Holy Cross Prep secures Burlington County title with decisive win over Westampton Tech

The Holy Cross Preparatory Academy boys’ basketball team celebrates its win over Westampton Tech in the Burlington County Tournament final at Holy Cross in Delran, New Jersey on Friday, February 20, 2026. Kevin Emmons/South Jersey Sports Zone

DELRAN — Holy Cross Preparatory Academy senior Jordan Owens said he skipped breakfast on Friday morning.

He was too focused on winning.

It paid off as Owens scored the Lancers’ first 12 points as they rolled to a 55-46 victory over Westampton Tech in the Burlington County Tournament final on Friday night. Owens finished with a game-high 18 points, three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.

Holy Cross Prep only trailed once — a 4-2 deficit in the first quarter before a 3-pointer from Owens made it 5-4 — and led by as much as 16 points in the second quarter. Coach Marcus Bullock’s team never allowed the Panthers to narrow the margin to less than eight points in the second half.

It marked the first time the Lancers captured a Burlington County title since the inception of the county tournament in 2023.

“We spent every day working for each other and working for this moment,” Owens said. “When you finally get it done there’s no better feeling.”

6-foot-7 senior wing Tristan Ganges tallied 16 points, six rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. Ganges wowed the crowd with his emphatic two-hand dunks and helped Holy Cross Prep win extra possessions with his wingspan as he was able to extend plays and tip loose balls in the direction of teammates.

The senior averaged 8.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists over the Lancers’ last three games prior to Friday night. Holy Cross Prep defeated Pemberton, Seneca and Rancocas Valley in the county tournament by an average margin of 33 points.

“The last three games we just kept our foot on the pedal,” Ganges said. “We just needed one more.”

Rancocas Valley transfer Josh Swain charted 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and a block for the Lancers on Friday. His thunderous two-hand slam dunk gave them a 10-point lead with 1:19 left and sent the crowd into a frenzy. Point guard Joey Martino impacted the victory with eight points, five assists, four rebounds, four steals and a block.

It was the third time the Lancers defeated Westampton Tech this season. The two teams met twice in the regular season as Burlington County Scholastic League Liberty Division foes. The first two meetings were decided by a combined five points. Friday’s victory proved to be the most decisive of the three matchups.

“Attention to detail and matching energy (was the key),” Owens said. “We put an emphasis on physicality today. We know that WesTech is a physical team.”

The loss snapped a 9-game win streak for the Panthers. Westampton Tech rallied from double-digit deficits in county tournament triumphs over Cherokee and Doane Academy.

“We started off slow and they’re a good team,” WesTech coach Cetshwayo Byrd said. “They’re not going to let you get back in the game like that.”

Henry Njoga led the Panthers with 16 points. Alexander Jeanty added 11. The senior is nine points shy of 1,000 career points.

The Lancers felt empty after last season. The campaign concluded with a 20-9 record, but there were no division, county, sectional or state titles to show for their success.

The victory on Friday night was a weight lifted off their shoulders.

"It's a big deal," Owens said. "As good of a team as we had last year, we felt that we came out empty-handed. We didn’t win the county, we didn’t win our division, we didn’t win a sectional. We put an emphasis on coming out of here with something this year. Now that we got (the county championship), we want to take that momentum and ride it into the state playoffs.”

Holy Cross Prep improved its record to 24-4 and is the No. 2 seed in the upcoming South Jersey Non-Public B playoffs. The Burlington County champions will host the winner of Gloucester Catholic and Wildwood Catholic on Monday, March 2.

For now, the Lancers can celebrate their county title.

And embrace the brotherhood they created that will last a lifetime.

“It’s the most tight knit team I’ve ever played on,” Owens said. “All these guys play for each other. We make great opportunities for each other and we trust each other to convert.”