(Photo courtesy of Larry Levanti Photography)
Press release from Christian Brothers Academy
It was a game that took 35 long years to put on the schedule. But on Saturday afternoon, February 11, the matchup lived up to the billing.
In front of a capacity crowd of 900 in the varsity gym, Christian Brothers Academy downed Red Bank Catholic, 64-54, in the inaugural Founders Cup game.
The game was the main event in CBA’s Homecoming Day. Colts fans were treated to a pre-game reception with food, refreshments and music in the McKay Gym, while at halftime CBA honored some past basketball greats.
With the Founders Cup trophy at stake, CBA used a big second half to turn the tide on the Caseys. RBC held a two point lead at the half, but the Colts, led by sophomore Josh Cohen and junior Rob Mahala, pushed their lead to double digits midway through the third quarter.
RBC closed the deficit to four points with 59 seconds remaining, but Mahala scored four straight points to lock-in the win for CBA.
Cohen led all scorers with 21 points, while Mahala added 15. Sophomores Liam Kennedy and Stephen Braunstein chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Past Colts court stars Matt McMullen (Class of ’11), Geoff Billet (’95), Brian Neller (’09), Bill Koch (’71), Jason Fichter (’91), Todd Billet (’99), Pat Mullin (’70), Dan Werner (’06), Joe Paterno (’85) and Bob Roma (’75) received a great ovation from the crowd as they were announced one by one. The families of Brian Lynch (’96) and all-time leading scorer Pat Andree (’16) joined the legendary contingent at center court.
Vinny Cox, the first head coach of CBA Basketball, joined Ed “Wiz” Wicelinski, the longest tenured head coach, and John Przygocki, CBA’s long-time athletics director, to greet the alumni at the center circle.
The Founders Cup game was also notable for the debut of the CBA Digital Network, a live streaming platform exclusively for Christian Brothers Academy. The game was broadcast online to hundreds of people across the country, and at least one viewer overseas in Rome.
CBA Basketball (14-8) will now look forward to their Shore Conference first round home game against Donovan Catholic on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. If you can’t attend the game, you can catch the broadcast on the CBA Digital Network. For more on CBA Basketball, follow the Colts on Twitter @CBAColtsBBall.
