Downsizing: Rumson lineup switch helps send the Bulldogs back to the CJ Group 2 final

RUMSON – Rumson-Fair Haven boys basketball coach Chris Champeau gave a scrappy Holmdel squad a blast from the past on Wednesday night to help send the Bulldogs back to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 2 final.

Rumson showed a look it hadn’t employed all season, which once was the identity of the program when Champeau first took over 16 seasons ago – small ball. With Holmdel swarming 6-foot-9 Rumson junior Luke Cruz all night, Champeau pulled him from the lineup for almost the entire fourth quarter and played with all guards to finally put away the feisty Hornets.

Removing Cruz from the middle opened lanes for Rumson’s guards to drive and kick out for threes or hit teammates on back cuts, which were crucial in a 54-48 win over third-seeded Holmdel. The switch to a smaller lineup also helped the Bulldogs (20-6) match up better defensively, and they held the Hornets (17-9) to six points in the fourth quarter by relentlessly pressuring their guards.

“I went old-school – small, quick and tough,” Champeau said. “We call it SQUAT, from back in the Pookie Alter days. We went SQUAT, and it worked.”

“We haven’t done that all year,” said senior point guard Nic Economou, who had a key fourth-quarter bucket and multiple assists in crunch time. “We went small ball toward the end. Cruz is obviously a phenomenal player, but they were doubling every time we tried getting it inside.

“So we were like, ‘All right, we’ve got to beat them off the dribble, and the rest of us have to step up and be quicker than them and be better athletes,’ which we believe we are. (The lineup change) opened up lanes, it opened up cuts for Carson (Memmott) and Riley (Gill) and all them.”

Senior Carson Memmott scored six of his game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead the way for Rumson, while Cruz finished with 12 and senior guard David Carr had 10. Senior forward Daxx Corneiro led Holmdel with 14 points, senior guard Ire Adesina added 11, and senior Joe Curreri chipped in 10.

Second-seeded Rumson will now travel to top-seeded Manasquan at 3 p.m. on Saturday for a rematch of last season’s Central Jersey Group 2 final won by the Warriors.

Holmdel’s gameplan forces Rumson to adjust

In two regular-season games against Holmdel this season, Cruz had 20 points and 15 rebounds and then 24 points. The Hornets were determined to not let him have that level of impact a third time even though they don’t have a player over 6-foot-3 in their lineup.

Holmdel was doubling Cruz (12 points) any time he was in the post and forcing the University of Pennsylvania recruit to regularly catch the ball 20 feet away from the basket. They also pressured him on the perimeter.

“They were just too fast and scrappy,” Champeau said about Holmdel. “I just felt like they were five small guards. It’s a tough matchup for (Cruz). We were trying to get it to him inside, and they kept digging down.

“They sped us up. We sort of got it to him before everyone was set, and it was awkward. I give full credit to (Holmdel coach Sean) Devaney. They came to play. We were lucky to get out of there with a win.”

A fast start for the Hornets

Holmdel had a 19-8 lead – its biggest of the game – after forcing five turnovers and hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter. The Hornets were getting layups off back cuts and open threes off penetration.

Corneiro had eight of his 14 points before the break to lead the way. Champeau said at one point he contemplated going into a zone against the Hornets.

Holmdel zips out to a 19-8 lead on RFH after one as Daxx Corneiro buries a 3 to end the qtr. Hornets D forced 5 turnovers pic.twitter.com/DUBTxsDPjR

— Scott Stump (@Scott_Stump) March 6, 2025

“They would just drive at you and backdoor cut,” Memmott said. “Those backdoor cuts were sneaking on us, and we were just picking up fouls. I picked up three fouls in the first half, so after that we had to tone back. We took away the press. And once we took away the press, our halfcourt defense is as good as anyone in the state, so we shut them down.”

Rumson whittled down the lead in the second quarter thanks to Memmott, who had seven points in the period. The Bulldogs closed with an 11-5 run that cut Holmdel’s lead to 28-25 at the half. They were right in it despite shooting 1-for-8 from 3-point range, missing five free throws and turning it over 10 times in the first half.

