Despite a 4-4 record, the Franklin Warriors have had about the season head coach Tony Mento expected so far. Take out two losses to teams few, if any, in the Skyland Conference will beat this year – Gill St. Bernard’s and Rutgers Prep – and the Blue and Gold would be 4-2 on the year.
At its best when they get in transition and can score both in the paint and from beyond the arc, those are the games where Franklin has had the most success. And it will no doubt be part of the recipe Tuesday night when they travel to No. 9 Watchung Hills (8-1) for a Skyland Conference Delaware Division matchup.
The game can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, moved earlier this afternoon a half-hour later than its initial start time, now set for a 6:00 tip-off, with pregame at 5:45 pm with Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino calling all the action. Click here to listen to the live audio stream.
Franklin somehow will have to contain Watchung Hills’ senior guard Elijah Lewis, averaging a Somerset County-best 23.8 points per game, just ahead of Bound Brook junior Jordan Summers.
For Franklin’s part, their other two defeats – besides Gill and Prep – have been close. They dropped a two-point game at home to Hunterdon Central on January 6th, and are coming off a ten-point loss to Middle Township down the Shore Sunday in the MLK Classic.
The injury bug has also bitten Franklin a bit, following the COVID shutdown that came after the opener and left them without any games for 17 days until picking back up January 4th with a 13-point road win over Hillsborough. But starting junior point guard Darnell Marche has been slowly working his way back, while junior starting center Peyton Bonds – who missed the Timothy Christian win earlier this month on CJSR – is back, and coming off a solid 17 point, seven rebound effort Sunday against Middle Township.
Click below to hear head coach Tony Mento talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about the season, and tonight’s game against Watchung Hills: