasting for the St. Rose, Belmar boys and St. John Vianney, Holmdel girls basketball teams.
The 2nd-seeded Lancers sterling history included 16 SCT titles but, for one of the few times in recent years, they entered the tournament not favored to win as Red Bank Catholic was top seed.
The top-seeded Purple Roses had never even reached the boys finals, but were almost everyone’s favorite as the state’s No. 1 ranked team.
Different storylines but the same result via the same effort – outstanding defense against teams from Manasquan.
St. John Vianney (20-7), which is ranked No. 5 in the state but has as many losses this year as in the past five seasons combined, held off the arch-rival Warriors, 33-27.
“People have been doubting us all year, they’ve been saying this is the year to beat Vianney,” SJV senior guard Julia Karpell said. “I’m so happy we won to just prove that it might not be the year. We lost a couple games but we’re still here.”
St. Rose (25-2) took the male Warriors, who were defending champions, and claimed a landmark, 48-27 victory.
“I told them how special it is to win any championship, but what makes this so cool is it’s the first one in school history,” coach Brian Lynch said. “These guys are gonna be remembered for a long time. It’s a really big deal for the school, for our program to make a new name for ourselves. We have a special group and I felt these guys deserved it this year.”
Ironically, each winner held Mansaquan to 27 points. As usual, defense wins championships.
“In these games there’s a lot of pressure,” Lynch said. “It’s a big moment, the lights go on and all of a sudden, the defensive pressure picks up. Making shots and the ease of scoring goes out the window. If you’re the more physical presence defensively and you control the boards, you take a lot of pressure off your offense. Then it gets tight down the stretch, that’s when you win the game.”
Usually a man-to-man, tracking defense, SJV mixed in some zone to surprise the Warriors. Getting the right system down has been a work in progress this year for a team that’s reloading.
“If we couldn’t figure out our defense it would be tough,” said Karpell, the Lancers’ lone returning starter and daughter of head coach Dawn Karpell. “I think we’ve figured out what’s gonna work. Our communication is better, we’re finally getting to know where each other thrives on the court. Everyone is starting to know what each other can do.”
It never gets old for the St. John Vianney girls basketball team, as the Lancers celebrate their fourth straight Shore Conference Tournament title and 17th overall at Monmouth University Feb. 18. Contributed photo
Karpell’s mom referred to Julia as the team’s transition player since she is the common denominator between the past and current champs. Dawn Karpell praised her daughter’s play and leadership after she collected 14 points and five rebounds to lead SJV to its fourth straight SCT crown.
“I played with the group that graduated last year since second grade,” Julia said. “I knew this was my time to step up and get everyone on the same boat. It took some time, but I think we’re hitting that at the right point of the season.”
Taylor Sofilkanich helped pace a team effort with six points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Aleena Dinker, who filled in when Zoe Brooks was hurt last year, Daniella Matus, Stella Lockhart, Madison Kocis, Brooklyn Taylor and Charlotte Bradley all had a hand in the victory.
Manasquan reached the final by upsetting top-seeded Red Bank Catholic in the semifinals, but that was no bargain for the Lancers who lost to the Warriors earlier this year.
“That month of growth we had from that game to this one was the difference; just being more locked in on what we had to do on both sides of the ball,” Karpell said. “We had a similar game plan this time around but played more of a zone, and that really messed with them. Offensively we moved the ball, worked for every shot.”
St. Rose did the same and pulled away in the second and third quarters behind Jayden Hodge (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Matthew Hodge (11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists). The brothers transferred from Belgium prior to last season because their father wanted them to play for his good friend, Lynch.
“It really starts with them,” the coach said. “They’re both high character kids and play the right way. They’re not selfish. When they worked out around the area other kids saw how they played and it was an attractive moment for them to say ‘Hey I like the way they play, the way they pass. They play good defense, I wanna go play with those guys.’ When they decided to come here that spawned a whole ripple effect of kids deciding to come here.”
Soon to follow were Italy transfer Bryan Ebeling and New Jersey transfers Gio Panzini and Evan Romano, who all played a part in the victory along with Avery Lynch (the coach’s nephew) and Tyler Cameron.
Despite being a heavy favorite, St. Rose drew inspiration from its 2023 disappointment. As the No. 2 seed, it was upset by 11th-seeded Ranney in the semifinals.
“Last year was a good example of not counting their chickens before they’re hatched,” Lynch said. “You learn from that. Our guys came in with that attitude of ‘Don’t expect anything, you gotta get out and earn whatever it is you’re trying to get.’
“We did a good job staying super focused throughout the whole tournament,” he continued. “There was a lot of pressure. We had beaten Shore teams by an average of 30 points. Everyone just assumed ‘Yeah St. Rose is gonna win.’ But after what happened last year, we knew it wasn’t a given.”
When it came to SJV, Karpell enjoyed the fact her team’s championship was not a given this year.
“It makes it more fun,” she said. “It makes it more intriguing for fans, like ‘Who’s gonna win?’”
As it turned out, SJV won again, and St. Rose won for the first time – with lockdown defense being the common denominator.