Last Thursday, the entire school was hyped for Oratory Varsity basketball’s home opener against the Rahway Indians. The Rowdies packed the Coliseum, bringing energy all night, and it wasn’t a game you’d want to miss.
The Rams started this year’s Hypemas game strong. Off an inbound, star guard Connor Lee hit a deep jumper, putting Oratory up 2–0. The Indians then missed a shot, which led to Lee’s second basket of the game—this time from downtown. Sophomore Archie Mueller, who is stepping into a bigger role as a starter this year, stole the ball and finished a three-point play on a fast-break layup, giving the Rams a 10–3 lead. With the help of a 3-pointer by star Ryan Fay, OP would go on to finish the first up 17–12.
Starting the second, the Indians still had no answer for Oratory’s fast-paced offense. After going ahead 20–12, Fay drained his second 3-pointer of the night, putting the Rams up 11. Shortly after, Will Kostka was fouled on a layup attempt, making his first and missing his second. But this is when Rahway made a costly mistake—dropping the ball out of bounds on what should’ve been an easy rebound. Kostka’s miss ended up being a good thing for OP, as Michael Dragone nailed a triple right off the inbound. This made the score 31–18, and the second quarter ended with the Rams leading by 11—38–27.
In the final two quarters, the game’s trend was much the same. To open the third, Dragone knocked down two free throws, Fay made a reverse layup off a shot fake, and Lee made a 3-pointer. By that point, the Rams already led by 16. A few minutes later, OP guard Marcus Johnson sank a three, extending the lead to 21 points. By the end of the third quarter, the scoreboard read 55–36, meaning the Rams had outscored the Indians 27–9 in just eight minutes.
Up 19, Oratory didn’t need to do much more to finish this one off. Rahway struck with two quick scores early in the fourth to cut the Rams’ lead to 15, but that would be as close as they came. Johnson answered with back-to-back layups, making it 59–40. OP’s last points came on a Fay turnaround fake, putting the Rams ahead 61–42. Oratory benched their starters with just over a minute left, and the final score was 61–44—a 17-point victory.
Lee finished the game with 15 points, while Fay had 14 and Dragone had 11. Mueller, Johnson, and Kostka each scored seven. Lee led the team with three 3-pointers, but Fay wasn’t far behind, closing out the night with two. As a team, the Rams shot 37% from the field, 36% from beyond the arc, and 78% from the free-throw line. After securing their first win on Thursday, OP is now 1-2 on the season, with the Christmas tournament soon approaching. Oratory had a great win against Rahway, and if the Rams keep playing like this, it will be exciting to see what they will do in the weeks to come.
Oratory Prep vs Rahway Full Game Livestream:
Oratory Prep vs Rahway Game Highlights:
https://fan.hudl.com/usa/nj/summit/organization/41929/oratory-prep-high/team/145924/boys-varsity-basketball/watch?hr=SGlnaGxpZ2h0UmVlbFN1bW1hcnk2OTQ1YjUyNmU0MWY3NWE4ZDg4ZmQ4NGM%3D&ot=TEAM&oi=145924
Oratory Prep vs Rahway Game Recap:
https://highschoolsports.nj.com/game/1078771
Oratory Prep Varsity Basketball Schedule & Stats:
https://highschoolsports.nj.com/school/summit-oratory/boysbasketball/season/2025-2026
