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The fourth-quarter comeback by the seniors threatened to put an end to the faculty’s lengthy reign.
Led by Drew Cabalar and Colin Bostrom, the students chipped away at a lead that once was a seemingly insurmountable 20 points.
The teachers, however, managed to fend off the late charge and emerged with a six-point victory in the 2025 Seniors-Faculty Basketball Game on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Josh Lee, who coached the faculty, said his team prevailed because it was “overpowering,” had a height advantage and “our shooters were spot-on from behind the arc.” In addition, the teachers played lockdown defense.
“I told the team to let the foot off the gas a bit towards the end and to just run the clock as much as they could,” Lee said. “The students put up a good fight and started hitting some shots late in the game. Their coaching staff just couldn’t manage the clock well enough to pull off the comeback in the end.”
Mr. Emering, taking part in the Senior-Faculty Game for the first time, lauded the seniors’ ability to net field goals under pressure.
“I felt that through the flow of the game, the seniors were able to hit some really tough shots, which helped shrink our lead,” Emering said. “Once our starting lineup was able to come back in towards the end, our chemistry was what really helped us close it out.”
Cabalar, one of the football team’s top rushers and the leader in tackles, said that he “started to click in that fourth quarter.” He scored in double digits during the rally and felt that he “was definitely a key in the comeback and the overall energy of the team.”
“It was really tough at times because they were all for the most part bigger but we still had a lot of fun,” Cabalar said. “The highlight of the game was definitely the fourth quarter comeback we made.”
Adding to the upbeat atmosphere of the game was the abundant trash talking. According to Cabalar, Emering easily was the top verbal tormenter among the faculty.
“Mr. Emerich might have been the biggest trash talker to be honest but he backed it up really well,” Cabalar said. “I never knew he was a good athlete until I heard he played lacrosse in college which made sense.”
Emerich, a graduate of Pope John High School and FDU-Florham, displayed the skills he attained from playing lacrosse, football and basketball as well as participating in track.
He enjoyed being a point guard while in high school but his scholastic hoops aspirations were derailed by a dual compound fracture. However, it seemed as if Emerich never stopped competing.
“The staff team’s ability to play cohesively on defense, rotate as a unit, pressure the ball and run in transition was the key to gaining our early lead,” Emerich said. “Mr. Brandt hit some really big shots for us, and Mr. Delaporte was able to be a key to our offense.
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