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Out of the Dog House: Rumson Wins OT Classic Over Point Boro

Matt Manley|February 27, 2026|Last Updated February 27, 2026

RUMSON — Senior Luke Lydon and his Rumson-Fair Haven boys basketball teammates have learned to live without fellow senior Luke Cruz at different points of the season, but when that very season was on the brink of collapse Thursday in the opening round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II Tournament, Lydon and the rest of the Bulldogs knew their lifeline was to deploy its greatest weapon.

Cruz posted a double-double in the first half, then scored 19 of his game-high 34 points in the final eight minutes as Rumson — the No. 7 seed in the Central Group II section — bounced back from squandering a 21-point third-quarter lead to beat No. 10 Point Pleasant Boro, 75-74, in an overtime classic to kick off the Bulldogs’ state playoff run.

“All the seniors, we have been working at this for so long and we didn’t want it to end at home,” Cruz said. “It was emotional and we knew we couldn’t lose.”

“If I’m being honest, basketball is my first love,” said Lydon, who will play lacrosse at Boston University next year. “It’s what I have always loved to play and I’m not ready to give it up right now. The big man put the team on his back and showed why he is the best player in the Shore and one of the biggest names in the state.”

Cruz has missed three difference stints of games with various injuries, but has been dominant when available and never more than he was in crunch time Thursday night. Point Boro found a way to quiet him for the first 12 minutes of the second half, but Cruz scored 19 of Rumson’s final 28 points and went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line during that stretch. The 6-foot-9 senior also grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked two shots, with 12 of those rebounds and both blocks coming in the first half.

“Luke Cruz wanted to make sure his career didn’t end tonight, especially on this floor,” Rumson-Fair Haven coach George Sourlis said. “Down the stretch and in overtime, I thought he really started to be a little more assertive for us. He played like the player he is.”

During the first half, Cruz went for 15 points and 12 rebounds to stake Rumson to a 30-15 halftime lead that crew to 35-14 within the first two minutes of the third quarter. It was then that Point Boro began a run that erased that Bulldogs lead in under 10 minutes.

“I ripped into them at halftime,” Point Boro coach Kevin Hynes said. “I challenged them and they responded.”

Point Boro stormed back into the game with 12 unanswered points that kicked off a 20-4 run to close the third, sending the game to the fourth with the Bulldogs’ lead down to 39-34. Lydon converted a three-point play to put Rumson up, 44-37, but Point Boro junior Landon Hoyle banked in a three-pointer to cut the lead back to four, to which Rumson responded with a corner three from senior Zach Halpern to push the lead back to 47-40.

Point Boro then ripped off eight unanswered points to take its first lead since 3-0, at which point Cruz scored off a pass from fellow senior Blake Ahmann to give Rumson the lead, 49-48, with 3:59 left, setting up a dramatic final eight minutes.

“I was having a little rough patch at the beginning of the second half, but Blake gave me a little dump-off and that kind of got me going for the rest of the game,” Cruz said.

“At one point, late in the game, we realized we’ve got to slow it down and give the hot hand the ball,” Lydon said. “I think we showed great resilience and were able to get in our sets and get the looks we wanted.”

Senior Jovin Steinmetz hit a three-pointer to give Point Boro a 51-49 lead and junior teammate Hunter Hynes scooped up a loose ball and took it in for a layup and a 53-49 advantage. Steinmetz then made the second of two free throws for a 54-49 lead with just over two minutes left. Cruz countered with a trip to the free-throw line and made both, but senior Nick Carmino came back with two free throws for a 56-51 Point Boro lead with 1:21 left. Cruz then went back to the line and hit two to pull within 56-53 and Ahmann stole the ensuing inbounds pass, then converted the layup to cut Point Boro’s lead to 56-55 with 1:05 left.

Carmino went back to the line with 1:00 left and hit two free throws for a 58-55 lead and Cruz missed a clean look from the three-point line, setting up a pair of free throws by Steinmetz with 34 seconds left. Steinmetz hit both before Lydon found Cruz for a layup and Point Boro threw away the inbounds pass with 22 seconds left, giving Rumson a chance to tie the game with a three.

Point Boro ran Cruz off the three-point line and he forced up a contested baseline shot that hit the side of the backboard. Cruz followed his shot with the offensive rebound, then flipped up a layup as he was fouled with 13.6 seconds left. The 6-foot-9 senior hit the game-tying free throw and Steinmetz’s three-pointer was off the mark at the buzzer.

“I was upset about that open three that I missed, but I just kept going and it worked out,” Cruz said. “Everyone was excited to be going to overtime, so it worked out.”

“You’ve got to make your own breaks,” Sourlis said. “Point Boro, for a big spell there, they won battles more than we did. But our kids didn’t quit. This time of year, that’s what it’s about.”

After scoring on its last two possessions of the fourth quarter, Rumson scored on its first five possessions of overtime, the last of which ended with Lyndon draining a three-pointer from the left wing to give the Bulldogs a 71-66 lead with 1:20 left.

“I think a little sense of urgency and desperation kicked in,” Sourlis said. “All of a sudden, it’s like ‘Oh boy, this could be my season or my career.’ They cranked it up. Our kids were not going to go down without a fight.”

In the final two minutes of regulation, leading by one score, Point Boro chose to run a deliberate possession that chewed clock, eventually going to the free-throw line on a Rumson foul. The Bulldogs took the more aggressive approach, with Lydon firing his shot without hesitation, even with the downside of give the ball back to Point Boro leading by only two with more than a minute to go.

“We want wide-open threes or layups,” Sourlis said. “You’ve got to trust your guys. When it’s only a one-possession game, trying to hold the ball for a minute-and-a-half is hard to do. You get passive and I have always found we’re better when we’re trying to be aggressive. Even if we miss, they still have to score against us. It’s got to be a great shot and it was a great shot and the kid made it.”

“There is definitely that moment you think about it, but there is also that trust that coach Sourlis has in us,” Lydon said. “If we’re open for that shot and we’re feeling it, there is no hesitation. I took that literally. I know he has all the trust in me. He is one of the best coaches I have ever had, if not the best coach I have ever had, so we owed him that one. When I caught ball there, when I shot it and it went in, it was a great feeling looking at the crowd and looking over at the bench and knowing we were one step closer.”

Lydon’s shot was crucial, but it was not the dagger. Steinmetz hit a pair of free throws with 1:08 left and Point Boro forced a 10-second violation of Rumson to get the ball back. Carmino then nailed a three from the left wing to tie the game, 71-71, with 42 seconds left.

The tie game was short-lived, as Rumson raced up the court and freshman Clint Martin hit a baseline floater for a 73-71 lead with 30 seconds left. After a timeout, Point Boro turned the ball over with 10 seconds left and fouled Cruz with 8.5 left. Cruz put the game away with two makes from the line and Carmino closed the game with a three-pointer in the final seconds.

“I have been in that situation a lot of times before and I missed some,” Cruz said of his comfort level at the free-throw line late in the game. “I didn’t want that to happen again, so I have been practicing them. I’m so glad they went in. I trust myself to make it and everyone else on the team does.”

In the final 16 minutes of the game, Point Boro shot 12-for-15 from the three-point line after going 1-for-10 over the first 20 minutes. Steinmetz scored 23 of his 24 points after halftime while shooting 3-for-4 from three-point range in the second half and overtime. Hynes hit four three-pointers on the way to 18 points and Carmino scored 14 of his 17 points after halftime and was 3-for-3 on three-pointers in the third, fourth and overtime.

“It’s easy to quit in a high school game like that but they played with balls,” Hynes said. “They weren’t backing down and they were going to go down fighting. Whether we came back or whether we lost by forty, they were going to go down swinging. That’s how they’re built.”

“I thought we played great defense, I honestly do,” Sourlis said. “Give those kids from Point Boro credit. My god, they were unconscious. (Steinmetz and Hynes) shot the ball great, a couple other kids hit big shots. I wish I could say we didn’t do things right, but we did a lot of good. They had 10 points in the first half. We didn’t do anything differently, they just made shots. Give coach and those kids credit. They played their hearts out and we were fortunate to win.”

Thursday marked the third straight season Point Boro’s season has ended in Monmouth County, with Holmdel eliminating the Panthers in each of the last two NJSIAA quarterfinal rounds. This year’s loss came in the first round, but given that Point Boro was on the side of the bracket opposite Wall, Manasquan and Holmdel, a win Thursday might have opened up the possibility for Point Boro’s deepest run since reaching the Central Group II semifinals in 2012.

Rumson-Fair Haven senior Blake Ahmann shadowed by Point Boro senior Jovin Steinmetz. (Photo: Patrick Olivero) - Pt Boro at Rumson

Rumson-Fair Haven senior Blake Ahmann shadowed by Point Boro senior Jovin Steinmetz. (Photo: Patrick Olivero)

“I’m sick,” Hynes said. “We lost to Monroe on a bank shot in a similar game in the mid-late-2000’s and those are the ones that stay with you. Our guys deserved it. Not that (Rumson) didn’t deserve it, but to score 64 points in the second half and overtime, to come back like that. You want to see your guys rewarded. It hurts, man. That’s the rough side of sports, but that’s why we do it. It it didn’t hurt, it wouldn’t mean so much.”

Ahmann finished with 14 points and six rebounds and Lydon chipped in 11 points and seven assists for Rumson. In his first action since December, senior Drew Cavise — a starter on last year’s team and earlier this season — grabbed five rebounds. With Cavise’s return, Thursday marked the first time this season that Rumson has had its entire projected 2025-26 rotation available to play.

The season started with Cruz missing Rumson’s first four games, then an eye injury knocked him out of action for two weeks in the middle of the season. Cruz then missed Rumson’s two Shore Conference Tournament games, including a loss to Holmdel in the SCT round of 16.

“This is the most important game of the season because we’re still going,” Cruz said. “This is the healthiest we have been all season and it’s great we get to keep playing with this group.”

Rumson-Fair Haven senior Luke Lydon shoots over Point Boro junior Landon Hoyle (23). (Photo: Patrick Olivero) - Pt Boro at Rumson

Rumson-Fair Haven senior Luke Lydon shoots over Point Boro junior Landon Hoyle (23). (Photo: Patrick Olivero)

On paper, Rumson is the most battle-tested of the teams remaining on its side of the Central Jersey Group II bracket, which includes No. 3 Ocean vs. No. 6 Arthur L. Johnson in the other quarterfinal. Thursday was a lesson to the Bulldogs that anything can happen and Sourlis’s players responded to serious adversity by living by the tried-and-true cliché in any tournament: survive and advance.

Or, as Sourlis has grown fond of saying: Kill them by one.

“Going into these playoffs, Coach Sourlis said, we just have to kill them by one,” Lydon said. “I think we took that too seriously. It would have been better to beat them by more than one, but he does everything for us: the game plan, the match-ups, the scouting. I couldn’t imagine it any better. We go in knowing exactly what we’ve got to do.”

“Records, standings, seed mean absolutely nothing,” Sourlis said. “It’s the better team and it’s one and done. The best team doesn’t always win. You just have to be the best team tonight. I’m not even sure we were the better team tonight, but we were for a while and we got one more point.”

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