Somerset County Tournament play resumes this weekend, with eight games – four girls’, four boys’ – all taking place in the late morning and early afternoon, with a couple of doubleheaders on tap.
Central Jersey Sports Radio will have live play-by-play coverage on Saturday afternoon at 1:00, when the 5th-seeded Immaculata boys visit 4th-seed Pingry. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action with pregame at 12:45; click here to listen.
Scroll through for a look at the full slate, with notes on each game.
SCT BOYS’ QUARTERFINALS:
(8) Ridge (10-10) at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s (19-2), 1 pm: The Red Devils draw the top-seed here in the Knights, who beat Rutgers Prep 73-68 Thursday night for their 15th straight win. And Gill hasn’t lost to a public school in nearly two years, their last defeat coming at the hands of Montgomery on Valentine’s Day 2024 against Montgomery in the very same quarterfinal round of the Somerset County Tournament. Ridge, meanwhile, lost four straight in the middle of the month, but has won four straight since, including a three-point victory at Hunterdon Central Thursday night, 46-43. These two played back on January 6th, with Gill coming away with a 79-46 win behind 19 points from Prosper Highlander, with three others in double-figures. Gabe Kielb led Ridge with 14 in defeat. The Red Devils were 4-58 winners at home over 9-seed Franklin last Saturday in the first round.
(5) Immaculata (15-5) at (4) Pingry (11-6), 1 pm (LIVE on CJSR): The two met on January 6th, with The Big Blue coming away with a 64-59 win in Somerville that snapped a five-game skid against the Spartans dating back to 2022. Immaculata will want to come out hot in this one to avoid a repeat of a disastrous first quarter in that first matchup that had them playing from behind all game. They trailed 28-10 after one, yet managed to get to within one in the fourth before losing by five. Pingry had balanced scoring, led by Daniel Hall’s 14 points. Riley Gorman led Immaculata with 18. This might be the best game of the day on the boys’ side, as their first meeting was the closest of any of this weekend’s quarterfinal matchups. Immaculata beat 12-seed Bernards, 74-49, last Saturday in the first round. Mike Pavlichko has the call on this one, with pregame starting at 12:45. Click the link above to listen to the game live. READ A FULL PREVIEW WITH HEAD COACH INTERVIEWS HERE.
(6) Hillsborough (15-5) at (3) Montgomery (18-3), 1 pm: These two teams have split their last four meetings, including a 53-37 win by the Cougars in their first matchup this season, back on January 13th. Mike Simborski was the only one in double figures for Montgomery, but had a monster game: 26 points, and 6-of-6 at the foul line. Aaron Feath was the lone double-digit scorer for the Raiders, scoring 15 while grabbing seven rebounds. Monty had a tough three-game stretch to start 2026, losing to Linden, Rutgers Prep and Linden in rapid succession, but they’ve won ten in a row since, including the Hillsborough win. The Radiers have won four straight and 12 of their last 14. They beat 11-seed Watchung Hills 60-50 in last Saturday’s first round.
(7) Bridgewater-Raritan (13-6) at (2) Rutgers Prep (14-7), 1 pm: The Panthers have lost seven straight games against the Argonauts going back to 2017, their last win coming in their first meeting that season, 61-55. Only one of those losses was by fewer than ten-points, a 53-52 Rutgers Prep squeaker in January of 2018. This year’s lone meeting came on January 13th, a 72-56 Rutgers Prep win that saw William Brunson lead the way to victory with 27 points, including 4-of-6 at the line, with three treys. Richie Gardner led the Panthers with 14, going 6-of-6 at the stripe. Bridgewater started the season 8-0 before taking their first loss, coming to Immaculata, and is coming off a 49-42 loss Thursday night to Montgomery, while Prep also lost Thursday night, a 73-68 home loss to Gill St. Bernard’s. BR beat 10-seed Somerville last Saturday in the first round, 71-43.
SCT GIRLS’ QUARTERFINALS:
(9) Watchung Hills (8-10) at (1) Rutgers Prep (17-2), 11 am: A look at their season results, and the Argonauts have been as dominant as usual, but coach Mary Klinger is still looking for more from her squad, especially consistency on the defensive side. But this is a tall order for the Warriors, who have had an up-and-down season, but have never won or lost more than two straight all year. Prep has not lost to a public school all year. These two did not meet this year, nor did they play last year. The Argonauts won their most recent meeting in January 2024, 84-42, and they’ve won seen straight dating back to 2016. Watchung Hills’ last win in the series also came in SCT play, 60-37 in the 2013 county quarterfinals. Sophomore Hailey Benbow and four-year starter Ava LaMonica are the top two scorers for Prep, with LaMonica a gritty defensive player who grabs steals and rebounds with reckless abandon. Watchung Hills is led by senior Eleni Esposito, averaging 10.9 points per game. Both teams get a ton of steals. Hills crushed Somerville in last Saturday’s first round, 69-33, the largest margin of any of the four games last weekend.
(5) Bound Brook (19-1) at (4) Hillsborough (15-4), 11 am: This might be one of the more intriguing games of the day on the girls’ side, with the Crusaders led by freshman sensation Payton Pugh. She’s averaging 17.8 points per game, and has 137 assists and 181 steals, all leading the team by wide margins, and a big reason why The Brook has won 15 straight games since their lone loss, a 62-53 defeat at the hands of Union Catholic on December 29th in the Crusader Classic final over the holidays. The Raiders, of course, are the defending state Group 4 champs, and two-time defending sectional champs, winning North 2, Group 4 in 2024 and Central Group 4 last season en route to the state title. But they’ve also lost two straight, those defeats coming a week apart: 57-55 in overtime at Bernards last Thursday, January 29th, and 72-30 to Rutgers Prep this past Thursday. Junior Alexa Gaspar (12.1 ppg) and senior Isabella Ruh (11.9 ppg) are neck-and-neck as the team’s top two scorers. The two haven’t played since 2023, an 82-69 Hillsborough win and their last meeting before that was in 2017, a 55-34 victory for the Crusaders. Bound Brook beat 13-seed Montgomery, 55-20, last Saturday in the first round.
(6) Pingry (11-7) at (3) Franklin (12-7), noon: The Warriors have won the last four in this series, with Pingry last winning in 2024. In their only meeting this year, Franklin won 57-40 on January 13th, with a balanced scoring attack that saw four players finish in double-figures, led by Alivia Stewart’s 12, and six rebounds, while Kayla Duncan hit three times from downtown. Val Triana led Pingry with 17 in defeat. Franklin has won five of its last six, while Pingry has won three straight coming in. The Big Blue beat 11-seed Mount St. Mary in the first round last Saturday, 44-35.
(7) Bernards (17-2) at (2) Gill St. Bernard’s (16-4), 11 am: It’s been a long time since the Mountaineers and Knights last met – eight years ago – with Gill coming away with a 60-33 win in February of 2018. The Mountaineers started the year 10-0 before a non-conference loss to Roselle Park on January 27th, 67-52, then lost their first league game of the year Thursday, 50-37 out at Voorhees. Aletha Reynolds finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Gill has won two straight and 14 of their last 15 dating back to a post-Christmas win over Roselle Catholic in the Holiday Hoopfest at Paterson Kennedy, a 50-20 victory. Bernards beat 10-seed Bridgewater-Raritan, 64-38, in last Saturday’s first round.
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