Tag: Jose Rodriguez

by Alec Crouthamel

Jose Rodriguez wins CJSR’s GMC Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year after yet another breakthrough year at Colonia

Jose Rodriguez’ accomplishments at Colonia could fill a book in his eight years at the helm.

Six sectional championships – including the Patriots’ current run of five straight – back-to-back GMC Tournament titles, multiple Division I talents, and a whole lot of wins.

And yet, the only thing missing was an appearance in the state final.

Colonia did just that this season, a remarkable feat after losing four starters from last year’s sectional and GMC Tournament champions. Even after a 2-6 start, the Patriots improved and developed every day, responding with a 17-4 stretch with a ten-game win streak in the middle of it. They made it to the GMC Tournament semifinals before falling to Piscataway, and then worked through the North 2, Group 3 bracket to finish off the five-peat.

After losing to Ramapo in the previous four state semifinal appearances, Colonia finally broke through and made it to the Group 3 final for the first time with a win over Montville. Though the Patriots’ season ultimately ended in a loss to Ocean City in the state final, their response to adversity and youth development earned Rodriguez CJSR’s GMC Boys Basketball Coach of the Year.

The Rodriguez family did plenty with the ball in their hands as well. Son Jayce broke out as a sophomore after playing key depth minutes off the bench as a freshman, earning All-GMC honors, averaging 20 points per game, while scoring in double-figures in every game this season.

New to the rotation were underclassmen forwards, freshman Desmond Rudanovic and sophomore Teagan Amponsah. Rudanovic led the team in rebounds at 6-foot-7, while Amponsah improved drastically in front of the Patriots’ very eyes, including a dynamite defensive game in the sectional final win over Chatham. Guards Jayden Johnson and Tyron Holloway — a junior and sophomore, respectively — played big minutes as well, relied on to handle the ball and play solid defense whenever they came into the game.

While the Patriots were a primarily young team, they did have some key experience leading the way. Rodriguez has raved about senior point guard Dylan Chiera — headed to the University of Charleston in West Virginia to play quarterback — at every opportunity. Fellow senior forward Nfa Clyne saw a leap of his own in playing time and responsibilities as one of the team’s top wing defenders and rebounders. Senior wing Tyler Herman also found himself in the starting lineup after his time as a reserve last season, but served as a key defender and leader on the floor.

Not many people could have imagined that Colonia would work itself to Jersey Mike’s Arena for a state title after a 2-6 start on January 6th.

But those in the Patriots locker room never lost faith. And that faith was rewarded with yet another hurdle leapt over in the small-but-raucous confines of the Colonia High School gym.

Click below to hear Colonia boys basketball coach Jose Rodriguez talk about the Patriots’ 2025-26 season, their postseason run, and the program’s future with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

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

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

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:

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Expect another thriller: Wednesday rematch of 2025 GMC Tournament final pits Piscataway against Colonia for trip to 2026 title tilt

Last year’s GMC Tournament final was an exciting one, for a number of reasons. Besides the fact is was some great, high-level basketball between Piscataway and Colonia, it was the first all-public title game since 2006, when the Patriots beat Metuchen for the championship.

It was Bob Turco taking the Chiefs to the finals in his first year as head coach, and for the first time since 2019. And it was the veteran mentor’s sixth straight appearance in the finals, the first five of those coming while he was at St. Thomas Aquinas. In fact, he and protege Jose Rodriguez had met in the finals the year before, just with Turco leading a different team.

Wednesday night, the two will meet again, with a trip to the finals on the line as they square off in the opener of a GMCT semifinal doubleheader that you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Second-seed Piscataway (19-6) and third-seed Colonia (16-8) will play at 5 pm, with pregame at 4:45. Join Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau for all the action, with the second game scheduled to tip at 7 pm between top-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen and 5th-seed St. Thomas Aquinas. Click here to listen.

While Colonia was considered a favorite to repeat even before the 2024-25 season began, Piscataway was the story last year: Turco taking an 11-14 team from the year prior to the county final with a 22-4 mark.

This year, Colonia is the big story. In the summer, Aiden Derkack transferred to national powerhouse Spire Academy in Ohio. Defender extraordinaire Zach Smith graduated. In December, glue guy R.J. Wortman announced he’d signed on to play Rutgers football, and enrolled in January, leaving him off the roster. And Colin Kroner and Julien Jones didn’t return.

The immediate result was that the Patriots started the season just 2-6. But over the last five weeks and change, they are 14-2. Among the highlights, a revenge win at Piscataway by three – avenging a home loss to the Chiefs by two in December – and a 52-46 win over state-ranked and previously-unbeaten Wall in their final game before GMC Tournament play.

Jayce Rodriguez – coach Jose Rodriguez’ son – and Dylan Chiera are the two most experienced players back. Their steadiness has helped the rest of the team find its footing. If there was ever a more apt place to use the cliche “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” we don’t know about it. Rodriuguz is scoring 20.4 points per game, with a team-best (by far) 66 treys, while Chiera is averaging 10.2, with a team-best 94 rebounds and 29 steals, tied with fellow senior Nfa Clyne.

The defense also has been a key, and while their points allowed have gone down, their scoring has gone up.

The fact these two have played two epics this season should come as no surprise. The Chiefs have some major ballers, too and much of last year’s key players are back. That includes Donald Nwaigwe, one of four players averaging double figures on a balanced squad where the top three scorers are seniors.

Nwaigwe is scoring at a 16.3 point clip, followed by Isaiah Fowler (14.4) and Josh Lima (13.0) while junior Landon Pernell – who Turco says has found his “basketball legs” after playing quarterback for the football team this fall – is averaging 12.7 per game, and has hit a team-high 42 treys on the year.

Thanks to Piscataway Township and Mayor Brian Wahler for sponsoring tonight’s Piscataway game!

These are two teams that can shoot, get to the basket, rebound, play defense, and frustrate the heck out of opponents, and like the earlier meetings this year, should come right down to the wire again.

Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:

Piscataway head coach Bob Turco with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko
Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Vin Ebenau

by Mike Pavlichko

Talented Colonia in need of wins as Patriots travel to No. 8 South Plainfield Tuesday night

They say “You are what your record is.” 

But this is one of those cases where that statement both does and doesn’t apply.

The South Plainfield boys’ basketball team is 6-1, and the old adage fits there.  But Colonia is 2-5, and, well, not quite so much there.

Sure, the wins haven’t come, but to say they are “struggling ” wouldn’t quite be accurate.  

They’ve played an immensely difficult schedule, including their opener against St. Peter’s Prep in the NJBCA Tip-Off Classic in Montgomery.  They took Piscataway to double overtime, but lost by two just before Christmas.

And a trip to Maryland over the break for some national competition also ended with a pair of losses.

But there is still plenty of talent that will be on display Thursday night when Colonia makes the much shorter trip to No. 8 South Plainfield for a GMC crossover game at 7 pm that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio as part of a doubleheader. It will immediately follow the Tiger girls’ game against JP Stevens at 5:30.  Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen will be on the call for both games; click here to listen.

Meanwhile, things have gone quite swimmingly so far for South Plainfield, whose only loss has come to East Brunswick (7-1), which sits in first place in the new GMC Red American Division.  (Colonia is in the Red National.)  And the Tigers just beat their next best divisional competitor, Sayreville, on Saturday, knocking the Bombers from the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, then taking their spot.

Historically, however, South hasn’t had much recent success against Colonia.  They haven’t played every year, and some years they’ve played three times, but the Patriots have won the last 23 in the series, going all the way back to 2005.  That includes the last four, which have all been in postseason play, either in the GMCT or the state tournament, with a 2022 matchup coming in the North 2, Group 3 championship game.

Last year, Colonia ended South Plainfield’s GMCT run in the semifinals, en route to a second straight county championship.

Click below to hear pregame interview from both head coaches:

South Plainfield head coach John Greco with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Dylan Allen
Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko

by Alec Crouthamel

Battle-tested No. 8 Colonia returns home to host No. 4 Piscataway in GMCT title rematch

Jose Rodriguez has his team where he wants them.

Amid an even start — two wins, two losses — against some stiff competition, No. 8 Colonia boys basketball has seen new players enter the fold, and experienced ones expanding on their experiences and roles from the past.

It’s been a narrow line to balance so far for Rodriguez, now in his eighth season at the helm, working between playing some of the tougher competition in and out of the GMC, but his team is hungry to improve daily, and are taking the responsibilities in stride.

The latest challenge comes in another conference matchup, as No. 4 Piscataway comes to town in a rematch of last season’s GMC Tournament Championship.

You can hear Monday evening’s game between the Patriots (2-2) and the Chiefs (4-0) live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with tip-off set for 6 pm and pregame at 5:45. Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel will call all the action; click here to listen.

The history between Rodriguez and Piscataway head coach Bob Turco — two games removed from a milestone 400th victory on Wednesday — has been long-chronicled, but Colonia figures to bring shotmaking and athleticism to the table in the latest iteration between the two.

Of the returning players stepping into elevated roles, sophomore guard Jayce Rodriguez has flourished, putting up points in bunches. He had a terrific summer, according to his head coach — and father — and comes into the week averaging 22 points per game.

Senior point guard Dylan Chiera brings battle-tested leadership and playmaking on both ends of the floor, and has stepped into a bigger on-ball role himself.

There’s some new blood, as well.

Freshman Desmond Rudanovic has started his high school career in (long) stride at 6-foot-7, leading the team in rebounding and providing touch and versatility at his size. He will likely have to be the equalizer against an athletic Piscataway frontcourt, but one he has a size advantage over.

The Patriots also boast plenty of athletes ready to get after it on the defensive side, led by senior Nfa Clyne — who causes havoc with his speed and strength on the ball defensively — with underclassmen Tyronn Holloway and Jayden Johnson waiting in the wings.

All told, Colonia’s two losses to St. Peter’s Prep and No. 5 St. Joseph-Metuchen, as well as wins over St. Thomas Aquinas and Old Bridge, all serve as moments to continue to grow, potentially into a team nobody will want to face as the calendar flips to 2026.

The Chiefs will have to be up to that task on Monday night in Colonia.

Click below to hear Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez preview Monday’s game against Piscataway and discuss the Patriots’ season so far with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Mike Pavlichko

Colonia must fill some big shoes if Patriots will three-peat as GMC Tourney, N2G4 champs

Repeating as a champion in any sport, at any level isn’t easy.

Whether it’s high school or college where players transfer, or trades and free agency in the pros, or even on a team where everybody comes back, whether they get plagued by injuries or not. Sometimes the “magic” – that “x factor” – just isn’t there.

The Colonia boys’ basketball program has been superb under Jose Rodriguez. They won the GMC’s top-pod in the COVID-shortened year, beating St. Thomas Aquinas on their home floor. Two years ago, they won the GMC Tournament over the Trojans, then beat Piscataway last year in the first all-public school final since 2006.

Along the way, they also have won four straight North 2, Group 3 titles, and five of the last six.

Can they do it again this year? It’s not impossible, but it might be more difficult than previously thought, like in the immediate aftermath of their state semifinal loss last season to perennial Group 3 title contender Ramapo.

Back in late July, Aiden Derkack – two-time GMCT MVP – announced he was leaving Colonia to go to Spire Academy in Ohio, which has produced many major college stars and NBA talent under former St. Patrick-Elizabeth coach Kevin Boyle, who did much of the same when he was here in Jersey.

Then, last week, another key player announced he wouldn’t be playing for the Patriots this year, when R.J. Wortman signed on for a football scholarship with Rutgers after a season in which he led the Big Central Conference, by far, with 101 catches on a team that made the North 2, Group 4 semifinals, but fell to Phillipsburg.

Of course, they didn’t have either in 2021, when they beat St. Joseph-Metuchen and Aquinas to win the top GMC pod, nor in 2019 when they won a sectional title. And they do have no shortage of athletes at Colonia, either.

So, Rodriguez will coach the guys he has, like junior Dylan Chiera, who scored 6.2 points per game last year, and was second in assists with 97 behind now-graduated senior Zach Smith, another key part the Patriots will miss. He also had 40 steals, second only to Derkack’s 57.

The top returning scorer will be Jayce Rodriguez. The coach’s son had a stellar freshman campaign last year, scoring 7.7 points per game, with a team-best 58 treys, or 73 percent of his total points a year ago.

So there are pieces – seniors Colin Kroner and Julien Jones also will contribute a good deal – and Rodriguez will have to figure out how to make them all fit together, and get the most out of him.

That’s the one thing he’s been no stranger to, one reason they’ve been so consistently good over his tenure, as he heads into his eighth season, with a 152-43 mark.

Click below to hear Colonia boys’ basketball coach Jose Rodriguez preview the upcoming season with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

Colonia will first appear on Central Jersey Sports Radio on Tuesday, December 23, when the Patriots host Piscataway at 5 pm.