By RICH FISHER
Contributing Editor
For the St. Rose, Belmar, boys basketball team, winning a third straight NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public B championship wasn’t exactly business as usual.
But unlike its first sectional title three years ago, the Purple Roses feel they still have business to take care of.
“We’ve grown as a program,” fourth-year coach Brian Lynch said. “Our expectations have been raised and getting this third one was obviously very important to accomplish our ultimate goal of winning a state championship again.
“The first time it was, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we did it!’ The third time, as excited and as happy as we are, it’s still, ‘The job’s not done, we’ve got one more.’”
Evan Romano drives to the hoop during his 27-point effort against Rutgers Prep in the South Jersey Non-Public B title game. Photo by Matthew Lyman
That one comes on March 14, when St. Rose meets Roselle Catholic, 3 p.m., at Rutgers’ Jersey Mike’s Arena in a rematch of the 2023 state final. The Roses (23-7) go for their second straight Non-Public B title, while the Lions (23-6) beat St. Rose 68-59 two years ago. “
“Roselle Catholic has a championship level team,” Lynch said. “They deserve to be in the finals. They have three guys that can score 30 points on any given night. They have some nice role players that are stud athletes that fill the holes. They seem like they’re clicking now.
“This will be one of those high-level high school basketball games that’s gonna be high paced and fought tooth and nail until the end,” the coach continued. “They’ve climbed the ladder just like us and have done exactly what they needed to do to put themselves in a position to win.”
St. Rose is ranked No. 2 in the state and Roselle Catholic is No. 4. Both have worked their way up the rankings as they had several regular-season losses due to challenging schedules.
After starting 6-3, the Lions have gone 17-3 since. Since losing two straight Feb. 6-8 in the high-powered Metro Classic, the Roses have won eight straight. Seven of those were elimination games in either the Shore Conference or South Jersey tournaments. The other was a win over then-No. 1 Bergen Catholic.
St. Rose won the tournament games by an average 27.6 points and won three state games by an average of 31 points. The run was capped with an 86-55 victory over Rutgers Prep, Somerset, March 11 at Jackson Liberty High School.
“Part of the strategy in playing such a tough schedule was getting these guys battle tested and ready for when it mattered at the end of the season,” Lynch said. “I think it did its job. People were saying, ‘What’s going on, what are you thinking?’ The only thing I was thinking is that these kids get an opportunity to play in a high-level competition that’s going to get them prepared and ready for when it gets difficult.
“In the Shore Conference finals against CBA, I don’t think we played a great game. But I think we were more battle tested to make plays at the end when it mattered.”
It was similar against Rutgers Prep. The Roses led by 10 at halftime and scored the first 23 points of the second half to blow it open.
Junior Jayden Hodge, who has stepped up as “The Man” since his brother Matthew graduated, had 22 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.
St. Rose seniors Matt Breen (25) and Bryan Ebeling (15) leave no doubt as to who’s number one in South Jersey Non-Public B after the Purple Roses win over Rutgers Prep March 11 at Jackson Liberty. Photo by Matthew Lyman.
“He has stepped up time and time again,” Lynch said. “He’s surpassed my expectations with the level of consistency that he’s shown. I always knew he’d have great games. I didn’t think he’d be this consistent until his senior year. I can’t remember a game where I thought, ‘We’ve got nothing from Jay.’”
Surging Evan Romano had 27 points and seven rebounds against the Argonauts (20-10), while fellow senior co-captain Bryan Ebeling had just four points but produced seven assists and four steals.
“Filling the captain shoes of two (graduated) Division players is a difficult task,” Lynch said. “They started with a lot of pressure on their shoulders. We talked about them growing as leaders and into their roles. Just let the cards fall where they fall. They got to a point where they said, ‘Whether (college ball) is gonna happen for us or not, let’s just focus on winning. Once they embraced that role, both guys’ level of play elevated.”
Lynch’s nephew, Avery Lynch, had a big game with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
“Talk about filling a big role; he’s trying to play a position Matt played for us last year,” Lynch said. “That’s not easy, I don’t think there’s many guys in the country that can do that. He accepted the role; he’s tried to run our offense and he’s gotten better as the year goes on. He feels comfortable, he knows how important he is and how much we need him.”
St. Rose will need everyone against Roselle Catholic, as junior guards Trevon Lewis, Tyrease Hunter and Jalen Grant all average double figures.
“We’ve definitely gotta guard them,” Lynch said. “They’re really good one-on-one. Win or lose Friday, we’ve had a tremendous season. We’d just love to see, especially our seniors, close out the season on top.”