State final loss can’t diminish St. Rose basketball’s success over the past three seasons
March 17, 2025 at 3:25 p.m.
Evan Romano watched the scenario play out on TV time and again, but hoped he would never be a part of it.
Unfortunately for the senior guard and his St. Rose of Belmar teammates, it played out personally in the Purple Roses 55-51 loss to Roselle Catholic in the March 14 NJSIAA Non-Public B championship game. It marked the second time in three years RC defeated St. Rose in the finals.
“I’ve been watching a ton of college basketball this week and I feel it’s a recurring thing in a lot of high-level games,” Romano said. “One team will be up the whole time, it’s close, and then the other team will come back at the end and take it home.”
St. Rose's Evan Romano goes up for two of his 16 points against Roselle Catholic in the March.14 Non-Public A title game at Rutgers. Matthew Lyman photo/@Matt_L_Flics That’s exactly what happened to St. Rose (23-8 final record) in its attempt to win a second straight state title at Rutgers’ Jersey Mike’s Arena.
The Purple Roses opened a 31-21 lead late in the first half and seemed ready to pull away from the young but talented Lions (24-6). Roselle Catholic scored the last four points of the half to creep within six.
“We got up 10 and I figured we’d be able to keep that lead going into halftime,” Romano said. “I still felt good about six but I knew they were gonna come out swinging. They made some tough shots and it was a close game from there.”
St. Rose managed to maintain its lead through most of the second half. The Lions got within two three times in the third quarter. The Roses opened a six-point lead early in the fourth and RC cut it 47-45, and 49-47. St. Rose always had an answer but after taking a 51-47 advantage, they watched the Lions get a 3-pointer and amazing three-point play from Trevon Lewis to spark an 8-0 run in the final minute.
“(Lewis) made some outrageously tough shots,” St. Rose coach Brian Lynch said. “One of them was a fall away from seven feet on the baseline. The hardest shot in basketball. You tip your hat.
“I gotta give them a lot of credit. They were fantastic down the stretch,” he continued. “Super aggressive defensively. They made everything difficult. It’s not like we didn’t give a great effort. The guys left it out on the floor.”
St. Rose’s junior guard Jayden Hodge was a dominant force, collecting a game-high 23 points (on 8-for-13 shooting) and 12 rebounds.
“Jay’s outstanding,” Lynch said. “I think every time we step on the floor, if I’m honest, we have the best player on the floor. He always gives you a chance to win and he showed you again tonight.”
St. Rose guard Izayah Cooper has room to operate as Roselle Catholic's Armagh Caldwell (3) tries to close in during the March 14 Non-Public A championship game. Matthew Lyman photo/@Matt_L_Flics A reason St. Rose did not win, in part, was committing 18 turnovers. Lynch credited the Lions’ defense and his own team’s inability to sometimes know what play to run due to the all the noise generated by the large crowd.
“It was a close game the whole time, just a few turnovers at the end really killed us,” Romano said. “It was just a few bad plays at the wrong time.”
Lynch pointed out that when you reach a championship game, everything has to be perfect.
“It’s amazing in the game of basketball, the margin of error is so small,” he said. “It could be one rebound, one better execution offensively. That’s what makes winning so special [and] so hard to do.”
The Roses know all about winning. Over the past three seasons they went 76-15 with two Shore Conference Tournament titles, three South Jersey Non-Public B crowns and one state championship.
“That’s awesome,” Lynch said. “It’s been a privilege. When I started, I never expected after four years that I would be here three years in a row. It’s hard to feel like a failure when you lose this game but it certainly stings, obviously.”
Romano echoed his coach’s sentiments.
St. Rose senior Evan Romano, who went for 16 points in his career finale, goes up for a shot between Roselle Catholic's Trevon Lewis (21) and Kahlik Thomas (12) during the Non-Public A title game at Rutgers March 14. Matthew Lyman photo/@Matt_L_Flics “I’m upset about the loss but I can’t really hang my head on this too hard because of all we accomplished,” said the senior, who collected 16 points, four rebounds and three assists in his final high school game. “I don’t think I ever would have played at Rutgers if I didn’t make the move (transferring from Holmdel). It was a great experience. It didn’t go how I wanted at the end but we still made history.”
Romano, who Lynch praised along with fellow co-captain Bryan Ebeling for how they grew as players the last month, is still deciding on a college. Wherever he lands, he hopes the experience is as much fun as it was with St. Rose.
“We became very close very quick,” said Romano, one of six transfers Lynch had to mesh together three years ago. “I think it’s because we were always in the gym. Our schedule was a little crazy, but we all loved being there with each other, being competitive and having fun. How competitive we were with each other made us close in the end.”
After looking back on the past three years, Romano can look ahead and see great promise for St. Rose.
“They’re gonna have a good team, with good leaders like Jayden, Tyler (Cameron) and Avery (Lynch),” he said. “There’s a bunch of (younger) players on our team that didn’t get a lot of time and they could have been anywhere else playing as a starter. I think they have a bright future.
“This loss will fuel them for next year, kind of like how it fueled us my sophomore year. In a way, it could be a good thing for them to feel the sting.”
But for the seniors?
“Definitely not,” Romano said.
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Evan Romano watched the scenario play out on TV time and again, but hoped he would never be a part of it.
Unfortunately for the senior guard and his St. Rose of Belmar teammates, it played out personally in the Purple Roses 55-51 loss to Roselle Catholic in the March 14 NJSIAA Non-Public B championship game. It marked the second time in three years RC defeated St. Rose in the finals.
“I’ve been watching a ton of college basketball this week and I feel it’s a recurring thing in a lot of high-level games,” Romano said. “One team will be up the whole time, it’s close, and then the other team will come back at the end and take it home.”
St. Rose's Evan Romano goes up for two of his 16 points against Roselle Catholic in the March.14 Non-Public A title game at Rutgers. Matthew Lyman photo/@Matt_L_Flics That’s exactly what happened to St. Rose (23-8 final record) in its attempt to win a second straight state title at Rutgers’ Jersey Mike’s Arena.
The Purple Roses opened a 31-21 lead late in the first half and seemed ready to pull away from the young but talented Lions (24-6). Roselle Catholic scored the last four points of the half to creep within six.
“We got up 10 and I figured we’d be able to keep that lead going into halftime,” Romano said. “I still felt good about six but I knew they were gonna come out swinging. They made some tough shots and it was a close game from there.”
St. Rose managed to maintain its lead through most of the second half. The Lions got within two three times in the third quarter. The Roses opened a six-point lead early in the fourth and RC cut it 47-45, and 49-47. St. Rose always had an answer but after taking a 51-47 advantage, they watched the Lions get a 3-pointer and amazing three-point play from Trevon Lewis to spark an 8-0 run in the final minute.
“(Lewis) made some outrageously tough shots,” St. Rose coach Brian Lynch said. “One of them was a fall away from seven feet on the baseline. The hardest shot in basketball. You tip your hat.
“I gotta give them a lot of credit. They were fantastic down the stretch,” he continued. “Super aggressive defensively. They made everything difficult. It’s not like we didn’t give a great effort. The guys left it out on the floor.”
St. Rose’s junior guard Jayden Hodge was a dominant force, collecting a game-high 23 points (on 8-for-13 shooting) and 12 rebounds.
“Jay’s outstanding,” Lynch said. “I think every time we step on the floor, if I’m honest, we have the best player on the floor. He always gives you a chance to win and he showed you again tonight.”
St. Rose guard Izayah Cooper has room to operate as Roselle Catholic's Armagh Caldwell (3) tries to close in during the March 14 Non-Public A championship game. Matthew Lyman photo/@Matt_L_Flics A reason St. Rose did not win, in part, was committing 18 turnovers. Lynch credited the Lions’ defense and his own team’s inability to sometimes know what play to run due to the all the noise generated by the large crowd.
“It was a close game the whole time, just a few turnovers at the end really killed us,” Romano said. “It was just a few bad plays at the wrong time.”
Lynch pointed out that when you reach a championship game, everything has to be perfect.
“It’s amazing in the game of basketball, the margin of error is so small,” he said. “It could be one rebound, one better execution offensively. That’s what makes winning so special [and] so hard to do.”
The Roses know all about winning. Over the past three seasons they went 76-15 with two Shore Conference Tournament titles, three South Jersey Non-Public B crowns and one state championship.
“That’s awesome,” Lynch said. “It’s been a privilege. When I started, I never expected after four years that I would be here three years in a row. It’s hard to feel like a failure when you lose this game but it certainly stings, obviously.”
Romano echoed his coach’s sentiments.
St. Rose senior Evan Romano, who went for 16 points in his career finale, goes up for a shot between Roselle Catholic's Trevon Lewis (21) and Kahlik Thomas (12) during the Non-Public A title game at Rutgers March 14. Matthew Lyman photo/@Matt_L_Flics “I’m upset about the loss but I can’t really hang my head on this too hard because of all we accomplished,” said the senior, who collected 16 points, four rebounds and three assists in his final high school game. “I don’t think I ever would have played at Rutgers if I didn’t make the move (transferring from Holmdel). It was a great experience. It didn’t go how I wanted at the end but we still made history.”
Romano, who Lynch praised along with fellow co-captain Bryan Ebeling for how they grew as players the last month, is still deciding on a college. Wherever he lands, he hopes the experience is as much fun as it was with St. Rose.
“We became very close very quick,” said Romano, one of six transfers Lynch had to mesh together three years ago. “I think it’s because we were always in the gym. Our schedule was a little crazy, but we all loved being there with each other, being competitive and having fun. How competitive we were with each other made us close in the end.”
After looking back on the past three years, Romano can look ahead and see great promise for St. Rose.
“They’re gonna have a good team, with good leaders like Jayden, Tyler (Cameron) and Avery (Lynch),” he said. “There’s a bunch of (younger) players on our team that didn’t get a lot of time and they could have been anywhere else playing as a starter. I think they have a bright future.
“This loss will fuel them for next year, kind of like how it fueled us my sophomore year. In a way, it could be a good thing for them to feel the sting.”
But for the seniors?
“Definitely not,” Romano said.
The Church needs quality Catholic journalism now more than ever. Please consider supporting this work by signing up for a SUBSCRIPTION (click HERE) or making a DONATION to The Monitor (click HERE). Thank you for your support.