Basketball Game Preview: Neptune Scarlet Fliers vs. Shore Regional Blue Devils

The Neptune Scarlet Fliers will challenge the Shore Regional Blue Devils at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

Neptune is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against St. John-Vianney on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Neptune was dealt a 73-44 defeat at the hands of St. John-Vianney. While losing is never fun, the Scarlet Fliers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey basketball rankings (they are ranked 88th, while the Lancers are ranked third).

The losing side was boosted by Christa Ramos, who went 5-for-11 to rack up 13 points. She is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last seven games she's played. Another player making a difference was Bre Evans, who posted 12 points.

Meanwhile, Shore Regional came up short against Holmdel on Tuesday and fell 70-57.

Neptune will have to keep a close watch on Kimi Sayson and Ava Coyle, a pair of players who had a big impact on Shore Regional's prior game. Sayson earned 19 points in addition to six boards and five steals, while Coyle had 19 points and four steals.

Neptune's loss dropped their record down to 11-11. As for Shore Regional, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 14-11.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Neptune has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 26 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Shore Regional struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Neptune couldn't quite finish off Shore Regional in their previous meeting back in December of 2024 and fell 57-54. Can Neptune avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.