By RICH FISHER
Contributing Editor
By Rich Fisher, Contributing Editor
Gio Panzini is the cautious type.
So, despite the fact his St. Rose, Belmar boys basketball team played with an enormous lead over Immaculate Conception, Montclair, throughout the NJSIAA Non-Public B state championship game, Panzini took nothing for granted.
“We knew that was a good team and they could get hot at any second, so we had to stay locked in defensively,” the senior forward said. “I didn’t feel safe until I got taken out of the game with three minutes to go and we were up 45. I was like ‘OK, maybe we’re gonna win the state championship.’”
The Purple Roses did indeed hold that lead in taking a 73-29 victory over the Lions March 8 at Rutgers’ Jersey Mike’s Arena. It was St. Rose’s first state crown since 1977 and sixth overall, and the Roses finished No. 1 in nj.com’s final Top 20 ranking and No. 3 in maxprep’s Top 25.
It capped a remarkable season as St. Rose finished 29-2 and won the first Shore Conference Tournament title in program history.
There was pressure from the start, as St. Rose was expected to do well after returning every regular from a team that reached the state finals in 2023.
“We knew we were going to do something big since the first practice,” junior guard Bryan Ebeling said. “I personally had no pressure because of how my mom always says if you are prepared for it, there is no reason to be anxious or have any pressure.”
Third-year coach Brian Lynch had his team prepared, loading the schedule with top-tier teams that would have the Roses battle-tested for state tournament wars. St. Rose began the season ranked No. 2 on nj.com. It moved into the top spot Jan. 16 and never relinquished it.
“There’s always gonna be a little pressure when you’re ranked so high,” Panzini said. “You’ve always got teams that want to take you down and you have that target on your back. You’re gonna get every team’s best game. We just knew if we took care of business defensively and offensively we were gonna beat teams by a considerable margin.”
Which is exactly what they did against Montclair Immaculate, jumping to a 19-3 lead after one quarter and expanding on the advantage throughout the contest. St. Rose’s defense was suffocating, forcing M-K into 20.4 percent shooting and blocking 10 shots. The Roses had a 47-22 rebounding advantage..
“It was simple, we just kept doing the same thing we did the whole year,” Ebeling said. “We were crashing boards and playing the hardest that we can on defense and the offense took care of itself.”
Leading the attack was Panzini with 16 points (on 7-for-9 shooting), nine rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals. Villanova-bound Matt Hodge had his usual all-around game with 14 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and five assists. Younger brother Jayden Hodge had 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Ebeling chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists. St. Rose shot 54.7 percent overall and 60 percent (6-for-10) from 3-point range.
The Roses scored 14 fast break points and 11 points off turnovers as it was able to turn strong defense into offense.
“Once you get a stop, you can run out and get some transition points,” Panzini said. “You see some shots going in and it makes everything else a lot easier when you get into your actual offense. The confidence goes up.”
Panzini felt the lockdown defense was a matter of attitude.
“You’ve got to want to defend for 32 minutes, just spend all your energy on it,” the Spring Lake resident said. “We know if you get beat one-on-one we have four guys that will rotate over who have your back. We’re a family.”
That family atmosphere was cultivated last season when the Hodge brothers transferred in from Belgium, Ebeling came over from Italy and Panzini and Evan Romano transferred from New Jersey schools. The group spent a year learning how to play together and the dividends came this season.
“We had time to build chemistry last year; and this year it was all natural because when you love something and everyone wants to achieve the same goal everything becomes easier,” Ebeling said.
Panzini added that “To have that whole year under our belt and play the big games and have that spotlight on us, we grew so much closer together as teammates and as brothers. We knew it would help on and off the court and it really showed this year.”
It showed off the court as well, as the players pray together before each game; and Panzini and several teammates assist with the school’s mass. Gio has a strong Catholic school background, transferring from Red Bank Catholic because numerous family members had good experiences at St. Rose and it was closer to his home. When the Hodge brothers transferred in, he got excited about the team’s potential.
When St. Rose fulfilled that potential, it gave Gio an edge on his older brothers, two who played baseball at RBC and one who played basketball at Point Pleasant Beach.
“It felt so good to finally hoist up that trophy,” he said, adding with a laugh, “and I can always rub it in my brothers’ faces now because I’m the only one with a state championship.”