Sectional semi-finals and championships continuing Monday night.

Someone will always complain about something - a seed, a snow day - but on the whole, things seemed to go quite swimmingly these last few weeks in the state tournaments for the NJSIAA. After some hot controversies over the last couple of years, it's welcome news. There was Manasquan-Camden's controversial ending in basketball two seasons ago, then the Anthony Knox wrestling saga last season.

The Montgomery boys' basketball team felt good about its chances coming into Saturday afternoon's NJSIAA Group 4 state final at Rutgers, and they had plenty of reason to. All season long, they have gotten outstanding performances from different players every night, with Ethan Lin running the show, Shriyans Mallavarapu blocking shots, Xavier Harrigan coming off the bench to play lock down defense, and Connor Benedict and Mike Simborski connecting from beyond the arc.

Gill St. Bernard's got 19 points and five treys from Dorsett Mulcahy, plus 16 from Prosper Sonkoua and ten from Jahmal Dixon en route to a 58-49 win over Roselle Catholic in the Non-Public North B final, giving the Knights their first sectional championship since 2012. Click below to listen to Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play from JFK High School in Paterson on March 9, 2026.

What Colonia basketball has done under Jose Rodriguez has been nothing short of incredible. The Patriots are officially a public school GMC dynasty these days. Back on Saturday, they won their fifth straight sectional title, taking down Chatham in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 title game. It was also their sixth sectional title in seven playoff years under Rodriguez, now in his eighth year as head coach.

In baseball, sometimes you can get a good bat on the ball, but if you hit it right to a fielder, it's an out. Sometimes you just can't "hit it where they ain't," as they say. In basketball, sometimes the shots don't fall. And that's what happened to the Franklin girls' basketball team Tuesday night in Deptford, where the Central Jersey Group 4 champions fell to South champ Lenape, 54-35, in the group semis, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Second-seed Bound Brook got 17 points and 16 steals from state steals leader and freshman sensation Peytan Pugh in a 62-41 home win over 6th-seed Roselle Park in the Central Jersey Group 1 semifinals, sending the Crusaders to their first sectional championship since 2020. Click below to listen to Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play from Bound Brook High School on March 4, 2026.

What a run by Colonia. The four-time defending North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 boys' basketball champions are back looking for a fifth straight state title, after a win in the sectional semis Wednesday night, while the Bound Brook girls came back from a disastrous start at home against Roselle Park to reach the Central Jersey Group 1 final, its first since the 2020 season, which came to an end in the midst of the state playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2024-25 season was a big deal for the Bernards' girls' basketball program, setting a new school record with 23 wins. They went all the way to the North 2, Group 2 semifinals before bowing out to Caldwell. Naturally, the question becomes: "What do you do for an encore?" Well, how about 24 wins, another new program record, and another trip to the semifinals?

After a pause on Sunday, the NJSIAA state basketball tournament resumes Monday afternoon and evening, with Public Groups 2 and 4 back in action with sectional quarterfinal round play, as well as Non-Publics. Following is a section-by-section breakdown of boys' matchups for Monday's games, and some storylines for Central Jersey Sports Radio-area teams, as well as Tuesday's playoff schedule for Public Groups 1 and 3.

"The kids wanted a prime time game, and they got it" The atmosphere was electric in Manville's gym Saturday night, as head coach Bill Rooney's Mustangs - the four seed in Central Jersey Group 1 - topped fifth-seed Dunellen in an old-school, small-school battle, 56-37 in the sectional quarterfinals. The victory puts Manville a win away from its second straight trip to a sectional title game, and just its third overall.