Mackenzie Mgbako gets set to take a foul shot Thursday night in the SCT semifinals against Montgomery (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
For the first eleven years of his tenure as boys’ basketball coach at Gill St. Bernard’s, head coach Mergin Sina never missed a Somerset County Tournament final.
His team finally did in year ten, getting eliminated in the semifinals by Watchung Hills.
And after the Skyland Conference held postseason pods last year, the Knights are back in the title tilt.
A 65-49 win over fourth-seed Montgomery accomplished that feat, thanks in large park to Mackenzie Mgbako’s 22 points, and despite the fact opposing point guard Ryan Curry of the Cougars finished one point shy of a career high, with 29.
Of course, if no one else scores, those 29 don’t mean a lot, and that’s exactly what happened, as the next highest scorer was 6′ 8″ senior center Aryan Gorty, who couldn’t get anything inside against Gill’s bigs, including Mgbako.
Now it’s on to the championship Saturday afternoon at 3 pm – ironically at Montgomery – against Rutgers Prep, which beat Watchung Hills big at home minutes apart Thursday night in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals.
Click below for postgame reaction from Mackenzie Mgbako with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: