Montgomery looks to keep rebound going after tough loss in opener with trip to South Amboy

When Montgomery tipped off the season against Hudson Catholic last Saturday, the Cougars were coming off of a season that ended with a Central Group 4 title, a run to the Somerset County Tournament final, and a 25-4 overall record.

After narrowly falling 48-44 in that season opener at the New Jersey Basketball Coaches’ Tip-off Showcase last Saturday, No. 3 Montgomery has delivered in the clutch with back-to-back single-digit wins over Pingry and Immaculata.

Tonight, the Cougars (2-1) have a chance to make it a three-game winning streak on a neutral site, as they take on St. Joseph-Metuchen in the nightcap of the 12th annual Friends of South Amboy Charity Basketball Tournament. The game tips at 8 pm, and you can hear it live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas on the call. Click here to listen.

While the high-scoring senior duo of Steve Donahue and Jack Fromelt have graduated from last year’s team, Montgomery returns two key players in junior Ethan Lin and senior Bohdan Bieketov.

Lin – who missed much of the late season, the SCT and state tournament last year with a broken ankle he suffered in a game against Hillsborough – has been the Cougars’ primary scoring option, most recently dropping 24 against Immaculata. 

Another key player for Montgomery through the first week of the season has been Christian Hill, who has developed into the Cougars’ third-leading scorer with just over eight points per game to help replace the lost production from Donahue and Fromelt.

Click below to hear Montgomery boys’ basketball head coach Kris Grundy preview tonight’s game with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas: