Rutgers Prep plays at Hillsborough in a Skyland Conference Delaware Division game on January 23, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Don’t get us wrong: this game won’t be easy for either team.
But when No. 1 Rutgers Prep visits No. 4 Montgomery in a huge Skyland Conference crossover battle Tuesday night – which can be hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio by clicking here – an Argonaut victory should clinch the top seed in the Somerset County Tournament.
The same is on the line for the Cougars, but they would likely also need to beat Hillsborough at home Saturday afternoon to wrap up that top seed.
Both teams are playing very good basketball late in the season. For Prep, there was a good deal of roster turnover, this season due to graduation, but they’ve made it work. Three of their four losses have come to top programs in showcases or one-offs like St. Benedict’s and St. Rose.
Historically, Rutgers Prep has won five straight against Montgomery, going back to the 2019-20 season. Since then, they are 23-0 against Somerset County public schools. But the last team to beat them was Montgomery – which did it twice – in 2018-19.
None of that matters now. None of those players are still around, of course. Now, it’s a matchup of the only two schools from the CJSR coverage area that are in the statewide Top 20.
Now, it’s for the top-seed in the SCT.
Prep’s biggest challenge came to date came last week at Hillsborough. And though it was a tight game throughout, the Argonauts pulled ahead late and won on the road, behind a 25 point night from Jacob Canton, and 14 from Andrew Kretkowski.
Tuesday night’s game will be broadcast live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas calling all the action. Tip-off is set for 6:00 in Skillman, with pregame at 5:45 pm.
Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas talk with Rutgers Prep head coach Matt Bloom:
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