Boys’ Basketball Conference/County Tournament Recaps

by Marc Narducci | Mar 2, 2026

The NJSIAA boys’ basketball tournament is in full gear but before the playoffs began, there were county or conference tournaments held throughout South Jersey. Here is a recap of those tournaments.

TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE

The Tri-County had two tournaments, the postseason and the championship brackets. The championship bracket was for the stronger teams. Teams’ seeds are in parenthesis.

Postseason Bracket

Champion: (2) Washington Township, 37, (4) Triton, 33. In this defensive struggle, only two players, one from each team, scored in double figures. Washington Township’s Jahsir Sansbury scored a game-high 11 points.

Best game: (4) Triton, 55, (1) GCIT, 53. Led by Metzgerdy Lamy and Joel Almarez-Olivares, who each scored 14 points, the Mustangs eliminated the top seeded Cheetahs in this semifinal. Almarez-Olivares hit four three-pointers.

Championship Bracket

Champion: (6) Cumberland, 40, (1) Kingsway, 37. What a turnaround for Cumberland, which went 6-21 last season. The Colts had two upsets in the tournament, also defeating (3) Delsea, Cumberland 5-10 senior DJ Mosley scored a game-high 20 points to lead the victory.

Best game: We’ll go with the championship, especially considering what was at stake. This was a defensive struggle and in this day where so much is decided by the three-point shot, only two treys were made, both by Kingsway.

CAPE ATLANITC LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

Champion: (5) Atlantic City 62, (2) Ocean City 61. Atlantic City completed a magical run with the win over Ocean City. The Vikings had to defeat (1) Middle Township, 78-72 in the semifinal to reach the title game. Sophomore Don’Taye Thompson scored a game-high 24 points to lead the victory. Thompson got to the foul line 15 times, making 10 free throws. Ocean City senior Chris Pontari scored a team-high 15 points, while senior forward Luke Tjoumakaris had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Best game: It had to be the championship. Atlantic City trailed 21-12 after the first quarter, but cut the deficit to two points entering the fourth period, when the Vikings outscored Ocean City, 21-18.

CAMDEN COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Champion: (1) Paul VI 77, (2) Camden 54. Paul VI won its four tournament games by an average of 25 points. Will Spross, a 6-2 Paul VI senior, was named tournament MVP after scoring 23 points in the title game. Paul VI 7-1 sophomore Toussaint Malukila added 19 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots. Senior guard Alex Pace led Camden with 21 points.

Best game: (5) Haddonfield 41, (4) Camden Catholic 37. In this quarterfinal, Haddonfield received 15 points, including three, three-pointers from 6-3 senior Mike Douglas. The Bulldogs outscored Camden Catholic in three of the quarters, but the Irish owned an 11-9 edge in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Seamus Bieg scored a game-high 22 points for Camden Catholic.

BURLINGTON COUNTY

Champion: (5) Holy Cross Prep 55, Westampton Tech, 46. Holy Cross Prep won its four games by an average of 27 points, although this was the closest one for the Lancers. Jordan Owens, a 6-0 senior, led Holy Cross Prep with 18 points, hitting three, three-point field goals, while 6-7 senior Tristan Ganges added 16 points and six rebounds. Westampton 6-5 senior Henry Njoga scored a team-high 16 points.

Best game: (8) Doane Academy 59, (1) Lenape 51. This quarterfinal gets the nod due to the magnitude of the upset. Doane Academy entered the fourth quarter with a one-point lead before outscoring Lenape, 20-13 in the final eight minutes. Senior Erik Perez scored a team-high 19 points for the champions. Lenape senior Nolan Barnes led the Indians with 13 points.

Holy Cross Prep boys basketball / Courtesy of Holy Cross Prep boys basketball

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Author: Marc Narducci

Boys’ Basketball Conference/County Tournament Recaps

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