HAMILTON — Thrive Charter boys basketball coach Khalid Lewis spent the last couple months watching film of Point Pleasant Beach because he had a hunch that his team might run into that scrappy Shore Conference team in the Central Jersey Group I Tournament. His hunch came true when the top-two seed s clashed in the sectional final on Saturday evening at the Iron Palace. What Lewis didn’t expect to see was Point Pleasant Beach slow down the pace of the game to such an extreme that the second-seeded Garnet Gulls were far and away the most competitive adversary in the bracket for the top-seeded Titans. “That threw me off, honestly” Lewis said. “It threw me off because I think they’re good at pushing the ball and getting up the floor fast. So when they slowed it down … it kind of worked in our favor.” Thrive Charter flexed its muscles in the end, closing the final 16 minutes on a 19-1 run to capture its second straight sectional title with a 48-23 win. Thrive Charter coach Khalid Lewis cuts down the net after defeating Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Javion Cesar-Jones lifts the championship trophy after defeating Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter players celebrate with the championship trophy after defeating Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Tyler Hammond, left, puts up a shot as he’s fouled by Point Pleasant Beach’s Elijah Ives, right, during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Sean Turner, 2, puts up a shot against Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Teriyon Page, 4, lays the ball in the basket around the defense of Point Pleasant Beach’s Ryan Mahoney, 13, during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Kim Ross, left, drives to the basket as Point Pleasant Beach’s Ryan Mahoney, center, and Tyler Preston, right, defend during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Sean Turner, right, looks for a teammate to pass the ball to as Point Pleasant Beach’s Ryan Mahoney, 13, defends during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Tyler Hammond shoots a 3-pointer against Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Javion Cesar-Jones, right, dribbles the ball up the court as Point Pleasant Beach’s Elijah Ives, left, defends during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Jamar Young, left, pressures Point Pleasant Beach’s Ryan Mahoney, right, in the backcourt during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Marjon Skillman, center, goes to the basket between Point Pleasant Beach’s Danny Cavanaugh, right, and Jacob Edgecomb, left, during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Ty Hobbs, right, defends as Point Pleasant Beach’s Tyler Preston, let, brings the ball up the court during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Marjon Skillman, right, lays the ball in the basket over the defense of Point Pleasant Beach’s Jacob Edgecomb, left, during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Tyler Hammond shoots a 3-pointer against Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter’s Tyler Hammond reacts after he made a 3-pointer at the end of the second quarter against Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter coach Khalid Lewis yells to his team against Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter players surround Marjon Skillman, 10, as he is interviewed by WBCB after winning the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter players celebrate with the championship trophy after defeating Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Thrive Charter coach Khalid Lewis celebrates by cutting down the net after defeating Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Show Caption1 of 20Thrive Charter coach Khalid Lewis cuts down the net after defeating Point Pleasant Beach during the Central Group I boys basketball final on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at the Iron Palace in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Expand Point Pleasant Beach clearly did its homework on Thrive Charter’s athleticism and knew that it couldn’t try to win a track meet. It did a nice job of taking care of the ball with only seven turnovers. But the issue with milking the clock is that you still have to score, and Thrive Charter played dominant defense with lopsided rebounding. The Titans held their visitors to only 22.5 percent shooting from the field, including only three field goals in the last three quarters and 0-for-13 shooting in the fourth. The Garnet Gulls’ only point of the fourth quarter came on a free throw with 2.3 seconds left. “We respect them. We knew they were a good team,” Lewis said. “They have five players that average double-digit points, so again, we weren’t looking past them. We tried to turn them over. I think we struggled a little bit to do that, but we didn’t struggle to stop them. We kept them to one shot each possession. Our guys just stuck to the game plan. Kudos to them.” Senior forward Marjon Skillman was the biggest kid on the court and played like it, netting a game-high 17 points with a boatload of rebounds to lead the charge. “My mentality is to go into every game (thinking), ‘Nobody can stop me,’” Skillman said. “I felt like my presence was really important because every time I would get the ball, they would collapse and they would leave my shooters open.” Sean Turner finished with 11 points and Tyler Hammond netted nine, including a buzzer-beater 3 from the corner at the end of the second quarter to give Thrive Charter a 25-12 halftime lead. “I felt like we had to come out with more energy because I had a feeling they wouldn’t let up, so we had to come out with more energy in the second half,” Skillman said. Hammond and Skillman both have more than 1,000 points for their careers and were integral parts of last year’s team that won the overall Group I state title, so the Titans are soaring with confidence. “I felt like we could go back-to-back in the beginning of the season,” Skillman said. “We feel quite ready to be back-to-back state champions.” Thrive Charter is two wins away from accomplishing that feat. Next up is New Egypt, which made a stunning run through the South Jersey bracket as the No. 14 seed, in the state semifinals on Wednesday at Monroe. “That was our plan coming into this year. We knew we had a lot coming back (after) last year,” Lewis said. “Our kids put their minds to it and they locked in and got it done. But we ain’t done yet.” Thrive Charter’s average margin of victory across its four wins in the Central Jersey bracket was 45 points, which is sure to upset fans who want to see more parity in Group I (the smallest public schools). The Titans will be moving up to Group II next year because of an NJSIAA rule change that now factors postseason success into the classifications for non-traditional public schools. “There’s always going to be chatter,” Lewis said. “We play whoever steps on the court. We don’t pick, we don’t choose who we play against. We play whoever steps on the court. If y’all got a problem with that, ask the NJSIAA. That’s all I can say.” POINT PLEASANT BEACH (23) Breckenridge 2-0-5, Edgecomb 2-0-6, Ives 1-0-2, Cavanaugh 1-0-2, Mahoney 0-2-2, Preston 1-2-5, Tierney 0-1-1. Totals — 7-5-23. THRIVE CHARTER (48) Skillman 8-1-17, Turner 5-0-11, Cesar-Jones 2-0-4, Page 2-0-4, Hammond 2-4-9, Shaw 1-0-2. Totals — 20-5-48. Point Pleasant Beach (21-8) 10 2 10 1 — 23 Thrive Charter (21-5) 15 10 10 13 — 48 3-point goals: Edgecomb 2, Breckenridge, Preston (PPB), Hammond 2, Turner (TC). ...read more read less