One high school basketball team from The Trentonian’s coverage area remains alive in the state tournament. Thrive Charter will play for its second consecutive sectional title Saturday evening when it hosts Point Pleasant Beach at 5 p.m. in the Central Jersey Group I boys basketball final. The top- seeded Titans (20-5) cruised through the first three rounds with a 96-25 win over Keansburg, an 80-44 win over Henry Hudson, and a 73-25 win over Shore. They are heavily favored again at home against the second-seeded Garnet Gulls (21-7), who beat Perth Amboy Magnet in the first round, 64-23; then Dayton in the quarterfinals, 70-57; then Manville in the semifinals, 49-35. Point Pleasant Beach is balanced with five players who average close to double-figure scoring, but this team doesn’t appear to have enough high-end talent or size to hang with Thrive Charter at the Iron Palace, where the Titans have lost only once all season. Senior guard Tyler Hammond leads Thrive Charter in scoring with 14 points per game, including 83 3-pointers on the season. Senior forward Marjon Skillman averages 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds. Senior guard Javion Cesar-Jones is also an important play-maker for the Titans with has four years of varsity experience. With a victory, Thrive Carter will be two wins away from its second consecutive state title. Group I’s South Jersey champion awaits next Wednesday, followed by the North Jersey champion on Sunday, March 15 at Rutgers. The state final is where Thrive Charter is most likely to be threatened as the North Jersey favorite is Shabazz (26-1), which is the 18th-ranked team in the state. The Central Jersey Group III title games won’t feature any local teams as the Lawrence and Ewing boys, along with the Ewing girls, all lost in Wednesday’s semifinals. ...read more read less