Wednesday Roundup: Hillsborough, Monroe girls to clash in CJ4 final; Montgomery will make repeat trip to CJ4 boys’ title tilt

Some advanced to play for a trophy. For others, it was the end of the line.

The Montgomery boys’ basketball team will get to play for the Central Jersey Group 4 title Saturday afternoon after a home win over North Brunswick Wednesday night, while Monroe and Hillsborough advanced on the girls’ side of CJ 4, the Falcons beating Hightstown, and the Raiders topping Franklin.

Here’s our roundup of Wednesday night’s action. Scroll down for the upcoming remaining state tournament schedule in sections where CJSR-area teams remain alive.

Central Jersey Group 4 – Boys’ Semifinals:
(1) Montgomery def. (12) North Brunswick, 67-43 (READ MORE HERE)
(3) West Windsor-Plainsboro North def. (10) Freehold Twp., 57-54

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 – Boys’ Semifinals: Third-seed Ridge saw its season come to an end with a 74-61 loss at second-seed Elizabeth. The Red Devils turned a 14-10 deficit at the end of one into a two-point lead at the half, 31-29, but the Minutemen rebounded to take a ten-point lead heading into the fourth, and hung on. Quinn Dashefsky scored 21 to lead Ridge, while Luke Kreitz added 12. Elizabeth will meet top-seed Plainfield in the title game Saturday at 3 pm.

(1) Plainfield def. (5) Westfield, 62-36
(2) Elizabeth def. (3) Ridge, 74-61

Central Jersey Group 4 – Girls’ Semifinals:
(1) Hillsborough def. (5) Franklin, 68-55 (READ MORE HERE)
(2) Monroe def. (3) Hightstown, 53-30 (READ MORE HERE)

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 – Girls’ Semifinals: A rough second quarter doomed the Mountaineers, who led the top seed, Caldwell, on the road, 13-10 after one quarter. But they got outscored 13-2 in the second, and trailed 23-15 at halftime, and could not recover. Bernards got a team-high 10 points from Jasmine Kelleher, while Aletha Reynolds grabbed 11 boards. The Mountaineers finish their season at 23-6, setting a new program record for wins in a single season. Caldwell will play Madison Saturday in the final.

(1) Caldwell def. (4) Bernards, 48-43
(2) Madison def. (3) Rutherford, 61-29

Looking ahead…

There are now just four public schools from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area remaining in the state tournament, two on the girls’ side – Monroe and Hillsborough – and two on the boys’: Montgomery and Colonia.

As for the non-publics, both the girls’ and boys’ teams at Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s are all that remain. They all play Thursday evening in sectional semifinals, with finals to be held at neutral sites on Monday.

Should either Rutgers Prep team win in Non-Public South B, they would play at Jackson Liberty High School with the girls at 5 and the boys at 7. The Non-Public North B finals – which Gill could be in – would be played at JFK High School in Paterson, with the girls also at 5 pm, and the boys at 7 pm.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

THURSDAY

Non-Public North B – Boys’ Semifinals
(4) Morristown-Beard at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s, 7 pm
(3) Morris Catholic at (2) Roselle Catholic, 7 pm

Non-Public South B – Boys’ Semifinals
(5) St. Joseph-Hammonton at (1) St. Rose, 6:30 pm
(3) Rutgers Prep at (2) Holy Cross Prep, 6 pm

Non-Public North B – Girls’ Semifinals
(4) Hudson Catholic at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s, 5:30 pm
(3) Saddle River Day at (2) Montclair-Immaculate, 4:30 pm (at Mount St. Dominic)

Non-Public South B – Girls’ Semifinals
(4) Ranney at (1) Gloucester Catholic, 5 pm
(3) Wildwood Catholic at (2) Rutgers Prep, 6 pm

FRIDAY

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 – Boys’ Final
(2) Mendham at (1) Colonia, 6 pm (CJSR)

SATURDAY

Central Jersey Group 4 – Girls’ Final
(2) Monroe at (1) Hillsborough, 1:30 pm (CJSR)

Central Jersey Group 4 – Boys’ Final
(3) West Windsor-Plainsboro North at (1) Montgomery, 3 pm
Follow Alec Crouthamel on Twitter for updates after halftime.