Michael Bernius' late-game dunk helped 7th-seeded Ramsey seal its 41-35 win over No. 10 St. Mary in the Round of 16 at the Bergen County Jamboree.

ALLENDALE - Coming into the 2023 season having graduated big time players from last year’s North 1, Group 2 state sectional championship team, Ramsey was expected to take a step back. Just the opposite has happened, however. Week by week the Rams have hit their stride, winning games and raising their profile and not only qualifying for the Bergen County Jamboree, but earning a first round bye and a ticket directly into Saturday’s Round of 16.

Having been eliminated from the Jambo in the same round as last year, Ramsey had a point to prove against a gritty St. Mary team. It was a defensive battle as anticipated and every possession mattered. 

The Rams bent several times, but never broke from their game plan. Seventh-seeded Ramsey executed enough plays down the stretch to advance to the quarterfinals with a 41-35 win over the No. 10 seeded Gaels on Saturday morning at Northern Highlands High School in Allendale. 

When asked if he anticipated making this kind of Jambo run, Ramsey junior Max Nierenberg responded, “I did, I think we can make a big run and play some good games.” 

This was a good game even if it started a little slow as both teams struggled to find their rhythm offensively and finish at the hoop. The first score of the game came from Ramsey near midway point in the first quarter. The defensive presence was felt on both sides of the court resulting in a low scoring first quarter that ended with Ramsey up, 7-5. Defense continued to reign into the second quarter as both teams were able to make stops and force turnovers, with the Gaels pulling in front by a point, 16-15, by halftime.  

Damir Stone led St. Mary with 11 points.

St. Mary came out strong in the third quarter using its defense to create open floor situations, which allowed Victor Torres and Damir Stone to use their athleticism to their advantage. Ramsey countered with junior Michael Bernius making a foul shot followed by a layup from Nierenberg. Ramsey’s momentum continued as they were able to control the pace of the game, making big plays defensively and ending the third quarter up by five points, their largest lead of the game for either team. 

The fourth quarter consisted of just that, a defensive battle on every possession as the Gaels kept the score close behind five straight points from Luke Gaccione and then a layup by Damir Stone gave them their only fourth-quarter lead, 32-31. 

Junior Matty Stone stepped up to force crucial turnovers for the Rams late in the game, allowing their offense to make a statement with a big time dunk from Bernius with just 1:45 left to play for a 36-33 lead. Noah Eide made two free throws in the final 20 seconds to close out Ramsey’s most important win of the season thus far.

“The mindset is keep going, keep getting better, keep working hard in practice,” said Nierenberg. “Day in and day out.”

Eide led the way with 12 points with Nierenberg and Matty Stone each adding eight for Ramsey (14-2). Damir Stone put up 11 points and B.J. Cunningham played well off the bench with 10 points for St. Mary (15-3).

Looking forward to the quarterfinals of the Bergen County Jamboree against No. 2 seeded Ramapo, the Rams are confident that they have all the tools for success and a deep run. The team is motivated by having nothing to lose against a very tough opponent.

“We’re really excited about getting to play Ramapo,” added Nierenberg. “Even though it’s a big game, we’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing, which is work hard every possession and play good defense.”

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