Shared Enemy: CBA Beats Reigning State Champion Roselle Catholic

RAMSEY — Roselle Catholic did not beat Christian Brothers Academy on the way to winning their 2025 NJSIAA Non-Public B boys basketball championship this past March and yet, the CBA basketball team saw Saturday’s trip to play the Lions at Don Bosco Prep in the Big Jersey Showcase as a revenge game.

Three of CBA’s current players and most of the coaching staff were part of the St. Rose squad that lost to Roselle Catholic in the Non-Public B championship game at Rutgers, leaving the Purple Roses one win shy of a second straight NJSIAA state title. On Saturday, the returning CBA players made the redemption of their new teammates and coaches their own.

St. Rose transfers Avery Lynch and Izayah Cooper led the offense, CBA holdovers David Buley and Connor Andree played a crucial role on the interior, and Charlie Marcoullier, Charlie Messano and Will Grier all provided a spark off the bench to lead the Colts — No. 1 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 10 and No. 6 in the NJ Advance Media Top 20 — to a 56-49 win over a Roselle Catholic squad that entered Saturday ranked No. 4 in the state and unbeaten vs. N.J. competition.

“They got us at the end of the year last year, which we’re still kind of mad about,” Avery Lynch said. “It means a lot to get a win against them. This year, we have a mindset that we want to prove everybody wrong. They were ranked ahead of us and I feel like no one really knows who we are, so I feel like our name is getting out there. This is a huge win for us to show what we can do.”

Lynch scored a team-high 14 points, including 12 during a first half in which CBA outscored Roselle Catholic, 30-23, to establish a lead that turned out to be the Colts’ margin of victory. Eight of those 12 points by Lynch came in the first quarter, which helped CBA stay close while the Lions jumped out to a 15-13 lead.

Cooper, meanwhile, scored 13 points while dishing out seven assists, with the sophomore guard scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter after the teams entered the fourth tied, 41-41. Cooper’s two free throws gave CBA the lead and his layup off pass from Andree tied the game, 45-45, after Chase Bray hit a three-pointer to give Roselle Catholic a two-point lead.

Making his first appearance of the season after missing the first six games with a groin strain, senior CBA senior Charlie Marcoullier contributed six points, three rebounds and two assists coming off the bench and hit the tie-breaking three-pointer that gave CBA a 48-45 lead before the midway point of the fourth quarter. CBA would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.

Roselle Catholic forced turnovers on three straight CBA possessions in pulling within 50-49, but Andree scored in the paint and Buley threw down his second dunk of the game off a feed from Lynch to stretch the lead back to 54-49 with under 1:30 to go. Lynch put the game away with a pair of free throws that capped the scoring.

“These are the perfect type of games to get us ready for close games in the playoffs,” Lynch said. “It was 41-41 going into the fourth quarter, so it was really just about whatever team wants it the most.”

Buley turned in an all-around effort that featured 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots from the 6-foot-8 center. Andree, meanwhile, posted nine points, four rebounds and a pair of assists to give CBA a frontcourt presence that coach Brian Lynch would loved to have had as the head coach at St. Rose last March, when the Purple Roses let a fourth-quarter lead slip away in a loss to the Lions at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway.

“We knew we were bigger,” Buley said of his team compared to Roselle Catholic’s roster. “They were more guard-heavy, so we wanted to use our size to our advantage. Throughout the game, we just wanted to embrace the fact that we were the bigger team and try to play to that strength. We’re calling plays that take advantage of our size and then on defense, we just have to keep guys in front, rebound and stay out of foul trouble.”

Last year’s St. Rose team leaned on Lynch and current Montverde Academy guard and Northwester commit Jayden Hodge for size against a Roselle Catholic team that features hard-nosed guards across the board. CBA’s rotation, however, had both Buley and the 6-foot-5 Andree to force the Lions to contend with legitimate size and strength on both ends of the floor, while Lynch could play his more natural wing position.

“Last year, I kind of ran a command-center position,” Avery Lynch said. “I was more focused on getting everyone else shots and facilitating, but now it’s nice, because I can do what I can do: go out on the wing, shoot a little bit while (Buley) and Connor bang down low.”

“They are definitely more athletic than we are, so I think our size over them helps a lot,” Lynch said.

Marcoullier played a bench role on Saturday but has been a starter at CBA for each of the past two seasons and figures to work his way back into that role as he rounds into form. Messano and Grier, though, are true bench contributors and both were tone-setters for the Colts coming off the bench. Messano was disruptive on defense and forced three steals, while the junior Grier hit the glass with four rebounds to go with two points and an assist.

Both CBA and Roselle Catholic entered Saturday with their lone losses coming against out-of-state competition, with CBA falling to Sagemont of Florida on Dec. 27 before bouncing back with a three-point win over ABF Academy of Miami the following day, which included a go-ahead three-pointer by Cooper in the final minute.

With Saturday’ win, CBA sent another signal that the Colts are not only once again the class of the Shore Conference, but have a chance to keep their name in the running for the No. 1 ranking in the state as they pursue their first NJSIAA Non-Public A championship since 1995, when Lynch was a junior at CBA. With a roster that is still ironing out the wrinkles that come with combining players from two programs and just now getting back a key player in Marcoullier, the Colts have reason to believe they are just scratching the surface.

“We’re a great team on the court and off the court,” Buley said. “We have a great bond. We get Charlie back today and he is a big part of this team. We were definitely missing him because of how great of a shooter he is and how good of an all-around player he is. Now that he is back and getting healthy, it just makes us that much better.”

“Every game, we’re better than the game before,” Lynch said. “Playing top teams like Roselle Catholic is only going to help us. These are the games we want. We don’t want to play trash teams just so we can feel good about ourselves. We want to push ourselves.”