All high seeds but one advance in Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals; now a quick turnaround to Thursday’s semis

With the Somerset County Tournament having to move its quarterfinal round to Wednesday evening due to Tuesday’s snowstorm, no one really got an extra day for prep; schools were closed all over the state.

Now the double-whammy: the eight teams that advanced to the semifinals have to come back in just 24 hours to play again.

It sure beats the alternative, which is going home.

All top seeds but one – fifth seed Franklin on the girls’ side advanced.

And Central Jersey Sports Radio will carry a boys’ SCT semifinal Thursday in Montgomery, where the second-seeded Cougars will entertain third-seed Watchung Hills at 6 pm. Mike Pavlichko has the call with pregame at 5:45 pm; click here to listen.

Here’s a look at Wednesday night’s quarterfinal action:

SCT GIRLS’ QUARTERFINALS:

(1) Rutgers Prep 86, (8) Ridge 40: The Lady Argonauts continue to dominate Somerset County competition. They have’t even lost to a county school since 2019’s SCT final, when they lost to eventual Tournament of Champions winner Franklin, which finished 32-0. In this one, Rutgers Prep exploded for 29 first quarter points and led by 15 after the first eight minutes, then 48-24 at halftime. Vanderbilt commit MIkayla Blakes scored 28 points, while sophomore Gigi Battle added 17 and six rebounds for Prep (19-4), which will host five-seed Franklin at 5 pm Thursday in the semifinals. Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Vin Ebenau will have a game story and postgame reaction when it’s all over. Ridge (10-15) was led by Sophia Georgiades, who scored 15 in defeat.

(5) Franklin 59, (4) Pingry 40: The Lady Warriors led this one most of the way up in Martinsville, ahead 18-12 after one and 27-21 at the break. Aleah Sunkins led the way for Franklin (14-11) with a double-double of 15 points and ten rebounds. Debra Hill led all scorers with 17 points for Pingry (16-6), adding 12 rebounds for a double-double of her own. Franklin travels to Rutgers Prep at 5 pm Friday, trying to snap a seven-game skid against the Argos, who have won those games by an average 32 points, including two this year by 40 and 43.

(3) Hillsborough 41, (6) Mount St. Mary 33: In the lowest scoring game of the night on the girls’ side, the Lady Raiders were in control most of the way, up 13-7 after one quarter, and 21-13 at halftime, extending its lead to double digits in the second half before the Lions got it back down to eight. Mya Loniewski notched her first double-double of the season, with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Mount St. Mary fell to 13-11 with the loss. Hillsborough (16-7) will head up to Gill St. Bernard’s to take on the second-seeded Knights Thursday at 5:30 pm.

(2) Gill St. Bernard’s 74, (7) Somerville 31: The Knights stepped on the gas from the opening tip, holding the Pioneers to single-digit scoring in the first quarter, after which GSB led 23-7. They opened that up to a 42-20 lead going into the locker room for halftime. Five players scored double-figures for the Knights (22-3), led by Brooke Baisley with 17, 12 each for Tessa Lozner and Gandy Malou-Mamel, which Maya Abramson chipped in 11 and Sydney Quinn scored 10. Somerville (21-4) was led by Kaylee Lauber with 9 points. Third-seed Hillsborough will visit Gill at 5:30 pm Thursday.

SCT BOYS’ QUARTERFINALS:

(1) Rutgers Prep 82, (8) Pingry 56: Pingry kept it tight in the first quarter, down by just six after the first eight minutes, but the Argonauts burned rubber peeling away in the second quarter, holding the Big Blue to just three points en route to a 45-16 lead at the break. Myles Parker led all scorers with 26 points, while Andrew Kretkowski chipped in 11 for Rutgers Prep (17-6), which will host 4th-seed Hillsborough – which they beat twice in the regular season – Thursday at 7 pm.

(4) Hillsborough 62, (5) Ridge 56: The Raiders (15-7) got one shy of a season-high from Phil Unangst, who dropped in 24 in the victory, and went 11-of-13 from the foul line. Zion Harrison added 18. Hillsborough led a good portion of the game until a furious fourth quarter comeback – Ridge won the final eight minutes 26-8 – fell short. Three players – led by Luke Kreitz with 17 and Quinn Dashefsky with 16- finished in double figures for the Red Devils (14-9). Hillsborough visits Rutgers Prep in Thursday’s semis at 7 pm.

(3) Watchung Hills 50, (6) Franklin 47: A tight one throughout, the Warriors had a strong third quarter to reverse a one-point halftime deficit and take a 39-33 lead going into the fourth quarter. Zach Patetta was one of three Watchung Hills players to score in double figures, leading with 13, while Dean Smith scored 12 and Aidan Hockmeyer chipped in 10. Franklin (13-11) got a game-high 18 from Landen Miller in defeat. The Warriors (17-6) will travel to play second-seed Montgomery Thursday at 6 pm in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

(2) Montgomery 58, (7) Gill St. Bernard’s 51: Gill led 30-24 at the half, but the Cougars clamped down defensively out of the locker room, holding Gill to just seven third-quarter points en route to a seven-point win, a 13-point swing from the break. Montgomery (20-2) got 24 points from Steve Donahue, a game-high, while Josh Moore added 11 for the home team. The Knights (10-14) were led by Stanley Njekwe with 18. It’ll be the first time since 2020 and only the second time since 2010 Gill won’t be in the Somerset County Tournament title game. Montgomery will host 3rd-seed Watchung Hills Thursday night at 6 pm in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.