Tall Order: CBA Big Men Lead Rout of Marlboro in Shore Semifinal

MIDDLETOWN — Like any team that has to confront the realities of playing without injured starters, the members of the Christian Brothers Academy basketball team live by the “next man up” philosophy and the Colts are more equipped than most teams in the state to live by that credo.

CBA, in fact, can take it a step farther. When an injured starter returns, coach Brian Lynch has been using that as an opportunity to strengthen CBA’s bench by moving a former starter to the bench. After CBA survives with the next man up, the Colts thrive with the next man in.

On Wednesday against fifth-seeded Marlboro in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals at Collins Arena on the campus of Brookdale Community College, junior David Buley was that starters-turned-bench weapon. The 6-foot-8 center came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points while grabbing five rebounds to spark a lopsided, 72-42, win that sends the top-seeded Colts to their second straight SCT final.

Buley missed time due to a bout with pneumonia, according to Lynch, and Wednesday’s game marked the first time he has looked like the best version of himself since falling ill. He shot 7-for-8 from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range.

“I just wanted to make a big impact, offensively or defensively — hopefully both,” Buley said. “I knew I needed to go in and get a lot of rebounds and control the paint. I didn’t want to force any shots or rush anything, so when I got the shots I wanted, they would fall.”

“Dave’s a great player, so having him back is huge for our team,” CBA senior Connor Andree said. “Having him there to protect the rim and help me box out the big guy really helps our overall game.”

Buley’s 18 points marked the second straight game in which CBA’s high scorer was a non-starter. In Saturday’s 78-46, quarterfinal win over Holmdel, senior Charlie Marcoullier led the way with 17 points while CBA’s bench went for 42 points in the win. CBA benefited from 39 bench points on Wednesday.

End of 3: CBA 54, Marlboro 28. David Buley caps the quarter with a 2-hand slam off the pass from Charlie Marcoullier on the pick-and-roll. pic.twitter.com/RK8V5MCQIU

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) February 19, 2026

“Our bench shows how good of a team we are,” Buley said. “Especially when something happens to one of our main guys. It’s next guy up. We have full trust in our team that someone is going to step in and learn the role.”

Andree added to CBA’s front-court dominance with 14 points and 10 rebounds, with nine of his points coming in the first half and the next five in the first four minutes of the third quarter. Senior Charlie Messano was an all-around force with eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals, while sophomore point guard Izayah Cooper scored all nine of his points in the first half to go with three assists for the game.

As robust as the final margin of victory was, CBA had to overcome another lukewarm start — the third such start in three SCT victories. On Wednesday, Andree jump-started a 6-0 start, with sophomore Oymere Rene following up two Andree baskets with a layup that forced a Marlboro timeout. The Mustangs then responded with a 12-2 run to go up, 12-8, with senior guard and quarterfinal hero Ajay Mathews scoring eight of the 12 points.

Two buckets by Connor Andree and a transition finish by Oymere Rene gets CBA off to a 6-0 start. pic.twitter.com/8UHSMHmOaJ

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) February 18, 2026

“We tend to ease into the game, I guess,” Andree said. “We know with our depth and the guys we got, we’re going to wear teams down eventually. It just takes us a minute to get going. Shots start falling, things start flowing and it all grows from there.”

Before the end of the quarter, CBA surged in front on the heels of a three consecutive made threes. Cooper buried the first one, followed by Buley connecting on his first shot attempt for a 14-12 lead. Cooper then closed the quarter with a top-of-the-key bulls-eye to make it a 17-12 game.

CBA closes the 1st with 3 straight threes, with Izayah Cooper hitting 2 and Bukey knocking down 1. Colts lead Marlboro 17-12. pic.twitter.com/cxoZBuigCH

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) February 18, 2026

In the second quarter, CBA extended its run from 9-0 to 18-1, which established a 26-13 lead. Buley closed out the first half with a pair of finishes as he was fouled, completing the three-point play on one and missing the free throw on the other to give CBA a 35-17 lead that wound up 35-19 at halftime after an acrobatic finish by Mathews in the final seconds of the second quarter.

“We’re a very good shooting team,” Buley said. “We spend a lot of time in practice shooting. We know we’re going to miss some, but it’s just that idea of ‘keep shooting.'”

CBA leads Marlboro 35-19 at half. David Buley with 8 points and 3 rebounds off the bench, including this and-1 off a find from Matt Veisz. pic.twitter.com/0A6RSvH3BV

— Matt Manley (@Matt_Manley) February 18, 2026

Mathews led Marlboro with 17 points, with 12 coming in the second half, while junior Dylan McEwan scored nine of his 11 points after halftime while also finishing with seven rebounds.

Mustangs senior center Drew Lubeck was a factor on the boards with a game-high 12 rebounds, but Andree held him to two points on no field goals and 2-for-4 free-throw shooting.

“Coach always says I’m the most physical guy on the team, so he always puts me against the bruiser on the other team,” Andree said. “From there it’s just play my game and make sure I keep him off the glass. I may not get the rebound, but if I keep him away from it, I did my job.”

CBA’s three-game rampage to the Shore Conference Tournament final resembles what the Colts did as the No. 1 seed a year ago, when they rolled through the first three rounds by an average margin of 22.3 points to reach the program’s first SCT final since 2016. This year, the Colts have been even more dominant, outscoring their three opponents by an average of 33.67 and by at least 30 points each game.

The similarities between the last two years do not go much further than double-digit wins all the way through. Last year, CBA had to face a St. Rose team that played a national schedule after finishing No. 1 in New Jersey in 2023-24. Lynch was the coach of that team and three current CBA players — Cooper, Rene and junior Avery Lynch — played key minutes as members of the Purple Roses. St. Rose beat CBA, 45-36.

Andree, Buley, Messano and senior Charlie Marcoullier all saw the floor for CBA last year at Monmouth University and will now look to combine forces with the ex-St. Rose contingent one more time in this tournament to claim CBA’s first SCT championship since 2010. Between CBA first title in 1984 and the 2013-2014 senior, CBA’s longest ever drought without a Shore Conference Tournament title was four years.

“It’s going to feel different, not only because we have last year’s winners on our team and their coaching staff, but it’s also the vibe this team has,” Buley said. “It feels different than last year.”

“We went in last year thinking we were going to win and we’re going to go in this year with the same mindset,” Andree said. “We just need to stay locked in, stay focused on our goal that we have been chasing this whole season.”

To break the drought, CBA will have to take down No. 3 Red Bank Catholic Friday at Monmouth University. The Caseys gave the Colts their toughest test vs. a Shore Conference team this year, with CBA winning, 69-65, in overtime after erasing a 13-point, third-quarter deficit.

“There are highs and lows to the season and I think our peak is coming,” Andree said. “We want to show people on Friday who we truly are.”