Before the snow, two dozen tourney games on the Saturday slate in GMC, Somerset County

Perhaps the biggest snowfall of the season is set to come down across Central Jersey Saturday evening into Sunday, but away from the cold, things will be heating up in the county tournaments.

With the GMC Tournament seeded Friday, both Middlesex and Somerset Counties will see a heavy dose of tournament action Saturday afternoon. Here’s a look at the schedule and

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS

Somerset County already is in the round of eight on its weekly Saturday schedule, with the top four seeds on each side opening play in this round. Today’s winners will play in the semifinals at Franklin High School, a change this year after the last few saw higher-seeded teams host the semis.

Next week’s semifinals will be at 11 am, 12:45 pm, 2:30 pm and 4 pm, but it won’t be determined until after this weekend who will play when. Tournament Director Tom Gambino says the goal is to keep the same schools, if both the boys and girls are playing, back-to-back if possible.

Boys:

(9) Watchung Hills (9-11) at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s (16-4), 1 pm: The Knights are back – and ranked No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten – after a down year last year that saw a lot of roster turnover. Things have stabilized, and Gill has had a fantastic season. They beat the Warriors in their only meeting this season, 62-40, back on January 14th.
(5) Immaculata (15-5) at (4) Ridge (16-4), noon: The Red Devils have been resurgent this season, and very solid, but you could say the same for the Spartans. We’ve seen both teams, and this could be the best matchup of the day. Ridge won the first meeting by three, 65-62, on January ninth, and they two met again Tuesday, with Ridge winning by eleven. But what’s the old adage about it being hard to beat a team three times in a season?
(6) Hillsborough (11-8) at (3) Rutgers Prep (13-8), 1:30 pm: These two also played a really close one back in December, a 70-65 win over Rutgers Prep. But the Argonauts won bigger last time out, at home, 74-57. This will be back in their gym, which can get loud. And Prep likes to spread that big floor, get out in transition and outrun opponents.
(7) Pingry (6-9) at (2) Montgomery (16-4), 1 pm: The Cougars won both meetings this year, and were a legit consideration for top seed in the Somerset County Tournament, but don’t let that fool you. And don’t let the Big Blue’s record fool you either. Year in, year out, they are a pesky bunch. They played Monty to a four-point game on December 17th, 51-47, before falling 64-41 on January 16th. And they’ve beaten big schools like Bridgewater-Raritan and Hunterdon Central. The Cougars should win, but it won’t be easy. Never is with Pingry.

Girls:

(9) Mount St. Mary (10-11) at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s (15-3), 11 am: This will be the first meeting between the schools since 2021, so there’s little recent history here. But the Knights are the top-seed in the tourney, and very good. They have only lost one county game this year, to Rutgers Prep on December 17th, 61-38, but returned the favor with a running-clock win at home on January 16th, 64-27. Think of it this way: they’ve beaten every Somerset County opponent they’ve faced at least once this year.
(5) Pingry (15-4) at (4) Franklin (6-13), 1:15 pm: Throw the records out here. Franklin won their only meeting this year, back on January second, 59-49. While the Warriors only have six wins, consider five of their 13 losses have come to Gill, Rutgers Prep and Hillsborough, with one more to go against the Argonauts coming up on Tuesday. This game could go either way.
(6) Somerville (16-4) at (3) Hillsborough (15-4), noon: Little recent history here in their first meeting since 2020, but these are two good basketball teams, as the record would indicate. The Raiders have had three days off since a ten-point loss at Rutgers Prep on Tuesday, while Somerville has only dropped one county game all year, falling by three to Ridge back on January 18th. This one may lean Raiders, but don’t call it a lock.
(7) Bernards (16-3) at (2) Rutgers Prep (15-3), 11 am: Argonauts’ head coach Mary Klinger always says the regular season is the preseason. Well, then this is the real season, their debut in the SCT here in the quarterfinals. Again, no real history here, as it will be their first meeting since 2017. Prep has won six straight, including Tuesday’s victory over Hillsborough, since that loss to Gill on January 16th.

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PLAY-IN ROUND

The GMC Tournament kicks off today after Friday morning’s seeding meeting. There are seven games on the girls side – as three schools opted out – and nine on the boys’ side. Here’s today’s schedule, per greatermiddlesexconference.org.

Boys: