A New No. 1, and two new teams join the Week 2 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten

The first full week of play in high school basketball didn’t have anything in the way of seismic upsets, but there is a new No. 1 team in the Bellamy & Son Paving rankings – with a very fine line and little room for error among the top five teams, which are a combined 17-2 following this weekend’s action – as well as two new teams joining the bottom half of the rankings.

None have necessarily come up with any stunning or signature wins, but are playing very good basketball at the moment.

We start, of course, at the top, where 5-0 Montgomery takes the top spot by a nose, with an unblemished record. The Cougars won four games this week, starting off their league slate with an 81-55 win at Watchung Hills on Tuesday. Thursday, they beat Immaculata, 72-62 at home, then won twice over the weekend. Saturday, it was a 60-36 win over Haddonfield at the Jimmy V Classic down at Cherokee High School, then a 72-33 rout of Paramus Catholic in The Battle at the Dunn Center in Elizabeth.

Monty’s move leaves Gill St. Bernard’s (3-1) in the second spot. After a Tuesday win over Hillsborough, 51-49, then a 66-36 rout at Phillipsburg, Gill fell to unbeaten St. Peter’s Prep, 59-43, at the Big Jersey Showcase down at Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft.

Holding in third is Rutgers Prep (3-1). The Argonauts bounced back from a season-opening loss with a 64-51 win over Phillipsburg Tuesday, a 62-60 win at Ridge Thursday, and a 70-60 win at Don Bosco Prep on Saturday.

Piscataway (4-0) is in fourth for a third straight week. The Chiefs beat West Orange Wednesday – as head coach Bob Turco picked up his 400th career win – then topped his old school, St. Thomas Aquinas, 90-66 on Thursday, before beating Old Bridge Saturday, 82-58.

St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-0) edges up one notch to five, after winning its opening two games (their December 8th game has not been officially recorded as a regular season win, so we’re not considering it here). The Falcons won 89-70 at Old Bridge Tuesday, and got by then-No. 5 Colonia at home, 58-40, Saturday afternoon.

Joining the Top Ten for the first time this season, at No. 6, is East Brunswick (4-0). The Bears won three games this week to stay perfect, starting with a 63-35 road win over Monroe. On Thursday, they topped No. 7 Sayreville, 58-53, then beat South Plainfield at home Saturday, 77-72.

That leaves Sayreville (3-1) in seventh, with a Tuesday win at St. John Vianney, 54-42, and a Saturday 81-58 win at Woodbridge sandwiched around the previously-mentioned loss to the Bears.

At No. 8, it’s Colonia (2-2), down three spots. The Patriots were 2-1 this week, starting with a pair of wins: 59-49 over St. Thomas Aquinas, and 71-60 over Old Bridge. Saturday, the Patriots took their second loss of the season, falling 58-40 at St. Joseph-Metuchen.

Checking in at No. 9 is Bridgewater-Raritan (4-0), also making its debut. The Panthers were 3-0 in the week gone by, starting with a 70-63 win at Franklin on Tuesday, followed by a 51-40 win over Hunterdon Central on Thursday, and a 64-19 win over College Achieve Central.

And still in the ten-spot is Immaculata (2-1). The Spartans beat Ridge Tuesday, 68-53, at home, then lost 72-62 at Montgomery Thursday, before bouncing back with a 61-53 win over Delaware Valley on Saturday.

Two teams dropped out to make room for East Brunswick and Bridgewater-Raritan. Ridge (0-4) fell out from No. 8 after an 0-3 week, with losses at Immaculata, 68-53 on Tuesday, Rutgers Prep 62-60 on Thursday, and against Delbarton in the Rose City Classic at FDU-Madison on Sunday, 50-47. St. Thomas Aquinas (1-3) fell out from No. 9 after a 1-2 week, including a 59-49 loss to Colonia Tuesday, and a 90-66 loss at Piscataway Thursday. They rebounded with a 49-35 win over 0-4 St. Joseph-Montvale Saturday in the Dr. Gerald Glisson Classic at Paterson Eastside. It’s the first time in the history of the CJSR/Bellamy Top Ten (dating to the COVID-shortened 2020 season) that the Trojans are not in the rankings, snapping a 50-week streak.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week Two: