Ramapo boys’ basketball (submitted photo)
With ten sophomores in the program, Ramapo isn’t very senior-laden, and one might think easy pickin’s in a state tournament environment, where it’s win-or-go-home
But that hasn’t been the case. Sure, a fluke team might win a game or two in the sectionals, but you don’t get to this point in the season on a fluke. You get to this point in the season by being good.
And that’s how Ramapo won the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 championship, and now finds themselves in the Group 3 semifinals Thursday night against North 2, Group 3 champions Colonia.
The two will face off at 7 pm at Phillipsburg High School, with the winner moving on to Sunday’s NJISAA Public Group Finals at Jersey Mike’s Arena on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway. You can hear tonight’s game on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko calling all the action, starting with the pregame show at 6:45. Click here to listen live for free, with no paywall.
Ramapo was the top seed in North 1, Group 3, and won fourth straight at home to get to the group semi stage. They got here with a 72-54 win over 16th-seed Northern Highlands, a 62-44 win over 8-seed Morris Hills in the quarterfinals, a 63-36 win over 13-seed Paramus in the sectional semifinals, and a 58-47 win over 2-seed Tenafly in the North 1, Group 3 title game.
Only five players got in the scoring column in that game, led by 20 points from Nate Burleson – yes, the son of the former NFL player – while Peyton Seals, the team’s leading scorer this season, chipped in 16.
Learn more about Colonia’s Group 3 semifinal opponent Ramapo by clicking below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Raiders’ first-year head coach Nick Vier: