Tag: boys’ basketball

by Mike Pavlichko

Non-Publics open NJSIAA state tournament play; Timothy Christian, Immaculata boys; Pingry girls advance to quarterfinals

It was a slightly limited schedule Friday night in the NJSIAA state tournament, as the Non-Public sections opened play, and several area teams had byes.

But of those in action, three advanced to Monday’s sectional quarterfinals, including the Timothy Christian and Immaculata boys, and the Pingry girls.

In Non-Puublic North B, 8th-seed Timothy Christian got a pair of double-doubles from its two big stars en route to a 62-57 home win over 9th-seed Pioneer Academy. Jalen Fleming scored 32 points and had eleven rebounds, while Chukwudi Raphael Mamah added 19 points and 15 boards. The Tigers trailed 28-26 at halftime, but took a six point lead into the fourth quarter and hung on for the win, snapping a three-game losing streak that went back to the GMC Tournament quarterfinals.

Timothy Christian will visit top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s in Monday’s quarterfinal round.

Listen to Timothy Christian head coach Dennis McNulty talk about Friday’s win, and Monday’s matchup at top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

In Non-Public South A, 6th-seed Immaculata won an all Skyland Conference Raritan Division first-round matchup, topping 11-seed Pingry, 58-54. The Spartans got 24 points from Cole Hayden, one of four in double-figures for Immaculata. Josh Hibbert added 12, while Dante Regan and Riley Gorman chipped in ten apiece. Next up, ‘Lata will visit Lincroft to take on third-seed Christian Brothers Academy in Monday’s quarterfinals.

On the girls’ side, in Non-Public North A, fourth-seed Pingry advanced with an 82-34 win over 13th-seed St. Elizabeth in Martinsville. Taylor Francis led the way with 23 points, while Rowan Shapiro added ten. A dozen players got in the game for the Big Blue – all but one of which scored – and they’ll host 5th-seed DePaul Monday in the quarterfinal round.

Two area clubs will open tomorrow, as St. Thomas Aquinas didn’t have its gym available Friday night. So, they’re 6th-seeded girls in Non-Public North A will host 11-seed Camden Catholic at 1 pm. The boys are in South A and will follow at 3 pm, as the 8th-seeded Trojans take on 9th-seed St. Augustine.

Below are Friday’s results in sections with Central Jersey Sports Radio area teams, followed by the next round matchups.

BOYS’ TOURNAMENT – FRIDAY

Non-Public South A
(9) St. Augustine at (8) St. Thomas Aquinas, 3 pm Saturday, winner at (1) Paul VI
(5) Union Catholic def. (12) Donovan Catholic, 85-38
(4) Camden Catholic def. (13) St. Joseph-Metuchen, 74-43
(3) CBA def. (14) St. John Vianney, 55-28
(6) Immaculata def. (11) Pingry, 58-54
(7) Red Bank Catholic vs (10) Notre Dame

Non-Public North B
(8) Timothy Christian def. (9) Pioneer Academy, 62-57
(7) Saddle River Day def. (10) Montclair-Kimberley, 88-83

Non-Public South B
(8) Ranney def. (9) Doane Academy, 88-57
(5) St. Joseph-Hammonton def. (12) Gloucester Catholic, 77-40
(6) Wildwood Catholic def. (11) Princeton Day, 76-39
(7) Holy Spirit def. (10) Moorestown Friends, 48-22

MONDAY’S QUARTERFINALS

Non-Public South A
(8) St. Thomas Aquinas/(9) St. Augustine at (1) Paul VI
(5) Union Catholic at (4) Camden Catholic
(6) Immaculata at (3) CBA
(10) Notre Dame at (2) St. Peter’s Prep

Non-Public North B
(8) Timothy Christian at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s
(5) St. Mary-Rutherford at (4) Morristown-Beard
(6) Montclair-Immaculate at (3) Morris Catholic
(7) Saddle River Day at (2) Holy Cross Prep

Non-Public South B
(8) Ranney at (1) St. Rose
(5) St. Joseph-Hammonton at (4) Bishop Eustace
(6) Wildwood Catholic at (3) Rutgers Prep
(7) Holy Spirit at (2) Roselle Catholic

GIRLS’ TOURNAMENT – FRIDAY

Non-Public North A
(8) Paramus Catholic def. (9) Holy Angels, 48-40
(5) DePaul def. (12) Kent Place, 84-35
(4) Pingry def. (13) St. Elizabeth, 82-34
(3) Immaculate Heart def. (14) Morristown-Beard, 79-25
(6) Mount St. Dominic def. (11) Montclair-Kimberley, 53-17
(7) Oak Knoll def. (10) Newark Academy, 42-23

Non-Public South A
(9) Our Lady Of Mercy def. (8) Union Catholic, 45-40
(5) Bishop Eustace def. (12) Notre Dame, 66-26
(4) St. John Vianney def. (13) Mount St. Mary, 83-30
(3) Red Bank Catholic def. (14) Princeton Day, 72-26
(11) Camden Catholic at (6) St. Thomas Aquinas, 1 pm Saturday
(7) Trinity Hall def. (10) Immaculata, 65-25

Non-Public North B (Quarterfinals)
(2) Montclair-Immaculate def. (7) Hawthorne Christian, 87-27

Non-Public South B
(9) Koinonia def. (8) Timothy Christian, 59-46
(11) Stuart Day def. (6) Calvary Christian, 50-33
No more area teams remain in this section.

MONDAY’S QUARTERFINALS

Non-Public North A
(8) Paramus Catholic at (1) Morris Catholic
(5) DePaul at (4) Pingry
(6) Mount St. Dominic at (3) Immaculate Heart
(7) Oak Knoll at (2) Pope John

Non-Public South A
(9) Our Lady Of Mercy at (1) Paul VI
(5) Bishop Eustace at (4) St. John Vianney
(11) Camden Catholic/(6) St. Thomas Aquinas at (3) Red Bank Catholic
(7) Trinity Hall at (2) St. Rose

Non-Public North B
(5) Roselle Catholic at (4) Hudson Catholic, winner at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s
(6) Villa Walsh at (3) Saddle River Day, winner at (2) Montclair-Immaculate

by Mike Pavlichko

Gill’s back on top, as Knights take Somerset County boys title, 52-46, over two-time defending champion Rutgers Prep

Call the 2024-2025 high school basketball season the Season of Gill.

The last two years, it was Rutgers Prep sweeping the Somerset County Tournament on the boys’ and girls’ side. This year, Gill St. Bernard’s wields the broom.

A couple hours after the Knights’ girls took the title with a win over Hillsborough, the top-seeded boys held up their end of the bargain, coming from behind in the second half to beat third-seed and two-time defending champion Rutgers Prep, 52-46, at Montgomery High School in Skillman, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

And the hero was, perhaps, an unlikely one. The big names for Gill are Dorsett Mulcahy – who had 12 before fouling out with just under five minutes to play – and Kobe Closeil and Kieran Quinn and Stanley Njekwe.

But on this Saturday afternoon, it was 5′ 11″ freshman Connor Junker who played the hero. He finished with 15 points – the leading scorer – on four treys, two in the third and one in the fourth, then hit three of four free throws on a pair of late trips to the line that helped seal the deal.

Gill improved to 20-5 with the win, while Rutgers Prep dropped to 18-9. It was GSB’s third win this season over the Argonauts.

Gill couldn’t hit a bucket to save its life early in the third, as Prep took a three-point halftime lead and got it to as much as nine in the third quarter. But the Knights battled, and kept it close enough until they could make a move.

Junker provided that spark, and the rest of the team followed.

Not bad for a freshman. Now, what can he do for an encore?

Click below for postgame reaction from Gill St. Bernard’s freshman Connor Junker and head coach Mergin Sina, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Gill St. Bernard’s freshman Connor Junker. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – GMCT Boys Semifinals: (2) Piscataway 73, (3) Sayreville 62

Second-seed Piscataway got a career high from junior Josh Lima, who scored 24 points in the Chiefs’ 73-62 win over third-seed Sayreville in the GMC Tournament semifinals. Nate Davis added 17, while Donald Nwaigwe added 11.

Click below to listen to all the action as called by Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on Central Jersey Sports Radio on February 19, 2025, from Monroe High School.

by Mike Pavlichko

Defending champ Colonia roars past Aquinas in semifinals, will take on Piscataway Friday for GMC Tournament title

All year long, Colonia has been the team to beat in the Greater Middlesex Conference.

And that will be the case one more time Friday night, as the top-seeded Patriots will defend their 2024 title when they take on second-seed Piscataway in another student-mentor battle between head coaches Jose Rodriguez of Colonia and Bob Turco of the Chiefs.

The two met in last year’s final – when Turco was at St. Thomas for the last of a six-year run there – and they’ll meet again this year. Colonia held up its end of the bargain with an 83-53 win in the second semifinal Wednesday night at Monroe High School, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, presented by the George Street Playhouse in downtown New Brunswick. It’ll be their third title game appearance in the last four years.

But as both coaches will tell you, it’s not about them, it’s about the players. Plenty of time to talk about that later.

It wasn’t a rout from the start. The teams were tied at six before Colonia went on an 8-2 run to close the quarter, up 14-8. They built a 13-point lead at the half – not insurmountable – but Aquinas went cold from the floor in the second half, and the Patriots got the ball in the paint, drawing fouls, and sending Aiden Derkack alone to the foul line ten times for a total of 20 soul shots.

In the process, St. Thomas – which only had a limited number of players on the bench – had five guys foul out, and finished the last 1:37 of the game down two players, with Colonia essential having a 5-on-3 advantage for the remainder, most of which the Patriots essentially dribbled out.

Derkack – last year’s GMC finals MVP – finished with 28 points for Colonia (22-4), half from the charity stripe, and is scoring 26.3 points per game in the GMC Tournament, a shade above his season average. He had three monstrous second-quarter dunks. R.J. Wortman added 20, more than six points above his GMCT average through the first two games, and almost nine above his season average.

Aiden Ur finished with 17 for Aquinas (15-10), their only double-digit scorer.

Colonia and Piscataway (22-4) will square off at 8 pm Friday for the GMC Tournament title, following the 6 pm girls’ title tilt between top-seed and five-time defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas. Both games can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. And we’ll have full previews of both games with interviews, stats, notes and championship history out Friday morning at cjsportsradio.com.

The boys’ final will be the first meeting of two public schools in the GMC title game since 2006, when Colonia – the No. 2 seed that year – beat top-seed Metuchen.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen with Colonia junior Aiden Derkack and head coach Jose Rodriguez:

by Mike Pavlichko

Lima’s career night sends Piscataway to GMC Tournament final for first time since 2019, with 73-62 win over Sayreville

In a game with two coaches in Bob Turco of Piscataway and John Wojcik of Sayreville who have a combined 617 wins, it was the players that decided this one.

In the opening GMC Tournament semifinal game at Monroe High School Tuesday, heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, presented by the George Street Playhouse, the Chiefs made all the big plays in the final minute plus.

The game saw seven ties and six lead changes throughout. The final lead change came after third-seed Sayreville led the entire second half, until second-seed Piscataway took the lead with about four-and-a-half minutes to play.

Instrumental through it all was Josh Lima, a junior who played stellar defense, but also finished around the rim. He scored a career high 24 points, nine more than his previous personal best, and had a three in there for good measure.

For a good part of the night, it was entertaining watching him and Sam Jones duel it out. The outstanding Sayreville junior guard scored 17, while Keithan Shuler was next with 16 for the Bombers, who dropped to 20-4 with the loss, just their third against the GMC this season, and second to Piscataway, which improved to 22-4.

Now, the Chiefs are in the title game for the first time since 2019, when they lost to St. Joseph-Metuchen. But for Turco, it’s his fourth straight trip to the finals. At St. Thomas Aquinas, his previous coaching stop, they won the GMCT in 2020 – there was none in 2021 due to COVID – 2021 and 2022, then fell last year to Colonia.

Now they wait to see who they get in the final: the top-seeded Patriots, or fourth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas, Turco’s old school.

Click below for postgame reaction from Piscataway junior Josh Lima and head coach Bob Turco, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Colonia and St. Thomas Aquinas to get together for another likely epic battle, this time with GMCT finals berth on the line

For the past several years, Colonia and St. Thomas Aquinas have been the hot ticket in the GMC.

Both have been fantastic in recent years, Trojans’ coach Bob Turco coached Patriots’ coach Jose Rodriguez when the latter was playing at Carteret, and they always seem to meet in a big game.

Turco may be in Piscataway, but the rivalry is still there. Their two games this year – both of which went Colonia’s way – were decided by eight and 16 points.

So, when the top-seeded Patriots and fourth-seeded Trojans meet Tuesday night at 7, in the second game of a GMC Tournament doubleheader at Monroe High School, everyone can’t wait to see what kind of fireworks ensure.

You can hear the doubleheader exclusively on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with the Colonia-Aquinas game immediately following the 5 pm game between second-seed Piscataway and third-seed Sayreville. Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel will call all the action. Click here to listen.

St. Thomas is past all the distractions of the early season, and they’ve managed to navigate the choppy waters remarkably well, going 15-9 with head coach Victor Verdecia, a former standout at Perth Amboy who played for Colonia assistant Edwin Santana when he was with the Panthers – there’s the mentor-student storyline again! – leading the way.

Aiden Ur has been the scoring leader all year, at 16.1 points a game. Aidan Carter – at 14.5 points per game – only joined the team less than a month ago, making his season debut in a 69-53 loss at Colonia on January 23rd, heard here on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Junior Dan Jennings – a St. Joe’s transfer – is scoring 10.9 points per game.

Colonia – the defending champion at 21-4 – is looking to get back to the title game for the third time in four season, and has eyes on a repeat. They can do it with one of the best players in the league in junior Aiden Derkack, who’s going for 25.4 points a game, and has 1,584 career points. He’s also the team’s top rebounder at 8.6 per game, and has a club best 21 blocks and 46 steals.

But R.J. Wortman can score, too. He’s second on the team at 11.2 points per game, along with 8.6 rebounds. And then there’s the coach’s son, Jayce Rodriguez, who’s hit more threes (45) than anyone else in blue and gold.

Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel:

Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez
St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Victor Verdecia
by Mike Pavlichko

Boys’ Basketball Cutoff Projections: ’24 sectional champs Colonia and Montgomery appear to lock down top seeds, plus Gill St. Bernards in North B

Saturday was the NJSIAA’s cutoff date for state tournament qualification in high school, and 37 of 47 Central Jersey Sports Radio-area teams appear to have qualified.

Both public schools that won championships last season look to have earned top seeds this year, with Colonia No. 1 in North 2, Group 3, and Montgomery the top seed in Central Group 4. Gill St. Bernard’s also looks to have clinched a top-seed in Non-Public North B with a bounce-back year after a rare sub-.500 campaign last season

Here’s a section-by-section look of projections – along with likely first round matchups for local clubs – based on standings published on NJ.com as of the noon closing on Sunday, February 16th. Please remember all projections are unofficial. The NJSIAA will release official seeding and brackets on Tuesday.

Central Jersey Group 4: The top-two seeds will go to Central Jersey Sports Radio-area teams, with Montgomery (18-5) holding on to its second seed despite a tough loss to Rutgers Prep in Saturday’s Somerset County Tournament semifinals. Sayreville (20-3) – which is on to the GMC Tournament semifinals Wednesday against Piscataway – held on to the No. 2 spot. Old Bridge (14-10) went 2-1 this week, and it appears to have helped them pull up into the fourth slot, which would get them home games in the first two rounds if they go that far. Hillsborough (13-10) climbed from seventh to fifth, while East Brunswick (13-11) held in ninth. Toward the bottom, North Brunswick (9-15) maintained its position at No. 10, while Franklin (5-19) dropped one spot since our last update a week ago to 14. Edison (12-11) and Monroe (6-10) held the 15th and 16th spots, respectively, a week ago, and hung on to make the playoffs in the very same spots. With so many area teams here, it’ll make for some intriguing first-round matchups, but we’ll reserve our analysis until the brackets are official.

  • (16) Monroe (7-17) at (1) Montgomery (18-5)
  • (15) Edison (12-11) at (2) Sayreville (20-3)
  • (14) Franklin (5-19) at (3) West Windsor-Plainsboro North (19-4)
  • (13) Manalapan at (4) Old Bridge (14-10)
  • (12) North Brunswick (9-15) at (5) Hillsborough (13-10)
  • (9) East Brunswick (13-11) at (8) Hightstown (12-13)

Central Jersey Group 2: The top three teams held court in the final week, with the top-seed going – by a mile – to Manaasquan (19-3), the defending sectional champs. The highest area team here is Metuchen (18-7), which held in seventh over the past week. The other two locals stayed pat, too: Spotswood (14-8) in tenth and South River (10-9) in 12th.

  • (12) South River (13-10) at (5) Wall (17-5)
  • (10) Spotswood (15-9) at (7) Metuchen (18-7)

Central Jersey Group 1: Thrive Charter (16-3) held on to the top spot here, and Middlesex hung on to the No. 2 seed, by a slim 0.301 points over Point Pleasant Beach (17-7), which jumped over Manville (16-7), dropping the Mustangs – who reached the finals here last year – to fourth. Dunellen (15-7) – the GMC Silver champs – hold at No. 5. Bound Brook (12-13) had a 2-1 week but surged ahead from 13 a week ago all the way up into the top eight, meaning they would open up the playoffs at home. Piscataway Magnet (17-7) dropped from seven to nine. Highland Park (12-10) fell one place from 11 to 12, but Perth Amboy Magnet (11-10) managed to stay in the field at 15 – same spot as a week ago – despite an 0-2 week.

  • (15) Perth Amboy Magnet (11-10) at (2) Middlesex (16-8)
  • (130 Shore (16-7) at (4) Manville (16-7)
  • (12) Highland Park (12-10) at (5) Dunellen (15-7)
  • (9) Piscataway Magnet (17-7) at (8) Bound Brook (12-13)

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4: Plainfield (21-3) narrowly held on to the top seed here, but Elizabeth (17-6) pulled ahead of Ridge (17-4) into second, by about a half a power point. That leaves the Red Devils third, but Piscataway – on the strength of reaching the GMC Tournament semifinals Wednesday, where they’ll face Sayreville – was able to make it from fifth to No. 4, giving them home games for the first two rounds, should they make it that far. It’s all the way down to 13 for the next area team, with Bridgewater-Raritan (13-9) dropping one spot in the week gone by on a 1-1 week. Woodbridge (12-10) edged up one from 16 to 15, while Perth Amboy (11-10) dropped from 14, but just hung on to the 16th spot by nearly a full point over Watchung Hills (10-13).

  • (16) Perth Amboy (12-11) at (1) Plainfield (21-3)
  • (15) Woodbridge (12-10) at (2) Elizabeth (16-5)
  • (14) Union (9-17) at (3) Ridge (17-6)
  • (13) Bridgewater-Raritan (13-9) at (4) Piscataway (21-4)

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3: Three-time defending champion Colonia (18-4) had a 3-0 week and solidified itself as the top-seed over Mendham (18-3) by more than two points, after leading them by just over a quarter of a point a week ago. Somerville (16-6) dropped out of the top four to number five, but they’ll at least get a first-round home game out of it. South Plainfield (16-8) is the last area team, checking in at No. 6, same as last week.

  • (16) Cranford (7-17) at (1) Colonia (21-4)
  • (11) Orange (13-8) at (6) South Plainfield (16-8)
  • (10) Summit (9-11) at (5) Somerville (18-7)

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2: The top three remain in place here, with Caldwell getting the top seed at 16-2. The only area team here is Bernards (13-9), which should get the 11 seed.

  • (11) Bernards (13-9) at (6) Hackettstown (13-6)

Non-Public South A: This should be a 14-team bracket, meaning the top two seeds – Paul VI (21-3) and St. Peter’s Prep (18-4) should get opening round byes. Immaculata (15-6) held steady at six, while St. Thomas Aquinas – which will play Colonia Wednesday in the GMCT semis, a rematch of last year’s final – fell from seven to eight, but still should get a first round home game. Pingry (8-11) holds in 11th, while St. Joseph of Metuchen (6-13) – which got knocked out of the GMC Tournament in the first round by Timothy Christian – fell to No. 13.

  • (13) St. Joseph-Metuchen (6-13) at (4) Camden Catholic (17-5)
  • (11) Pingry (8-11) at (6) Immaculata (17-6)
  • (9) St. Augustine (13-12) at (8) St. Thomas Aquinas (15-9)

Non-Public North B: In what likely is a 14-team section (we figure Eastern Christian at 0-19 won’t be in, but there could be more opt-outs), Gill St. Bernard’s – which is back in the SCT Finals this year after beating Ridge in the semis Saturday – should be the No. 1 seed, by a slim 0.297 over Roselle Catholic (19-5). Both shuld get first round byes. Timothy Christian (14-8) held steady in the past week at No. 8, while Wardlaw-Hartridge (5-17) dropped a spot to 13.

  • (13) Wardlaw Hartridge (5-17) at (4) Morristown-Beard (18-3)
  • (9) Pioneer Academy (11-10) at (8) Timothy Christian (14-8), winner at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s (19-4)

Non-Public South B: Despite a 3-0 week – including a come from behind win Saturday in the SCT semifinals over Montgomery, a rematch of last year’s final – Rutgers Prep (17-8) dropped from the three to the two seed, with Holy Cross Prep (18-6, 2nd) and St. Rose (17-7, 1st) above them. There are 14 teams in the section, but Noo-rul-iman has only played two games, and Calvary Christian (1-17) could opt out as well. That would leave it as a 12 team field, but even if it’s 13, that would give the Argonauts a first-round bye, so that’s our current projection.

  • (13) Calvary Christian (1-17) at (4) Bishop Eustace (17-7)
  • (9) Doane Academy (12-10)/(6) Wildwood Catholic at (3) Rutgers Prep (17-8)
by Mike Pavlichko

All top four seeds advance to boys’ GMC Tournament semifinals, as Colonia, Piscataway, Sayreville, Aquinas move on

It’ll be straight chalk Wednesday at the GMC Tournament semifinals at Monroe High School, as all top four seeds won their quarterfinal games on Saturday at Piscataway High.

That includes top-seed Colonia – the defending champion – second-seed Piscataway, third-seed Sayreville, and No. 4 seed St. Thomas Aquinas: the top three teams from the Red Division and the White Division champion Bombers.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have live play-by-play coverage of both games at 5 and 7 pm Wednesday at Monroe, with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Bookmark this link to listen live the day of the game. Coverage presented by “King James” at the George Street Playhouse in Downtown New Brunswick.

Here are the recaps of all four Saturday quarterfinal games:

(1) Colonia 72, (8) Woodbridge 51: In a bragging rights game, Aiden Derkack poured in 33 points for the Patriots (21-4), who are a win away from getting a chance to defend their 2024 GMC Tournament title. Derkack added eight rebounds, while Jayce Rodriguez added 12 points, and RJ Wortman scored 9, while also grabbing nine boards. Derek Anderson led the Barrons (12-10) with 17 in defeat. Now, Colonia will play four-seed St. Thomas Aquinas (15-9) in the semis on Wednesday, a rematch of last year’s final.

(4) St. Thomas Aquinas 71, (5) Old Bridge 62: The Trojans (15-9) beat the Knights (14-10) for a third time this season, and now will try to advance to the county title game for a fourth straight time going back to 2020. (They also made the GMC’s top pod final in 2021, losing to Colonia.) They’ll face Colonia (21-4) in the second semifinal Wednesday in Monroe; the Patriots beat them twice in the regular season: 70-62 on January 7th and 69-53 on January 23rd.

(3) Sayreville 77, (6) South Plainfield 70 (OT): The Bombers (20-3) outscored the Tigers (16-8) by an 11-4 margin in the extra period after ending regulation tied at 66-all. Keithan Shuler led Sayreville with 22 – going 6-of-7 at the foul line – while Chidi Chukwurah added 18, and Sam Jones pitched in with 15 points. The Bombers will look to get back to the finals for the first time since 2017 when they face Piscataway Thursday in the semifinals. in Monroe.

(1) Piscataway 99, (10) Timothy Christian 61: The Tigers hung in for a half, down just one at the break, but a big third quarter in which the Chiefs (21-4) outscored Timothy Christian (14-8) by a 30-13 margin changed the trajectory for Piscataway. It’ll be new head coach Bob Turco’s fifth straight trip to the GMC Tournament semis, the previous four coming with St. Thomas Aquinas in 2020, and 2022 through 2024. (There was no full tournament in 2021 due to COVID.) They’ll face GMC White Champion and third-seed Sayreville in the opening semifinal Wednesday night in Monroe.

GMC TOURNAMENT BOYS’ SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE for WEDNESDAY:

  • 5 pm: (2) Piscataway (21-4) vs. (3) Sayreville (20-3)
  • 7 pm: (1) Colonia (21-4) vs. (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (15-9)
by Alec Crouthamel

Gill St. Bernard’s boys outlast Ridge with late fourth-quarter push to advance to Somerset County Tournament final

Despite being the Somerset County Tournament’s top seed, Gill St. Bernard’s had no small task ahead in the semifinal round against fourth-seeded Ridge.

The Red Devils brought a tough, physical matchup, but the Knights converted late in the fourth quarter and executed at a high level offensively to take down Ridge 56-45 and advance to the championship. Despite what was a near-wire-to-wire win, Gill St. Bernard’s gutted out a win after leading by only four points going into the fourth quarter.

While not the most consistent offensive output, the Knights (19-4) got key contributions to spark scoring runs and cushion the lead. In the second and third quarters, it was senior guard Kobe Closeil, who scored eight points in the second quarter to help Gill build a seven-point halftime lead.

In the fourth quarter, it was junior forward Prosper Highlander, who also scored eight of his own in the final frame. Highlander got multiple open looks at the rim late in the game as the Knights’ guards broke Ridge’s fullcourt press.

The Red Devils (17-6) did gain a lead early and stayed in the game thanks to hard-nosed defense and tough shotmaking led by upperclassmen guards Luke Kreitz and Sidd Narayanabhatla, who each finished with double-digit points.

Gill’s press break opened up a lot of driving lanes and easy layup opportunities at the rim, as the Knights took the game from a one-possession difference to double-digits late. Freshman guard Connor Junker and sophomore forward Kieran Quinn hit big free throws late to seal it for Gill.

The Knights will face off against third-seeded Rutgers, who defeated second-seeded Montgomery, in the championship game set for next Saturday at Montgomery High School. The game will tip off at 3pm, following the girls’ final between top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s and third-seed Hillsborough.

Click below for postgame reaction with Gill St. Bernard’s Prosper Highlander and head coach Mergin Sina, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep rallies from 14-point 3rd quarter deficit to top Montgomery, earn 4th straight trip to Somerset County final

With the last two games between Rutgers Prep and Montgomery decided by three points – in last year’s SCT final, and earlier this month in the regular season – everyone knew this would be a good one.

No complaints there.

Ethan Lin played out of his mind for second-seed Montgomery, setting a new career-best of 31 points, and hitting a career-high seven threes. But it was not enough, as third-seed Rutgers Prep erased a 14-point third quarter gap to win 71-62 at Franklin High School in Somerset Saturday afternoon, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Myles Parker finished with 21 points, 13 in the decisive fourth quarter. And he cracked the 1,000 point mark on an and-one bucket, with the game stopping for a moment to acknowledge it and take a picture, after which he calmly completed the old-fashioned three-point play. He now has 1,014 career points.

And he’ll get to add to it next weekend at Montgomery, which hosts the SCT Finals. They’ll play the winner of Saturday’s 4 pm semifinal between top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s and fourth-seed Ridge.

While Lin was lighting it up, big man Bodhan Biekietov was getting into some foul trouble, as was Prep’s big man Andrew Kretkowski. But it was Biekietov who fouled out with 5:37 to go, and it turned out to be the difference.

The Argonauts (17-8) were able to have more of a presence inside as a result, and used it to their advantage. Parker went 2-of-2 from the line in the fourth, and sophomore Rocco Loomis – the smallest player on the floor for Prep at 5′ 10″ – was able to draw contact, too, hitting all four of his fourth quarter free throws, and going 6-for-6 from the line in the game.

Click below for postgame reaction from Rutgers Prep’s Myles Parker and Rocco Loomis, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: