Another war on tap in SCT Boys’ Final as Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s will rematch

Last year’s Somerset County Tournament title win for Gill St. Bernard’s was a blowout over Rutgers Prep.

This year, Gill won a regular-season matchup with the Argonauts at the buzzer, then Prep turned it around at home and handled the Knights, who were in it, but never really threatened.

What’s next today?

You never know what can happen when Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s meet, and today at Montgomery High School will be no exception when the top-seeded Argonauts take on the second-seeded Knights in the SCT title game, which you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio as part of a girls’/boys’ doubleheader.

Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will call all the action, starting with pregame at 12:45 pm for the 1:00 girls game – also between top-seed Prep and second-seed Gill – then with the boys’ final starting at 3 pm. Click here to listen to the live broadcast for free.

Here’s a complete preview of the championship game, with audio from both coaches, analysis, stats, and more.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT BOYS’ FINAL:
#1 Rutgers Prep (19-7) vs. #2 Gill St. Bernard’s (18-6)
When: Saturday, February 18 at 3 pm
Where: Montgomery High School
Listen Live: Central Jersey Sports Radio, pregame begins at 2:45 pm

#1 Rutgers Prep
Head Coach: Matt Bloom – 6th season, 111-32)

Having just played an all-out battle with Franklin on Thursday night, with a quick turnaround to Saturday, Bloom says his players will have watched film on the day in between, and go through some walk-throughs in an hour-long practice. Mental and physical healing is needed after an all-out banger against the Warriors, which literally drew blood; point guard Jordan Atkins had to come out of the game briefly after getting hit, and came back with a bandage in the area above his eye.

Expect much of the same Saturday afternoon. Atkins runs the point so well, even to the point of a play that won’t show up in the box score. Against the Warriors, after Jake Novielli hit back-to-back threes to get his team back in the game, Atkins got a pass on a drive and quickly realized the better play was to kick it back out. He did so, to Johnny Nsenkyire on the wing, and he hit a three-ball to stop the Franklin win. It was a critical moment. But the fact is, those moments also don’t happen without the offensive finish. Jadin Collins is one of those guys, leading in every scoring category, and he’s the team’s top rebounder, too. He can play defense, to boot, with a team-leading 105 steals. John Kelly has been playing great defense for the Argonauts, and Cameron Piggee has been nailing it from downtown since his return from injury.

Projected Starting Five:

• PG Jordan Atkins (6-0, Sr): 8.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 140 assists
• G Cameron Piggee (6-2, Sr): 14.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 50 treys
• G Franklin Jones (6-5, Sr): 8.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 27 blocks
• G Jadin Collins (6-1, Jr): 20.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 105 steals
• F John Kelly (6-7, Jr): 11.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg

Coach’s Interview:

SCT History (1-5):

1988 – #1 Bridgewater-Raritan West beat #2 Rutgers Prep 94-66
2011 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat #2 Rutgers Prep 68-59
2017 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat #3 Rutgers Prep 71-61
2018 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat #2 Rutgers Prep 56-54
2020 – #1 Rutgers Prep beat #3 Watchung Hills 71-57
2022 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat Rutgers Prep 84-63

#2 Gill St. Bernard’s
Head Coach: Mergin Sina – 13th season, 272-69

Head coach Mergin Sina was working with a completely new lineup in the preseason, and as it was coming together, it took another blow, the return of Jon Ismaijli to his native Serbia. Back to the drawing board, sort of. The results have been typical Gill St. Bernard’s, even without household names like Mackenzie Mgbako and Naas Cunningham, who transferred after last year.

Senior Mario Castro-Sanchez has shouldered the burden of the scoring this year, also leading the team in the three-point department, and can dish the ball to people like fellow senior Nick Losada, who hit the game winning three as time expired in the first meeting with Rutgers Prep, in Gladstone in early January. Freshman Dorsett Mulcahy can run the point, too, and looks more and more like his older brother on the court than than off it, with great moves off the dribble-drive. But he’s not the only Rutgers connection; Scarlet Knight head coach Steve Pikiell’s son, Kevin, also is on the team.

Projected Starting Five:

• G Mario Castro-Sanchez (6-1, Sr): 22.5 ppg, 68 assists, 95 treys
• G Andy Hearn (6-1, Sr): 4.6 ppg, 8 treys
• G Nick Losada (6-2, Jr): 14.3 ppg, 47 steals, 46 treys
• G Luke Ruggerio (6-3, Sr): 2.1 ppg
• F/C Ebrahim Kaba (6-8, Jr): 9.2 ppg, 17 treys

Coach’s Interview:

SCT History (8-2):

2011 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat #2 Rutgers Prep 68-59
2012 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat #2 Bridgewater-Raritan 88-72
2013 – #1 Ridge beat #2 Gill St. Bernard’s 69-56
2014 – #3 Hillsborough beat #1 Gill St. Bernard’s 53-52
2015 – #3 Gill St. Bernard’s beat (1) Ridge 48-39
2016 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat #3 Somerville 66-51
2017 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat #3 Rutgers Prep 71-61
2018 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat #2 Rutgers Prep 56-54
2019 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat #3 Watching Hills 73-53
2022 – #1 Gill St. Bernard’s beat Rutgers Prep 84-63