Upset-Minded Ranney Nipped By Roselle Catholic In Emotional Heartbreaker By Mike Ready

TOMS RIVER – The Ranney boys basketball team wanted nothing more than to pull off one of the biggest upsets in Shore Conference history in the NJSIAA Non-Public B final at the RJW Barnabas Health Arena. 

The matchup between Ranney – No. 3 in the state, and Roselle Catholic – No. 1 in New Jersey and 13th in the country in the USA Today Super 25, was billed as the biggest game by a Shore team in 16 years, when Neptune lost to St. Anthony’s, who finished the season ranked No. 1 in the country, in the Tournament of Champions final. 

To this day, Neptune is the only Shore Conference team to ever reach the final game of the season. 

But Ranney’s inspiration to win the program’s first-ever group title went far beyond just winning a championship game; it went so much deeper than that. It was all about winning it for their coach. 

The game was played three days after the team found out that Max Holden, the 16-month-old son of Ranney head coach Tahj Holden, was diagnosed with a form of cancer called neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that starts in certain very early forms of nerve cells found in an embryo or fetus. This type of cancer occurs most often in infants and young children normally under the age of five. 

Ranney took the floor in pre-game warmups wearing bright yellow florescent shirts that said, “Max Strong” over the game uniform. The Ranney staff and family also were handing out the t-shirts to people as they walked in and many in the crowd were already wearing their own yellow shirts in an attempt to bring awareness to this particular form of cancer. 

“With this being a state championship game and with everything that’s been going on this week, the chip that is normally on our shoulder was much, much bigger,” said Ranney junior Scottie Lewis, who finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and two blocks in the loss. “We were playing for the seniors we were playing for Max we playing for the entire Ranney community and the entire Holden family. That chip grew and grew and we all got locked in. We were all focused. It was just extra motivation for us to play for coach and everything he’s going through.”

Holden was with his son and missed practice on Thursday and Friday and as he made his way into the arena just prior to tipoff, he was greeted warmly by his players along with a standing ovation from those already in the stands. 

“The fact that (Holden) showed up today is just incredible,” Lewis said. “Having to drive an hour-and- a-half after being in the hospital all week just to coach us – dealing with his wife and family and (older son) Cole – I have nothing but love and respect for Tahj. He has been a father figure for me for the last three years and he has taught me nothing but good things. He has taught me to have the willpower to fight through things and watching him go through this, he is doing everything he has taught me.”

“They have been tough,” said Holden of the past three days, with his son undergoing surgery on Friday. “Tough but good. My little guy’s a fighter, he’s strong. As hard as it’s been for me, it’s hard for them (the team) too. They are trying to put together some stuff and are worried about how me and my family are doing, but they came out and really competed and showed why we are one of the best teams in the state. It was an unbelievable game and my guys competed for 32 minutes and this is all you want for them to do.”

As for the game, it was an instant classic – without the desired ending. 

Down 31-26 at the intermission, Ranney (28-5) rallied to outscore Roselle Catholic, 22-16, in the third quarter to take a one-point lead, 48-47. Junior point guard Ahmadu Sarnor scored with 10 seconds left in the quarter to give them a one-point lead, while Lewis led the team with seven points in the quarter and junior Alex Klatsky hit two big 3-pointers. 

Sarnor had 11 of his team-high 16 points in the second half as the Panthers turned a 51-50 deficit into a 58-51 advantage with an 8-0 run to extend their lead to seven points with just under three minutes to play. 

Six straight points by Roselle Catholic big-man Naz Reid then moved the Lions to within 58-57, but Sarnor put the Panthers on top by three hitting both ends of a one-and one. 

Reid then pulled Roselle Catholic to within one with his fourth straight basket to make it 60-59 with 1:29 left in the game. 

Lewis had done an excellent job neutralizing Reid until he picked up his fourth foul with 3:50 left in the game. To that point, Reid had not scored in the second half, but once Lewis got in foul trouble he had to play with caution to avoid fouling out. 

The 6-foot-10 Reid, an Asbury Park native, McDonald’s All-American and Louisiana State University commit, took advantage of Lewis’s predicament, scoring 10 points with four of his five field goals coming on dunks once Lewis picked up his fourth foul. 

On Ranney’s ensuing possession, center Savior Akuwovo was fouled by Reid and went to the line hitting one of two free throws putting the Panthers up by two, 61-59, at the 1:13 mark. 

After a couple of missed field goals by both teams, Klatsky fouled Roselle Catholic’s Kahill Whitney, who hit the front and backside of a one-and-one to even the score at 61-61 with 29.4 seconds left in the game. 

The Panthers then had a chance to win it, but Bryan Antoine’s shot from the free-throw line was blocked by Reid and rebounded by Josh Pierre-Lewis who passed to Itheil Horton, who then found Reid underneath for the alley-oop dunk and the lead, 63-61. 

With six seconds left on the clock, Ranney had a chance to force overtime, but Antoine’s floater from the top of the key was short and a putback attempt by Akuwovo bounced out as time ran out on the Panthers.

It was a heroic effort by the Panthers, but just about as devastating of a loss that you could’ve ever imagined for the Ranney players as they collapsed in disbelief as the buzzer sounded.  

“Our guys went out and competed and did what I thought was enough to get the win but like I told them in the locker room, sometimes it doesn’t turn out that way,” Holden said after addressing his team. “You are up four or five points with two minutes to go, you want that clock to run and unfortunately, we didn’t have enough to fight back after their surge. My guys competed and I’m proud of the way they played.”

A GoFundMe Page was started to help the Holden family pay for medical expenses and in the first two days after word broke of Max’s condition more than $102,000 had been raised.

“He’s strong and now we’re going to start the long battle,” said Holden of Max. “The support that me and my family have gotten is incredible – it’s just an incredible feeling.”