Immaculata’s Riley Gorman handles the ball against Pingry in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals in Basking Ridge on February 7, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
The last time the Immaculata boys’ basketball team was in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, no one had any idea what a “coronavirus” was.
But now, fir the first time since 2020, they’re back in in, as the fifth-seeded Spartans beat four-seed Pingry up in basking RIdge Saturday afternoon, 74-68, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
And Immaculata had to rally to do it.
In a five-point loss back in early January, the Spartans – now 16-5 – fell behind 28-10 after on quarter of play, and new they needed to come out stronger in the rematch. They did, never trailing in the period, and it was 16-16 after the first eight minutes.
But with strong play inside and out, Pingry (11-7) went on a run – punctuated by a couple of two-handed slams by 6′ 8″ Dylan Cowell – to take a 13-point lead late in the half, and a ten-point lead, 38-28 at the break.
Turnabout came in the third quarter, however, as Riley Gorman had two big three to spark a run that saw the Spartans regain the lead with 2:05 to go in the period. Immaculata also got the benefit of two goaltend calls on the run against Pingry.
Gorman – the 6′ 2″ senior who scored his 1,000th point last Saturday at home against Bernards in the first round – finished with 25 points and three triples, giving him a team-best 66 treys this season.
Down the stretch, he and many others contributed. Senior Noah Doss executed on defense. Adam Sandborg off the bench had a key rebound late off a missed Doss free throw that kept Pingry from getting any closer.
Immaculata will play the winner of Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup between 8-seed Ridge and top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s next Saturday at Franklin High School, where all four semifinals – between the girls and boys – will be played.
It’s their first trip to the semifinals since 2020, when they beat Somerville to get there, but lost to Rutgers Prep in the semis. Their last trip to the SCT title game was 2009, when they were the top-seed and won it all, beating second-seed Ridge 58-49 for their first win in six finals berths.
Click below for postgame reaction with Immaculata senior Riley Gorman and head coach Ryan McKeever, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
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