Immaculate Conception boys hoops threatens, falls to Roselle Catholic

Many probably thought the Immaculate Conception boys basketball team did not have much of a chance against the team widely regarded as the best in New Jersey.

The sixth-seeded Lions gave a valiant effort, but could not get past fourth-seeded Roselle Catholic, dropping a 71-61 verdict in the Non Public North B state sectional title game on March 1 at Franklin High School. 

As it turned out, Roselle Catholic went on to win the Non Public B title, beating St. Rose, 58-49, and probably would have been the favorite if there were still a Tournament of Champions, which the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association dropped after last season.

Immaculate finished with a 20-11 record and also reached the Essex County Tournament semifinals before losing to Seton Hall Prep, which ended up winning the county title.

Lions head coach Jimmy Salmon liked how his team finished the season, winning 20 games, especially since that followed a stretch during which it lost six of seven games to end 2022 and start 2023.

"Late December to mid-January was a tough period for us," Salmon said. "We rebounded from the stint to finish the season winning 20 games while playing one of the toughest schedules in the state. We were very pleased with our season."

Immaculate was able to stick with Roselle Catholic even though the Lions were undersized in comparison: Roselle Catholic had four players at 6-foot-8 or taller.

For Salmon, that size, along with Roselle Catholic’s deep bench, were
the determining factors in the game. 

"I thought we played as well as we could have," the coach said. "At the end of the day, their size and depth were a little too much for us on that day."

Immaculate can take some solace in that it lost to Roselle Catholic by a larger margin, 90-70, earlier in the season, on Jan. 7.

Immaculate senior Tavian Pullock and junior T.J. Robinson did their best to keep up with Roselle Catholic. The team's top duo scored 18 points each. Senior Amir Dunlap added 9 points, and freshman Jaren Barnett had 4 points and 5 rebounds.

But the Lions could not hold off Roselle Catholic's Mackenzie Mgbako, who will be playing at Duke University, and who had a game-high 26 points in the finals.

Next season the Lions will need to replace five seniors: Jordan Rodriguez, Dunlap, Brandon Hernandez, Bryan Mitchell and, especially, Pullock, who was a big part of the last few seasons for Immaculate.

But Salmon does have a good core of players returning, especially Robinson, Barnett, freshman Kole Grandison and junior Ben Price.

"We hope all the kids return," he said. "We think that could be a great group next year."