Run the River: Young Donovan Catholic Stars Shine in Kevin Williams Classic Final

TOMS RIVER — The Donovan Catholic boys basketball team plays its home games on a court named for legendary former head coach Steve Gepp. After Tuesday night’s performance on the final day of the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic at RWJBarnabas Health Arena, the Griffins now have a trophy with Gepp’s name on it to match the court.

The Griffins shook off a rough first quarter and survived a late fourth-quarter push by Toms River East to beat the Raiders, 56-54, in the championship game of the Steve Gepp Bracket in the 41st Annual Kevin Williams Christmas Classic. The victory marked the first time Donovan Catholic has won the Toms River tournament and not only did the Griffins do it in the bracket named for an all-time coach at Donovan Catholic, they did it by beating a team from Toms River in every round.

Donovan Catholic beat Toms River South, 61-50, in the tournament quarterfinals on Friday; Toms River North, 54-51, in the semifinals on Sunday and finished it off by taking down the third and final Toms River public school in the gauntlet on Tuesday.

Underclassmen have been at the forefront of Donovan Catholic’s 4-1 start, particularly freshman Gerard Gallo. On Tuesday, Gallo led the way with 18 points and five assists to wrap up tournament Most Valuable Player honors, while sophomore T.J. Hunter played a well-rounded game with seven points, nine rebounds and three steals to land him on the all-tournament team.

Gerard Gallo for three to push his total to 18. Donovan Catholic leads Toms River East 50-40 with 4:12 left. pic.twitter.com/xMnWIkji2N

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) December 30, 2025

“It’s the first championship for a lot of our guys, so it feels great,” Gallo said. “I couldn’t tell you the last time Donovan won a championship. We played three Toms River schools in this tournament, and we showed that we rule the River.”

“I gave them a refresher on Coach Gepp after the game to give them a little more perspective on what this means for the school and the program,” said Mike Kearney, who played for Gepp when the school was still named St. Joseph’s High School and has been the head coach of his alma mater since 1998-99. “With what he did for the school and this being the Gepp Tournament, it’s appropriate.”

Hunter, senior Pat Gallo and junior Gabe Feliciano were key components of the defensive effort that forced Toms River East into eight turnovers in the second quarter, during which the Griffins turned a 16-9 deficit into a 26-21 lead at halftime. Pat Gallo finished with 12 points, four assists and three steals and Feliciano scored eight points while manning the top of Donovan Catholic’s aggressive 2-3 zone that disrupted Toms River East during the second quarter and also held Raiders sophomore Brady Gillen to two points in the first half.

“We were really keying on Brady Gillen shooting the threes,” Gallo said. “My brother, I would say he is a two or a three and he is almost always the tallest player on the court for us. He’s a good player and it’s good having him down there. He’s a long player and we have a really long team, which helps us a lot on defense.”

“T.J. was great tonight,” Kearney said. “He is a football guy, so it takes him a while to get settled. He was playing a little tentative, but he didn’t tonight, which was huge. We need that from him because we don’t have another guy like him and not a lot of teams do.”

Toms River East curbed its turnover rate in the second half and finished with 15 for the game after giving the ball away 10 times in the first half, but Donovan Catholic still added to its lead. After a three-pointer by Gillen pulled Toms River East within 34-32 just past the midway point of the third, Donovan Catholic hit the Raiders with a 9-0 run to close out the quarter and carry a 43-32 lead into the fourth. Four different players hit a shot during the run: Feliciano made a three-pointer to kick it off, Hunter scored on a putback, Gerard Gallo dropped in a floater and Pat Gallo finished a drive to the basket to push the Griffins lead into double figures for the first time.

The teams traded baskets early in the fourth quarter and Donovan Catholic took its largest lead on a three by Gerard Gallo that made it 50-38. A putback by freshman Ethan Sulkowski — the second of Donovan Catholic’s two freshman starters — made it 52-40, at which point Toms River East made its move.

The Raiders went to the free-throw line in five out of six trips down the floor and went a combined 9-for-10, with senior Shamus O’Grady hitting 5 of 6. O’Grady also scored in the paint during the run, and by the time Gillen hit a floater in the paint with 16 seconds left, Donovan Catholic’s lead was down to 54-51, with Pat Gallo scoring off a feed from Hunter to break up the Toms River East run.

Feliciano knocked down a pair of free throws with 12.2 seconds left to give Donovan Catholic a five-point cushion, but Gillen countered with a 28-foot, pull-up three-pointer that made it 56-54 with 6.5 seconds left.

After Feliciano missed two free throws, Donovan Catholic fouled sophomore Tommy Intintola on the rebound to send him to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game with 4.2 seconds on the clock. Intintola missed the first attempt, then missed the second on purpose to give his team a chance for a follow-up attempt, but Gerard Gallo tracked down the rebound and ran out the clock.

Donovan Catholic got back in the game with accurate free-throw shooting, as the Griffins made 11 in a row at one point in the first half and were 13-for-16 at the break. In the second half, however, Donovan Catholic did not attempt a free throw until the final 30 seconds and shot 2-for-6 while trying to put the game away.

“There is still so much we could get better at,” Kearney said. “We’re still very young and our division (Class A South) is very difficult. We just want to be in a position where we’re competing every night and the smarter we get, the more I think we can figure it out. But the attitude here is great. The guys love to play together, which is important.”

Intintola led Toms River East with 17 points and six rebounds, while Gillen scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half to go with five rebounds and three assists as both Raiders sophomores earned all-tournament honors. Junior Chase Baillee added 11 points on three three-pointers for Toms River East, with eight points coming in the first quarter.

Feliciano also earned an all-tournament team spot along with his teammates, Gerard Gallo and Hunter. The junior began his varsity career as a freshman at Toms River East before transferring to Donovan Catholic for his sophomore year. Pat Gallo made the move to Donovan Catholic from Toms River North after his sophomore year, and the two were instrumental in helping the Griffins earn their first Christmas Classic championship against three teams from their hometown.

“We had already lost to (Toms River) North (in the regular season), so we came in with a chip on our shoulder,” Gerard Gallo said. “Going back to school in the next couple of days is going to be great.”

Gallo is now averaging a team-high 15 points per game, with Sulkowski chipping in 10.2 points per game to form an impressive freshman duo. Donovan Catholic’s young lineup got the job done despite missing 6-foot-4 senior Frankie DiMaggio in the championship game due to injury.

“He has been playing in our gym since he was about seven,” Kearney said of Gerard Gallo. “All the guys have known him for a while, and he is definitely a talented guy. And Ethan Sulkowski is a good player, so the two of them are good to have at the same time.”

“I wanted to make a statement coming in as a freshman,” Gerard Gallo said. “I wanted to show I’m one of the best players in the Shore now. Me, T.J., all these young guys, we’re a young team and the future is bright. I want to show that I can hang with the best of them and our team can play with anybody.”