Tag: boys’ basketball

by Mike Pavlichko

Gill’s the top-seed and favorite, but Ridge can play with the best of them as Knights, Red Devils get set to battle in SCT semifinals

The first boys’ semifinal to be played Saturday afternoon at the Somerset County Tournament in Franklin is a rematch of last year’s title game between Montgomery and Rutgers Prep.

But the second one should be a really good game, too.

Top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s (18-4, 10-0, Skyland Delaware champs) has had a very nice rebound season after an uncharacteristic 2023-24 that saw a slew of roster turnover, with the results showing on the court. The Knights have won eleven straight heading in, including back-to-back wins over Watchung Hills, 52-32 in last Saturday’s quarterfinals, and 56-45 in a regular season meeting on Tuesday, just three days later.

The Red Devils, meanwhile, are having one of their best seasons in years. They’re 17-5, and finished 8-2 in the Skyland Conference Raritan Division, second only to Ridge, against whom they took both of their division losses, the most recent coming on Tuesday, but only by three, 48-45. The first was also a one-possession defeat, 55-52 back on January 14th.

But what will they do against the Knights when they tip off at 4 pm Saturday?

Ridge beat them last year, 64-55, in late January. But both teams are different now. Ridge finished 15-10, and they’ve already topped than win total. Gill finished 11-16, but the roster has settled in, and is more experienced playing together as a unit.

Gill might have a size and strength advantage, but Ridge is gutty, and has taken some close losses. Their other three defeats came to Westfield by eight, Caldwell by three, and the No. 1 team in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten all year long – Colonia – by 16, the exception to the rule. Take that out, and their other four losses are by an average of 4.3 points.

They’ve also proven they know how to win tight games. They beat Immaculata on the road – a tough place to play – by three. They beat Chatham by six, Hunterdon Central by five, and Bridgewater-Raritan by seven.

On the stat sheet, they’re lead by senior Luke Kreitz, averaging 16.4 points a game, with 27 steals, and he’s hit 57 threes on the year. Fellow senior Quinn Dashefsky is their top rebounder at 5.4 per game and is scoring at a 12.3 clip.

Gill St. Bernard’s is a bit more balanced, led by Kobe Closeil at 10.8 per game. Dorsett Mulcahy – brother of former Rutgers standout Paul Mulcahy – is averaging 9.3, while freshman Connor Junker at 9.1 per contest. They can get up and down the floor, hit the three – three players have 22 or more on the season – and can battle in the paint with the state’s best.

Follow Alec Crouthamel on Twitter for live updates during the game, and he’ll have a recap postgame reaction afterwards on cjsportsradio.com.

by Mike Pavlichko

Last year’s final is this year’s semifinal, as Rutgers Prep and Montgomery rematch for trip to SCT championship game

If last year’s Somerset County Final and even this season’s regular season matchup are any indication, Saturday’s semifinal game in the Somerset County Tournament between Montgomery and Rutgers Prep very well may be the best game of the day.

It’s certain to be a doozy when the second-seeded Cougars and third-seeded Argonauts meet at 12:45 at Franklin High School. And you can hear it all on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame immediately following the 11 am girls’ semifinal between Rutgers Prep and Hillsborough. Click here to listen.

The last two meetings have all come down to the wire. After a 62-48 Prep win on January 30th of last season, they won the county final by three, 64-61. This year’s regular season was a 63-59 Argonauts’ victory.

In both games, Montgomery trailed at the half. They were down 37-29 at the break in the finals last season, and 40-25 at the half this year. Both times the Cougars rallied in the second half, but fell short, so getting out of the gate hot would be a good start this time around.

The Cougars had a legitimate shot at the tournament’s top seed, but that went to Gill St. Bernard’s, and the difference may have been a late win over Hudson Catholic, which Monty fell too in their opening game of the season, by four.

They have only lost three times since, coming in at 18-4 and on a five game win streak, that includes a 67-58 victory over an always-pesky Pingry squad in the quarterfinals last Saturday, and an impressive 48-45 regular season win over Ridge Tuesday. The Red Devils are the fourth-seed in the county tournament, and play top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s in Saturday’s semifinal finale, scheduled for 4 pm.

Monty’s top scorer is Ethan Lin, a junior who played in this year’s regular season matchup with Prep, but missed last year’s final after breaking his ankle a few weeks earlier. He’s averaging 19.7 points a game, while senior Bohdan Biekietov – in his second season since coming over from the Ukraine – is averaging 11.9 points per game.

