Bound Brook’s boys’ basketball team celebrates its 2021 Skyland Conference Tournament Gold Division Championship, capping off a perfect 14-0 season.
One has been there, done that, and the other has been there, but not done that for quite some time.
When second-seed Bound Brook (22-4) travels to top-seed Rumson-Fair Haven (20-3) tonight for the Central Jersey Group 2 title game the Crusaders will be gunning for their first sectional championship in over 40 years, while the Bulldogs will be seeking their third in the past six seasons.
Tip-off is at 6:30 pm. Follow Chris Tsakonas (@tsakonas_chris) on Twitter for periodic live updates and stats, with postgame reaction coming later tonight on cjsportsradio.com.
That’s OK for this group at Bound Brook, though. After all, they went 14-0 and won the Skyland Conference Gold (middle) pod last year, completing likely their first undefeated season ever, or at least in modern history. And at one point this year, they had the state’s longest active winning streak, which reached 27 before an early February loss at Immaculata.
In the preseason, the big question for Bound Brook was how they might fare at the end of the season, making the move up to Group 2. Even against larger schools, head coach Anthony Melesurgo may have been thrilled just to get out of the same section as Burlington City, which ended their season in the playoffs four straight years, from 2017 to 2020, a stretch bookended by two losses in the finals.
That 2020 CJ1 final was one this team remembers. Seniors Quadir Harrell, Bryce Cobb and Donovan Nwenyi played in it, as did freshman-now-junior big Jordan Summers, who will be crucial tonight in the rebounding game against Rumson.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with the Crusaders’ about their season and tonight’s Central Jersey Group 1 title game against Rumson-Fair Haven: