After back-to-back years off championship-game heartbreak, Marlboro's all-senior team came through Monday with the program's first ever NJSIAA Central Group IV title.
Trailing by nine with under six minutes left, Marlboro ripped off a 25-1 run that stunned upset-minded Howell and sent the Mustangs back to the Central Group IV semifinals.
After heartbreaking losses to end each of the past two seasons, Marlboro's battle-tested, senior-led team finally won its first title, defeating Manasquan in Sunday's Shore Conference Tournament final.
Following its worst offensive half of the season, Marlboro used its defense and rebounding to get going and race past CBA and into the SCT championship game.
Coming off two-week layoff, Marlboro pushed the fifth-ranked team in the state to the brink, but St. Peter's Prep closed Thursday's game like a state power should.
After coming painfully close to the program's first NJSIAA sectional championship, Marlboro returns a loaded lineup that will be among the Shore's best over the next two years.