Gill, Rutgers Prep boys and girls sweep SCT quarterfinals, while Montgomery, Ridge boys, Hillsborough, Pingry girls advance; plus GMCT play-in round results and next matchups

The Somerset County Tournament semifinals are set, with four winners on each side – girls and boys – advancing Saturday afternoon with quarterfinal victories, while the GMC Tournament’s play-in round got underway.

The boys’ and girls’ teams from Rutgers Prep advanced in Somerset County, while the Montgomery and Ridge boys moved on to next week’s semifinals at Franklin high school, along with the Hillsborough and Pingry girls.

Next week’s semifinals will be at 11 am, 12:45 pm, 2:30 pm and 4 pm, but game assignments have not yet been announced. This story will be updated when the games are assigned and announced by the SCIAA.

Read on for brief recaps of all eight games Saturday afternoon.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT
Note: The Pingry-Franklin score has not been reported. We’ll have a recap when that information become available.

Girls:

• (1) Gill St. Bernard’s def. (9) Mount St. Mary, 67-35: Gill held the Lions to just three first-quarter points en route to a 16-3 lead after one and a 39-11 halftime lead. The Knights go on to play Franklin on the Warriors’ home court next Saturday in the semifinals. They won both meetings with Franklin this year, 70-45 on Janaury 28th, but a much closer 56-43 decision on January 7th.
• (4) Franklin def. (5) Pingry, 57-49: Despite a 33-point game from the Big Blue’s Taylor Francis, the Warriors came back from a 29-27 halftime deficit, and held Pingry to just five points in the decisive fourth quarter. Aleah Sunkins and Alissa Myers each had 11 points in the victory, as Franklin will move on to play Gill St. Bernard’s in a quasi-neutral site/home game Saturday in the semifinals.
• (3) Hillsborough def. (6) Somerville, 66-32: The Raiders ran out to an early lead with good defense and hot shooting, leaded 22-8 after one, and 42-17 at the half. Francesca Schiro – the school’s all-time leading scorer, girls or boys – led the way with 14 points, while Mya Loniewski scored 13. Five bench players got in the scoring column, along with all five starters. The Raiders will play Rutgers Prep next Saturday at Franklin in the semifinals. Prep won both matchups this year, including one back on Tuesday, 76-65.
• (2) Rutgers Prep def. (7) Bernards 58-36: The Argonauts were in control from the start, leading 20-7 after one quarter en route to a win in their opening game in the SCT, and held off the Mountaineers the rest of the afternoon. Prep now will face Hillsborough in the semis next Saturday at Franklin. The Argonauts are 2-0 against Boro this year, including a 76-65 home win Tuesday.

Boys:

• (1) Gill St. Bernard’s def. (9) Watchung Hills, 52-32: The Knights played solid defense throughout, allowing just seven points to the Warriors in each of the first three quarters. Kobe Closeil was the lone double-figure scorer on either team, leading Gill with 12, while also grabbing six rebounds. Dorsett Mulcahy finished with eight points and six boards. The Knights will play fourth-seed Ridge in the semifinals. The Red Devils won their lone meeting last year, 64-55, and will play for the first time next Saturday.
• (4) Ridge def. (5) Immaculata (15-5) 58-49: Luke Kreitz had another monster game for the Red Devils, scoring 23 to lead all – including an excellent 5-of-6 from the foul line – while Quinn Dashefsky chipped in another 14. The win sends Ridge to the semis against Gill St. Bernard’s, next Saturday at Franklin.
• (3) Rutgers Prep def. (6) Hillsborough, 80-44: Five different players scored in double-figures for the Argonauts, who were led by Jacob Canton with 17, while Myles Parker added 13. The Raiders kept it close early, trailing 17-16 at the end of the first eight minutes, but Prep turned it on before the half on a 20-7 second quarter run to give them a 27-23 lead, and they would close out the game with a running clock. Prep will face Montgomery in the semifinals Saturday at Franklin. They met once this season, on January 30th, with the Argos coming out with a 63-59 home win.
• (2) Montgomery def. (7) Pingry, 67-58: Christian Hill led the Cougars with 27 points, while Ethan Lin chipped in 19 and Mike Simborski added ten to get the victory over the Big Blue, who were led by Dylan Cowell’s 18 points. Monty trailed 19-15 after the first eight minutes, but took a 32-27 halftime lead on a big 18-7 second quarter and hung on in the second half for the win. Montgomery will take on Rutgers Prep in the semifinals Saturday at Franklin. The Cougars lost at Prep on January 30th, 60-59.

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

Below are results from Saturday’s play-in rounds in both the girls’ and boys’ tournaments, followed by next round matchups:

Play-In Round – Girls:

• (25) New Brunswick def. (24) Mother Seton, 55-27
• (21) Sayreville def. (28) Woodbridge Magnet, 56-29
• (20) Perth Amboy def. (29) South Amboy, 47-12
• (19) Woodbridge def. (30) South River, 67-18
• (22) Timothy Christian def. (27) Piscataway Magnet, 81-47
• (26) Wardlaw-Hartridge def. (23) JFK, 25-24
• (18) JP Stevens def. (31) East Brunswick Magnet, 57-12

Monday’s Preliminary Round – Girls

• (17) Highland Park at (16) North Brunswick
• (24) Mother Seton at (9) Carteret
• (21) Sayreville at (12) Old Bridge
• (20) Perth Amboy at (13) North Plainfield
• (19) Woodbridge at (14) Colonia
• (22) Timothy Christian at (11) Piscataway
• (26) Wardlaw-Hartridge at (10) Edison
• (18) JP Stevens at (15) South Plainfield

Play-In Round Boys:

• (16) Monroe def. (33) East Brunswick Magnet, 105-31
• (17) South Brunswick (5-16) def. (32) Somerset Tech, 81-40
• (25) JFK def. (24) Highland Park, 70-66
• (21) North Plainfield def. (28) JP Stevens, 62-49
• (20) Spotswood def. (29) New Brunswick, 63-43
• (19) Piscataway Magnet def. (30) Calvary Christian, 69-52
• (22) South River def. (27) South Amboy, 71-50
• (26) Perth Amboy Magnet def. (23) Carteret, 41-37
• (31) Wardlaw-Hartridge (0-19) at (18) Edison (11-9), 11 am

Tuesday’s Preliminary Round – Boys:

• (17) South Brunswick at (16) Monroe, winner at (1) Colonia
• (25) JFK at (9) East Brunswick, winner at (8) Woodbridge
• (21) North Plainfield at (12) Dunellen, winner at (5) Old Bridge
• (20) Spotswood at (13) Perth Amboy, winner at (4) St. Thomas Aquinas
• (19) Piscataway Magnet at (14) Metuchen, winner at (3) Sayreville
• (22) South River at (11) Middlesex, winner at (6) South Plainfield
• (26) Perth Amboy Magnet at (10) Timothy Christian, winner at (7) St. Joseph-Metuchen
• (18) Edison at (15) North Brunswick, winner at (2) Piscataway