Trenton ends Notre Dame’s Cinderella tournament run with speed, defense in CVC final

PLAINSBORO, N.J.—Trenton’s turbo-charged second quarter turned a nip-and-tuck title game into a runaway showcase Saturday night, as the Tornadoes roared past 12th-seeded Notre Dame 84-48 to capture the Colonial Valley Conference Tournament crown at West Windsor-Plainsboro North.

The burst was as swift as it was decisive: a 30-5 Trenton avalanche in the second period that flipped an 18-20 deficit into a 50-23 halftime stranglehold and extinguished the Irish’s storybook surge through the bracket.

“We put up 30 and held them to five in that second quarter—that was the ball game,” Trenton head coach Darrel Young said. “That was flat-out Trenton basketball.”

Notre Dame arrived in the final fresh off upsets of No. 4 Hopewell Valley and top-seeded Lawrence, and for eight minutes it looked capable of one more. Senior guard Lucas Chuderewicz buried four first-quarter triples to stake the Irish to an 18-16 edge, and post presence Will Foley added interior balance as Notre Dame trailed just 20-18 after one.

The second frame, however, belonged entirely to the Tornadoes. Jharris Genao-Ramos drilled a transition three just three seconds in, Aivaye Ingram followed with a three-point play, and when Juan Sanchez caught fire from deep—back-to-back threes that pushed the margin to 11—Notre Dame never recovered. Sanchez and Ingram combined for 14 of Trenton’s remaining 18 points in the half, while the Irish managed only Foley’s put-back the rest of the quarter.

Sanchez, a 5-foot-7 senior already past the 1,000-point career mark, finished with a season-high 32 points—23 in the first half alone, matching Notre Dame’s entire output over the first two quarters.

“When that little kid’s mind is made up, man… he’s hard to stop,” Young said. “Once his pull-ups start, they don’t know whether to contest or respect the drive. Bang, bang—big ball.”

Ingram added 23 points, continually beating Notre Dame down floor in transition, while Trenton’s length and pressure forced rushed possessions and a parade of turnovers that fueled easy buckets the other way.

“Not only do they have speed, but size and length,” Notre Dame coach Tim Stevens said. “We wanted to play at our pace and slow it down. We weren’t able to get there. They took advantage and made us pay.”

The victory completed a remarkable turnaround for a Trenton program that slogged through a 6-17 campaign two seasons ago. Sanchez and Ingram, now seniors, have been catalysts throughout the resurgence.

“We have a good understanding that nobody likes to play our style,” Sanchez said. “We make them play our style and we come out victorious.”

For Notre Dame, the 36-point defeat did little to diminish a tournament run that captivated the conference. The Irish knocked off three higher seeds and reached the final for the first time in recent memory.

“There are 13 other teams in our league that would have loved to be on that court tonight,” Stevens told his players. “We earned the right to be there. I couldn’t be prouder of this team. They never gave up.”

Trenton’s championship is the program’s first since the pre-pandemic era, and it sends a clear message heading into the state sectional brackets: when the Tornadoes dictate tempo, few teams can keep pace.