The Shore Conference Tournament has come to an end. In the highly anticipated matchup between the St. Rose Purple Roses and Manasquan Warriors, St. Rose prevailed by a score of 48-27. In a game that was never really a competition, St. Rose made it all the more clear that they run the shore this year. The Purple Roses have steamrolled opponents by an average point differential of 38 points. Taking a look at this team, you can see there is something special about them. Led by senior Villanova Commit Matthew Hodge, undecided sophomore Jayden Hodge, and senior Gio Panzini, It’s no surprise that St. Rose was finally able to take home their first SCT Championship Title this year. Matt Hodge, who averaged 16.6 ppg, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists burst onto the scene this year alongside his brother Jayden (12.7/5.3/2.6), and has created one of the most dynamic duos the Shore Conference has ever seen. It shocks no one that this team is ranked Top-25 by ESPN Next, and their 25-2 record (5-0 in shore) backs that ranking up quite well. 

St. Rose started the tournament off red hot, beating #16 Freehold Boro by a jaw-dropping score of 94-46. After that, they blew out Rumson 61-35, advancing to the semi-finals. St. Rose continued their trend in this championship-defining game, killing CBA by a score of 76-38. After watching St. Rose double their opponent’s score in the round prior, it’s hard to imagine Manasquan went into this with the utmost confidence. This was evident in the two’s matchup, where as stated before, the Purple Roses rolled to an easy 48-27 win. 

It’s hard to say that St. Rose truly deserves this title; After all, they did need the help of 3 international transfers to get to this point. Regardless, you can’t discredit the fact that they’ve asserted such dominance over every team they’ve beaten this season, and no matter who you have on your side it’s never a guaranteed win. With St. Rose this season, this has not been the case. They are expected to win, and they’ve set a standard for the shore that will be unattainable for quite some time. It’s going to be fun watching them work through the state tournament, and with the help of the Hodge brothers, I think they have a real shot at winning it all.