Woodbury highlights South Jersey boys’ basketball postseason
Woodbury was the lone state champion among boys’ basketball teams from the seven-country South Jersey area. The Thundering Herd was the state Group 1 champion. The other team from the area to reach a state final was Egg Harbor in Group 4. Two other teams, defending Group 2 state champ Camden and defending state Group 3 state champion Camden Eastside, didn’t participate in this year’s NJSIAA state tournament after they got into an altercation with each other during the Camden County Championship game.
Here is a look at the state finalists
Woodbury
The Thundering Herd completed a 24-6 season with a 70-62 win over Newark Tech in the state Group 1 championship game. Sophomore swingman CJ Miller and senior JaBron Solomon each scored 20 in the title game.
Solomon, who also helped the football team win a state championship in the fall, is headed to New Haven on a football scholarship. He averaged 21.9 points.
Woodbury had two close calls in the South Jersey Group 1 playoff. The Thundering Herd earned a 61-57 quarterfinal win over Penns Grove and a 48-44 semifinal triumph over Pitman.
Woodbury then beat Burlington City. 74-46 to win the South Jersey Group 1 title.
Then the Thundering Herd beat Eagle Academy, 63-56 in the state semifinal before finishing business by winning the state title, their first since 2018.
Egg Harbor Township
Egg Harbor Township had a great season, going 28-6 and beating top-seeded Lenape, 41-36 to win the South Jersey Group 4 championship. It was an impressive showing for the Eagles, who lost to Lenape, 66-52 in last year’s South Jersey Group 4 semifinal.
In the championship win over Lenape, 5-11 senior DJ Germann scored 15 points and 6-2 senior Jay-Nelly Reyes added 14.
The Eagles advanced to the state championship game with a 56-51 win over Trenton in the state Group 4 semifinal. Reyes scored 22 points and Germann added 17 points.
The Eagles saw their season end with a 52-45 loss to Paterson Eastside in the state Group 4 final. In the final, Reyes scored 13 points and Germann added 12.
For the season Germann averaged 16.4 points and Reyes averaged 14.3.
While EHT finished second to St. Augustine in the Cape Atlantic National Division, the Eagles got revenge by beating the Hermits, 63-60 in the Cape Atlantic League championship.
The others
The other South Jersey champions were Middle Township in Group 2. Middle Township saw its season end with a 46-43 loss to eventual state Group 2 champion Manasquan. In the state final, Manasquan was dominant in beating Caldwell, 62-29.
Moorestown won the South Jersey Group 3 championship and then fell to Nottingham, 56-49 in the state Group 3 semifinal.
No team from the seven-county South Jersey area competed in the South Jersey Non-Public A or B championship games.
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Author: Marc Narducci
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