Montgomery boys strengthen top-seed lead in CJ4, with others still in play elsewhere a week ahead of NJSIAA cutoff

The Cougars keep on winning, and with a week to go before the NJSIAA cutoff for the state playoff in boys’ basketball, Montgomery looks like a shoo-in for the top-seed in Central Jersey Group 4.

A host of others still have a shot in other sections, and below we go section-by-section where Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area teams are in the mix, based on NJ.com official NJSIAA power point standings as of February 4th at 1:30 pm. They do not include Sunday games played.

Central Jersey Group 4: A 71-point lead has grown to a 119-point advantage for Montgomery (16-2, 567 points). The Cougars got a huge boost Saturday afternoon with a win over Hillsborough, which, by the way, is a neighboring town, but in North Jersey, Section 2. (How does that happen?) Old Bridge (13-8, 448) is in second, up two spots from our last update, followed by Monroe (14-5, 446) just two points behind. North Brunswick (13-9, 410) is close, too, and has Manalapan (13-6, 405) right behind them, just five points back, and Marlboro (11-7, 402) just eight behind the Raiders, who are going to need to keep winning if they want to stay in the top four. Sayreville (14-7, 384) won two games since our last update, but slipped two spots to seventh behind Manalapan and Marlboro. East Brunswick is the lowest-standing team in the top 16 at 10-12, with 358 points, and may have a shot at the top eight; they’re just 16 points behind Howell (13-7, 374, 8th).

Central Jersey Group 3: The highest team here is Somerville (9-11, 354), which dropped two spots to ninth this week. At 46 points out of the top eight, with the eight-spot currently held by Robbinsville (14-7, 390), we think the Lady Pioneers will start the playoffs on the road. Carteret (14-8, 325) holds in tenth, and should begin things on the road as well.

Central Jersey Group 2: With defending champ Manasquan (16-5) still in the lead here, Spotswood also remains in fifth place at 16-5, with 418 points. With 16 wins already it’s unlikely the Chargers can go much higher, but they’ll have to fend off Bound Brook. The 15-7 Crusaders are just 23 points behind with 395 power points, and they’re up one spot from our last update. In ninth is Middlesex (12-10, 308), and there’s a chance they could catch Bordentown (11-8, 336) for the eighth spot. Starting on the road will be South River (10-10, 266) and Metuchen (11-11). The Rams and Bulldogs should be in the playoffs, but on the outside looking in is Piscataway Magnet (7-12). The Raiders are ten points behind Monmouth (10-8, 248) for the 16th and final playoff berth in the section.

Central Jersey Group 1: The top team remains Henry Hudson (16-3, 381), and the highest-standing local team is Manville. The Mustangs are 11-8, with 338 points, 26 out of the top two, and they may have a shot, but they might need some help from second place Shore (14-5, 364). South Amboy comes up fourth in the standings, but the Governors are ineligible for the state tournament, so there will be one extra spot at the bottom (which we’ll get to later). Perth Amboy Magnet (10-8, 287) is in decent shape for a top eight seed, with two teams behind them tied for seventh: Dunellen (10-9, 284) and College Achieve Asbury Park (11-6). Then, it’s all the way down the list to Somerset Tech (4-15) in 16th place, and Highland Park (7-13, 185) just behind them in 17th, but as of now, in the playoffs due to South Amboy being ineligible. The Owls have a 33 point lead on the next closest team, Academy Charter, at 8-6 (152 points).

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 4: As Phillipsburg (18-1, 575) has taken everyone by storm and keeps winning, the Stateliners have passed two Somerset County teams in the standings. Watchung Hills (15-5, 566) and Ridge (12-7, 479) are now second and third, respectively, although the Warriors – with only 15 wins – still are in striking distance. Ridge never really was, but has a decent shot at earning a top four seed, and home court guaranteed at least through the sectional semifinals. They’ll likely have two teams behind them contending with them for the last two spots. That’s Plainfield (14-6, 475) and Elizabeth (15-3, 470), but we’re not sure Hunterdon Central (13-7, 448, 6th place) is in that mix. Next, at No. 7 is Woodbridge (14-6, 445) and two teams tied for eighth from Somerset County: Hillsborough (11-7) and Franklin (10-10), both with 437 points. Next down the list is Bridgewater-Raritan at No. 17, on the wrong side of the bubble, but only 18 points behind Columbia (9-10, 366) out of Maplewood-South Orange.

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 3: We’ve got South Plainfield still leading the section (16-6, 532) but by a wide margin than our last update, when they led Cranford by just a point. Colonia now occupies the second spot, which would give them home court through the sectional semifinals. But the Patriots (14-7) have 513 points and are just one ahead of the Cougars (16-5, 512). They’ll have to keep winning to fend them off, as well as Millburn (15-5, 497) in fourth. No one else is a factor here, as 18th-place North Plainfield (6-14, 273) would have to jump two teams and sits 36 points out of the final playoff berth behind North Hunterdon (8-10, 309).

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 2: The only area team even in this section is Bernards (12-7, 410), and the Mountaineers gained two places from our last update, now at No. 8, guaranteeing them a first round home game if that’s where they finish. They have a decent lead over ninth-place Caldwell (10-9, 383) and could edge up one more notch, perhaps, as they’re just four points behind Science Park (14-7, 414).

Non-Public South A: There has been a little juggling at the top, and Somerset County saw a big mover, too. To begin with, CBA moved up from third to No. 1 since our last update about a week ago, now 15-5 with 546 points. Just six behind is Paul VI (15-7, 540). They had the top spot but are still in range. Meanwhile, Rutgers Prep (14-5, 537) is also in range, and the good news is has one less win that the two teams ahead of them, meaning more room to gain. The Argonauts jumped from ninth to third in the span of a week; that’s how close this section is, and we could see more juggling in this final week before Saturday’s cutoff. There are 13 teams in this section, the top eight are all within 77 points of each other, and no team is worse than two games below the .500 mark. (That’s Notre Dame, at 8-10). St. Joseph-Metuchen holds in fourth at 16-6, with 534 points. Even the Falcons are just 12 points away from the No. 1 spot, however, they’ve hit that 16-win plateau. Next from the CJSR coverage area is Pingry (13-4, 469) in eighth, and Immaculata (9-10, 340) is in 12th.

Non-Public North B: Much less shifting around in this section, with Morris Catholic still leading the way at 18-2, with 568 points, despite getting upset in the Morris County Tournament by Chatham. Holding in fourth is St. Thomas Aquinas (13-8, 435) and it looks like they’ll finish third our fourth. Timothy Christian (13-7, 381) and Gill St. Bernard’s (9-11, 329) are both down a spot, respectively, to sixth and seventh. Wardlaw-Hartridge (1-19, 136) also dropped a spot to 14th, but who knows if they’ll participate.

Non-Public South B: The only area team here is Calvary Christian at 15-2, with 386 points, checking in at No. 4, same as our last update. They should be right around there, give or take a spot. St. Rose of Belmar (21-2, 658) wrapped up the top spot long ago.