Tag: Kris Grundy

by Mike Pavlichko

Montgomery’s Kris Grundy honored with John Wooden Legacy Award from state, national Basketball Coaches Associations

After a third straight sectional championship in Central Jersey Group 4, and a second straight trip to the Group 4 state finals, Montgomery boys’ basketball coach Kris Grundy has been honored with the John Wooden Legacy Award, given annually to one boys’ and girls’ coach in every state.

It’s from the New Jersey and National High School Basketball Coaches association in conjunction with the John Wooden Family and the Wooden Foundation.

The award goes to a “long-time, active basketball coach who also serves as an outstanding educator and who, through their excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community, embodies the characteristics of coach John Wooden – Excellence, Longevity, Character, Leadership and Service,” according to the NCBCA website.

Grundy told Central Jersey Sports Radio Monday he was “extremely honored and surprised” when he got the news.

“Obviously, to win an award that has Coach Wooden’s name attached to it is something I never would have dreamed of when I started this journey over 20 years ago,” Grundy said.

Grundy received the award at the NJBCA North/South All-Star Game at Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, where Penn-bound senior point guard and two-time Central Jersey Sports Radio Somerset County Boys’ Player of the Year Ethan Lin represented Montgomery on the South squad.

Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy (left) with Penn-bound senior Ethan Lin at the NJBCA All-Star Game at Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, NJ, on March 29, 2026. (submitted photo)

“What made the day even more special,” Grundy added, “other than the fact that I had family members there to celebrate with me was the fact that one of my mentors, Jim Baglin, the legendary coach for Mendham High School, also got honored with a lifetime achievement award. So it was cool for him to be able to see me receive this award, considering how instrumental he has been in my development as a coach.”

The Cougars went 26-5 this past season, with only two public school losses – to Linden in the regular season by two, and to Plainfield in the state final – while winning the Central Jersey Group 4 title in an overtime thriller on the road against neighbor and rival Hillsborough. They finished the year with a No. 3 ranking in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten.mon

“Obviously, this was a very emotional season for a variety of reasons,” said Grundy, “and I know that my dad, although not here in person, was looking down with so much pride when I received the award.”

Grundy’s father, Michael, passed away at the age of 77 on February 23rd of this year, three days before the Cougars’ opening game in the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional playoffs, in which they beat Manalapan, 76-40.

Grundy says he “can’t stress to everyone enough that this award would not have been possible without the support of my wife, Megan, my three boys – Jack, Ryan and Matty – and a coaching staff, administration, booster club and an alumni base that is second to none.”

by Mike Pavlichko

Montgomery falls to Plainfield for 2nd year in a row in Group 4 final, as Gordon helps Cardinals pull away in 4th for 49-40 win

The Montgomery boys’ basketball team felt good about its chances coming into Saturday afternoon’s NJSIAA Group 4 state final at Rutgers, and they had plenty of reason to.

All season long, they have gotten outstanding performances from different players every night, with Ethan Lin running the show, Shriyans Mallavarapu blocking shots, Xavier Harrigan coming off the bench to play lock down defense, and Connor Benedict and Mike Simborski connecting from beyond the arc.

And they got that again, with the teams playing a tight first three quarters. Plainfield led 13-9 after one, with the second quarter seeing the lead change four times. It was 22-20 Cardinals at the half.

Whenever it looked like Plainfield was going to pull away, Monty would hit a big shot, whether it was a buzzer-beating three at the end of the first to trim a five-point deficit to two, or Simborksi from the college range on the left wing at the third-quarter horn to slash a seven-point deficit to four.

But the matchup zone defense of Plainfield caused Monty headaches all night, and by late in the game, their long possessions were stretching longer, and with a few misses, The Cards won the rebounding battle in the second half. It was tied 11-11 at the break, but the Cougars were left with a lot of one and dones, and they had a 12-5 advantage on the glass over the last 16 minutes.

And the exclamation mark was a thunderous one-handed jam by Gordon, streaking to the basked from the left wing on a break off a pretty feed from Kamai Lowery with 4:26 left. If it didn’t mathematically put the game out of reach, everyone in the building could sense that it was a harbinger of the celebration that would come when the clock finally winked down to :00.

Lin finished with 20 in the game – including four treys, and two in the fourth quarter – tied for game-high honors with Gordon, a junior who is uncommitted, but has offers from Tennessee, Mississippi State and North Carolina state, among others. Lin, meanwhile, in his last game as a Cougar, will be headed down to The Palestra to play for Penn.

Senior Kamai Lowery finished with 12 for Plainfield (26-5), while fellow senior Rashawn Williams added ten, including a pair of triples.

Sophomore Connor Benedict finished with nine for Montgomery (26-5), while Mallavarapu had six, but all were in the first half.

Click below for postgame reaction from Alec Crouthamel with head coach Kris Grundy, presented by Sportsplext at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Experienced and ready, Montgomery boys seek first-ever state title in Group 4 finals rematch with Plainfield

At the end of the day, throw the seeds out, and just look at where the two teams playing in Saturday’s Group 4 state boys’ basketball title game rank statewide.

Montgomery was a three-seed in its Central Jersey Group 4 playoff section, and had to go on the road to beat top-seed Hillsborough in overtime to win it. Plainfield was a four-seed in North 2, Group 4 and had to travel to beat a higher seed as well – Linden, the two – to win the title.

But these are not your typical three- and four-seeds. Montgomery is the tenth-ranked team in the state, per NJ.com, with Plainfield five spots ahead. They are No. 1 and No. 2 when you take out the non-publics.

And quite truthfully, that’s more like it.

But no matter how you slice it, whoever is inside Jersey Mike’s Arena at Rutgers Saturday when Montgomery (26-4) and Plainfield (25-5) play for the Group 4 title in a rematch of last year’s title game should get every single penny of their dollar’s worth.

You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – for free, with no paywall – beginning with the pregame show, set for 1:40 pm with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel. Click here to listen.

The Cougars have it going on all cylinders right now, and have been well-tested in the state tournament. After a blowout win over Manalapan in the opening round of the sectionals, they earned a ten-point win over Trenton, then went on the road and won back-to-back games: by 12 at Marlboro and 55-47 in OT at neighboring Hillsborough to take home their third straight sectional title, and fourth overall, all of which have come under current head coach Kris Grundy.

And he has a more than capable team.

It starts with Ethan Lin, the Penn-bound senior point guard who runs the show, in every sense of the word. Through the sectional finals, he had poured in 25, 31, 30 and 22 points, but one might be prompted to wonder how he was held to just nine in the Group 4 semis against Cherry Hill.

Watch the game, and you’ll know. Lin has an uncanny ability to know when he has to score, and when he doesn’t. He’ll gladly concede 20 points off his game to let someone else have them if that means Montgomery wins.

And that’s what he did against Cherry Hill East Tuesday night. He kept feeding the ball to two sophomores, Mike Simborski and Shriyans Mallavarapu. Simborski finished with 28, three shy of a career high, while Mallavarapu topped his previous best of 16 points with 23, while he also grabbed 12 rebounds and said “no” to a number of layup attempts by the other team named the Cougars.

But those three are just the start. Connor Benedict – always busy making deflections and stealing the ball – also can light it up from three. And then there’s the literal “X” factor off the bench, junior Xavier Harrigan, a multi-sport athlete who recorded 49 tackles last year – 41 solo – from his spot in the secondary.

Monty has four losses all year: twice to Rutgers Prep – once in the regular season and once in the Somerset County Tournament – once to North 2, Group 4 finalist Linden, and once to newly-minted Non-Public Group B state champion Gill St. Bernard’s.

Not bad at all.

On the Plainfield side, the Cardinals won’t win 30 games again this year – they finished 29-3 last season – but are still among the top public schools in the state

Micah Gordon – an uncommitted junior with his biggest offers from Tennessee and Mississippi State, among others – is the top dog (bird?) for the Cards. The point guard is averaging a shade under 25 points a game on the season, and he’ll eclipse the 2,000-point mark in his career very early next season/later in 2026, already sitting at 1,821 points.

He’s scoring at a 24.4 point per game clip in the state playoffs, where – even more impressive, in a dominating win over Linden – he had perhaps his finest moment in the tournament: 33 points, seven assists, three treys, and something you rarely see at any level of basketball: 14-of-16 from the foul line.

Then three of the next four top scorers – seniors Rashawn Williams, Devin Thomas, and Kamai Lowery – are, like Montgomery’s Harrigan – football players, and bring a unique dynamic to a team that plays in the rugged Union County Conference.

Williams and another senior, Tylor Hunter, are the team’s top rebounders, while Gordon and Thomas have each hit 48 triples on the year.

With two point guards who can take over the game at any time, this one might be as entertaining for the offensive exploits of those on the floor as it is watching each side’s defense try to contain the other side.

Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:

Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko
Plainfield head coach Mike Gordon with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel

Quirky/Useless Stat of the Day: Montgomery is 2-0 against teams whose schools start with the letter C. Ironically, both are named “Cougars.” They had a 72-32 win over the Central Jersey College Charter Cougars on January 30th, and beat the Cherry Hill East Cougars Tuesday in the Group 4 semifinals, 67-57.

LINKS TO PREVIOUS MONTGOMERY STATE TOURNAMENT COVERAGE:

by Mike Pavlichko

Montgomery earns another chance at a state title against Plainfield with dominant win over Cherry Hill East in Group 4 semifinals

It’s something he’s done his entire career, but it’s become even more a key for the Montgomery boys’ basketball team this season.

Senior Ethan Lin knows when he has to score, and when he can let the rest of the team do it’s thing.

Tuesday night down at Deptford High School in the state Group 4 semifinals, it was the latter.

Lin scored just nine points, but he distributed, allowing sophomore Shree Mallavarapu to go off for a career high 23, while fellow soph Mike Simborski added 28 – just three shy of a career high – to power Montgomery to a commanding and dominant 67-37 win over Cherry Hill East, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

After three lead changes in the first quarter, Montgomery took a 12-8 lead after the first eight minutes, but extended that to 32-18 at the half. Shree and Simborski were big reasons why. Shree was blocking shots, and had two big late first quarter put backs of misses. Simborski did much of the same in the second quarter, and had 15 by the half, while Mallavarapu had 13 at the break.

And in the second half, Monty continued to do no wrong. Every time Cherry Hill East – the other Cougars – had a punch, Montgomery would get them back with a 1-2 combo, and then another haymaker just for good measure.

The win puts Montgomery (26-4) in Saturday’s state Group 4 final at Jersey Mike’s Arena at Rutgers, which will tip at 2 pm. The Cougars will have a rematch with North 2 champion Plainfield, an 82-69 winner Tuesday in Elizabeth over East Orange in the other semifinal.

Plainfield beat Monty in last year’s Group 4 final at Rutgers.

Click below for postgame reaction from Montgomery’s Shree Mallavarapu, Mike Simborski and head coach Kris Grundy, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

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:

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.

READ MORE:

2024 Title, Grundy’s 300th Win: Cougars are Champs! Montgomery overcomes early speed bump to top Monroe for CJ4 title before packed house

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

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

Montgomery gets third crack at Hillsborough, earns 3rd straight trip to CJ4 finals with 61-49 road win in semis at Marlboro

Two-time defending Central Jersey Group 4 champion Montgomery will get a chance to win a third straight, after coming from behind to beat second-seed Marlboro on the road Tuesday night, 61-49, in the sectional semifinals of the NJSIAA high school basketball tournament.

The Cougars got a triple-double from sophomore Shriyans Mallavarapu, who scored ten points, had 14 rebounds and 21 blocks, while Penn-bound senior guard Ethan Lin scored 30, just one shy of a career high.

They say there are no style points, just wins and losses, and that might have applied for top-seeded Monty Tuesday evening against a Shore Conference foe. Head coach Kris Grundy said his team didn’t necessarily play its A game. But with the heady Lin running the show, the word “panic” isn’t in the Cougars’ dictionary.

Down 15-8 after one, Montgomery (24-4) cut the deficit by three to 27-23at the break as they slowly chipped away. Down one going into the fourth, the Cougars shifted into high gear, with their defense winning the day over the final eight minutes.

Montgomery won the 2024 CJ4 title over Monroe, but lost to Lenape in the Group 4 semis. Last season, they won the crown with a victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro North, then exacted revenge on Lenape in the semis before falling to Plainfield in the state Group 4 final at Rutgers.

Now, they get a chance to win their third straight. And while the other two have been at home, this one won’t be far from home.

It’ll be just a quick jaunt up Route 206 Friday night to face top-seed Hillsborough, which they’ve beaten twice this year, by 16 in the regular season and by 15 in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals. The Raiders used a strong third quarter Tuesday night to blow open a tight game and beat fifth-seed Jackson Township 73-44, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Click below to hear postgame comments from Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rematch between Rutgers Prep, Montgomery kicks off Somerset County Tournament semis at Franklin Saturday

Montgomery’s last win over Rutgers Prep in boys’ basketball came in the 2018-19 season, with the Cougars winning twice that year. Since then, the Argonauts have won ten straight, but the majority – especially in recent seasons – have been close, including a three-point loss in the 2024 Somerset County Tournament final.

This Saturday, the second-seeded Argonauts (15-8, No. 9 in New Jersey) and the third-seeded Cougars (20-3, No. 10 in NJ) will square off at 10 at Franklin High School to open a full day of basketball in the Somerset County Tournament Semifinals, with all four games on tap.

You can hear that opener as part of our doubleheader broadcast Saturday, starting with pregame at 9:45 am, and tip-off at 10. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will call all the action, with the girls’ semifinal between top-seed Rutgers Prep and fourth-seed Bound Brook to follow. Click here to listen to both games.

Both teams have endured playing brutal scheduled. Prep has taken losses to the likes of Linden, St. Peter’s Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s, and even got knocked off by a pesky Pingry team in early January. Mongtomery had a particularly challenging three-game stretch around the same time with losses in three straight games to Linden, Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s.

The Argonauts lost to Linden by nine earlier in the season, while the Cougars fell by two a few weeks later.

And both have some great players.

Sophomore Will Brunson paces Rutgers Prep with 23.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game , with a team-best 27 blocks. But his 48 threes are just second on the team to the 65 Rocco Loomis has hit; he’s averaging 16.2 a game. And senior Nicholas Nsenkyrie is scoring almost 13, with 30 treys, on a team that has hit a whopping 245 times from beyond the arc. That’s tops in New Jersey.

Montgomery also has some young talent in the likes of Mike Simoborski – second in scoring at 17.9 – and lanky 6′ 9″ Shriyans Mallavarapu, who’s averaging seven boards a game and four blocks. Both are sophomores. Junior Connor Benedict had 46 triples to lead the Cougars – who still have 100 fewer than Prep as a team – and then there’s Ethan Lin.

The Penn-bound senior is the voice of experience, leading by example, and a settling influence if things seem like they’re getting out of hand. Besides his 19.9 points and four assists per game, it’s the intangibles that make him the player he is.

Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:

Rutgers Prep head coach Matt Bloom with Chris Tsakonas
Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy with Mike Pavlichko

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 1 Montgomery looks to snap two-game skid when No. 2 Gill St. Bernard’s comes to town

With a challenging schedule coming off back-to-back Central Jersey Group 4 championships, the Montgomery boys’ basketball team aced its first eight games.

The last two have been a different story, still against top-flight competition.

Now 8-2, the top-ranked Cougars are coming off two tough losses, and their week doesn’t get any easier as Murderer’s Row continues Thursday when No. 2 Gill St. Bernard’s – also 8-2 – visits Skillman for a Skyland Conference Delaware Division game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Tip-off is at 5:30 pm as Mike Pavlichko calls all the action, with pregame at 5:15; click here to listen.

The two losses are nothing to sneeze at.

First, it was a narrow, 53-51 loss to state-ranked No. 6 Linden, 53-51 in the Warrior Classic at Manasquan back on Sunday. The Cougars led by two at the half, and lost by two. That’s how tight it was, with Penn-bound senior point guard Ethan Lin leading the way with 21 points.

Then, Tuesday, it was a shootout in Somerset, one of those games that just takes on a life of its own. The Cougars – ranked No. 11 in the state, by the way – fell to state No. 9 (and CJSR/Bellamy & Son Paving No. 3) Rutgers Prep, 89-73, in a game that featured 27 combined three pointers. Lin finished with 29, and five from downtown, while the Argonauts’ Rocco Loomis and Julian Ceberio each finished with 21 and had six and seven triples, respectively. William Brunson led all scorers with 27.

Head coach Kris Grundy – now in his 21st season as Cougars’ head coach – knows the score. While they’d love to be 10-0, his teams don’t shy away from anyone. They’ll take a loss and learn from it, and get better the next time out.

Gill, for its part, is tenth in the state rankings, and Montgomery would certainly not like to come up empty in this nasty three-game stretch. They’ve also got a solid Hillsborough squad next week, and a weekend matchup with St. Thomas Aquinas, which led No. 4 St. Joseph-Metuchen at halftime Tuesday, but saw the Falcons pull away in the end.

This is what you get when you play a schedule like Montgomery does. But getting their first win of the New Year would be nice, too.

Click below to her Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy talk about the Cougars with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: