Bench-Mobbed: CBA’s Second Unit Sparks Rout vs. No. 3 Rumson

RUMSON — Not a lot has gone wrong for the Christian Brothers Academy basketball team during a 9-1 start to the season, but there were some shortcomings to identify in Monday’s road test against Rumson-Fair Haven — the No. 3 team in the current Shore Sports Insider Top 10.

CBA’s two leading scorers combined for just 13 points and the team made just one of its first nine three-point attempts through the first 12 minutes.

And yet, by the wail of the final buzzer, the No. 1 Colts had 79 points on the scoreboard and another convincing victory over a quality program from the Shore Conference.

Despite just 13 combined points from junior Avery Lynch and sophomore Izayah Cooper, CBA rolled to a 79-48 win over Rumson-Fair Haven behind 42 bench points and a balanced attack in which five players scored at least nine points.

“I think the reason we’re winning all these games is because we have so many people that are coming in and playing for us,” senior guard Charlie Messano said. “Five new guys come in and we can still keep the pressure going and keep the pace up.”

Senior Connor Andree led the way with 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals, including 10 points during the first half. With CBA starting the game 1-for-9 from beyond the arc, Andree was a source of high-percentage offense near the basket. He helped stake CBA to a 13-11 lead through one quarter and kept the Colts within 18-17 when Rumson went on a spurt to take the lead during the middle part of the second quarter.

“Coach (Brian Lynch) always tells us, ‘Stay the path,'” Andree said. “After the first quarter, we were up and we shot about 10 percent (from the field). We just kept playing defense, followed the path and shots were going to fall. We didn’t play our best first half, but we were still up 12, and that all stems from our defense. We’re one of the best defenses in the state, so if we keep playing the defense that we’re playing, we can have offensive lapses from time to time.”

Late in the second half, CBA’s three-point shooting went from suspect to spectacular. The Colts hit four of their final five attempts of the first half, capped by back-to-back makes from junior David Buley and Messano. Messano’s three closed out the final seconds of the second quarter and sent the Colts to the locker room ahead, 37-25.

Halftime: No. 1 CBA 37, No. 3 Rumson 25. CBA started ice cold from the perimeter but warmed up in the late 2nd quarter. David Buley and Charlie Messano hit the last 2 3s of the half. pic.twitter.com/2FL82ucAhO

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) January 13, 2026

Buley, Messano and junior Will Grier each finished with 10 points and two three-pointers apiece, with Grier hitting two of his three attempts in the first half to help CBA balance out the rough shooting. His first three was the one make for CBA in its first nine attempts, and Grier also grabbed six rebounds.

CBA got a big lift off the bench from Will Grier, who hit 2 of CBA’s 1st 3 3-pointers. He has 8 points and 3 rebounds. Connor Andree 10 points, 4 rebounds to lead CBA. pic.twitter.com/5pRhHTWlRh

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) January 13, 2026

Grier and Messano led the scoring effort from the bench, which also got nine points from senior Charlie Marcoullier on three three-point makes. Senior Matt Veisz also buried a pair of second-half three-pointers for six points.

“When one kid hits a three, I think that boosts all of our confidence,” Messano said. “One person makes it, and we all start to shoot better.”

Cooper finished with seven points, four rebounds and six assists, while Lynch contributed six points, six rebounds and three assists.

Rumson hung with CBA for most of the first half and even scored the first six points of the second half to pull within 37-31. It was a valiant effort from a Bulldogs team still without injured senior starters Luke Cruz and Drew Cavise and coming off its first loss of the season — a 68-54 defeat at the hands of Middletown South on Saturday.

CBA answered that 6-0 Rumson spurt with eight straight points to push its lead to 45-31, with Cooper and Messano hitting three-pointers on consecutive possessions. The Bulldogs’ last stand was a 7-2 run in response that cut the CBA lead to 47-38 on a three-point play by freshman Clint Martin, but that was the closest the hosts would be the rest of the way.

“We always say, ‘CBA is everybody’s Super Bowl,'” Andree said. “We’re coming into the game knowing we’re getting their best effort, and the one thing we have that not many other teams in the state have is we have 10 guys that can play. We’re rotating 10 guys in throughout the game, and that really helps us be able to come out in the second half and put teams away.”

End 3: CBA 55, Rumson 38. Charlie Marcoullier with the corner 3 to put CBA up by 17. pic.twitter.com/qPvIelDq8g

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) January 13, 2026

After Cooper found Messano for a layup, Veisz and Marcoullier hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give CBA its largest lead, 55-38. That was the score heading to the fourth quarter, which CBA started with a 10-2 run, capped by back-to-back threes by Buley and Marcoullier. When CBA pushed the lead to 76-43, it marked the culmination of a 29-5 run that turned a competitive game in the middle of the third quarter to another dominant performance by the Colts.

Martin led Rumson with 18 points and six rebounds, while senior Blake Ahmann pitched in 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out.

CBA has made a habit of overwhelming teams in the second halves of games, particularly in its three games against Shore Conference opponents. For the year, CBA has outscored its 11 opponents by a total of 144 points for an average of 13.1 in the second half alone. Against Class A North division opponents Holmdel, St. Rose and Rumson, the number is 68 in three games for an average of 22.3 points that the Colts have outscored their opponents in the second half.

The quality of play off the bench is a primary reason CBA is wearing down teams, with Messano, Grier, Marcoullier, Veisz and sophomore Aidan Dotzler playing key minutes and making tangible contributions to the game — both before Monday and during the win over Rumson.

“Those guys are in the gym every day, working as hard as we (the starters) are,” Andree said. “They know their roles, and they play them perfectly. They give great energy and those are huge roles on the team. If somebody didn’t have a good game tonight, we have other guys that are going to be able to step up.”

CBA will carry its momentum and a 9-0 record against in-state competition to Bergen County Wednesday, when the Colts take on Bergen Catholic in a showdown between two of the top five teams in the state, according to NJAdvance Media. It also represents a potential preview of the NJSIAA Non-Public A championship game in March.

“We’re excited for it,” Andree said. “We can’t wait to play the best teams in the state. It’s fun for us. We love having atmospheres like we had today, atmospheres like we’re going to have at Bergen Catholic. It’s fun to play basketball in that atmosphere.”