Category: Boys Basketball

Gill St. Bernard's celebrates a North Jersey Non-Public B title on March 9th, 2026

March 9, 2026March 9, 2026 by Alec Crouthamel

Gill St. Bernard’s boys hang on, defeat Roselle Catholic for first North Non-Public B crown since 2012

Gill St. Bernard’s is back on the mountaintop.

Its been 14 years since their first – and only – sectional title, won all the way back in 2012.

The Knights (27-2) extended their winning streak to 23 games and won the Non-Public North B title 58-49 over Roselle Catholic in a rematch of last year’s sectional final.

It took a heroic closing effort, as the Lions (22-7) never went away, but Gill came up with just enough stops to come away victorious.

The upperclassmen trio of Dorsett Mulcahy, Prosper Sonkoua, and Jahmal Dixon led the way in a veteran-like effort. Mulcahy paced the game in scoring with 19 points — 14 coming in the first half — while Sonkoua found his scoring touch late and defended all over the floor, finishing with 15 points.

Similarly, Dixon wreaked havoc as a roving defender, coming up with three steals and eight points in the third quarter alone. He finished with ten. Sophomore guard Connor Junker hit some big-time free throws late to seal the win as part of a seven-point performance.

Gill took the early edge, led by two three-pointers from Mulcahy for a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Roselle Catholic continued to battle, drawing back even with some tough shotmaking and effort from senior Caleb Jones, usually the team’s third or fourth option. He tied senior Trevon Lewis for the team lead with 15 points each, and Jones hounded the glass, resulting in easy looks at the rim, taking advantage of his 6-foot-7 frame. They were the only two Lions in double figures, though freshman Holland Johnson knocked down a trio of threes off the bench for nine points, thrice his season average per game.

By the time the dust settled in the first half, both teams went into the locker room looking to need a breather after a physical, intense 16 minutes of play. The Knights eked ahead 28-27 at the half.

Then in the third quarter, Gill finally put its foot down and took control. Dixon proved why he’s one of the top all-around glue-guy point guards in the area, running the half-court offense and hunkering down on the defensive end. He scored eight of the Knights’ 15 points in the quarter, with Sonkoua also knocking down a three-pointer to help keep Gill ahead. It held onto a four-point lead after three quarters.

Roselle Catholic threw its final haymakers in the fourth, as the game ground to a halt of half-court offense. The Knights tried — and succeeded — to slow the game down with their lead barely intact. Lewis came alive with eight points in the fourth, and brought the Lions back to within a possession in the final minutes.

With the game in the balance, Mulcahy knocked down a layup, then Gill worked a tough shot that Lewis missed, and it was smooth sailing from there. The Knights made their free throws and came away with their first sectional title in 14 years.

Gill will play in one last game, the State Non-Public B Championship Game, on Thursday at 7 pm at Jersey Mike’s Arena at Rutgers University in Piscataway against the South B champion, Holy Cross Prep, which beat Bishop Eustace Monday night, 55-42.

Click below to hear postgame reactions with Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mergin Sina and guards Dorsett Mulcahy and Jahmal Dixon, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:

March 9, 2026March 8, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Montgomery one win away from back-to-back trips to Rutgers, faces Cherry Hill East Tuesday in Group 4 semifinals

The good news is, just about everyone has been here before.

The bad news? Well, there is no bad news.

Fresh off its third straight Central Jersey Group 4 title, the Montgomery boys’ basketball team will play in the Group 4 semifinals Tuesday night, when the Cougars travel down to Deptford High School for a 5 pm tipoff. But unlike the last two years, they will not be playing Lenape.

Monty lost to the Indians two seasons ago in the Group 4 semis, but got revenge last year with a win that sent them to Rutgers, where they fell to Plainfield. This year, the Cougars (25-4) get, well, the Cougars of Cherry Hill East (25-3)

(So, it looks like referring to the teams by their nicknames is out.)

Cherry Hill East would have earned the top seed in the Camden County Tournament, but with a slew of injuries, they opted out. They did, however, also get the No. 1 seed in the South Jersey Group 4 bracket in the NJSIAA Tournament, and knocked off top-seed Lenape on the road, 57-52 to get here.

You can hear Tuesday evening’s game live from Deptford High School at 5 pm as part of a doubleheader on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Pregame is at 4:45 with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Click here to listen. It’ll be followed by the girls’ Group 4 semifinals, as Central champ Franklin takes on South 4 champ Lenape, with tip-off at 7.

Montogmery has been solid all year, with just four losses: two to Rutgers Prep, one to Gill St. Bernard’s, and another to Linden, which lost Friday night to Plainfield in the North 2, Group 4 final.

Penn commit Ethan Lin runs the offense with aplomb; he knows when he needs to score, but can sense when others need to get involved as well, and he did that better than anyone in Friday night’s CJ4 title win over Hillsborough, 55-47.

Sophomore Connor Benedict mixed things up with some threes and a couple of monster two-handed flushes, Sriyans Mallavarapu was swatting away shots, and Xavier Harrigan was shape-shifting into whatever the defense required of him.

And much of the same can be expected Tuesday night, after a long bus ride down to Deptford, which is just a few miles south-southeast of Philadelphia. There again, Montgomery has “been there, done that,” too. Each of their last two trips to the Group 4 finals were down at Central Regional in Bayville.

Click here for a preview of the Group 4 semifinal matchup between Montgomery and Cherry Hill East with Monty coach Kris Grundy and Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

March 9, 2026March 9, 2026 by Alec Crouthamel

Gill St. Bernard’s boys take long win streak into rematch with Roselle Catholic in Non-Public North B final

It’s hard to be much better than near-perfect.

Gill St. Bernard’s will put that to the test in the sectional final.

The top-seeded Knights (26-2) bring a 22-game winning streak into the Non-Public North B title game against second-seeded Roselle Catholic, a rematch of last year’s final. The Lions (22-6) return a good piece of their core from that team, while Gill St. Bernard’s has seen a mix of returning talent and players stepping up into new roles.

Last year’s game was a true grinder, won by Roselle Catholic 43-35, though six of those points came in one trip to the foul line amid a wild finish, where the Lions attempted to let the ball stay on the ground with the clock running after a late basket by the Knights. Head coach Mergin Sina, irate with the precious seconds coming off the clock, picked up two technical fouls and was ejected.

This year’s iteration features two increasingly-explosive offenses from last year, and hopefully without the fireworks this time around. You can hear the game on Monday at 5 pm from John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson, with pregame coverage starting at 4:45, as Alec Crouthamel will call the action. Click here to listen.

Gill St. Bernard’s brings a balanced and multifaceted offense that can beat you in several different ways.

There’s senior guard Dorsett Mulcahy, a veteran who looks and plays similarly to his older brother Paul, but with his own skillset brought to the table. He can shoot over defenders, or post them up to set up passes to the outside. Many of those passes have gone to sophomore Connor Junker, a sniper from the outside who is beginning to fully round out his game on both ends.

Then there’s senior forward Prosper Sonkoua, a true two-way force. He has taken a step forward in nearly every part of his game, with a blossoming off-the-dribble driving game, a pull-up threat from the outside, and a strong passer while slashing. And that’s not even mentioning his ability to guard — and stop — any position, point guard to center. Senior Jahmal Dixon has also taken a step forward as a true Swiss Army Knife, with the ability to create for himself and set up others, while growing into a pesky defender.

To sum it all up, Gill can beat an opponent in so many different ways, and it’ll have to do so in a highly-anticipated matchup against the Lions.

Top scorers Trevon Lewis (15.8 points per game), Tyrease Hunter (13.2 points per game), and Kahlik Thomas (12.7 points per game) all played in this matchup last year and made their own impacts. Hunter and Lewis combined for 33 of Roselle Catholic’s 43 points in the game, while Thomas grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds as a force on the interior.

All three have improved their respective games as seniors, with Lewis even dropping a quadruple-double on Westfield earlier in the year.

Third-year head coach Todd Decker has done plenty of winning in his career, with prior stints at St. Peter’s Prep and the Patrick School, and has another crew ready to defend its Non-Public B title from last year.

But one year after a grind-it-out style game last season, both teams have the offensive horses to reach or even surpass those numbers.

By halftime.

It’ll be a hotly-contested matchup in Paterson between several veteran stars.

Click below to hear a preview interview with Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mergin Sina and Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

March 8, 2026March 7, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 Final (Boys): (1) Colonia 57, (2) Chatham 46

Jayce Rodriguez scored 25 points and the rest of the lineup had balanced scoring as top-seeded Colonia beat second-seed Chatham at home to with the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 championship, its fifth straight and sixth in the last seven playoff seasons, all under coach Jose Rodriguez.

Click below to listen to Alec Crouthamel and Nick Hart call all the play-by-play from Colonia High School on March 7, 2026.

March 8, 2026March 7, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

History repeats itself for Montgomery boys’ basketball coach Kris Grundy, as third straight CJ4 title nets his 350th win

Sometimes a milestone comes at the oddest time.

For Montgomery boys’ basketball coach Kris Grundy, his 300th career coaching win came on a big night: Friday, March 1st, when his top-seeded Cougars beat second-seed Marlboro to win the Central Jersey Group 4 championship.

That was Monty’s first title win since 2010, making the moment doubly meaningful.

This year, in his 21st season, a milestone struck again, in almost the same place.

While that title was won in Montgomery’s own gym, as was last year’s, this year’s squad had to go “on the road” – albeit just up the road, with that main road being Route 206 – to win the title. And that victory was No. 350 for Grundy.

The math was easy to do. After winning his 300th, the Cougars lost to Lenape in the Group 4 semifinals. They won 25 games the following year, last season, and are 25-4 this season.

Montgomery will move on to play Tuesday down at Deptford High School in Gloucester County in the state Group 4 semifinals, where they’ll face Cherry Hill East (25-4), the top-seeded South Jersey Group 4 champion.

2026 Title, Grundy’s 350th Win: Three-peat! Montgomery overcomes raucous road crowd, stingy Hillsborough defense to win third straight CJ4 crown

Colonia celebrates a North 2 Group 3 sectional final win over Chatham (Photo: Nick Hart)

March 7, 2026March 7, 2026 by Alec Crouthamel

Not one, two, three, or four: Colonia downs Chatham for fifth straight sectional title in North 2 Group 3 final

Flash back to January 7th.

Colonia boys basketball had gotten off to a 2-6 start, still working through a young team with all new roles and skillsets.

Two months later, the Patriots (20-10) have put it all together and reached the sectional mountaintop once again.

Top-seeded Colonia won its fifth consecutive sectional championship, defeating second-seeded Chatham 57-46 in the North 2 Group 3 final. The Cougars (24-6) fell to the Patriots for the fourth time in 11 years in the sectional playoffs, with Colonia winning last year in the semifinals, the quarterfinals in 2023, and the 2015 final.

Though sophomore Jayce Rodriguez was the lone Patriot in double-figures with a game-high 25 points, it was a true team effort on both ends of the floor for Colonia while facing off against a high-octane attack from Chatham.

Both teams took a bit to find their footing, but Rodriguez scored seven points in the opening quarter, and senior point guard Dylan Chiera added six, as the two teams ended the first quarter tied at 17.

The Cougars executed their defensive gameplan well in the opening half, with plenty of aggression guarding one-on-one and in the passing lanes, as several of their baskets came off Patriots turnovers.

But the Patriots managed to weather the storm and came up with some big-time key buckets late to pull ahead 29-24 at the half. Colonia went into the locker room with momentum on its side, as the offense had found a few possessions to pull ahead.

Then in the second half, the Patriots’ emphasis — and success — came on the other side of the ball.

They contained a dangerous Chatham offense that had scored at least 65 points in each of its first three sectional tournament games, mixing in both man-to-man and zone to throw off the Cougars’ offensive rhythm.

Two underclassmen came up big for Colonia on that end as well. Freshman forward Desmond Rudanovic battled foul trouble for much of the game, and yet a foul away from being disqualified, he stood tall in the lane at 6-foot-7 and recorded a blocked layup in the fourth quarter, and altered multiple other shots.

When Rudanovic had to leave the floor, sophomore Teagan Amponsah etched his name in Patriots basketball lore. He came up with two blocks in the second half and played tremendous defense inside and outside, on a Chatham wing room with plenty of size, strength, and experience. Seniors Michael MacAniff and Marco Mannino led the way for the visitors with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Senior forward Nfa Clyne — last year a key rotation piece off the bench known for his defense — rose to the moment as a full-time starter as well. He nearly recorded a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, but every single bucket was key down the stretch as all nine of his points came in the fourth quarter. He crashed the glass countless times and helped Colonia come up with big possessions throughout the game, and even beat Chatham at its own game multiple times with fast-break layups to beat the Cougars’ press.

Colonia controlled the score and tempo for much of the second half, never feeling truly in danger. The Cougars cut the deficit to three points in the beginning of the third quarter, but the Patriots immediately responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead to double-digits for the first time.

The rest of the game was played in that same range of differential. Every time Chatham would force a turnover or hit a tough bucket, the Patriots stayed calm and executed on the ensuing possessions themselves.

By the time the buzzer sounded, Colonia had clinched its fifth straight sectional title under head coach Jose Rodriguez, and it did so in the exact fashion the eighth-year head coach wanted: A true team-wide effort that put the young team’s development on full display.

The Patriots advance in the state tournament once again, where they will face off against North 1 Group 3 champion Montville in the Group 3 semifinal. The Mustangs — the fourth seed in the sectional tournament — upset the top two seeds, Tenafly and Teaneck, in back-to-back games for their first sectional final appearance since 1982. The two teams will face off on Wednesday at the Thomas Dunn Sports Center in Elizabeth, with tipoff set for 5 pm.

Click below for postgame reaction on Colonia’s North 2 Group 3 title from head coach Jose Rodriguez, sophomore Jayce Rodriguez, and senior Nfa Clyne, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

March 7, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Central Jersey Group 4 Final (Boys): (3) Montgomery 55, (1) Hillsborough 47 (OT)

Senior Ethan Lin scored 22 points, while sophomore Mike Simborski added 15, as third-seed Montgomery won their third straight Central Jersey Group 4 title with a 55-47 overtime win at top-seeded Hillsborough.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play from Hillsborough High School on March 5, 2026.

Colonia and Piscataway square off in a GMC Red American Division game in Colonia on December 22, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

March 7, 2026March 7, 2026 by Alec Crouthamel

Colonia goes for staggering five-peat in North 2, Group 3 title game against Chatham, in rematch of 2015 final

Coming into this season, Jose Rodriguez had seven seasons under his belt as Colonia’s head boys basketball coach.

In five of those years where a postseason was played, the Patriots (19-10) have appeared in a sectional final.

They have reached that milestone once again in Year 8, as top-seeded Colonia looks to strengthen its stranglehold on the North 2 Group 3 section with its fifth straight title in the balance.

In order to do so, though, the Patriots will have to go through a familiar foe in second-seeded Chatham, as the two teams face off in the sectional playoffs for the third time in four years. They first battled in the 2023 quarterfinals, then in last year’s semifinals, and now in this year’s title game. The Panthers (24-5) lost both previous matchups, but are in the sectional finals for the first time since 2018, when they made a run to the Group 3 final before falling to Nottingham.

You can hear the game on Saturday at 2 pm, with pregame coverage starting at 1:45, as Alec Crouthamel and Nick Hart will call the action. Click here to listen.

Colonia has rebounded from a 2-6 start to the year, with a difficult opening schedule and a young team, and the Patriots now find themselves on the verge of yet another sectional title, with Rodriguez earning GMC Coach of the Year honors.

The top seed in the bracket, Colonia worked through the first two games against 16-seed North Hunterdon and nine-seed Somerville with ease, but had to grind out a 34-30 victory over five-seed Mendham in a rematch of last year’s sectional title.

After scoring just one point in the first quarter, the Patriots rallied and woke up their offense to get back in the game, and eventually made plays late to seal a win.

Freshman forward Desmond Rudanovic hit two key go-ahead baskets in the final three minutes, set up by senior point guard Dylan Chiera. Leading scorer Jayce Rodriguez led the team with 12 points and had to battle against standout guard Talon Wehmeyer on both ends of the floor.

Even with the relative inexperience, save for Rodriguez, Chiera, and senior Nfa Clyne in the main rotation, the Patriots found a way to get back to yet another sectional final.

Chatham, on the other hand, brings a gaudy record with wins at the right time, coming into the game with a stretch of 16 wins in 17 games. The lone loss came to Morris Catholic in the Morris County Tournament final.

The Panthers bring a senior-laden rotation that puts a lot of different players on the floor, due to their frenetic, uptempo style. Similar to Colonia, the first round and quarterfinals went smoothly as Chatham defeated 15th-seeded Fort Lee 89-43 and seventh-seeded Cranford 72-53. Then in the semifinals, Chatham had to gut out a 65-57 win over sixth-seeded South Plainfield, after ending the third quarter in a tie game.

Both coach and players bring experience in bunches, with six of the Panthers’ seven leading scorers all in their senior year. Head coach Todd Ervin is no newbie, either, now in his 34th season at the helm. Chatham has won 584 games, five Morris County Tournament titles under his direction — and two straight second-place finishes this year, both losses to Morris Catholic in the final — along with the 2007 Group 2 state title, and a Group 3 finals appearance in 2018.

On the floor, seniors Michael MacAniff and Ryan Leach lead the way at guard, with a stable of fast and experienced athletes ready to run around them.

Colonia will look to extend its sectional dynasty with its fifth consecutive title, while Chatham looks to unseat the kings and get revenge for its two postseason exits at the hands of the Patriots.

Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches and Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez

Chatham head coach Todd Ervin

March 6, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Three-peat! Montgomery overcomes raucous road crowd, stingy Hillsborough defense to win third straight CJ4 crown

Every championship means something different, whether its the first ever, 20th, or third-in-a-row.

For everyone on the Montgomery boys’ basketball team, this one also will mean something different to each of them.

For Ethan Lin, it will be his last at the high school level before he heads off to Penn. For Mike Simborski, it will mean he established himself (even more) as an offensive weapon. For James Kamara, it might be the game where his defensive agility shone the brightest.

For head coach Kris Grundy, it was the first without his father, who passed away last week. The man he’d talk to after every game.

Third-seed Montgomery needed overtime, but eventually, the Cougars were able to get enough ahead on top-seed Hillsborough to close the game out, even if they needed an extra four minutes. The final: 55-47.

No one was ever really in control of the game, even though the Raiders led virtually the entire first half, but by no more than six. They kept Simborski out of the scoring column over the first 16 minutes. And brothers Derek and Aaron Feath combined for three triples.

The third quarter was tight, too. Down 24-19 at the half, a mini four-nothing run by Montgomery turned it into a one-point game. They tied it at 30, and again at 32, and then took the lead, but by no more than two. Then, a few lead changes. And then, Montgomery went ahead again a couple minutes into the fourth.

And even though things swung, one could get the sense that Hillsborough was playing like the underdog: more tentative, a little less daring. Cautious, perhaps.

But Montgomery played it 180 degrees the other direction in the final 12 minutes, the fourth quarter and overtime. They took wild shots, made fancy moves to the basket. And more often than not, they finished.

The final score was Montgomery’s biggest lead of the game, at eight. But even then, they didn’t pull away fast. They hit buckets and foul shots down the stretch to seal the deal.

The Cougars – now 25-5 and three-time defending Central Jersey Group 4 champs – will go on to play Cherry Hill East (25-3), the top-seed and South Jersey Group 4 champion, Tuesday night at 5 pm down at Deptford High School in the state Group 4 semifinals. The Cougars beat second-seed Lenape 57-52 Friday night for the SJ4 title.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will be there for the semis, as well as the girls’ game at 7 pm between Central Jersey Group 4 champion Franklin and South winner Lenape.

Hillsborough ends its season at 22-8 with the loss.

March 6, 2026March 6, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

NJSIAA switches South Jersey non-public finals sites due to travel concerns, moves Rutgers Prep girls and St. Joseph-Metuchen title games

Typically, the NJSIAA has its sites chosen for neutral site state tournament games well in advance. And the championship games for the same sections are placed at the same venues, that way one school doesn’t have its boys’ and girls’ teams playing at the same time at different locations.

But one thing has been an issue among schools in the “south” half of the state, at least according to NJSIAA geography: travel.

And now that the non-public sectional finals are set after Thursday night games, the NJSIAA is making a change

Originally, Non-Public South B finals were supposed to be at Jackson Twp. High School (formerly Jackson Liberty), while the South A finals were to be held at Lenape H.S. in Medford Lakes.

But on Friday, the NJSIAA announced a change. All the South A finals have been moved from Lenape to Jackson, while the South B finals are going from Jackson to Lenape.

Locally, that means the South A boys’ final between St. Joseph-Metuchen and St. Peter’s Prep – yes, both are considered “south” due to the prevalence of teams up in North Jersey and the paucity of teams in South Jersey – will be in Jackson, while Rutgers Prep’s game against Gloucester Catholic for the South B girls’ title will be down at Lenape.

All the times remain the same, with St. Joe’s playing at 5 pm and Rutgers Prep at 7 pm.

There had been some chatter on social media about the methodology that left two teams from Middlesex and Hudson Counties playing a title game in Burlington County. It’s unknown, however, whether anyone from the participating schools contacted the NJSIAA about the matter.

None of the Non-Public North games were changed.

NON-PUBLIC SOUTH FINALS SCHEDULE

At Jackson Twp. (formerly Jackson Liberty)