Carson Memmott bucket and a foul for Rumson cuts Holmdel’s lead to 23-19 with 3 mins left in the half pic.twitter.com/tp3lq6rO3z

— Scott Stump (@Scott_Stump) March 6, 2025

“Going into halftime, we hadn’t made many shots, and we just weren’t playing our hardest,” Memmott said. “We weren’t crashing the boards. We came back in, and we played the hardest we’ve played all year. Going after rebounds, getting loose balls – the shots will fall after that.”

“I think they came out way harder,” Economou said about Holmdel. “They were diving all over like crazy. We came out kind of loose in the first half like we were going to roll over them, but it’s never easy beating a team three times.”

Rumson should know, as the Bulldogs lost twice to Red Bank during the regular season before knocking the rival Bucs off in the Shore Conference Tournament.

Second-half surge for Rumson

Rumson got its first lead of the game with 4:08 left in the third quarter when junior guard Andrew Cavise drained a 3-pointer from the corner for a 34-33 advantage. Rumson was 1-for-10 from 3-point range before Cavise splashed in his only basket of the game.

“I think one of biggest threes of our season was I ran old-school ‘Whirlwind Down’ for Drew Cavise in the corner when he hit that three,” Champeau said. “We got the lead for the first time. That’s a big shot.”

Holmdel didn’t flinch, recovering to snatch the lead back, 42-41, heading into the fourth quarter.

A pair of free throws by Cruz gave Rumson a 43-42 advantage early in the final period, and then Champeau made his move to the small ball lineup. The Bulldogs never trailed again.

Not only was Rumson getting into the lane offensively, its guards were coming up with offensive rebounds by beating their counterparts to the ball. Memmott scored off an assist by Economou for a 47-44 advantage and then Memmott snatched an offensive rebound on the next possession. The second chance led to a second 3-point attempt on the same possession for senior guard Riley Gill, and he buried it from the corner for a 50-46 advantage with 2:25 left in the game.

Rumson has had a nightmare night from 3 until Riley Gill buried this big one for a 50-46 lead with 1:30 left in the game thanks to an offensive rebound pic.twitter.com/gYdIf0IDz5

— Scott Stump (@Scott_Stump) March 6, 2025

The lead stayed at four until Memmott dropped in a layup off a feed by junior guard Luke Lydon for a 54-48 lead with a minute to go, and Rumson’s defense locked it down from there. The Bulldogs held Holmdel to 3-for-12 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter and zero free throw attempts.

“We’ve got a lot of seniors that play, and no one wanted this to be our last game, especially at home, so it came down to heart, passion and getting the boards,” Memmott said.

It ended another strong season for Holmdel, which finished with 17 wins in a supposed rebuilding year after graduating three starters, including a pair of 1,000-point scorers. Rumson has now beaten Holmdel in the sectional semifinals in three out of the last four seasons.

“Any time you play a Sean Devaney team, you’re in for a game,” Champeau said. “I think he’s the best coach in the Shore. He doesn’t have one big guy, and they’re a nightmare. They play hard for him.”

A championship rematch

Now Rumson will try to solve Manasquan in a bid to win its first sectional title since 2022 and its fourth in nine seasons. The Bulldogs lost 36-30 on the Warriors’ floor in last season’s final and have not beaten Manasquan in the state playoffs since the 2017 Central Jersey Group 2 semifinals.

Rumson also lost 57-55 to the Warriors at home during the regular season in December.

“It was straight pain last year, and the game here (this season) was just a total letdown,” Economou said. “We felt like we should’ve won the game, and we beat ourselves with a lack of heart down the stretch. It’s all on the line now because I don’t even know the last time we beat Manasquan. It’s really just closing it out down the stretch and winning it for the guys who came before us.”

“It’s a tough place to play, but we’ve been looking at that date all year, so we’re ready to go down there,” Champeau said. “We’re underdogs. We’ve got nothing to lose. Dawgs against everybody, throw it up and let’s go.”

Scott Stump is a freelance reporter, newsletter writer and editor who first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, wrestling, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point. 

You can contact him at [email protected]