For Rutgers Prep, it’s senior Myles Parking leading the show at 15.9 points per game, with sophomore Andrew Kretkowski – who had a big final last year as a freshman against Montgomery, with 17 points and eight rebounds – second at 15.5 points per game, and tops on the team at nearly 5.6 boards per contest. Sophomore Jacob Canton, with a team-best 116 assists in 24 games, can distribute the ball.

This is sure to be some hard-nosed basketball, and worth the price of admission.

Click below to hear both head coaches talk about Saturday’s SCT semifinal between 2-seed Montgomery and 3-seed Rutgers Prep:

Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy
Rutgers Prep head coach Matt Bloom

by Mike Pavlichko

A GMC first? Middlesex’s Reynolds, Dunellen’s Hutchins join 1,000 point club in same game

We had to dig a little deep on this one.

Every year, a good number of players in the Greater Middlesex Conference – and statewide – join the 1,000 point club. It’s a big milestone for a high school basketball player. Some even top 2,000.

But what are the chances of two players hitting the 1,000-point mark in the same game? How about from opposing teams?

That’s what happened last Thursday when Dunellen and Middlesex squared off.

The Destroyers’ Ryan Hutchins was approaching the mark, and so was the Blue Jays’ Owen Reynolds. And they both got to the 1,000 mark in the same game.

Has that ever happened before?

We actually checked with longtime sportswriter John Haley, who – along with his father, the late Gene Haley – were often encyclopedic with their knowledge of local hoops history. John says he believes John Carpenter and Darrell Cross did it in the same game for Perth Amboy years ago, but they were on the same team.

So, we sat down to talk with the the Dunellen and Middlesex seniors about this unique occurrence, and how it all played out.

Who hit 1,000 first? Well, you’ll have to listen…

Click below to hear Dunellen’s Ryan Hutchins and Middlesex’s Owen Reynolds talk about scoring their 1,000th career points in the same game:

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Boys’ Basketball: Timothy Cristian 74, Edison 37

Senior Jalen Fleming scored 34 points – one of four players in double figures – as the Tigers beat Edison 74-37 to win their first-ever GMC Blue Division title. Senior Chukwudi Raphael-Mamah recorded a triple double, with 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

Click below to listen to all the action as called by Mike Pavlichko on Central Jersey Sports Radio on February 6, 2025, from Timothy Christian School in Piscatway, NJ.

by Mike Pavlichko

Timothy Christian connects from downtown, tops Edison to win first outright GMC Blue title

Last year, Timothy Christian shared the GMC Blue Division title with Spotswood. This year, they have it all to themselves.

The Tigers (12-6, 9-1 GMC Blue) hit 12 times from beyond the arc – with five different players connecting on treys – en route to a 74-37 win over visiting Edison as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio Thursday night.

That gives TCS not only the division title, but also a guaranteed top 12 seed in the GMC Tournament, which will be seeded Friday morning at Spotswood High School, with the girls at 9:00 am and the boys to follow. Central Jersey Sports Radio will have live coverage on Twitter. Click here to follow.

The first time these two teams met, Edison trailed by just three at halftime, but Timothy pulled away in the second half. Thursday night, the Tigers picked up right where they left off, getting out to an 18-6 lead after one quarter, and 29-19 at the half. The lead was as big as 15 in the second quarter, and Edison had cut it to as little as six at one point.

But the three-point barrage from the Tigers was simply too much for the Eagles (11-9, 8-2 GMC Blue). They had 12 in the game, which is not out of the ordinary for them. They had 11 Wednesday night against New Brunswick, and had 12 back on January 18th in a 73-65 win over Middlesex.

Nathanael Sleman led with four of them, accounting for all 12 of his points. Elijah Pierre finished with 13, including three triples. Aidan Badger had one, as did 6-foot-7 big Chukwudi Raphael-Mamah, and Jalen Fleming hit three times from beyond the arc, finishing with a game-high 26.

That also leaves him 44 points from the 2,000-point mark at 1,056 points. He’s already the school’s leading scorer, taking the reins from Warren “Monty” Fitch, who finished his career with 1,819 when he graduated in 1992.

Click below for postgame reaction from Timothy Christian senior Jalen Fleming and head coach Dennis McNulty, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Do the seeds really matter? With GMC Tournament seeding Friday, we simulate the boys’ tournament – with a twist

Probably within a week of James Naismith organizing the first basketball game, the teams he picked probably griped about who they had to play next.

Probably.

Fast forward 134 years, and teams still gripe about their seeds, whether it’s the county or the state tournament, or the NCAA Tournament.

We have the solution!

Well, not really. This isn’t legit.

Seriously. Please don’t take this seriously.

But we kind of felt like proving a (ridiculous) point today.

Last year, we mock-seeded the county tournament by the Born Power Index, a rating system that assesses teams based on margin of victory (or loss) relative to the strength of the opponent. (Don’t worry, we’re not going to explain it again!)

This year, we’re going a step further, to try and prove the theory that it doesn’t really matter who is seeded where, the best team will – or, at least, will have an opportunity – to win it all.

So this time, we went for the truly ridiculous: we seeded the GMC Boys’ Tournament alphabetically, and then simulated the entire bracket.

That’s right: Calvary Christian (1-14) “earned” the top-seed in our fictional, alphabetized, GMC Tournament, and Woodbridge (10-8) got the final seed at No. 33.

Colonia – which is expected to get the No. 1 seed as the Red Division champ (17-3 overall) – gets the three-seed, based purely on the alphabet.

So how did it play out?

Here are all the seeds from one to 33:

Next, we took a look at the matchups and predicted the outcomes. We didn’t attempt to pick any upsets, or look at matchups, or height mismatches on the inside, or whose press turns the ball over most.

In many cases, the teams had played during the year, and we went with whoever had won head-to-head, or by margin of victory if they split. We went with a Red Division champ over a White Division champ, or a similar record Blue Division team over one from the Gold. There were a few potential toss-ups.

We didn’t predict any scores, just outcomes:

We’re going to show you the bracket later. (Or, scroll down if you want to cheat!)

Here’s the breakdown of rounds by game, and our reasoning for each winner. Again, we picked no upsets, we didn’t look at matchups, and based our picks as wholly as possible on records, prior matchups and common/similar opponents.

Note that one consideration the committee looks at when comparing two teams, while subjective, is how they might do in the other division. Inotherwords, if you had a team from the Red and the Blue and the Blue team had 12 wins and the Red had 8, how would the Blue team have done if they played in the Red?

Keeping all that in mind, note this disclaimer: these are not our predictions if these teams met in the actual tournament! We just wanted to see who might win it, or have a chance to win it, if we seeded the teams having nothing to do with wins, losses, strength, or margin of victory.

Play-In Round:

  • (33) Woodbridge over (16) North Plainfield: The Barrons won a regular season meeting by 34.
  • (17) Old Bridge over (32) Wardlaw-Hartridge: Easy one for the 10-9 Red team over a five-win team from the Silver.
  • (25) South Brunswick over (24) South Amboy: The Vikings are 5-16, the Governors 8-12. With similar records, we go with the White over the Silver.
  • (28) Spotswood over (21) Piscataway Magnet: The Chargers and Middlesex play for first place in the Blue Division Thursday night. Considering them equivalent, P’way Magnet lost to Middlesex earlier this year, so we go with Spotswood here.
  • (20) Piscataway over (29) St. Joseph-Metuchen: The Chiefs won both regular season meetings.
  • (30) St. Thomas Aquinas over (19) Perth Amboy Magnet: Similar records, but should be an easy win for the Trojans.
  • (22) Sayreville over (27) South River: We know the Rams have Alex Grospe, but we’re going with the White Division champs (17-2 overall) over an 8-9 team from the Blue.
  • (26) South Plainfield over (23) Somerset Tech: Another easy one, with the second-place GMC White team over a 3-15 club.
  • (31) Timothy Christian over (18) Perth Amboy: This was a toss-up. They haven’t played, the Panthers are 10-10, and Timothy Christian is 11-6, and playing for the GMC Blue title Thursday night against Edison. The Tigers played up to the White this year, losing to North Brunswick by nine and beating South Brunswick by six. Both are just behind the Panthers. We went with Timothy here considering they’re playing for a division title just one division down, and have a better overall winning percentage.

Preliminary Round:

  • (17) Old Bridge over (33) Woodbridge: This was another tough one to call. The Knights are 10-9, the Barrons 10-8. Woodbridge lost its only game playing up to the Red, 60-40 to Colonia, while Old Bridge won its game against Perth Amboy out of the White. The Panthers are 10-10, similar to Woodbridge, and playing in a tougher division, we went with the Knights.
  • (25) South Brunswick over (5) JFK): The Vikings are 5-16 and play in the White, JFK 5-11 and playing in the Gold. We went with South Brunswick.
  • (12) Middlesex over (28) Spotswood: Keep in mind, the two play for the division title Thursday night, so – as of this moment – we’ll go with Middlesex, as the Blue Jays won the first meeting on opening night, 62-42.
  • (20) Piscataway over (13) Monroe: The Chiefs won both regular season meetings.
  • (30) St. Thomas over (14) New Brunswick: Easy one for the Trojans over the three-win Zebras.
  • (22) Sayreville over (11) Metuchen: The Bombers are having a fine year at 17-2, and we went GMC White champs over a middle-of-the-pack Blue team.
  • (26) South Plainfield over (10) JP Stevens: Going with the No. 2 team in the White over the fifth-place team in the Blue.
  • (15) North Brunswick over (18) Timothy Christian: Raiders won 53-45 over the Tigers back on January 25th.

First Round:

  • (17) Old Bridge over (1) Calvary Christian: Red team over a one-win team from the Gold.
  • (25) South Brunswick over (8) Highland Park: Sure, the Owls are 12-7, but they’re in the Silver and many of their division wins were close. Though the Vikings are 5-16, we’re going with South Brunswick.
  • (5) East Brunswick over (12) Middlesex: We’re taking the 12-9 White team over the 14-6 Blue team, even though the Bears are in the middle of the pack in their division.
  • (20) Piscataway over (4) Dunellen: While Colonia will be the No. 1 seed, Piscataway should get the No. 2, and would be one of the favorites to win the whole thing. Dunellen is a division champ in the Silver, but doesn’t play the caliber schedule the Chiefs do.
  • (3) Colonia over (30 St. Thomas Aquinas: The Patriots won both regular season meetings in the red division.
  • (22) Sayreville over (6) East Brunswick Magnet: The Bombers are the White Division champs, while the Tigers are 0-18.
  • (26) South Plainfield over (7) Edison: The Tigers beat the Eagles in their own Anthony J. Cotoia Holiday Tournament back in December.
  • (15) North Brunswick over (2) Carteret: The Raiders have a better overall record (8-13) playing in the White Division than Carteret (4-16) in the Blue.

Quarterfinals:

  • (17) Old Bridge over (25) South Brunswick: Former Red Division opponents, Old Bridge is 10-9 out of the Red while South Brunswick is 5-16 out of the White. Advantage: Knights.
  • (20) Piscataway over (5) East Brunswick: Chiefs are 17-4, Bears 12-9, and Piscataway plays a challenging out-of-conference schedule. We go with that-a-way with Piscataway.
  • (3) Colonia over (22) Sayreville: That would be a great matchup. We go with the Red winner over the White champ.
  • (26) South Plainfield over (15) North Brunswick: The Tigers beat the Raiders twice in the regular season.

Semifinals:

  • (20) Piscataway over (17) Old Bridge: The Chiefs won both regular season meetings.
  • (3) Colonia over (26) South Plainfield: If the Patriots beat the Bombers, on paper, they beat the Tigers.

Championship Game:

  • (3) Colonia over (20) Piscataway: Colonia won both regular season matchups.

Colonia sure had a hard road to the finals, starting with the opening round. They had to beat St. Thomas Aquinas, the third place team in the Red, then White champ Sayreville and White runner-up South Plainfield before facing the second-place team in the red in the finals.

But if they’re the best team, and many think they are, they should win it, right? It certainly wasn’t easy, but they’ve already swept Piscataway and St. Thomas Aquinas in the regular season.

Piscataway started with Dunellen and got progressively more challenging games, with East Brunswick out of the White, Old Bridge and Colonia from the Red.

St. Thomas Aquinas got knocked out in the first round, having to play Colonia, but they very well could beat them. Always tough to beat a team three times in one year, right?

Here’s the full pre-tournament mock bracket, with teams seeded alphabetically:

by Mike Pavlichko

Gill St. Bernard’s takes over top spot in Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Top Ten

There’s a new team atop the Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings for Week 8, as Gill St. Bernard’s wrested the top spot away from Colonia in the week gone by.

It’s the first No. 1 ranking for the Knights since the finished the 2021-22 season at No. 1, going 20-7. They won the Somerset County Tournament that year, beating Rutgers Prep in the finals, and reached the Non-Public North B Final. Gill St. Bernard’s (13-4) won its only game last week, beating Hillsborough, 52-36. Saturday, they’ll open play in the 2025 SCT as the No. 1 seed, playing host to 9th-seed Watchung Hills (9-9) in the quarterfinal round.

Down to No. 2 is Colonia (16-3), which went just 1-2 in the week gone by. After a 50-40 road win at Monroe Tuesday, they lost at Old Bridge, 65-59, in a GMC Red Division game, and Saturday in a non-conference matchup at Phillipsburg, 64-58. The Patriots, though, are the Red Division champs, and should receive the No. 1 seed when the GMC Tournament is seeded Friday morning.

Holding at No. 3 is Rutgers Prep (13-7). The Argonauts swept two games this week, first getting a 78-41 win at Watchung Hills, then beating No. 4 Montgomery on Thursday, 63-59, in a rematch of last year’s Somerset County Tournament final. Prep is the third seed in this year’s tournament, and will face 6th-seed Hillsborough (10-8) Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Also holding in fourth is Montgomery (14-4), which went 2-1 this past week. Tuesday, they got a 65-53 win at Bridgewater-Raritan before falling to Prep Thursday, 53-59. Then came back with a win Sunday over Notre Dame, 62-44 in the Investors Bank Showcase at Kean University. The second-seed in the county tournament, the Cougars will host 7-seed Pingry (6-8) in the SCT quarterfinals on Saturday.

Up one spot to fifth is Piscataway (16-4). The Chiefs won both their games last week, 73-49 over St. Joseph-Metuchen on Tuesday, following a Monday non-conference win over Lincoln (Jersey City), 75-41.

Flip-flopping with them, down to sixth, is Ridge (15-4). They won at Pingry Tuesday, 60-47, then again Thursday over Newark Tech, 68-48, but fell to Westfield 61-53 on the road Saturday, giving them a 2-1 week. The Red Devils open SCT plat in the quarterfinal round Saturday at home against 5-seed Immaculata (15-4).

The next four teams all stayed the same.

St. Thomas Aquinas (11-6) remains in seventh after a 1-1 week, in which they took an 81-54 loss at Paul VI on Tuesday, before bouncing back with an 80-52 Red Division win at Monroe.

Sayreville (16-2) holds at No. 8 after a 2-0 week, with a 62-54 win over East Brunswick Tuesday, and a 69-46 win at Princeton Saturday.

Immaculata (15-9) holds in the ninth slot after a 72-55 win over Hunterdon Central on Tuesday, and a 52-39 win over 12-seed Somerville in the first round of the SCT. The 5th-seeded Spartans will visit 4th-seed Ridge (15-4) Saturday in the quarterfinals.

And Somerville (13-6) remains at No. 10, despite Saturday’s loss to the Spartans. They beat Bound Brook twice last week, the first 72-38 in the regular season Tuesday, then again 48-37 on Thursday in the first round of the Somerset County Tournament.

Below is the complete Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 8:

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals are set, as (almost) all higher seeds win Saturday

With the exception of the 8/9 games, Saturday’s second round of the Somerset County Tournament – girls and boys – went according to chalk once again. The Watchung Hills boys and Mount St. Mary girls pulled off minor upsets as nine-seeds, knocking off eight-seeds Bridgewater-Raritan and Immaculata, respectively.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s action, with a look ahead to next Saturday’s quarterfinal round, to be held at the site of the higher seeded teams.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT – BOYS:

(9) Watchung Hills 45, (8) Bridgewater-Raritan 37: Bridgewater-Raritan looked in control early on, as the Panthers (10-8) jumped out to a 14-3 lead after one quarter. But the Warriors (9-9) got back into it before halftime, cutting the deficit to four, then stormed ahead on the strength of a 15-point third quarter before hanging on to win by eight. Zack Patetta led a balanced scoring attack with eight, while K.J. West added ten and Timothy Robertson contributed nine points. The Warriors move on to play at top-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s (13-4) next Saturday up in Peapack-Gladstone. The Knights beat them back on January 14th, 62-40, but Watchung Hills won their lone meeting last season, 61-42.

(5) Immaculata 48, (12) Somerville 39: The Spartans (15-4) had three players score in double figures, as Riley Gorman put in 15 points, and Dante Regan and Cole Hayden each added 14. It was a tight game throughout, with Immaculata leading 13-18 at the half over Somerville (13-6). ‘Lata will travel to 5th-seeded Ridge (15-3) next Saturday; the Red Devils have won the last two in the series – back on January 9th, and Valentine’s Day 2023 – but by a combined eight points, with this year’s game being decided by three. This might be the best quarterfinal matchup on the boys’ side next weekend.

(6) Hillsborough 60, (11) Bernards 54: The Raiders found themselves in a tight one at the half, tied at 27-all, but Hillsborough (10-8) edged ahead in the third and pulled away in the fourth. Bernards fell to 9-9 on the season, despite 17 from Monty Douglas. The Raiders’ Lucas Rollan led with 17 as well, while Manny Rodriguez added 15 and Jack Toth chipped in 11. Next up, Boro travels to third-seed Rutgers Prep (13-7) Saturday in the quarters. Rutgers Prep has won 14 straight in the series dating back to January 2015. Hillsborough’s last wins against the Argonauts came in a fantastic 22-3 season in 2013-14, when they beat Prep in a holiday tournament in December, 48-37, and again in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, 62-36, en route to winning the 2014 county title, their first and only since the SCT went to one bracket in 1988.

(7) Pingry 80, (10) Franklin 60: The Big Blue (6-8) led this one most of the way, expanding a six-point halftime lead to 16 with a big third quarter, outscoring Franklin (5-14) 25-15 in the period. Four Pingry players finished in double-figures, including sophomore Dylan Cowell, who scored a career high 22 points, while adding five rebounds and three assists in just his third game of the season. Ryan Rust added 17 and dished out nine assists, while grabbing four steals. Pingry now will travel to second-seed Montgomery (13-4) Saturday for a quarterfinal game. The Cougars beat the Big Blue in their meeting back on January 16th, 64-41.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT – GIRLS:

(9) Mount St. Mary 47, (8) Immaculata 44: The Lions (9-10) trailed by five at halftime and heading into the fourth, but rallied to pull out a narrow win over the Spartans (9-8), in true “survive and advance” style. Ella Reed and Sophia Crum each scored 12 to pace Mount, with Mia Gestosani adding 11, and Natalie Beck grabbing 11 rebounds. The Lions earn a trip to top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s (15-2) Saturday in the quarterfinals, and it’ll be their first meeting in four years. Gill won one-off crossover matchups in 2021 and 2020, but Mount St. Mary won a three-point game in 2019; those are their only three meetings since at least 2010.

(5) Pingry 47, (5) Bound Brook 26: The Big Blue (14-4) played stellar defensively from the opening tip, holding the Crusaders (12-5) to six first quarter points, and just a single foul shot in the second quarter, en route to a 23-7 halftime lead. Taylor Francis led Pingry with 18, while frosh Sadie Salmon added 10, matching a career best with just her second double-figure scoring game. Next up, the Big Blue travel to fourth-seed Franklin (6-12), which has won two straight against them, including a 59-49 decision earlier this season on January second.

(6) Somerville 41, (11) Ridge 36: Senior Charlotte Taylor paced the Pioneers (15-14) with her 12th double-digit scoring game of the year, pumping in 19 points in the win over the Red Devils (5-13). She also had four boards, five assists, two blocks and five steals in a busy afternoon. Alexa Kovalick had a double-double of 12 points and ten rebounds in a losing effort for Ridge. The ‘Ville travels to third-seed Hillsborough Saturday for a quarterfinal game. There’s little history between the schools in recent years; they’ve only played once in the last decade, with the Raiders winning a January, 2020 matchup 61-56.

(7) Bernards 58, (10) Watchung Hills 40: The Mountaineers (15-2) led this one nearly wire-to-wire; though they had just a one-point lead at the half, the third quarter turned the tide back in their favor as Watchung Hills dropped to 8-10 on the year, despite a 20-point, eight-rebound effort from Zoe Gallic. Aletha Reynolds finished three points shy of a season high with 26 points, to go along with eight rebounds, for victorious Bernards, which now will face four-time defending champion and second-seed Rutgers Prep (13-3). It’ll be their first meeting since 2017, a 73-41 Prep victory.

by Mike Pavlichko

It’s February! SCT moves on to second round, and GMC division races come into sharper focus

High school basketball season is flying by!

Several county tournaments are already underway, including the Somerset County Tournament, with eight second round games on tap Saturday – four on the boys’ and four on the girls’ side.

Meanwhile, we’re less than a week from the GMC seeding meeting – which will be held next Friday morning, with play-in games taking place next Saturday – and we’re starting to get a clearer picture of who will win their divisions.

Here’s the schedule with times of Saturday’s second-round SCT action, with winners moving on to play at one of the top four seeds in the quarterfinals next Saturday:

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT 2nd ROUND – GIRLS:

  • (9) Mount St. Mary at (8) Immaculata, 11 am – Winner at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s
  • (12) Bound Brook at (5) Pingry, 2 pm – Winner at (4) Franklin
  • (11) Ridge at (6) Somerville, 10 am – Winner at (3) Hillsborough
  • (10) Watchung Hills at (7) Bernards, 12 pm – Winner at (2) Rutgers Prep

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT 2nd ROUND – BOYS:

  • (9) Watchung Hills at (8) Bridgewater-Raritan), 11 am – Winner at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s
  • (12) Somerville at (5) Immaculata, 1 pm – Winner at (4) Ridge
  • (11) Bernards at (6) Hillsborough, 11:30 am – Winner at (3) Rutgers Prep
  • (10) Franklin at (7) Pingry, 12 pm – Winner at (2) Montgomery

As for the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, there’s no intrigue this year as to who the top seeds will be. On the boys’ side, it will be Red Division champion and defending GMCT-champ Colonia, while the girls’ side will have St. Thomas Aquinas as the one-seed. The Red Division champs – who have won the last five full county tournaments going back to 2019 (when they were still called Bishop Ahr) have steamrolled through the GMC this year, winning Red Division games alone by an average of around 44 points.

Here’s a look at the other divisions on both sides, and how they shape up heading into the final week before the seeding.

GREATER MIDDDLESEX CONFERENCE BOYS: Division winners are guaranteed a top-12 seed in the county tournament, but only the top-eight receive double-byes into the first round. Seeds nine through 12 get a play-in round bye, and start play in the preliminary round of 32.

  • Red Division: Despite falling to Old Bridge, 65-59, on Thursday, Colonia finished Red Division play at 9-1, ahead of second-place Piscataway at 7-2, which the Patriots beat twice this season.
  • White Division: Sayreville leads the White at 10-1, with South Plainfield second at 8-3, and while they meet again this Tuesday, that’s the only division game remaining, so the Bombers win the White. Even if the Tigers were to win and they split, it would leave Sayreville 10-2 and South Plainfield 9-3, a full game back.
  • Blue Division: Edison and Timothy Christian remain neck-and-neck, with the Eagles at 7-1, the Tigers at 6-1, and a lot of basketball to play. Timothy Christian has Carteret at home Monday, a visit to New Brunswick Wednesday, and a home game with Edison that could decide the division if the Tigers win their first two games of the week. Edison plays two division games this week. Besides their visit to Timothy on Thursday, they visit JP Stevens the night before. It’s very likely Thursday’s meeting will decide the division.
  • Gold Division: There’s a “sort of” three-way tie at the top with lots of basketball to be played. Metuchen is 7-2, while Middlesex and Spotswood are both 6-2, tied in the loss column but with an extra game in hand. The Bulldogs have one division game left, at JFK on Monday. Middlesex visits Spotswood Thursday, which could be a big factor. Spotswood visits South River on Tuesday, with a day off before hosting the Blue Jays. The Chargers already lost to them once, and already split with Metuchen. Middlesex and Metuchen also split. This one might go down to the wire!
  • Silver Division: The champ here is Dunellen, which is 12-2 in the division, and won it by a game over Piscataway Magnet (11-3).

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE GIRLS: Division winners are guaranteed a top eight seed ion the county tournament, giving them a double-by to the first round, the round of 16.

  • Red Division: Easy. St. Thomas Aquinas is the Red Division champ at 11-0.
  • White Division: Middlesex clinched the White Division Wednesday with a win over North Brunswick, coupled with Spotswood’s overtime loss to Edison, as the Blue Jays finished 12-2, the Chargers 11-3.
  • Blue Division: It’s not a three-way tie, but it is a three-way race between Carteret (11-0), Metuchen (10-1), and Highland Park (9-2), all with three division games left to play. The scenarios here could get very involved, but a lot will be decided they all square off against at least one of others this week. Carteret visits South River Monday, then plays at Highland Park Wednesday and at Metuchen Thursday. The Ramblers are in the drivers’ seat, as they have already beaten both this season. Metuchen gets Highland Park at home Monday, then after a Wednesday trip to JFK, hosts Carteret Thursday. Metuchen has a won over the Owls already, but lost its first meeting with the Ramblers. And Highland Park visits Metuchen Monday, before getting Carteret at home Wednesday. They lost to both earlier this year. But, as of now, their online schedule says they play JFK Friday – after the seeding meeting – and that could not only affect them, but also the others, where a division champ might not be determined by the time the committee meets Friday morning. Of course, Carteret could avoid that with a sweep this week, or maybe even two wins, depending how everything else shakes out. Already having wins over both its nearest competitors also gives the Ramblers a leg up.
  • Gold Division: Calvary Christian is the easy winner here at 14-0 – by the way, they’re 16-1 overall – a full four games ahead of Mother Seton.
by Mike Pavlichko

Most of Week 7 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten remains the same, but Somerville joins the fray

With the top two teams unbeaten in the week gone by, and nearly all others taking at least one loss – to either ranked area squads of out-of-area schools, there was relatively little change in this week’s Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten, with Somerville replacing Timothy Christian in the final spot.

Colonia (15-1) remains No. 1 after a 3-0 week, with a 72-55 win Tuesday over St. Joseph-Metuchen, and a victory over No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas, 69-53, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio Thursday night. The Patriots finished their week with a 73-48 road win at Columbia (Maplewood-South Orange) Friday evening.

Gill St. Bernard’s (12-4) holds at No. 2, picking up a 73-54 win Thursday out at Phillipsburg, then a 48-36 win Sunday at Hudson Catholic.

Nearly everyone else dropped at least one game this week, including third-place Rutgers Prep (11-7). After a Thursday win at Hillsborough, 74-57, and a Saturday victory over Saddle River Day, 63-43, the Argonauts lost a home game Sunday to Roselle Catholic, 64-55.

Montgomery (12-3) holds in fourth after a Wednesday win over North Brunswick, 81-60, and a solid 60-45 victory over Immaculata at home on Thursday. The Cougars fell Saturday to Camden Catholic, 68-57, in the Jeff Coney Classic at Rancocas Valley.

Holding in fifth is Ridge (13-3), which opened the week with a 50-47 loss at Caldwell in the Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic Showcase, but came back with a pair of wins over Somerset County squads: Thursday at Bridgewater-Raritan, 51-36, and Saturday at Bernards, 49-25.

Still in sixth is Piscataway (14-4) after a 2-1 week. They also opened with a loss, 63-60 to Union City in the MLK Showcase at County Prep High School in Jersey City. But the Chiefs rebounded with a Tuesday win over No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas, 76-72, and a Saturday home win over Montclair, 65-55, in the Clash of the Counties showcase.

St. Thomas Aquinas (10-5) holds in seventh. They beat Jackson Memorial Monday in the MLK Classic at Hudson County Prep, but came back with a pair of ranked GMC losses, to No. 6 Piscataway Thursday, 76-72, and at No. 1 Colonia, 69-53 Thursday, before topping Phillipsburg on Saturday, 81-71.

Sayreville (14-2) had a 2-0 week, and has won six straight. The red-hot Bombers were 63-50 winners at Woodbridge on Tuesday, then 61-50 over Perth Amboy on Thursday.Watchung Hills Monday, and beat North Hunterdon at home, 72-58, on Tuesday, but fell at No. 4 Montgomery Thursday, 60-45. They closed the week with a 60-51 win over South Plainfield.

Making its debut at No. 10 is Somerville, which is 11-5 after a 2-1 week. They won 56-54 at Voorhees Tuesday and 51-48 over North HUnterdon at home Thursday before falling at Warren Hills, 56-43, Saturday afternoon.

Timothy Christian (8-3) dropped out after losing its only game of the week, 54-45 to North Brunswick, following a couple of weather and illness-related cancellations by opponents.

Below is the complete Week 7 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten: