The road to the state finals continues as JSZ brings your state semifinal action from around the Garden State!
Camden 46 Manasquan 45 | Boys | Group 2 State Semifinal
A controversial ending in the Group 2 state semifinal at Central Regional High School. Camden’s Alijah Curry made 2 FTs to give the Panthers a 46-45 lead. Manasquan’s Griffin Linstra appears to beat the buzzer for a Warriors win – but the officials waved off the shot. Camden moves on to the Group 2 state finals. Watch the final sequence below – thanks to Matt Manley of the Shore Sports Network for sharing the video.
Lenape 57 Montgomery 43 | Boys | Group 4 State Semifinal
The Indians turned it on in the fourth quarter, using a 14-0 run to pull away and punch a ticket to the state final. Merrimack commit Tye Dorset led the way with a game-high 18 points in the victory. Ace Lassiter chipped in with 11 points, while Myles Primas added ten points for South champion Lenape (28-3). Steve Donahue scored a team-high 14 points in the loss for Central champion Montgomery (25-4). Lenape will face Elizabeth for the Group 4 state title on Saturday at Rutgers University.
JSZ’s James Mooney has the highlights and reaction from Central Regional High School:
Elizabeth 58 Ridgewood 54 | Boys | Group 4 State Semifinal
London Carson’s 18 point day, paired with another 14 points from Chris Clark, thrusted the Minutemen into the Group 4 state final. Elizabeth (22-5) led for nearly the entire game and had to lean on their defense late to help preserve the win. Ridgewood (21-9) saw their season come to a close despite a game-high 26 points from Johnny Jackson. Elizabeth will face Lenape in the Group 4 state final on Saturday, March 9 at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
JSZ’s Jay Cook has the highlights:
Arts 37 Ramsey 30 | Boys | Group 2 State Semifinal
Arts of Newark is heading to its first state final after holding off a Ramsey rally in the second half. The Jaguars ran out to a 16-4 lead and led by 22-10 at the half. Back to back three-pointers by Matty Stone gave Ramsey a 25-24 lead before Arts took the lead on a Shelton Colwell basket to lead 26-25 at the end of three. Anthony Akande made a critical basket and added four free throws late to preserve the victory.
JSZ’s Rich Chrampanis has the highlights from the Dunn Center in Elizabeth:
Lenape 64 Howell 31 | Girls | Group 4 State Semifinal
Lenape defeated Howell 64-31 to advanced to their first Group 4 Final since 2019. Howell trailed 10-6 after the first quarter, eight points from freshman El-Anita Joe-Samuel in the second would help Lenape extend their lead to 29-14 at halftime. Joe-Samuel finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. The Indians will seek their first State Championship since 2014 against Morristown in the Final.
JSZ’s Nery Rodriguez has the highlights from Monroe: