Montgomery and Rutgers Prep play in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals at Franklin High School in Somerset on February 15, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Back to the finals for Montgomery boys, as Cougars top North Brunswick in CJ4 semis
After reaching their first sectional final in a decade last season, the Montgomery boys’ basketball team is going to the Central Jersey Group 4 title game for a second year in a row.
Maybe it’s something in the water along Route 206, as neighboring Hillsborough’s girls’ team also made the CJ4 finals with a win Wednesday night.
For the top-seeded Montgomery boys – who, like the Raiders – won the title last year, the win that got them there was a 67-43 dominating performance over 12th-seed North Brunswick, which had pulled off two upsets to get here.
Bohdan Biekietov – the reigning Central Jersey Sports Radio Boys’ basketball Player of the Year – has struggled a bit this season. But after the quarterfinal win over East Brunswick, head coach Kris Grundy challenged him to return to the dominating force he was last year as a junior, his first year in the program after fleeing the Ukraine with his mother and sister.
That came to fruition Wednesday, as Biekietov pumped in 21 points to lead all scorers in the game. His presence inside helped the Cougars establish themselves early. He scored the first bucket, en route to a 20-9 lead at the end of one, and a 38-18 bulge at the half.
Fellow Ukranain Kyryl Streltsov added 12 in the win, while Ethan Lin and Christian Hill each contributed eleven points.
Montgomery (23-5) will host third-seed West Windsor-Plainsboro South (23-5) in the finals at 3 pm Saturday. North Brunswick ends its season at 11-18.
Click below to hear Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy talk about the win over North Brunswick, and Saturday’s Central Jersey Group 4 title tilt:
Discover more from Central Jersey Sports Radio
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.