St. Rose 58, Notre Dame 37
St. Rose continues to breeze their way through the Buc Classic with another 20+ point victory. Notre Dame held their own through the first quarter, with St. Rose only leading 18-13, 15 of which St. Rose senior Matt Hodge scored. However, Notre Dame had their own big man in Stesher Mathelier to match Hodge. The 6'7" Army commit finished the night with 23 points, his second 20-point game of the tournament. St. Rose jumped to a 32-20 going into the half, after a big quarter for Bryan Ebeling. The St. Rose sophomore guard finished his night with 12. Notre Dame was able to cut the lead down to seven in the third but was quickly responded to by a 13-0 St. Rose run, sealing the game and giving the Purple Roses a ticket to the championship game.
Red Bank 44, CBA 41
Red Bank Regional continues to defend their home court with an upset win over the champions of last year's Buc Classic. Both student sections were full, giving the game a playoff-like atmosphere. The game was a dog fight from the opening tipoff. Both defenses were aggressive, allowing no easy shots. CBA led 15-6 after the first quarter. Neither offense could seem to get anything going in the second quarter. CBA held a 12-point lead at halftime. The Bucs came out of the break hot, going on a 12-0 run to tie it all up at 25. Braydon Kirkpatrick took over for the Bucs during the third quarter, with six points and three assists in the quarter alone. The Bucs junior finished the game with 12 points. After trading baskets for the rest of the quarter, CBA's Will Bradley gave them the lead on a floater as time expired to give the Colts a 32-30 lead going into the fourth. The Bucs' offense built off their strong third quarter to put them up 40-34 with just under three minutes to play. The Colts would not let up, scoring two quick baskets to cut the deficit to just two with 1:30 to play. Nick Valentino's layup put the Bucs up by four but was quickly countered by a three from Will Bradley, making it a 42-41 game with under a minute to play. After the Bucs' forced a turnover, Nick Valentino sealed the game with a layup to send Red Bank Regional to the championship game.
Tournament Schedule (12/30)
Long Branch vs. Sayreville - 1:00 PM
Middletown North vs. Ranney - 2:30 PM
CBA vs. Notre Dame - 4:00 PM (For 3rd Place)
St. Rose vs. Red Bank Regional (Championship)
- Manasquan Takes Down Previously Undefeated St. Rose - January 20, 2023
- St. Rose captures Buc Classic championship over Red Bank - January 2, 2023
- Red Bank Regional upsets CBA in thriller | Buc Classic Round 2 Recap - December 29, 2022
