Plenty of depth in this year's SCT fields Handful of local teams with legitimate shots at glory BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer SCOTT PILLING staff Derek Becker and his CBA teammates are one of the teams hoping to knock Freehold Township from the ranks of the unbeatens en route to capturing the ShoreConference Tournament title. You hear the phrase "must-win games" all too often over the course of a season. Coaches like to use the label as a motivational tool, hoping the added significance will help instill a sense of desperation in their teams, who may have displayed some effort issues at times during the regular season. But once you reach this week in the high school basketball season, the cliché phrase finally fits the billing. From here on out, they're all must-win games for the teams entering the postseason. There are several local hoops teams in the must-win predicament this week, as the Shore Conference Tournament gets under way with first-round games tonight. Freehold Township is the obvious top seed in the boys bracket, as the undefeated Patriots have been nothing short of dominant from the opening day of the season. That put Neptune at No. 2, followed by Christian Brothers Academy. CBA has more often than not entered this tournament as the team to beat. This year, however, the Colts got off to a bit of a slow start (6-3) against a very difficult schedule, as the Colts' young lineup took a little time to get accustomed to playing together. As they enter the Round of 16 Friday night against the winner of tonight's Long Branch-Point Boro game, the Colts are 15-6 on the year, and a much better team than they were when the season began. It's tough to ever consider the Colts a sleeper pick, but based on how dominant Freehold Township has been this year, anyone other than the Pats has to be considered a sleeper in this tournament. Red Bank Regional is another talented team that could have received the No. 3 seed, if not for a recent loss to a surging Raritan team. Because of that loss, the Bucs (19-2) slipped to the four spot, where they will take on the winner of tonight's Southern-Toms River South match-up on Friday. With the win over Red Bank still fresh on their minds (as well as a solid win over Marlboro on Saturday), Raritan enters tonight's preliminary-round game against Red Bank Catholic brimming with confidence. The Rockets (14-8) got the 12th seed, and could earn a shot at fifth-seeded Colts Neck on Friday with a win tonight over the Caseys (11-10). St. John Vianney, the eighth seed, is another team that is looking to surprise people in this year's tournament. The Lancers (15-5) were the second-best team behind Red Bank in the Class A Central Division this year, and are certainly capable of making some noise here. Unfortunately, should they get past the winner of tonight's Shore-Henry Hudson contest on Friday, they'll most likely face Freehold Township in the quarterfinal round. However, in the interest of not looking too far ahead, a Shore-SJV match-up on Friday would be one of the more attractive second-round games of the tournament, as the Blue Devils (17-4) are a quality team that has plenty of experience and firepower this season. And that's it, as far as the local boys teams go, since no other local teams qualified for the SCT. There are several girls teams looking to make some noise in the conference tourney, however, and none more so than the St. John Vianney Lancers and Middletown South Eagles. While Rumson-Fair Haven got the top seed in the girls bracket, both Red Bank Catholic and SJV could just as easily have gotten the nod. The Lancers, after dropping early match-ups to both RFH and RBC, came back later in the year to avenge those losses. In fact, short of a Jan. 6 loss to St. Rose, the Lancers have been the best team in the Shore - and like CBA, is a much better team than it was in the beginning of the year. Head coach Dawn Karpell took over the SJV program after several successful seasons at Holmdel, and has certainly helped build her reputation as one of the state's budding coaching stars. While much of the Lancers' success can be credited to the team's improved shooting and cohesiveness, opposing coaches also point to the Lancers' improved defensive play. SJV is once again an imposing team on both ends of the floor, which will certainly make them a tough out in this year's SCT. As the third seed, the Lancers will host the winner of tonight's Howell-Toms River North match-up on Friday, while Rumson will take on either Jackson or Mater Dei, and RBC will host either Lacey or Ocean. Neptune got the fourth seed after putting together a stellar regular season (18-1), with their lone loss coming on Friday to RBC, 56-48. While the Scarlet Fliers have not played as difficult a schedule as the top three seeds have, they have played consistently well against all comers, and will be another tough team to knock out. Neptune will host the winner of tonight's Holmdel-Toms River East match-up on Friday. Holmdel got the 13th seed after putting together a strong 11-8 regular season playing in the exceedingly competitive Class A Central Division, which was topped by the SCT's top three seeds, RFH, RBC and SJV. The Hornets, under first-year head coach Debbie Emery, are a dangerous team this year, and could give Neptune problems in the second round. Another dangerous team coming out of the A Central Division is Raritan, the 11th seed, which flourished under head coach Ron Poll this year. The Rockets put together a 14-8 season despite their grueling schedule, and could give sixth-seeded Freehold Borough a tough game, should Raritan get past 22nd-seeded Point Beach in tonight's opening round. Freehold Borough (15-3) is entering the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the Shore, and is being picked by a lot of people as the sleeper of the tournament. Former Mater Dei star Jen Brzucki is the new coach for the Colonials (taking over after Allison MacFarland resigned shortly after the season began), and has instilled an up-tempo offense that has Freehold scoring at a feverish pace this year. Another team entering the SCT with high hopes is the Middletown South Eagles. Head coach Tom Brennan's squad put together a fine regular season en route to winning the Class A North crown. South finished the regular season 16-2 overall, but was undefeated, 12-0, in division play, beating another up-and-coming team, Colts Neck, twice. Middletown South is a veteran team that will hope to use its experience and depth to make a run at the tournament crown. First up for the Eagles is the winner of tonight's Shore-Southern match-up on Friday. State tournament also on the horizon While the SCT is in the spotlight this week, several local teams are also looking forward to the start of the state tournament, which gets under way in a couple of weeks. CBA got the fifth seed in the boys Non-Public South A bracket, and will face Red Bank Catholic in the first round on Feb. 27 in Middletown. The winner will get fourth-seeded St. John Vianney on March 1 in Holmdel. Holy Cross is the top seed in this bracket, followed by St. Augustine and Monsignor Donovan. In North II Group III, the Middletown South boys will face Scotch Plains in the 8-9 game, with the winner to get top-seeded Colonia on March 1. Raritan got the seventh seed in Central Jersey Group II and will face 10th-seeded Carteret in the first round on Feb. 26. The winner gets second-seeded Somerville on March 1. Delaware Valley is the top seed in this bracket, which also includes Shore Regional as the three seed. St. John Vianney's girls got the fourth seed in the Non-Public South A bracket and will take on fifth-seeded Bishop Ahr in their opener on March 1. The winner gets top-seeded Camden Catholic on March 3 in the sectional semifinals. RBC is the second seed in this bracket. Mater Dei's girls (16-4) are the sixth seed in the Non-Public South B bracket, and earned a first-round bye. That means they will open up with third-seeded Sacred Heart on March 2. Middletown South's girls are the fifth seed in the North II Group III tournament, and will face 12th-seeded Holmdel in the first round on Feb. 27, while Keyport, the eighth seed in Central Jersey Group I, takes on ninth-seeded Middlesex. Raritan is the seventh seed in CJ Group II, and will face Bordentown on Feb. 26, with the winner to get second-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven in the second round.