Tag: Franklin

by Mike Pavlichko

Three of four higher seeds win in SCT second round, as Bernards, Somerville, Franklin, Hillsborough all advance to quarterfinals

As wild a day as the GMC had in its Championship Tournament Monday – with several upsets, five one-run games, and four that went to extra innings – things went a little more by the book in Somerset County.

Higher seeds Bernards, Somerville and Hillsborough all advanced, while 11-seed Franklin knocked off six-seed and defending champion Bridgewater-Raritan. That sets up the quarterfinals Wednesday at higher seeds – weather permitting – as the four top seeds all begin play with home games.

Here’s a recap of Monday afternoon’s Somerset County Tournament second round action.

(8) Bernards 12, (9) Gill St. Bernard’s 2 (6 inn.): The Mountaineers walked this one off in the sixth with a three-run inning that gave them a mercy-rule win. Casey Hoeckele got the win for Bernards (9-9), which got seven runs in the first inning, then added another each in the second and fifth, but also tore it up at the plate with a 3-for-4 day, knocking in five runs with two doubles and a triple. Gill falls to 9-9 with the loss. The Mountaineers will visit top-seed and Skyland Delaware Division co-champion Ridge (14-4) on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

(5) Somerville 6, (13) Pingry 4: The Pioneers scored five times in the bottom of the first to take a 5-0 lead the Big Blue would chip into, but never recover from. Andrew Kessler drove in three runs for Somerville (10-7), which got a complete game three-hitter from Michael Meyers, who allowed four unearned runs, and struck out two, walking just one. Pingry falls to 5-15 with the loss. The ‘Ville will visit fourth-seed and Skyland Valley Division champ Rutgers Prep (10-7) in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

(11) Franklin 4, (6) Bridgewater-Raritan 3: A tight game throughout, all seven runs scored in this one came in different innings. Franklin (8-7) scored in the top of the first, Bridgewater (11-14) tied it in the bottom, and Franklin went ahead 2-1 in the top of the second. The Panthers tied it 2-2 in the third, then both teams scored in the fifth. The decisive blow came in the sixth, a solo home run by Elijah Zavatsky, to put the Warriors up 4-3. Then, Defraily Sosa – who came on in relief of Dylan Shah, who pitched the first four innings – pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, and closed out the seventh after back-to-back walks with a ground out and two strikeouts to pick up the win. The defending SCT champs have had some tough luck this year, losing four one-run games and two by two runs. The Warriors will play in Wednesday’s quarterfinals at third-seed Watchung Hills (11-7).

(7) Hillsborough 6, (10) Manville, 0: The Raiders (8-9) got a stellar outing from starting pitcher James Drinkwater, who threw seven innings of three-hit ball, fanning 13 and walking just two. Andrew Advani was red hot at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a pair of singles and three RBIs, while also picking up a walk and a stolen base, one of five for Hillsborough on the day. They picked up a run each in the first and second, then added four more insurance runs in the sixth. Manville drops to 9-9 with the loss, while the Raiders will play in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round at second-seed and Skyland Delaware co-champion Immaculata, out at Diamond Nation in Flemington.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS – WEDNESDAY:

(8) Bernards (9-9) at (1) Ridge (14-4)
(5) Somerville (10-7) at (4) Rutgers Prep (10-7)
(11) Franklin (8-7) at (3) Watchung Hills (11-7)
(7) Hillsborough (8-9) at (2) Immaculata (11-6)

by Mike Pavlichko

SCT underway as Franklin routs Bound Brook; Montgomery looks to keep momentum going in matchup with Pingry

The opening round of the 2025 Somerset County Tournament is a split, with one game Wednesday and one Thursday, since 12th-seed Montgomery already had a regular-season game scheduled the day the tournament was supposed to start.

But the Cougars will hope to bottle whatever their secret sauce was against Manville Wednesday in a 5-2 win at TD Bank Park heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio when they take on 13-seed Pingry at 4:30 Thursday afternoon out at Diamond Nation in Flemington.

(11) Franklin 11, (14) Bound Brook 1

The Warriors got out to an early lead in this one, scoring twice in the bottom of the first on a double-steal and a groundout. After Bound Brook got one in the top of the second on a double by Jon Coiro to cut the deficit in half, the Warriors plated seven in the bottom of the inning to take a 9-1 lead.

Dylan Shah drove in two, two errors by the Crusaders led to the next two runs, and a Manny Vasquez bases-clearing double drove in three.

Franklin added six more in the fourth on a sac fly by Elijah Zavatsky, two walks, two hard ground balls in the infield, and a sac fly by Stanley Madera.

Starter Shayne Rooney got the win, allowing five hits and one run in four innings of work, with a very efficient 70-pitch outing as Franklin improves to 6-7. The Warriors will play at 6-seed Bridgewater-Raritan Monday in the first round, the round of 16.

Montgomery (4-11) vs. Pingry (3-13)
Thursday, 4:30 pm at Diamond Nation, Flemington

Montgomery had about as solid a win as they had all season Wednesday in a 5-3 regular-season victory over Manville. They played great defense, executed two sac bunts including a suicide squeeze, got solid pitching and timely hitting, even caught a runner stealing who had reached on an tough error in the second. What else could you ask for?

Now, they’ll need to bottle that up against the Big Blue.

Montgomery had been hitting just a shade over .200 coming into Wednesday’s game, but they scored six runs on five hits to get the win, an efficient effort. Senior John Donahue has been their big bopper, hitting .436, but even more impressive was that the bottom third of the order went 3-for-6 against the Mustangs with two walks, three runs scored, two sac bunts, and two RBIs.

Pingry’s top hitters include sophomore Riley Wong (.469, 9 RBI) and senior Joaquin Stevenson (.432) while senior Matt Carrieri is hitting .346 with three home runs, and freshman Sam deLaurier (.342) has knocked in a team best 12 runs.

UPCOMING SCT SCHEDULE:

First Round – Monday, May 12
(9) Gill St Bernard’s at (8) Bernards, winner at (1) Ridge
(12) Montgomery/(13) Pingry at (5) Somerville, winner at (4) Rutgers Prep
(11) Franklin at (6) Bridgewater-Raritan, winner at (3) Watchung Hills
(10) Manville at (7) Hillsborough, winner at (2) Immaculata

The quarterfinals will be played Wednesday, May 14, at higher seeds.

Central Jersey Sports Radio’s live coverage – presented by Zoned Sports Academy of Bridgewater – will begin on Monday, May 19 with the semifinals at 1 and 4 pm at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater.

by Mike Pavlichko

Franklin tops Phillipsburg, 8-1, to earn series split on complete game effort from Sosa

When your team spots you a 7-0 lead In the first two innings of a baseball game, it should be a cruise of the rest of the way for the starting pitcher.

And it was mostly that for Defraily Sosa of Franklin, who allowed just one run the rest of the way and scattered five hits in a complete game, 8-1 win over visiting Phillipsburg that gave the Warriors a split in their Skyland Conference division series. 

Franklin (4-5) got four runs in the first and three more in the second before adding another in the fourth for insurance that it turned out they wouldn’t nearly need.

After a 1-2-3 first by Sosa, in the bottom of the inning, Franklin got a bunt single from Izaiah Robinson and a single by Mike Sciermeyer, then a two-RBI single by Stanley Madera to make it 2-0. Jacob Gordon walked and after a popup by Rodrick Ray, Shayne Rooney drove in two more with a single to make it 4-0.

In the second, Shaylen Patel hit a one-out single, while Robinson followed with another. Schiermeyer then singled past shortstop into left field, and when the ball was misplayed, two more runs came in. Madera and Jacob Gordon followed with walks, and one more to Ray made it 7-0. That was all for Phillipsburg (5-5) starter Evan Carter, and reliever Wyatt Gordon induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Franklin got another run in the fourth when Ray singled with one out to bring in Madera, who’d led off the inning with a single of his own.

The Stateliners got one back in the fifth, when Gordon got hit by a pitch. Felix Matos walked, and a groundout to first moved the runners up, with another by Mike Bracco plating the run to make it 8-1.

Phillipsburg’s biggest threat came in the fourth, when a sac fly by Jett Genovese to right with runners at first and second put runners at the corners and Amman Bokhari walked to load the bases with two out. But Sosa got Chase Doering to fly out to center to end the inning.

Sosa picked up his first win of the season to improve to 1-2, while Carter fell to 2-2 with the loss.

Click below to hear postgame reaction with Franklin head coach Derrick Castillo, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Hillsborough’s run to Group 4 state title propels Raiders to No. 1 in final Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball rankings

Having won its first-ever state championship – and the first by any public school in the nearly five-year history of Central Jersey Sports Radio – the Hillsborough Raiders are the No. 1 team in the final Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten.

‘Boro finished 26-6, and won the Central Jersey Group 4 title over Monroe – which landed at No. 5 – their second straight sectional title. They won their first last season, beating Elizabeth for the North 2, Group 4 championship.

And while they finished fourth in one of the toughest divisions in the state – five of their six losses came in the division – they also featured senior Cesci Schiro, who finished her stellar career with 2,106 points, the leading scorer in school history among girls or boys. For perspective, the entire team scored 2,066 points this season.

Hillsborough also picked up its most signature win in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, beating Rutgers Prep for the first time since 2006, before falling to Gill in the title game.

Check back this afternoon to hear our interview with CJSR’s 2025 Girls’ Basketball Team of the Year, the Hillsborough Raiders, including seniors Cesci Schiro, Mya Loniewski and Reghan Bice, as well as coach Courtney Tierney.

Coming in second was Gill St. Bernard’s. The Knights (23-5) were co-champs in the Skyland Delaware Division with Rutgers Prep – as they split their two regular season meetings – and won the Somerset County Tournament. They lost in the Non-Public North B finals to Montclair-Immaculate, in the school’s final season before it closes this summer, it was recently announced.

Rutgers Prep came in third at 20-7, also reaching a sectional final, bowing out to Gloucester Catholic in the Non-Public South B Final. They shared the Delaware Division title with Gill St. Bernard’s.

GMC Tournament champion St. Thomas Aquinas (23-7) finished fourth, also winning the Red Division in the Greater Middlesex Conference, with Monroe right behind them. The Falcons (20-10) finished second in the division to the Trojans and lost to them in the GMC Tourney final. They also reached the Central Jersey Group 4 championship game, falling there to Hillsborough.

Bernards (23-6) checks in at No. 6, the Skyland Conference Mountain Division champions, while Valley Division winner Somerville (23-6) finished seventh.

In eighth is GMC White Division champion Middlesex (21-9), with Spotswood (18-10) at No. 9.

Franklin – despite an 11-16 record, but having two losses each to Rutgers Prep and Hillsborough and three to Gill St. Bernard’s – finishes in tenth. They reached the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, where they lost to the Raiders.

Below is the complete Final 2024-25 Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Hillsborough girls win rubber match with Franklin in CJ4 semis, will face Monroe at home Saturday seeking second straight title

Last year, the Hillsborough girls’ basketball team won its first state sectional title in school history, beating Elizabeth to win North 2, Group 4.

One more win, and they’re going to go back-to-back.

Senior Cesci Schiro scored a game-high 29 points – including 15 from the free throw line – as the top-seeded Raiders beat fifth-seed Franklin, 68-55, Wednesday night in Hillsborough in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals. The teams had split their two regular season meetings, ‘Boro winning by three, the Warriors later winning by four.

But this Hillsborough team has gotten even better since the start of the season, and they were already pretty good to begin with. They beat Rutgers Prep in the Somerset County Tournament semis to make their first county final since 2006.

Now, they’re in the sectional finals for a second straight year, albeit in a different section.

Hillsborough had trouble hitting from beyond they arc, but they made up for it getting in the paint, drawing fouls, and hitting free throws. They were 29-of-38 from the stripe.

Hillsborough (23-6) will take on second-seed Monroe (20-9) Saturday at 1:30 pm in the final, after the Falcons topped third-seed Hightstown, 53-30.

(Note: The Central Jersey Group 4 final had been announced at Hillsborough High School as a noon start, but the game was moved to 1:30 pm to accommodate SAT testing.)

Franklin’s season ends at 11-16.

Click below for postgame reaction from Hillsborough senior Cesci Schiro and head coach Courtney Tierney, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Hillsborough, Franklin, Monroe, Bernards all advance in NJSIAA girls’ state tourney play, moving on to Wednesday’s semifinals

Of the four girls’ basketball teams from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area to advance in the NJSIAA state tournament Monday night, three moved on in the same section.

Central Jersey Group 4 will have a distinct Central Jersey flair, and at least one is guaranteed to make the finals. That’s where top-seed Hillsborough and second-seed Monroe advanced, while fifth-seed Franklin pulled an upset win at fourth-seed Princeton to move on.

And in North 2, Group 2, the fourth-seeded Bernards girls topped five-seed Voorhees to tie a program record for wins with 23.

Below is our roundup of the night’s action, including all results in sections where local teams remain. Scroll further down for tomorrow’s schedule for Groups 1 and 3, along with semifinal schedules for Wednesday – in Groups 2 and 4 – and Thursday’s non-publics.

Central Jersey Group 4: Top-seed Hillsborough advanced with a 74-40 win over 8-seed East Brunswick, getting double figure scoring from four players. Mya Loniewski led the way with 15 points, while Alexa Gaspar added 13, and Francesca Schiro and Isbella Ruh added a dozen each for the Raiders (22-6). ‘Boro led big early, up 20-11 after one and 36-19 at the half. East Brunswick (13-14) got a team-high 11 points from Zoey Aleixo. The Raiders now will host fifth-seed Franklin in the semifinals this Wednesday at 5:30. The teams split this year, with Hillsborough winning 64-40 on December 19th, but the Warriors returning the favor, 63-30, on January 23rd.

Franklin routed fourth-seed Princeton on the road, 65-34, and has won its first two playoff games by an average of 27 points. The Warriors got 22 points from Aleah Sunkins to lead the way, along with 11 from Alivia Stewart. Franklin led 21-12 after one, but locked down on defense in the next eight minutes, outscoring the Little Tigers 17-3 to take a 38-15 halftime lead. The win gets them to just 11-15, but it’s notable that of their 15 losses, three came to Gill St. Bernard’s, two to Rutgers Prep, and one to Hillsborough, which they split with.

On the other side of the bracket, second-seed Monroe got by seventh-seed Freehold Township at home, 49-43. Monroe was paced by Kiera Longo with 19, while Evangelina Francisco added 14. Also contributing was Sophia Rivas, who scored 11 in her first full game back from an injury that kept her out almost all of February. Monroe (19-9) now will host third-seed Hightstown Monday in the semifinals.

Listen to Monroe head coach Brian Hinz talk about Monday night’s state tournament win over Freehold Twp., and Thursday’s matchup against Hightstown in the semis.

(1) Hillsborough def. (8) East Brunswick, 74-40
(5) Franklin def. (4) Princeton, 65-34
(3) Hightstown def. (11) Hunterdon Central, 56-46
(2) Monroe def. (7) Freehold Twp., 49-43

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4: The last two remaining teams in this section were knocked out Monday. Seventh-seed Piscataway lost 64-32 at second-seed Westfield 64-32, ending their season at 12-14. Meanwhile, 12th-seed JP Stevens fell 47-33 at home to 13th-seed Scotch Plains-Fanwood, ending its season at 13-5.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2: Fourth-seed Bernards – the only area club in this 16 team field – set a new program record for wins with 23 with a 59-45 home victory over fifth-seed Voorhees. And they avenged a 39-38 loss to the Vikings back on February 10th. The game was tight – only ten points at the half – until the Mountaineers outscored Voorhees 15-9 in the third to pull away. Aletha Reynolds led all scorers with 22 points, and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Jasmine Kelleher added ten points and six boards. They’ll travel to top-seed Caldwell Wednesday night for a semifinal matchup.

Click here to listen to Bernards head coach Brett Bisconti talk about the Mountaineers’ win, their stellar season, and Thursday’s semifinal trip to Caldwell.

(1) Caldwell def. (8) Becton, 55-42
(4) Bernards def. (5) Voorhees, 59-45
(3) Rutherford def. (6) Science Park, 40-23
(2) Madison def. (7) Snyder, 55-30

Non-Public North A: Fourth-seed Pingry was knocked out of the state tournament, losing 63-60 to fifth-seed DePaul in Martinsville. The Big Blue – whose season ends at 19-8 – led 40-28 at halftime, but DePaul rallied to get it to a one-point deficit heading into the fourth, where they won it down the stretch.

Non-Public South A: Sixth-seed and GMC Tournament champion St. Thomas Aquinas saw its season come to an end down the shore, falling 67-39 to third-seed and powerhouse Red Bank Catholic, which picked up its 20th straight win, since starting the season 6-4. The Caseys played solid defense, limiting the Trojans’ leading scorer – Leah Crosby – to just nine points. St. Thomas ends its season at 23-7.

Non-Public North B: Top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s learned its Thursday opponent, and will open state tourney action in the semifinals against fourth-seed Hudson Catholic, which beat fifth-seed Roselle Catholic, 64-42 Monday.

(4) Hudson Catholic def. (5) Roselle Catholic, 64-42
(3) Saddle River Day def. (6) Villa Walsh, 73-46
(2) Montclair-Immaculate def. (7) Hawthorne Christian, 87-27 (Friday)

Non-Public South B: Top-seed Rutgers Prep – which has won this section three years running, and played its quarterfinal game Sunday, beating 7-seed Holy Cross Prep – learned it will play third-seed Wildwood Catholic in the semifinals, after they beat 11th-0seed Stuart Day at home, 78-43 Monday night.

(1) Gloucester Catholic def. (9) Koinonia, 84-37
(4) Ranney def. (5) Holy Spirit, 81-64
(3) Wildwood Catholic def. (11) Stuart Day
(2) Rutgers Prep def. (7) Holy Cross Prep, 89-31 (Sunday)

TUESDAY SCHEDULE

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 – Semifinals
(4) Mendham at (1) Chatham, 6 pm
(6) Cranford at (2) Somerville, 6 pm

Central Jersey Group 1 – Semifinals
(4) Middlesex at (1) New Providence, 5 pm
(3) Bound Brook at (2) Thrive Charter, 5 pm

WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE

Central Jersey Group 4 – Semifinals
(5) Franklin at (1) Hillsborough, 5:30 pm
(3) Hightstown at (2) Monroe, 5 pm

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 – Semifinals
(4) Bernards at (1) Caldwell, 6 pm
(3) Rutherford at (2) Madison

THURSDAY SCHEDULE

Non-Public North B – Semifinals
(4) Hudson Catholic at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s, 5:30 pm
(3) Saddle River Day at (2) Montclair-Immaculate

Non-Public South B – Semifinals
(4) Ranney at (1) Gloucester Catholic
(3) Wildwood Catholic at (2) Rutgers Prep

by Alec Crouthamel

Top seed Gill St. Bernard’s advances to Somerset County Finals with dominant win over Franklin

Gill St. Bernard’s, as the Somerset County Tournament’s top seed, was technically the “home team” but went into enemy territory facing off against fourth-seeded Franklin in Saturday’s semifinal matchup at the Warriors’ home gym.

No home-court advantage? No problem for the Knights.

Gill St. Bernard’s used a dominant frontcourt presence to down the Warriors 61-34, led by UConn-bound center Gandy Malou-Mamel’s 18 points and countless rebounds, getting second chances and starting fast-break opportunities from the rebounding game.

Armed with a 21-6 lead after the first quarter, the Knights kept their foot on the gas and went into halftime up 40-15.

With Franklin putting extra defensive pressure on Malou-Mamel in the second half, Sydney Quinn became the go-to scorer, finishing with 16 points. Against a strong Warriors frontcourt, Gill St. Bernard’s overwhelmed the interior and took over the game in transition.

The Warriors were led by junior guard Alissa Myers, who finished with 12 points hitting some big shots in the second half to try and mount a comeback. Forwards Aleah Sunkins and Precious Wheeler also played well for Franklin.

The Knights will face off against third-seeded Hillsborough, who defeated second-seeded Rutgers Prep, in the championship game, set for Saturday, February 22nd at Montgomery High School. The game will tip off at 1pm.

Click below for postgame reaction with Gill St. Bernard’s Gandy Malou-Mamel and head coach Mark Knapp, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Franklin girls may be best sub-.500 team in Somerset County; but can they prove it against Gill St. Bernard’s for a trip to SCT finals?

Over the last couple of weeks, we keep hearing from area girls’ basketball coaches pumping up Franklin. They’re not in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, but you’d think they were by the way people are talking.

Granted they’re 8-14, but keep in mind the division they play in. The Skyland Delaware is loaded, with Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s the co-champions, and defending North 2, Group 4 champion Hillsborough behind them.

Actually, they’re behind Franklin, too, even though they’re the three seed and the Warriors are the four.

Franklin has taken some losses on the chin, including 83-58 and 81-49 to Rutgers Prep. They lost 70-45 to Gill St. Bernard’s the second time around, but played then to a 13-point loss in the first week of January.

And they knocked off Hillsborough, 63-60, back on January 23rd, just four days before the county seeding meeting.

Thing is, they’ve lost to just about every team considered “better” than them, and beaten everyone they should handle

So, which team will show up when they tip off at 2:30 Saturday afternoon?

There’s one thing no one can question: Coach Darryl Robinson has one of the top, young, up-and-coming players in the area in Aleah Sunkins, a sophomore averaging 16.4 points per game and 9.6 rebounds. Junior Alissa Myers (8.7 points per game) is also a significant contributor, along with senior Precious Wheeler (5.6 per game).

On the other side, Gill – the top seed at 18-3 overall, 7-1 in the Skyland Delaware, co-champs with second-seed Rutgers Prep – is a cohesive unit that has gotten stronger throughout the season. Nowhere is that more evident than in how they played Prep, which has won the last four SCT titles and seven of the last nine.

Rutgers Prep had won 23 straight against Gill coming into this year. And they won again on December 17th, 61-38 in Somerset. But the Knights turned the tables in the New Year, with a 64-27 win up in Peapack-Gladstone, their first win over the Argonauts since the 2014 Somerset County Tournament final.

The cast is full of stars, too. Gandy Malou-Mamel is the top scorer at 17.6 points and an even ten rebounds per game. Junior Addy Platt is at 10.4 a game, and the rest of the experienced lineup includes standouts Tessa Lozner, Syndey Quinn and Maya Abramson.

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

Somerset County Tournament announces semifinals times for four games at Franklin High School this Saturday

With the Somerset County Tournament going back to its Saturday format, and putting the semifinals all at one neutral site, the SCIAA has announced the game assignments for this Saturday’s semifinals, which will be played at Franklin High School.

Officials waited until the completion of the quarterfinals to choose game times, in order to keep schools that might have both teams playing back-to-back as much as possible, rather than splitting up the day for fans.

The opening game will be at 11 am and feature the girls’ semifinal between second-seed Rutgers Prep and third-seed Hillsborough. The Argonauts won their first meeting this year on the road, 66-52, on January 9th, then won the rematch in Somerset, 76-65 back on the fourth of this month.

The second game is scheduled for 12:45 pm and will be the boys’ semifinal between third-seed Rutgers Prep and two-seed Montgomery. It’s a rematch of last year’s thrilling SCT final, which Prep won 64-61, though the Cougars went on to win the Central Jersey Group 4 title. Prep also won their lone regular season meeting this year, 63-59, back on January 30th.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will broadcast both games live, with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas on the call. Click here to listen on game day.

Alec Crouthamel will have live coverage on Twitter (follow him here) as well as postgame stories and reaction, which can be found on the site after all four games that day.

The third game will be at 2:30, the girls’ semifinal between top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s and fourth-seed Franklin. While the Warriors are 7-13, two losses each came to Hillsborough and Gill, and one came against Rutgers Prep, which they’ll play in regular season action Tuesday. Franklin’s two losses to the Knights came 56-43 on January 7th and 70-45 on January 28th.

The final game will feature the boys’ semifinal between No. 1 seed Gill St. Bernard’s and four-seed Ridge at 4 pm. This could be a sleeper good game: the Knights are back after an off-year last season with major roster turnover, and Ridge is 17-4m their lone county loss coming to Montgomery, 55-52 in the middle of January. They beat Gill St. Bernard’s by nine last year, but haven’t played this season.

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 3 Rutgers Prep puts pedal to the metal from the tip, tops Franklin at home, 86-33

Franklin head coach Kashiff Foster said this week his team would need to play “out of their minds” to beat Rutgers Prep in their Skyland Conference Delaware Division game Thursday night.

The only problem? The third-ranked Argonauts played even more out of their minds.

Their defense fueled their transition play the entire first half, allowing for easy buckets – like five dunks – and good looks a thees, which they hit plenty of – six in the first half alone.

Prep ran out to a 24-8 first half lead, then took a 52-16 advantage into halftime, leading to a running clock in the second half.

Sophomore Andrew Kretkowski finished with a game-high 19 for Rutgers Prep, four shy of a season-high, while fellow soph Jacob Canton scored 15, hitting twice from downtown. Senior Myles Parker had 13 points, including three triples.

Click below for postgame reaction from Rutgers Prep sophomore Andrew Kretkowski and Jacon Canton, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: