VIDEO: Prep completes Cinderella run to win CAL title by holding off Crusader comeback

Posted: February 23rd 2025

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – On Feb. 5, the St. Augustine Prep boys basketball team lost for the sixth time in eight games, falling to 10-12 for the season.

The Hermits haven’t lost since and are now – however unlikely as it may have seemed three weeks ago – Cape-Atlantic League champions.

The Prep completed its Cinderella run through the CAL Tournament as a No. 6 seed Saturday afternoon by defeating No. 5 Wildwood Catholic in the title game, 52-47. The Hermits got off to a terrific start and built a lead as high as 16 points in the second quarter before holding off a furious Crusader rally in the second half.

The victory in the CAL championship game was the 11th in 19 appearances for St. Augustine Prep, all under longtime successful head coach Paul Rodio, who appeared extremely emotional at the final buzzer as he reflected on what his players had just accomplished.

“I don’t want to single these guys out because the guys I had in previous years will all start to call me,” Rodio said with a smile, “but this is a very, very special one for us.”

St. Augustine (16-12) is the first team to win a CAL title game with as many as 12 losses on the season. The previous high was Mainland when it won as an 11-loss No. 8 seed in 2022. The Prep endured an injury-riddled season before players began returning to the lineup in early February.

“I know it’s cliche, but they’ve stuck together,” Rodio said. “We had so many guys hurt. We had three of our best players out and they could’ve packed it in. But they didn’t pack it in. When the guys came back, everyone played hard, they played together and the key is that they’re all on the same page.”

Senior Rory Friel, who missed a couple of weeks in late January due to a separated shoulder, was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after scoring a game-high 19 points.

Friel helped St. Augustine to a fast start. He scored nine of his points in the opening quarter to give the Hermits an 18-7 lead. He sank two free throws to increase that advantage to 16 points at 27-11 early in the second quarter after a technical foul was assessed to the Wildwood Catholic bench.

But the Crusaders never wavered. They chipped away at the lead by pumping the ball inside to 6-7 forward Riley Powell, who posted 14 points and eight rebounds. Alex Daniel added eight points, all around the basket, despite dealing with foul trouble. Tayshaun Jackson (11 points) added key baskets. And Joey Wareham, Ryan McGrath and Jackson each made critical three-pointers at various stages.

Wildwood Catholic (18-8) twice pulled to within a point in the final minute, including with 20 seconds left when Daniel made a scoop shot in the lane. But St. Augustine’s Kyle Helphenstine and Luke Muransky went 7 for 8 from the foul line in the final 45 seconds to make sure their team never gave up the lead.

Wildwood Catholic, meanwhile, made only 3 of 8 shots from the foul line in the fourth quarter. The Crusaders missed five of their first six attempts of the period.

“Our guys have had fight all year long,” Wildwood Catholic coach Will Wareham said. “This is one of toughest teams I’ve ever coached as far as physical toughness and mental toughness goes.

“We played two wars to get here. Not taking away anything from St. Augustine, but we had to beat Ocean City and Atlantic City in two really hard games that went down to the wire just to get here and that was a little evident seeing what our legs looked like and where we were at mentally when the game started. But I was never worried about us fighting back because I knew our kids were tough enough to do it. I was just worried about if we were going to have enough gas left in the tank. We came up just a little short.”