Even Better Days Ahead: Westampton Tech Denies Middletown South in Central Group 3 Final

WESTAMPTON — With two of the best varsity freshmen in New Jersey in his starting lineup, Middletown South boys basketball coach Mike Iasparro knows his team’s trip to the 2026 NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III final could be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the level of winning they will do during their high school careers.

The flip side is the four seniors who were crucial to the postseason ride know that not only was this year that one last chance to win a championship, but Iasparro will also have to replace them in order to finish the job.

A bigger, more athletic, more experienced Westampton Tech squad was Middletown South’s kryptonite Saturday afternoon, when the second-seeded Panthers outlasted the fourth-seeded Eagles, 66-56, to capture the program’s first NJSIAA sectional championship. Middletown South ends the 2025-26 season still searching for its first sectional title since 2007-08.

Freshmen Ryan Gannon and Evan Wells held their own against Westampton Tech’s well-rounded rotation, with Gannon going for a team-high 16 points and four assists while Wells put up nine points and six rebounds.

“The future is bright with those two kids,” Iasparro said. “But in that moment after a game like that in the state tournament, it’s all about the seniors. My heart goes out to them. It’s a great group of kids who are fully invested in the program. I love the way that they welcomed the freshmen into the program and really took them under their wing.”

In the first three rounds, however, the two were the difference between winning and losing for Middletown South, particularly Gannon. The six-foot guard averaged 25.7 points over the first three rounds, and in the Eagles’ last two overtime wins over Hopewell Valley and top-seeded Lawrence, he hit three 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds of either regulation or overtime that either tied or won the game.

Three of Middletown South’s four senior regulars have been in the program for four years, which is two more than Iasparro has been the head coach. Beckett Oliver, Matt Trimble and Nick Cannizzaro were returning starters from the 2024-25 team. On Saturday, each left his mark in the final game of their four years at Middletown South.

“They fought to the final buzzer,” Iasaparro said. “We had a practice (Friday) and nobody was thinking about it being the last practice. That’s high school basketball, That’s the finality of it, so it’s an emotional time for the seniors.”

Oliver posted 14 points, 12 rebounds and a blocked shot while battling with Westampton Tech’s considerable size and athleticism in the front court. Cannizzaro collected all eight of his points and all three of his steals in the fourth quarter and Trimble capped his career with seven points and six rebounds.

In Oliver’s case, he finished his senior season with a double-double after ending his junior year by suffering a torn ACL. Despite sustaining the injury in late February of 2025, Oliver did not miss the start of the 2025-26 season.

“Coming into the season, we had no idea what we were going to get from him,” Iasparro said of Oliver. “He came into the season seven-and-a-half months post ACL surgery. It was a total wild card. Once he was cleared, he hit the ground running. He was all-in, 100 percent effort, and he had a tremendous season. He worked really hard to get back.”

Middletown South’s six-man rotation, which also includes senior Henry Hudson transfer Michael Fitzpatrick, was nearly even with the Panthers through the first 20-plus minutes of action thanks to a strong start to the second half. After trailing, 29-20, at the break, Middletown South opened the third quarter by outscoring Westampton Tech, 10-2, over a stretch of nearly five minutes, with Gannon scoring the first seven points of the run. When Oliver made the second of two free throws, Middletown South called timeout with its deficit down to 31-30.

“Getting back in the game really showed our grit and that we have been there before throughout the state tournament,” Iasparro said. “In the last two games, we have been losing in the fourth quarter, so we knew we had it in us, and once we got the game to one, we felt really good about it. The vibes were good and then we just lost our minds for a couple minutes there and got out of our brand of basketball.”

Out of the timeout, the Eagles applied full-court pressure, but Westampton Tech was unbothered. The Panthers embarked on a 14-0 surge over the final three-plus minutes of the third quarter to turn a game Middletown South made close into a comfortable lead for the home team.

Six-foot-5 senior Henry Njoga kicked off the run with a pair of layups and senior guard Alexander Jeanty closed it by scoring seven of his nine points in the game, ending it with a three-point play to make it 45-30 in the final seconds of the quarter. He also had three of his four steals during that run.

“We committed too many live-ball turnovers,” Iasparro said. “That was the difference right there.”

Jeanty entered play as Westampton Tech’s leading scorer at 13.7 points. While he did not hit that threshold against Middletown South’s defense, the timing of his lone scoring burst of the game could not have been more impactful.

Njoga and fellow senior forward Jason Livingstone led the scoring and rebounding effort for the Panthers with a combined 33 points and 21 rebounds. The 6-6 Livingstone scored a game-high 20 points to go with nine rebounds and started the game off with a pair of dunks during a 9-2 run by the Panthers. Njoga went for 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots, including 10 points during the second half.

Middletown South was in danger of losing control of the game in the first half, but a 10-2 run during the second quarter cut Westampton Tech’s lead from 19-8 to 21-18. Gannon and Wells each scored five points during the run.

Gannon and Wells are due back for their sophomore season together as the two leading scorers from 2025-26 and will be looking to take Middletown South one more step.

“They have played a high level of AAU, but there is nothing in AAU like this atmosphere,” Iasparro said. “I think this was a great experience for them, and I thought they handled it pretty well considering how young they are. But what an experience for them as freshmen to experience going to a sectional championship and competing in this type of environment.”