South Jersey basketball: NJSIAA state semifinal previews
Shawnee, Delsea, Haddonfield, Woodbury and Camden Catholic will take the court Thursday to try to advance to state finals.
All games Thursday.
Group 1
Woodbury (19-11) vs. Point Pleasant Beach (19-9) at Toms River North, 5:30 p.m.
Woodbury's road to semifinals: Beat Audubon, 76-24; Haddon Twp., 46-45; Penns Grove, 70-65; and Glassboro, 63-52.
Woodbury player to watch: Junior guard Aaron Estrada, who averages 21.1 points, is a clever lefty who can control play with his ball-handling, passing and scoring.
Point Pleasant Beach's road to semifinals: Beat STEM Civics, 76-52; Middlesex, 76-57; New Egypt, 63-42; and Burlington City, 53-47 (OT).
Point Pleasant Beach player to watch: Senior guard Mohamed Traore averages 18.6 points.
Fast fact: Woodbury is 9-1 in tournament games in the last two seasons.
Pick: Woodbury, 56-55.
Group 2
Haddonfield (27-3) vs. Rumson-Fair Haven (25-2) at Toms River North, 7:30 p.m.
Haddonfield's road to semifinals: Beat Cape May Tech, 62-44; Haddon Heights, 52-45; Camden, 54-53 (OT); and Lower Cape May, 63-45.
Haddonfield player to watch: Junior swingman Dan Fleming, who averages 11.2 points, is a top three-point threat.
Rumson-Fair Haven road to the semifinals: Beat North Plainfield, 71-47; Spotswood, 71-63; Bordentown, 59-49; and Carteret, 57-52.
Rumson-Fair Haven player to watch: Junior forward Ian O'Connor averages 15 points.
Fast fact: Haddonfield has won 12 of its last 13 games.
Pick: Rumson-Fair Haven 60, Haddonfield 58.
Group 3
Delsea (25-5) vs. Nottingham (27-2) at Brick Memorial, 7 p.m.
Delsea's road to semifinals: Beat Cherry Hill West, 71-50; Pinelands, 64-36; Timber Creek, 80-70; and Seneca, 53-40.
Delsea player to watch: Senior point guard Kolby Braxton is a top floor general who also can score, rebound and defend.
Nottingham's road to the semifinals: Beat Jackson Liberty, 77-44; Ocean Twp., 78-61; Northern Burlington, 73-57; and Moorestown, 59-56 (OT).
Nottingham player to watch: Senior forward Darell Johnson averages 22.4 points and is one of three seniors who have scored 1,000 career points.
Fast fact: Delsea has won 17 of its last 18 games.
Pick: Delsea 62, Nottingham 60.
Group 4
Shawnee (26-4) vs. Trenton (22-7) at Egg Harbor Twp., 5:30 p.m.
Shawnee's road to the final: Beat Southern, 64-38, Kingsway, 76-62; Eastern, 59-54; and Atlantic City, 61-48.
Shawnee player to watch: Senior forward Dylan Deveney, a top three-point shooter, has scored 26, 23 and 23 points in the Renegades' last three games.
Trenton's road to the semifinals: Beat East Brunswick, 59-49; Hunterdon Central, 63-58; Highstown, 70-56; and Colts Neck, 42-41.
Trenton player to watch: Senior guard Ji'Ayir Brown averages 12.7 points.
Fast fact: Shawnee is 54-7 since the start of last season.
Pick: Shawnee 66, Trenton 60.
Non-Public South A final
Camden Catholic (22-6) vs. St. Joseph Metuchen (23-4) at Brick Memorial, 5 p.m.
Camden Catholic's road to final: Beat Bishop Ahr, 69-27, and St. Augustine, 68-65 (OT).
Camden Catholic player to watch: Senior swingman Dominic Dunn is a top three-point threat.
St. Joseph's road to the final: Beat Bishop Eustace, 55-53, and Red Bank Catholic, 64-37.
St. Joseph player to watch: Junior guard Luke Fresco leads the Falcons with 48 three-pointers.
Fast fact: Camden Catholic has won nine games in a row.
Pick: Camden Catholic, 54-52.