Written by: Eric Kautz '27

Published- March 12th, 2026. 

After one of the most successful seasons in program history, the Saint Joseph Falcons boys basketball team saw its historic run come to an end Monday, March 9th with a 59–46 loss to Saint Peter’s Prep in the state sectional final.

The game in Jackson Township for the section final was tied at 17 at the half, with both teams playing incredible defense. The Marauders ran away with the game in the fourth quarter, scoring 26 points opposed to the Falcons 15. Aidan Carter ‘28 finished the game with 21 points and five rebounds. Andrew Kretkowski ‘27 added 13 points with five rebounds. In the tournament run, the Falcons took down Donovan Catholic, Red Bank Catholic, and Paul VI. The Marauders will now move on to play at Rutgers vs Bergen Catholic in the state final. 

The Falcons had one of their best seasons in program history, only posting one regular-season loss on the season and two total. In the 29-win season, the Falcons averaged 69 points per game in a season full of accolades. The boys dominated in the Greater Middlesex Conference, going undefeated in their respective division and winning the entire conference tournament, winning by thirty in the tournament's final round. The team's leading scorer, Andrew Kretkowski ‘27, finished the season with over 500 points and hit the mark for a 1,000-point career in just his junior season. Kretkowski, who is a four-star holds offers from schools including Rutgers, Penn State, Florida State, and more. Imaad Johnson ‘27 came into the season as a little-known name across New Jersey basketball and is now known statewide. Johnson, during the season, earned himself a Division 1 offer from Monmouth. Joel Patrick ‘28, standing at 6-10, earned offers from schools including Iona, Hampton, Cal State, and more. Throughout the season, Saint Joe’s was ranked in the state's top 20 and for a majority of the season within the top ten. 

The Falcons will graduate six seniors: Patrick Barnett, Reggie Bropleh, Ryan Hilongos, Alijah Murphy, Santino Oliveti, and Justin Scaramuzzo. All seniors provided tremendous contributions to the Falcons on and off the floor. Bropleh and Scaramuzzo will continue their athletic careers but playing football as Bropleh is committed to Marist and Scaramuzzo to Long Island. Ryan Hilongos, a three-year varsity player for the Falcons, will continue his basketball career at Dickonon College. Murphy, a four-year letter winner for the squad, recorded over 500 points with the team during his career. 

The Falcons will retain a majority of their top contributors and stars for next season. Coming off a 16-loss season, the Falcons had more wins than losses than they had the previous year, with credit going to first-year head coach Mark Taylor for turning the season around. In the stellar season, the Falcons took down rivals Saint Thomas Aquinas twice, one of Canada's top teams in Crestwood Prep, the top seed in the state sectional tournament, Paul VI, and teams from Australia, Maryland, Georgia, New York, and more in the team's best season since 2012. 

The team completely took over the school community with teachers, alumni, students, and more showing up to each and every game to support the team. The school's student section, otherwise known as the Flock, showed up strong with their unwavering support, with creative themes and props. One of the leaders of the flock, Jonathan Habib ‘26, found a strong passion in rooting for the team every game. “Seeing basketball this year was a great experience; it felt like a comeback from last year, which I am very happy I was a part of,” Habib said. 

While the season ended one game short of a sectional title, the 2025–26 Falcons firmly reestablished Saint Joseph as one of the top basketball programs in New Jersey. 

Written by: Eric Kautz '27

Published- March 6th, 2026. 

On Thursday, March 5th, the Falcons secured their spot in the state sectional final with a thrilling win over the tournament's top seed, Paul VI, 54-52. 

The Falcons took the hike up to Haddonfield for the semifinal round and came out firing from the very beginning. Just off the opening tipoff dynamic duo of Aidan Carter ‘28 and Andrew Kretkowski ‘27 was on full display with an alley oop pass from four star to a fellow four-star. Off the jump, Kretkowski was phenomenal tallying ten points in the first quarter alone, giving the Falcons some momentum on the road and a 21-12 lead to end the first. 

“Against such a talented team like that, they can jump on you, so we need to build a lead. Basketball is a game of runs. We head our run early… we just capitalized early,” Kretkowski said when asked about the importance of getting out to a strong start in a game with such heavy magnitude. Kretkowski finished the game with 18 points to go with nine rebounds and is now over 500 points on the season in a stellar junior season. 

Speaking of runs, Paul VI had itself a strong run to closeout the second quarter to cut down the lead going into the half, down six at a score of 32-26. That six-point deficit would quickly be erased in the second half of play. Paul VI continued where they left off at the end of the second quarter, going on a strong run to open the half and even tie the game. The third quarter set up what was bound to be a dramatic finish in an electric environment behind a sold-out gym with two electric student sections. 

For anyone in attendance in the fourth quarter, it was hard to hear yourself think. Carter paved the way for the Falcons' scoring in the majority of the second half, keeping the flow of their offense going. Carter finished the game with 18 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. “Up to this point, I feel like our togetherness, we always play hard, and we didn't take any team lightly that we played and we are going to need to keep that going forward if we want to win a state championship,” Carter told Jersey Sports Zone after the victory.

 With ten seconds left, Isaiah Thatcher of Paul VI hit a clutch deep three to cut down the Falcons' lead to just two points. Following an Eagles timeout, they came ready to wreak havoc on the inbounds pass, looking to at least send the game into overtime. Paul VI was able to do this in just their last game in the quarterfinal round against Union Catholic, trailing by 8 points with just a minute to go, but still finding a way to force an overtime period and come through with a victory. The Falcons got the inbounds pass in cleanly to Carter, but after being swarmed by Paul VI defenders, Carter sailed the pass high to Kretkowski, and Paul VI got their hands on it on their offensive side of the floor with around five seconds to go. Thatcher loaded up for a deep trifecta similar to the one he had on their previous possession, but the shot was just too strong and rebounded by Marcell Carr ‘28, who was able to hold on to closeout the nail-biting matchup and punch the Falcons ticket to Jackson Township High School. The game was originally set to be played at Lenape but has now been moved.

Going into the game, the Falcons knew they would need to limit Toussaint Malukila, a 7-2 sophomore who has been dominated all year. The tall task was assigned to Joel Patrick ‘28, who rarely finds someone with a height advantage over him, standing at 6'10 ". Patrick held his own throughout the entire game, grabbing several huge rebounds, creating several second-chance scoring opportunities, blocking shots as per usual, and contributing offensively. He finished the game with seven points, 16 rebounds, and three blocks. His mindset going into the sectional final he says is the same its been all season. “Play hard till the whistle goes off,” Patrick said after the win.

The Falcons will travel back towards Paul VI to Jackson Township High School on Monday March 9th at 5pm to take on Saint Peters in the state sectional final. Saint Peters stands in the tournament as the three said coming off a win over two seeded Christian Brother Acadamey. The Falcons are on a thirteen game winning streak with a 29-1 record while the Marauders are on a 14 game heater in their three loss season. The winner of what is set to be a remarkable clash alongside of being section champions, will take on the winner of Bergen Catholic vs Seton Hall Prep out of the Non Public A North Bracket. That game- at Jersey Mikes Arena. 

Written by: Eric Kautz '27

Published- March 3rd, 2026.

On Monday, March 2nd, Saint Joseph took down Red Bank Catholic in the NJSIAA Non-Public A South quarterfinal round to extend their winning streak to 12 games and keep their season alive. 

Out of the gate, the Falcons were flying. Mainly Andrew Kretkowski ‘27, who started off the game with a massive poster dunk over a Red Bank Catholic defender to set the intensity for the game and get the crowd into it. The dunk came following a huge block from Joel Patrick ‘28. Patrick finished the game with six blocks and has been incredible in the team's first two games of the state tournament. Patrick will have the tall task of needing to take care of Paul VI’s 7-foot-plus superstar Toussaint Malukila in the tournament's semifinal round. “Its goin to be tough.. But I have faith and hope in the team that we are going to hold true,” Patrick said.

The Falcons led the Caseys 32-14 at the halftime break, playing strong defense, leading to offense. Red Bank Catholic went on a small run to end the third quarter, but it was not enough to overpower the Falcons' hot start and impressive game. The Falcons closed out the victory 65-46. 

Kretkowski led the way with his seventh double double on the year, with 18 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Aidan Carter ‘28 added 17 points with nine rebounds and eight assists. Patrick finished the game with eight points, six blocks, and 13 rebounds. Next up, the Falcons will take on the tournament's top seed, Paul VI, on Thursday, March 5th, on the road. 

Written by: Eric Kautz '27

Published- February 27th, 2026. 

On Thursday, February 26th, the fourth-seeded Falcons dominated 13th-seeded Donovan Catholic in the first round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A State Tournament 100-44 to extend their record to 27-1 and add on to their eleven-game winning streak. 

This was an unusual game for the Falcons. Typically, Mark Taylor and the Falcons love the action-heavy weeks, playing 3-4 games per week with a wide range of teams in and out of state. But coming off the GMC Championship win on Friday, February 20th, over Piscataway, the Falcons did not see an opponent for significantly longer than usual. With the extended break, a little rust and a slow start were expected. But the Falcons showed no signs of slowing down after their county championship and were firing from the jump. 

Saint Joe’s dominated across the board all day. They got up to a 24-10 lead to end the first quarter and never looked back. The Falcons put together a complete performance till the final whistle while displaying the depth of their roster.

Andrew Kretkowski ‘27 led the way for the Falcons with 22 points to go along with nine rebounds, dominating in the mid-range game. The four-star junior is averaging 18 points per game as the team's leading scorer. Kretkowski was not the only scorer as the Falcons as the team had 12 players record a basket. Following Kretkowski, Aidan Carter ‘28 added 19 points of his own with 3 steals and 5 assists. The team combined for 30 assists on the day. 

A great sign for the Falcons was the strong performance of 6’10 Joel Patrick ‘28, who dominated all day long with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and three huge blocks in his highest scoring game of the year, with his third double-double on the year and 11th game with double-digit rebounds. 

In the Falcons 11 game winning streak, they are averaging nearly 75 points per game, allowing only 44.6 points per game, and have a +331 point differential. 

The Falcons will now prepare for the quarterfinal round of the tournament, taking on another Shore Conference team in Red Bank Catholic, which is seeded fifth in the tournament. The game will be at the Maglio Gymnasium on Monday, March 2nd, at 7 pm where the Falcons will fight for win number 28 and continue the quest for a state title.

Written by: Eric Kautz '27

Published February 22nd, 2026. 

Last season, six wins. This season, champions. The Saint Joseph Falcons have officially flipped the script. On Friday, February 20th, the boys took down Piscataway in the tournament's final round. The championship marks an incredible turnaround from last year's six-win season, anchored by first-year head coach Mark Taylor. 

Both sides went neck and neck in a very entertaining first quarter, but the Falcons ended the quarter on top, leading 17-13. Andrew Kretkowski ‘27 tallied eight points in the quarter, just starting off his MVP day. Kretkowski and Aidan Carter ‘28 had their way all game, with Carter dishing out scoring opportunities and Kretkowski scoring in all three levels. The Falcons went into the half with a ten-point lead.

Just a couple of days prior to the meeting, Saint Joe’s took on rivals Saint Thomas Aquinas in the semifinal round, where the Falcons' hot start was the difference maker after a strong push from the Trojans in the second half. The Falcons knew they needed to put together a stronger second half to be able to secure the victory, and that is exactly what they did. The Falcons outscored the Chiefs 53-33 in the second half, exploding to a 91-61 victory. The second half for Saint Joe’s was highlighted with a high-flying poster dunk from emerging star Imaad Johnson ‘27, alongside an alley-oop dunk from Kretkowski, and a dunk from Alijah Murphy ‘26 in a fun, energetic final half. 

After last year's below bar season for such a decorated basketball school, being in this spot this time last year was hard to imagine. That was all until Head Coach Mark Taylor came to revamp the program and roster to its best season since 2012. A legacy and success not inherited but completely rebuilt. 

Four-star prospect Andrew Kretkowski was awarded the game's MVP award, recording 32 points and nine rebounds. His second game with 30 or more points and his 11th game with 20 or more. He is now averaging 17 points on the year. Carter added 19 points to go with 16 assists. The point guard is averaging 18 points with 8 rebounds a game. 

The Falcons have a ton of momentum heading into the state tournament, standing at a 26-1 record on a ten-game winning streak. The Falcons will open the state tournament at home as the fourth seed on Thursday, February 26th, against Donovan Catholic with expectations of winning it all. 

Written by: Richie Adenau '27

Published February 20th, 2026. 

On February 18, the #1 seed Saint Joseph Falcons faced the #5 seed Saint Thomas Aquinas Trojans at Monroe High School in the GMC Semifinal. The Falcons entered the matchup with an impressive record of 24-1, leading the GMC, while the Trojans came in at only 11-13. The rivals met twice this season, with Saint Joseph winning both times in dominant fashion, 61-45 and 76-38.

The Falcons started off hot with a 7-0 run to start the game and continued to dominate, finishing the first quarter with a score of 18-8. Saint Joseph outplayed the Trojans in the second quarter extending their lead to 13, going into halftime with a score of 38-25. A strong third quarter from the Falcons made the score 53-40.

In the fourth quarter, Saint Thomas Aquinas shortened the lead to 6. The Falcons couldn’t get any shots to fall and couldn’t stop the Trojan offense.  After a huge three point shot by Chase Pettiford ‘28, the momentum shifted back and Saint Joseph was able to finish out the game, winning by a score of 63-51. Aidan Carter ‘28 had a fantastic night, posting 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Andrew Kretkowski ‘27 finished the game with 18 points and 7 rebounds. The dynamic duo scored 42 of the team’s 63 points

The Falcons are set to take on the Piscataway Chiefs in the GMC Final. The Falcons beat the Chiefs twice in the regular season by scores of 64-53 and 64-57. The championship game will be played at Monroe High School on Friday, February 20th at 8:00. 

Written by: Eric Kautz '27

Published- February 16th, 2026.

The Saint Joe’s Metuchen basketball team finds itself back in the GMC tournament semifinals for the first time since the 2023-2024 season. Last time they were there, they suffered a heartbreaking loss to Saint Thomas Aquinas after having already defeated them twice that season. This year, under new head coach Mark Taylor and a completely revamped roster, the Falcons find themselves back in a similar position. They are set to take on rivals Saint Thomas Aquinas once again and have already beaten them twice this season. This time, the boys will look to flip the script. 

So far in the GMC tournament, the Falcons have had two massive victories. As the tournament's top seed, Saint Joe’s took on Monroe in the first round, beating them by 37 points behind 26 points from four-star Andrew Kretkowski ‘27 and 21 points from Aidan Carter ‘28. In the quarterfinal round, the team dominated Metuchen 85-30, who had a 22-2 record going into the duel. Against Metuchen, Carter tallied 20 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. Carter is averaging nearly 18 points per game to go with an average of ten rebounds and 8 assists per contest. 

The semifinal round will take place at Monroe High School at 7 pm on Wednesday, February 18th. The Falcons and Trojans clashed earlier this month, where the Falcons left the school down the road with a 38-point win with help from a 30-point performance from Carter. The teams will fight for a spot in the GMC championship to take on either Piscataway or Colonia, both of which Saint Joe’s has beaten twice this year. The final round is set to take place at Monroe High School on Friday, February 20th, at 8 pm. 

The Falcons are on a 8 game winning streak, standing at a phenomenal 24-1 record, and will look to join swimming, hockey, and bowling as Saint Joe’s teams to win the GMC finals just this winter.

Published- February 12th, 2026

Written by: Eric Kautz

The Falcons basketball team will take on Monroe on Thursday, February 12th, at 6:00 pm at home to kick off the GMC tournament. 

The Falcons stand in the tournament as the top seed in the 32-team bracket, giving them a bye throughout the preliminary round and play in the round. They will take on the 17th seed, Monroe, to start the tournament in the first round. If the Falcons were to win, they would host the quarterfinal round on Saturday, February 14th, taking on either Metuchen or Old Bridge. Both the semifinal and final rounds would be played at Monroe High School. 

Saint Joes and Monroe faced off in late January, taking the 56-30 win behind 23 points from Aidan Carter ‘28. The victory served as a bounce-back game following the team's first and only loss of the season to South Plainfield. The clash also served as the beginning of the Falcons' current six-game winning streak. 

Since the loss, the Falcons have looked like a completely revamped team after starting the season with some challenges despite the phenomenal record. In that stretch, the Falcons have averaged around 66 points per game with a +141 point differential. In the last two games, they have won by a minimum of 36 points. 

The team that stands at a 22-1 record would be the fourth Saint Joe’s team to win a GMC title this winter, alongside swimming, hockey, and bowling. 

By: Eric Kautz '27

On February 1st, Andrew Kretkowski ‘27 reached his 1,000 career points milestone in a 67-43 win over New York Military Academy.

The four-star recruit went into the game two points short of the milestone and reached it early in the first quarter. Kretkowski finished the game with 21 points in the victory.

The junior is averaging just short of 17 points a game as the Falcons' leading scorer. He scored 680 of his 1,000 points during his time at Rutgers Prep School. 

The latest Falcon to reach the 1,000 point accolade was Jermey Clayville ‘24, who was featured in last year's NCAA tournament with Saint Francis PA, and is now back in New Jersey playing D1 basketball with NJIT. Kretkowski's name will join a banner with top-tier names such as Karl Anthony-Towns and Jay Williams. 

The Falcons have three games left in the regular season. Next up, they will take on Sayreville for Senior Night on Tuesday, February 3rd, in the Maglio Gymnasium. 

Written by: Eric Kautz

In back-to-back games, the Saint Joe's basketball team came back from trailing at halftime to win the game. The first game on January 3rd had an 18-point deficit at the half, the Falcons came back to take down Piscataway in overtime and then more recently a 3-point deficit against Saint Thomas Aquinas on January 6th. 

At Piscataway, the Falcons could not get anything offensively and turned the ball over in an early morning Saturday game. In the second half, with help from Joel Patrick ‘28 off the bench, the Falcons surged and chipped away at the lead steadily till the end of regulation and forcing a tie. The Falcons took over in overtime, winning the period 15-4 and securing the victory against the previously undefeated Chiefs in an enormous comeback. 

Patrick was a force, tallying six blocks and 12 rebounds and completely changing the game in the second half. Alijah Murphy ‘26 and Andrew Kretkowski ‘27 paved the way, scoring for the Falcons both with 18 points.

Against rivals Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Falcons trailed at half, not nearly as much as the Piscataway game, but still trailing, they completely took over in the second half. In the 16-point victory, Murphy led in scoring with 21 points, followed by Immad Johnson ‘27 with 14 points. The home Falcons were successful in getting to the rim all night and played strong defense. 

Kretowski, who scored 11 points after the victory, said, “ We start slow every game, we need to make sure that doesn't happen against the top teams in New Jersey.” The team understands the come-from-behind journey, although exciting, isn't the key to winning. If they can put together two strong halves of basketball, the Falcons are bound to surge. 

The Falcons now stand at a whopping 7-0 record. Next up, they will have Old Bridge at home in the highly anticipated debut of junior Aidan Carter. The game will be in the Maglio Gymnasium on Thursday, January 8th, as the Falcons look to defend their undefeated streak. 

Written by: Eric Kautz '27

On December 8th, the Falcons opened their basketball season at home, taking on Wesley College Australia and getting a win in blowout fashion. 

A team with a lot of hype around it in the offseason lived up to the hype, taking down the school 101-37. The Falcons portrayed terrific ball movement all game and were able to get it done in the paint and also shooting from long range. 

In the first game under head coach Mark Taylor, new Falcons Andrew Kretowski, Immad Johnson, Marcell Car, and Chase Pettiford showed up strong. Junior Caiden Mooney had a great day on both ends of the floor in his first key varsity minutes. Returning seniors Alijah Murphy and Ryan Hilongos also had significant impacts.

Next, on December 16th, the Falcons took on their first GMC opponent on the road against Old Bridge. Old Bridge was putting up a fight, only trailing by six at halftime, before the Falcons took over. 4-star junior Andrew Kretkowski led the way for both sides, tallying 28 points. Alijah Murphy and Immad Johnson followed Kretkowski, both putting up double digits in scoring. The Falcons secured the victory 89-70 and will take on county rival Colonia on Saturday, December 20th at 1pm in the Maglio Gymnasium.

By The Falcon Sports Staff 

Basketball season news started a bit early this year with the news of Ryan Hilongos '26 commiting to continue his basketball career at Dickinson University.  

Hilongos has been a key piece of the puzzle for the Falcons for the past two years since arriving on campus before the start of his sophomore year.  After playing in every game as a sophomore, he was limited as a junior with injuries, but still started seven games and averaged nearly 10 points per game.  

Hilongos looks forward to studying international business while at playing for Head Coach Alan Seretti's Dickinson Red Devil squad.