By Rich Chrampanis
OCEAN TOWNSHIP – Rumson-Fair Haven found itself down by 11 points at the midway point of the third quarter, staring at the end of its season. But 6-foot-9 senior Luke Cruz made sure the Bulldogs had more basketball to play.
Cruz scored eight straight points to get the Bulldogs within striking distance heading into the fourth quarter and finished the game with 31 points to lead Rumson to a 67-58 come-from-behind win against Ocean Township to earn a spot in the Central Jersey Group 2 championship game for a third straight year.
“Well, I know we had to win it,” Cruz said. “My team knows we have to win it. It’s a big game. We want to go – we want to keep going. We know we have to keep going. So, we all have the energy. We know we can do it and we just did. Everyone believes.”
The Spartans were dropping 3-pointers all over the gym. Freshman Omar Ayyash had five of Ocean’s nine triples in the first half as part of his 17-point game. In the final seconds of the second quarter, Ocean was holding for the final shot, looking to build a double-digit lead, before RFH’s Luke Lydon made a steal and layup to make it a 33-26 game heading into the locker room.
Ocean had five more 3s in the third quarter and Ayyash put the Spartans in front 45-34 with 3:43 to go in the third. It was at this point that Cruz went on his personal 8-0 run, capped off by a steal and dunk. RFH trailed 51-49 after three quarters but Blake Ahmann tied the game, setting the stage for Cruz to finally give the Bulldogs the lead. Zach Halpern proved to be a huge spark off the bench, scoring 12 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer to make it 56-54 and a critical hoop and foul to give RFH the separation it needed to pull away.
“I think we just trusted each other,” Halpern said. We know the type of player Cruz can be and we fed him the ball in big moments. And I just waited for my time. And when it came, I delivered.”
Cruz had four 3-pointers and established his presence in the paint to make for a devastating inside-outside combo.
“Well my 3s were going,” Cruz said. “It was really good but when I couldn’t get a 3-point shot, I was trying everything I could to get a bucket. And my team was helping me. So, it was working. We were sticking with it and it was helping with the time. So, everything worked.”
Rumson-Fair Haven will face Manasquan in the Central Jersey Group 2 section championship for a third consecutive year. The Warriors are the defending Group 2 state champions and have eliminated Rumson in the previous two years. In the regular season, the two rivals split their matchups, with RFH scoring a 65-47 win on the road in January before Manasquan turned the tables with a 43-32 victory in February.
“I’ve been looking forward to this my entire high school career. I’ve played in it so many times, never won a ring,” Cruz said. “Everyone wants to win a ring so much and we know we want to do it. So, we’re going to work as hard as we can and not give up.”
Manasquan beat Wall 42-37 to reach the championship game. Head coach Andrew Bilodeau suffered a medical episode at the end of the game and was transported to a hospital in stable condition. His status for Friday’s game is unknown at press time.
RFH Girls Return to Section Title Game
Erin Reid scored 21 points to lead the Rumson-Fair Haven girls basketball team to a 45-38 win at home over AL Johnson to earn a spot in the Central Jersey Group 2 championship game. Like the Bulldogs boys, RFH will travel to Manasquan for a third straight year, looking to avoid their season coming to an end at the hands of the Warriors.
Manasquan beat Rumson by 12 and 20 points in the regular season, putting Coach Dave Callahan’s team in the underdog role heading into Friday’s title game.
The article originally appeared in the March 5 – 11, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
