Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals are set, as (almost) all higher seeds win Saturday

With the exception of the 8/9 games, Saturday’s second round of the Somerset County Tournament – girls and boys – went according to chalk once again. The Watchung Hills boys and Mount St. Mary girls pulled off minor upsets as nine-seeds, knocking off eight-seeds Bridgewater-Raritan and Immaculata, respectively.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s action, with a look ahead to next Saturday’s quarterfinal round, to be held at the site of the higher seeded teams.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT – BOYS:

(9) Watchung Hills 45, (8) Bridgewater-Raritan 37: Bridgewater-Raritan looked in control early on, as the Panthers (10-8) jumped out to a 14-3 lead after one quarter. But the Warriors (9-9) got back into it before halftime, cutting the deficit to four, then stormed ahead on the strength of a 15-point third quarter before hanging on to win by eight. Zack Patetta led a balanced scoring attack with eight, while K.J. West added ten and Timothy Robertson contributed nine points. The Warriors move on to play at top-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s (13-4) next Saturday up in Peapack-Gladstone. The Knights beat them back on January 14th, 62-40, but Watchung Hills won their lone meeting last season, 61-42.

(5) Immaculata 48, (12) Somerville 39: The Spartans (15-4) had three players score in double figures, as Riley Gorman put in 15 points, and Dante Regan and Cole Hayden each added 14. It was a tight game throughout, with Immaculata leading 13-18 at the half over Somerville (13-6). ‘Lata will travel to 5th-seeded Ridge (15-3) next Saturday; the Red Devils have won the last two in the series – back on January 9th, and Valentine’s Day 2023 – but by a combined eight points, with this year’s game being decided by three. This might be the best quarterfinal matchup on the boys’ side next weekend.

(6) Hillsborough 60, (11) Bernards 54: The Raiders found themselves in a tight one at the half, tied at 27-all, but Hillsborough (10-8) edged ahead in the third and pulled away in the fourth. Bernards fell to 9-9 on the season, despite 17 from Monty Douglas. The Raiders’ Lucas Rollan led with 17 as well, while Manny Rodriguez added 15 and Jack Toth chipped in 11. Next up, Boro travels to third-seed Rutgers Prep (13-7) Saturday in the quarters. Rutgers Prep has won 14 straight in the series dating back to January 2015. Hillsborough’s last wins against the Argonauts came in a fantastic 22-3 season in 2013-14, when they beat Prep in a holiday tournament in December, 48-37, and again in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, 62-36, en route to winning the 2014 county title, their first and only since the SCT went to one bracket in 1988.

(7) Pingry 80, (10) Franklin 60: The Big Blue (6-8) led this one most of the way, expanding a six-point halftime lead to 16 with a big third quarter, outscoring Franklin (5-14) 25-15 in the period. Four Pingry players finished in double-figures, including sophomore Dylan Cowell, who scored a career high 22 points, while adding five rebounds and three assists in just his third game of the season. Ryan Rust added 17 and dished out nine assists, while grabbing four steals. Pingry now will travel to second-seed Montgomery (13-4) Saturday for a quarterfinal game. The Cougars beat the Big Blue in their meeting back on January 16th, 64-41.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT – GIRLS:

(9) Mount St. Mary 47, (8) Immaculata 44: The Lions (9-10) trailed by five at halftime and heading into the fourth, but rallied to pull out a narrow win over the Spartans (9-8), in true “survive and advance” style. Ella Reed and Sophia Crum each scored 12 to pace Mount, with Mia Gestosani adding 11, and Natalie Beck grabbing 11 rebounds. The Lions earn a trip to top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s (15-2) Saturday in the quarterfinals, and it’ll be their first meeting in four years. Gill won one-off crossover matchups in 2021 and 2020, but Mount St. Mary won a three-point game in 2019; those are their only three meetings since at least 2010.

(5) Pingry 47, (5) Bound Brook 26: The Big Blue (14-4) played stellar defensively from the opening tip, holding the Crusaders (12-5) to six first quarter points, and just a single foul shot in the second quarter, en route to a 23-7 halftime lead. Taylor Francis led Pingry with 18, while frosh Sadie Salmon added 10, matching a career best with just her second double-figure scoring game. Next up, the Big Blue travel to fourth-seed Franklin (6-12), which has won two straight against them, including a 59-49 decision earlier this season on January second.

(6) Somerville 41, (11) Ridge 36: Senior Charlotte Taylor paced the Pioneers (15-14) with her 12th double-digit scoring game of the year, pumping in 19 points in the win over the Red Devils (5-13). She also had four boards, five assists, two blocks and five steals in a busy afternoon. Alexa Kovalick had a double-double of 12 points and ten rebounds in a losing effort for Ridge. The ‘Ville travels to third-seed Hillsborough Saturday for a quarterfinal game. There’s little history between the schools in recent years; they’ve only played once in the last decade, with the Raiders winning a January, 2020 matchup 61-56.

(7) Bernards 58, (10) Watchung Hills 40: The Mountaineers (15-2) led this one nearly wire-to-wire; though they had just a one-point lead at the half, the third quarter turned the tide back in their favor as Watchung Hills dropped to 8-10 on the year, despite a 20-point, eight-rebound effort from Zoe Gallic. Aletha Reynolds finished three points shy of a season high with 26 points, to go along with eight rebounds, for victorious Bernards, which now will face four-time defending champion and second-seed Rutgers Prep (13-3). It’ll be their first meeting since 2017, a 73-41 Prep victory.