Tag: Colonia

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep girls, back on top in Somerset County, are No. 1 team in Final Bellamy & Son Paving rankings

Sure, the Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team won 20 games last year, but it still wasn’t up to Mary Klinger’s standards. The coach calls the regular season the “preseason.” A division title is nice, but the county and state tournaments are the goals. Win those, and it’s a good year for the Argonauts. In 2025, they won neither.

But this year, with much of the same crew back, the Argonauts returned to their familiar spot as Somerset County Tournament champions, and finish the year No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten.

Led by four-year varsity standout Ava LaMonica – the team’s top scorer, who will be playing collegiately next year at Buffalo – as well as fellow seniors Ava Frith and Sophia Georgiades, as well as super sophomore Hailey Benbow – the Argos’ second-best scorer and top rebounder – Rutgers Prep (25-4) didn’t lose a single conference game this season, its three regular season losses coming to Red Bank Catholic, Cardinal O’Hara (PA), and Blair right before the state tournament. Their fourth came to Gloucester Catholic in the Non-Public South B Final.

Prep beat Franklin – the eventual Central Jersey Group 4 champ – in the Somerset County Final, and won the Skyland Division title with a 6-0 record.

Gill St. Bernard’s checks in at No. 2. With a 22-6 mark, the Knights won the Non-Public North B title with a victory over Saddle River Day, then lout to Gloucester Catholic in the state Non-Public Group B final at Rutgers, the same Rams’ team that beat Rutgers Prep in the semifinals. Gill lost its only meeting with Rutgers Prep this season, 51-44 in late January, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Finishing third is St. Thomas Aquinas (24-7). The Trojans – with the senior trio of Jordan Barnes, Trista Whitney and Kayla Navarro – blew through the GMC this season, going 11-0 to win the Red American Division, and stormed to their seventh straight GMC Tournament championship, beating resurgent East Brunswick in the final. They would bow out to eventual state champion Red Bank Catholic in the Non-Public South A semifinals.

Checking in at four is Franklin (22-9). A Somerset County Tournament finalist under first-year head coach Jimmy Kreie, the Warriors returned to their former – and fairly recent – glory with a win in the Central Jersey Group 4 title game over neighboring Hillsborough. They were knocked out of the state tournament by Lenape in the state Group 4 finals.

Fifth is Hillsborough (21-7). The Raiders had won two sectional titles in a row – in North 2, Group 4 in 2024 and Central 4 last season – but fell at Franklin in the Central Jersey Group 4 title game.

East Brunswick checks in at No. 6 with a 23-6 record. Ava Catanho and Julianna DelosSantos-Branson led the Bears back to prominence this season, as they got to the GMC Tournament title game, where they lost to now seven-time reigning GMCT champion St. Thomas Aquinas.

Bound Brook (25-4) – re-ignited by freshman sensation Peytan Pugh – finishes at No. 7, thanks to a Mountain Division championship, going 8-0 in divisional play. They nearly knocked off Rutgers Prep in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, and reached the Central Jersey Group 1 title game, falling on the road to top-seed New Providence.

Finishing eighth is Bernards (24-5), which started the year 10-0, and was the Skyland Conference Valley Division champion at 11-1. They lost to defending champion Madison in the North 2, Group 2 semifinals.

At No. 9, it’s Colonia. After a down season, head coach Jill Bachonski has the Patriots looking solid, finishing 20-4, and going 8-0 to win the GMC Red National Division. They reached the GMC Tournament semifinals, falling to eventual champion St. Thomas Aquinas.

And No. 10 is Piscataway, making its season debut in the final rankings of the year. The Lady Chiefs finished 17-9, and went 6-0 to win the White American Division title, reaching the GMC Tournament semifinals, where they lost to East Brunswick.

Below are the complete final Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten rankings for 2025-26:

by Mike Pavlichko

Ocean City capitalizes on late turnovers in tight game, tops Colonia 55-46 in NJSIAA Group 3 final

This season, the Colonia boys’ basketball team went further than any other Patriot team in program history in the state tournament, all the way to the state finals at Rutgers for the first time in eleven previous sectional championship season.

But they will have to wait one more year for a chance to take it one step further and win it all.

Some uncharacteristic late turnovers in the final four minutes of the NJSIAA Group 3 final at Rutgers ultimately cost Colonia, and the North 2 Group 3 champs fell 55-46 to South 3 champ Ocean City, in a game heard Sunday afternoon on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

It was a tight game throughout. Colonia led 14-12 after one quarter, and led most of the second half, but found itself trailing the Red Raiders by one, 29-28 at the break. The Patriots had ten from Jayce Rodriguez in the first eight minutes to lead the way, but also had 10 points off the bench, including six from Jayden Johnson.

In the second half, head coach Jose Rodriguez tightened his rotation. And despite no bench points through the first 12 minutes, the game was still close with the final four minutes on the clock – despite three early-fourth quarter treys from junior Josh Lenko – as Rodriguez called a time out to settle the troops.

But then came the turnovers. A poke away here, an errant pass there, and Ocean City capitalized on the other end, going five-of-six from the foul line. All of a sudden, in a game no-one led by more than seven, the Red Raiders pulled away to win by nine.

Lenko, who had 30 in the group semifinals against Central 4 champion Westhampton Tech, went off for 24 to lead all scorers. Sixteen of those points came in the second half. Luke Tjoumakaris finished with 15.

Colonia’s Tyler Herman goes in for a layup in the second half of the Group 3 title game at Rutgers’ Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway on March 16, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Jayce Rodriguez led Colonia with 20, and he had ten in each half. But no one else scored in double figures, as the Patriots were held to just two fourth-quarter field goals: an and-one from Jayce, and a bucket by senior Dylan Chiera, who finished with five, all in the second half.

For Ocean City, which finished the season 26-6, it’s their first state title since they won Group 3 in 1964, just three years into the sectional era. They also won Group 1 in 1955.

Colonia ends its season at 21-11, sectional champs for the sixth time in seven playoff seasons under Jose Rodriguez, who was named GMC Coach of the Year by the league coaches last month. (There were no state playoffs in the COVID-shortened 2021 season.)

They’ve also won five sectional titles in a row, tying a Middlesex County mark set by Odie Page’s New Brunswick teams, who won nine sectional crowns under his tutelage, and five straight from 1983 to 1987.

The Patriots won North 2, Group 3 in 2019, lost in the 2020 title game, but have been victorious in every final going back to 2022.

Click below for postgame reaction from the NJSIAA Group 3 Boys’ Championship Game, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel
Ocean City head coach John Bruno with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko
by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Group 3 Semifinals (Boys): Colonia 67, Montville 57

North 2, Group 3 champion Colonia got 27 points from sophomore Jayce Rodriguez – including 14-of-14 from the foul line, all in the second half – and another 20 from senior Dylan Chiera, as the Patriots beat North 1, Group 3 champion Montville in the Group 3 state semifinals. The win sends Colonia to the state Group 3 finals for the first time ever, where they will take on Ocean City at Rutgers.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play from the Dunn Center in Elizabeth on March 11, 2026.

by Mike Pavlichko

Colonia battles Ocean City for Group 3 title at Rutgers Sunday, as Patriots, Red Raiders both seek first state ‘chip

The Colonia boys’ basketball program made history Wednesday night, but there’s still some more ink in the pen, and more to write.

The Patriots’ 67-57 win over Montville sent them to the state finals for the first time ever. And now, a program that has won eleven sectional trophies – six of which have come under current head coach Jose Rodriguez – will look to claim its first state championship when it plays Sunday in the NJSIAA Group 3 final at Rutgers University’s Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway.

They’ll take on Ocean City at 2 pm, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Pregame starts at 1:45 with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Click here to listen.

Colonia comes in at 21-10, with their season trajectory well-documented. They won just two of their first eight games, but are 19-4 since, their last two defeats coming right before the state tournament. After losing so much off-season talent, including two-time GMC Tournament MVP Aiden Derkack, R.J. Wortman and Zach Smith, it took a little while to figure out roles and adjust to the changes.

To say they “figured it out” might be the understatement of the year, as they eventually earned the top-seed in North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3, then four games later claimed their fifth straight sectional title.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about their semifinal win over Montville was not the 27 points Jayce Rodriguez – the team’s top scorer – poured in, or they early lead they built that they never lost the rest of the way, or even the outstanding effort from Nfa Clyne with an 11-point four-rebound night.

No, it was probably the fact the Patriots went 22-of-24 from the foul line, including 13-of-15 in the fourth quarter as the Mustangs attempted to come back. Of those, Jayce Rodriguez went 8-for-8 in the final quarter, and his last 14 points came from the foul line.

All that spells a team that knows the game, and knows the plan: draw contact, get to the line, score.

It was the kind of all-around team effort that maybe wasn’t happening in those first eight games, but certainly has been since.

Ocean City is a very similar team. The Red Raiders come in at 25-6, 9-3 in their Cape-Atlantic League American Division, which got them a second place finish behind Middle Township. They were a CAL Tournament finalist, falling by one to Atlantic City in the title game.

And while they may not have won five straight sectional titles like Colonia has, they have played in big games.

Ocean City won South Jersey Group 4 last year before tragedy struck in the state semifinals against Colts Neck. Senior point guard Ben McGonigle was injured early on and couldn’t return. The Red Raiders built a lead, and were up ten with two minutes to go in the third, but lost by two, 47-45.

So, just like Colonia, they know the hurt of just missing a state final.

It can be a different player for Ocean City every night. Senior forward Josh Lenko was the one who came up big in a 56-43 win over Central 4 winner Westhampton Tech in the state semifinals. A 14 point-per-game scorer on the season, he dumped in 30 points and hit six treys in the state semifinals Wednesday night, and as coach John Bruno said afterward, “you wouldn’t necessarily have prepared for that.”

The team’s top scorer is Luke Tjoumakaris, who’s averaging around 15 points a game all season, and in the states. The senior is a tough scorer around the rim, while senior Tighe Olek who averages xi points – “does the dirty work,” according to Bruno, drawing the opposition’s best defender.

And then there’s Bruno, a veteran coach who’s been at Ocean City for 37 years, and has won over 500 games in America’s Greatest Family Resort town. He’ll be pacing the sideline at Jersey Mike’s in

Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches and Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez
Ocean City head coach John Bruno

Quirky/Useless Stat of the Day: While this will be Ocean City’s first game at Rutgers, Colonia has been there before, most recently playing in the 2018 GMC Tournament final. That was the last season under former standout Brandon Hall as head coach, and the tournament has since moved on to play the finals at other league venues. But maybe not for long. GMC officials recently met with new Rutgers Athletic Director Keli Zinn, and it’s possible – like how the NJSIAA recently struck a deal to hold all its state basketball finals at Rutgers, and recently announced baseball finals will be held there, too – that the tourney could come back to the “RAC” in the near future.

LINKS TO PREVIOUS COLONIA STATE TOURNAMENT COVERAGE:

by Mike Pavlichko

Record four Central Jersey Sports Radio-area basketball teams head to Rutgers for state finals

Talk about a banner year. In our sixth season of existence, a record four high school basketball teams from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area will be playing for state championships over the next few days at Rutgers University.

There are two publics and two non-publics in the bunch, with Colonia the lone Middlesex County team to make the state finals. Gill St. Bernard’s will send its boys’ and girls’ teams to Piscataway, while Montgomery heads back for a second year in a row giving Somerset County three teams playing for titles.

Here’s the schedule for area teams, and all games can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Bookmark this link to listen all weekend!

THURSDAY, MARCH 12

Gill St. Bernard's celebrates a North Jersey Non-Public B championship on March 9th, 2026 (Photo: Alec Crouthamel).
Gill St. Bernard’s celebrates a North Jersey Non-Public B championship on March 9th, 2026 (Photo: Alec Crouthamel).
  • Non-Public Group B Girls’ Final: Gill St. Bernard’s (22-5, 1 seed, North) vs. Gloucester Catholic (25-4, 2 seed, South), 5 pm
  • Non-Public Group B Boys’ Final: Gill St. Bernard’s (27-2, 1 seed, North) vs. Holy Cross Prep, Delran (27-4, 2 seed, South), 7 pm
Gill St. Bernard's celebrates a North Jersey Non-Public B title on March 9th, 2026
Gill St. Bernard’s celebrates a North Jersey Non-Public B title on March 9th, 2026.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14

  • Group 4 Boys’ Final: Montgomery (26-4, 3 seed, Central) vs. Plainfield (25-5, 4 seed, North 2), 2 pm
Montgomery won its third straight Central Jersey Group 4 championship with a 55-47 win at Hillsborough on March 6, 2026. (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)

SUNDAY, MARCH 15

  • Group 3 Boys’ Final: Colonia (21-10, 1 seed, North 2) vs. Ocean City (25-6, 3 seed, South), 2 pm
Colonia with its 2026 North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 trophy, after beating Chatham at home on March 7, 2026. (Photo: Nick Hart)
by Mike Pavlichko

History in the making! Colonia drops Montville, 67-57, in Group 3 semis to clinch first ever state finals berth

The Colonia boys’ basketball program has eleven state championships. They’ve won the last five North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 titles. But the one thing they hadn’t done – whether it was 1973, 1994, 2015 or 2025 – was make a state final.

But now, you can check that box off as well.

Colonia – after starting the season 2-6 – now is 21-10, after a 67-57 win over North 1, Group 3 champion Montville at the Dunn Center in Elizabeth Tuesday, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

And now they get one more game, at Rutgers for the state Group 3 title.

They’ll face South Jersey Group 3 champion Ocean City Sunday afternoon at 2 pm at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway for all the marbles. The Red Raiders were 56-43 winners over Westhampton Tech in the other Group 3 semi down at Central Regional in Bayville Wednesday evening.

Colonia got out to a 9-0 lead early in the game, and that might have been the turning point. That’s because the teams played fairly even the rest of the way, with the Patriots up seven after one, 33-24 at the half, and 51-41 at the end of three. Colonia never trailed in the game, and never allowed Montville to make a run.

Well, almost.

Montville did get the lead down to five at one point late, down 62-57 around the two-minute mark, but Colonia helped itself immensely at the free throw line as senior twins Joey and Ricky Beyer both got in foul trouble in the fourth quarter, Joey fouling out with under a minute left. Big man Eddie Camaj also had four fouls down the stretch.

But the Patriots made them pat from the stripe. Sophomore Jayce Rodriguez finished with a game-high 27, but he had 13 early in the third – his final made field goal coming from beyond the arc – before his last 14 points came from the foul line, where he was a perfect 14-for-14.

As a team, Colonia was 22-of-24 from the foul line, virtually unheard of at any level, let alone a pressure-packed state semifinal.

Rodriguez has three triples, as did senior Dylan Chiera, who finished with 20 points.

Montville finished its season at 23-6; junior David Gonzalez had a team-high 14, while Camaj finished with 12, ten in the second half.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez and sophomore – and coach’s son – sophomore Jayce Rodriguez
Colonia sophomore Jayce Rodriguez. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Colonia senior Dylan Chiera
Colonia senior Dylan Chiera. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

by Mike Pavlichko

Colonia heads to fifth straight Group 3 semifinal preparing for a new opponent for the first time

What Colonia basketball has done under Jose Rodriguez has been nothing short of incredible.

The Patriots are officially a public school GMC dynasty these days.

Back on Saturday, they won their fifth straight sectional title, taking down Chatham in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 title game. It was also their sixth sectional title in seven playoff years under Rodriguez, now in his eighth year as head coach. The only year they didn’t win one was in his second year, 2020, when they lost to Irvington in the finals.

The one year there were no state playoffs, they beat St. Thomas Aquinas – on the road – to claim the GMC’s top four-team pod, the Karl Towns/Jay Williams pod. Then, in 2024 and 2025, they won back-to-back GMC titles.

That’s a lot of hardware.

The one thorn in their side the entire run has been Ramapo. They lost to the Raiders in the 2018 Group 3 semifinals, J-Rod’s first year at the helm, then again four years straight from 2022 to 2025.

But they won’t this year.

A sixth seed this year, Ramapo got knocked out in the opening round, coughing up a 31-17 halftime lead and losing in overtime to 11th-seed Morris Knolls, 68-67.

Finally, Colonia gets to prep for someone different.

That someone different is Montville, the four-seed that won the North 1, Group 3 title with a 65-61 upset win Saturday over second-seed Teaneck. The Mustangs are 23-5, and Colonia will play them in the Group 3 semifinals Wednesday at 5 pm at The Dunn Center in Elizabeth, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Pregame is set for 4:45; click here to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the action.

Colonia, as many know by now, lost three huge pieces from last year’s team, with Aiden Derkack transferring to Spire Academy in Ohio, R.J. Wortman enrolling early at Rutgers to play football, and defensive specialist Zach Smith graduating, but rebounded from a 2-6 start to go 18-4 the rest of the way. That stretch included a run to the GMC Tournament semifinals, where they narrowly lost to Piscataway.

After two dominating wins to open state tournament play, the Patriots escaped with a Rolaids-worthy win over Mendham – the team they beat last year in the sectional finals – by four, 34-30 in an unusually low-scoring game. It was their lowest offensive output of the season, by one over a 62-35 season-opening loss to St. Peter’s Prep at the NJBAC Tip-Off Classic in Montgomery.

But they rebounded nicely with a 57-46 win over Chatham in the North 2, Group 3 final, in which they had a little more breathing room.

Montville, meanwhile, surprised many to get here, but Rodruguez knows the Mustangs have earned their spot. After wins over the 13- and five-seeds, they knocked off top-seed Tenafly on the road to get to the title game. Led by senior guard Chris Ferrare (19.3 ppg, team-best 112 assists and 55 treys), Montville has three double-digit scorers, including Eddie Camaj (12.4 ppg) and Joey Beyer, who’s averaging an even double-double of 10.9 points and rebounds per game.

Colonia, meanwhile, is led by Jayce Rodriguez, the coach’s son, averaging just a shade under 20 points per game, with a team-high 75 treys, while Desmond Rudanovic is tops on the boards at eight per game. Senior Dylan Chiera – also the QB on the football team – is averaging just under ten points per game, and has a team-best 39 steals.

The Patriots are looking for their first-ever trip to a state final, having won 11 sectional titles overall. Besides the six in the last seven playoff years under Rodriguez, they won Central Jersey Group 4 in 1973, Central 3 in 1985 and 1994, then North 2, Group 3 in 2007 and 2015.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez about the Patriots’ Group 3 semifinal matchup with Montville:

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.

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

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