Varsity Basketball Wins CHSAA Class B State Championship

Regis's varsity basketball team won the CHSAA Class B state championship on Friday with a 76-59 victory over St. Mary's of Buffalo at Fordham University's Rose Hill Gymnasium. With students, families, faculty, and alumni forming of a sea of red in the stands, the team claimed Regis's seventh state title and first since 2018.

The varsity team will play one final game later this month in a just-announced event that will match up the New York City Catholic and public school champions.

Austin Mejia ’24 led the Raiders in scoring with 20 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Brendon O'Keefe ’24 added 19 points (including a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the third quarter) and 7 rebounds. Alex Sepe ’24 scored 17 points, and Caleb Garutti ’26 had 9 points and 6 rebounds. John Duffin ’24 scored 7 points to go along with his team-best 8 rebounds.

With the win, Regis improved to 22-4 overall, including a memorable triumph over Xavier in this year’s tripleheader. That game was varsity’s first victory over Xavier since 2015, and this is the first season in which Regis defeated both of its historical Jesuit rivals, Xavier and Fordham Prep, since 2009. 

The state title is the fourth for head coach Mr. Kevin Cullen in his 23 seasons leading the varsity team. Mr. Cullen will be inducted into the CHSAA Hall of Fame this May.

On March 1, the team won the CHSAA Class B city championship with a 56-44 victory over St. John’s Prep, also at Fordham University’s Rose Hill Gymnasium. With a lively crowd of students, faculty, family, and alumni rooting them on, the Raiders jumped out to a 29-15 lead at halftime before finishing strong to claim Regis’s tenth varsity city title and its first since 2019.

Regis, which entered the game with an 11-1 league record, advanced to the state title game with the victory.

In the city championship game, Austin Mejia ’24 led the team in scoring with 16 points, while Brendon O'Keefe ’24 added 15 points and 7 rebounds. Caleb Garutti ’26’s 11 points and Alex Sepe ’24’s 9 points and 15 rebounds also helped Regis close out the game.

After the city title game game, head coach Mr. Cullen was presented with his award as the CHSAA Class B coach of the year, O’Keefe was honored as the division’s most valuable player, and Mejia was recognized as a member of the all-league team.

The title marked Mr. Cullen’s seventh city championship and his fifth in the past 11 years.