Tag: Franklin

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep girls headed to fourth straight SCT final with 57-24 home win over Franklin; Gill advances with home win over Hillsborough

Make it 9 straight finals appearances in the Somerset County Tournament for the Rutgers Prep girls’ basketball team.

The top-seeded Lady Argonauts – 20 years after head coach Mary Klinger won her first-ever county title – will now have a chance to win their fourth straight, and seventh in nine seasons, thanks to a 57-24 win over fifth-seed Franklin.

Saturday’s final will have Prep against 2nd-seed Gill St. Bernard’s, which beat 4th-seed Hillsborough 76-47 in Peapack-Gladstone Thursday evening. (Scroll down for more on that game.)

From the very first basket of the game – scored by Chloe Escanillas, who bolted like a lighting strike to the basket off the opening tip – the Argonauts were off and rolling.

It was a sign of things to come as the junior led her team with 14 points including a pair of three-pointers.

Vanderbilt commit and senior Mikayla Blakes showcased her incredible speed on the floor off a fast break to lay in a basket with just under five minutes to play in the first.

Overall, it was aggressive offense, stingy-defense, and stellar communication in the first half that had the No. 1 seed up 30-11 at the break with sophomore GiGi Battle leading the team with eight points

Franklin senior Iyanna Cotten led the Warriors (14-12) in points with 6 at the break while the team committed that many fouls in the first half and had an additional 8 fouls in the 2nd half.

Cotten finished the game with 10 points in the loss.

Sophomore guard Ava La Monica left the game midway through the first half for Rutgers Prep (20-4) after appearing to twist her left ankle. 

She didn’t put any weight on her leg and had to be helped off the floor and didn’t return. Coach Klinger said Ava will be going for x-rays and her status for Saturday is unknown at this point.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Vin Ebeneau, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Rutgers Prep junior guard Chloe Escanillas
Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger

(2) Gill St. Bernard’s 76, (4) Rutgers Prep 47: The Knights led virtually wire-to-wire, ahead 24-12 on the visiting Raiders after one quarter. Gill held a 40-19 lead at the half. Four players scored in double figures for the Knights, who got 18 from Sydney Quinn, 17 from Gandy Malou-Mamel, and 10 each from Maya Abrmson and Brooke Baisley. Hillsborough (16-8) was led by Francesco Schiro’s 23 points, a game high. It’ll be the third straight trip to the finals for Gill St. Bernard’s (23-3), which made it the last two years, losing both times to Rutgers Prep, 64-35 in 2022 and 64-39 last season. Both regular season meetings went to Rutgers Prep this year, 71-46 (as heard on CJSR) on January 4th, and 68-45 on February 6th.

by Mike Pavlichko

Boys’ SCT second round goes to chalk as well, as Franklin, Ridge, Pingry and Gill St. Bernards win

Just like on the girls’ side, all top eight seeds will be in Tuesday’s Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, as all the higher seeds won Saturday afternoon in the second round.

The semifinals will be at the higher seeds, the top four teams that got byes to the semis.

(8) Pingry 54, (9) Bound Brook 52: The Big Blue had a seven point half time lead, but Bound Brook almost came back. They cut it down to three by the end of the third, trailing 41-38, but couldn’t get close enough, falling by two, dropping to 15-10 on the season. Pingry (16-4) has three players record double-doubles, as Trey Maultsby had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Mason Vance added 12 and 12, and Donnie Gregory chipped in 12 and 10. Pingry will come down from the Watchung Mountains to take on top-seed Rutgers Prep (16-6) for their first meeting since 2015 in the SCT quarterfinals Tuesday night, in likely the second game of a doubleheader with the Argonaut girls’ team, which will be hosting Ridge.

(5) Ridge 48, (13) Somerville 40: The Red Devils led this one most of the way, yet it was still close, as Ridge led by just two entering the fourth quarter, pulling away to take the game by eight. Quin Dashefsky scored 11 points and added seven rebounds, while Owen Chwatek had nine points on a trio of treys for Ridge (14-8). Quinn Carran led all scorers with 19 in defeat for Somerville (10-14). The Red Devils travel down to Hillsborough (14-7) to take on the fourth-seeded Raiders Tuesday in the SCT quarterfinals. The two didn’t play this year, but last season, Ridge won both matchups by similar scores, 55-53 in the first meeting, 54-45 in the second.

(6) Franklin 66, (11) Bridgewater-Raritan 42: The Warriors (13-10) used a huge second quarter to bury Bridgewater-Raritan (10-14) before the break. They led by four after one, but used a 26-8 second quarter to get its lead to 45-23 at half, and the rest was just gravy. Landen Miller led all scorers with 19, while Keith Morris chipped in 18 and Jah’naad Cady added 10. Johny Magner led the Panthers in defeat with 17. Franklin will visit third-seed Watchung Hills Tuesday in the SCT quarterfinals, which won their only meeting this year on January 18th in a tight one, 40-39.

(7) Gill St. Bernard’s 57, (10) Immaculata 50: The Knights’ – who’ve uncharacteristically struggled this season, their second in a row with big roster turnover – snapped a four-game skid with the win over the Spartans, improving to 10-13 on the year. They trailed 16-15 after the first eight minutes, but doubled up ‘Lata (10-12) in the second period to take a 35-26 lead, and hung on in the second half. Stanley Njekwe had a doble-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Dorsett Mulcahy led all scorers in the game with 16. Gill now will travel to second-seeded Montgomery on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. The Cougars (19-2) last played Gill in 2022. It’s believed Montgomery has never beaten Gill, going 0-8 against the Knights, with their first meeting coming in 2011

by Mike Pavlichko

All four higher seeds win SCT girls’ first round games as Ridge, Franklin, Somerville and Mount St. Mary advance

There were no real surprises – at least not seed-wise – in the girls’ Somerset County Tournament second round Saturday afternoon.

All four higher seeds – Ridge, Franklin, Somerville and Mount St. Mary – advanced, meaning it’ll be all chalk matchups in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round, which will be played at the higher seeds, the top four seeds who have yet to begin play in the tournament, earning the coveted double-byes.

(7) Somerville 49, (10) Bound Brook 47: The Pioneers and Crusaders were locked in a low-scoring game the first eight minutes, with Somerville holding a 6-5 lead after one quarter. But the offense opened up, and the Pioneers had a 21-17 lead at the half. Bound Brook rallied to up 38-33 after three, but Somerville used a strong fourth-quarter to come out with the two-point win. Kaylee Lauber led The ‘Ville (20-3) with 20 points, while Emily Kolodziej chipped in 10 and had six rebounds. Bound Brook fell to 13-8. It’s Somerville’s first 20-win season since 2020, when they finished 20-8m lost to Bound Brook in the SCT semis, and went to the North 2, Group 3 quarterfinals before bowing out to West Morris. They’ll try to make it 21 on Tuesday at second-seed Gill St. Bernard’s (21-3), a mark they last reached in 2018 with a team that went 22-7 and won the North 2, Group 3 title over Warren Hills.

(8) Ridge 57, (9) Watchung Hills 43: The Red Devils fell behind 18-14 after one quarter, but stepped on the gas the rest of the way for a 14-point win, after taking a 28-24 lead into halftime. Three players finished in double-figure scoring, the top two both recording double-doubles of 13 points and ten rebounds apiece – Sofie Squizziato and Olivia Holiday. Emily Grigonis kicked in 11 for Ridge (10-14), while Watchung Hills dropped to 5-16. Next up for Ridge is top-seed Rutgers Prep (18-4) – one of the top teams in all of New Jersey – in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. Mary Klinger earned her 700th career coaching win against Ridge on January 18th in an 85-42 victory, their only meeting this year. The Argonauts have won the last five matchups with Ridge by an average 59 points.

(5) Franklin 67, (12) Bernards 35: The Warriors dominated this one wire to wire, holding Bernards to just four points in the opening quarter, leading 21-4 after the first eight minutes and 37-11 at halftime. Franklin improves to 13-11, while Bernards drops to 11-13. The Warriors will visit fourth-seed Pingry on Tuesday in the SCT quarterfinals, a team they rarely face. Their lone meeting this year, a 64-51 Pingry win, was their first head-to-head matchup since 2011.

(6) Mount St. Mary 37, (11) Immaculata 25: The Lions were superb on defense, even if at the sacrifice of scoring early. Mount blanked the Spartans in the first quarter, but only led 5-0, then took a 15-5 lead into halftime before closing out ‘Lata in the second half. Mount St. Mary (13-10) got 11 points apiece from top scorers Calleigh Kreitz and Rachel Castela. Immaculata drops to 9-13 with the loss. Next up for Mount is third-seed Hillsborough in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. The Raiders won their lone meeting this year, 72-54, just two days ago, this past Thursday, in a regular season game; now they meet again in the tournament.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: No. 6 Gill St. Bernard’s 51, No. 8 Franklin 39 (Boys)

Freshman Kieran Quinn scored 18 points – nine in each half – to help power 6th-ranked Gill St. Bernard’s to a 51-39 win over No. 8 Franklin, in a Skyland Conference Delaware Division game on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. 

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the action from the Gill St. Bernard’s School in Peapack-Gladstone on Central Jersey Sports Radio:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 6 Gill figures it out down the stretch, pulls away from No. 8 Franklin for season’s first win

The Gill St. Bernard’s boys’ basketball team wasn’t the same team that turned it over 24 times in its season opener and lost to Hillsborough for the first time in nearly a decade.

Likewise, after a first half that saw the 6th-ranked Knights trailing at home to 8th-ranked Franklin, 25-23, they weren’t the same team in the second half. 

That’s all good thing.

The first half against the Warriors at least saw Gill taking better care of the basketball. In the second half, better ball movement and defensive rebounding paved the way to a 51-39 win.

It was a back-and-forth affair at the start, with nine lead changes and three ties in the first half alone. Franklin was on fire from the arc, hitting six triples, three coming from senior Cam Brown.

But he picked up a quick third foul in the second quarter, sending him to the bench for a spell, and that’s when Gill took over. Junior point guard Kobe Closeil – who’ll be running the show for the forseeable future with sophomore Dorsett Mulcahy, younger brother of former Rutgers standout Pail Mulcahy, also a GSB product, out with a back injury – had a seven point quarter, en route to a 12-point night.

Gill – now 1-1 overall and in the Skyland Delaware Division – took the lead in the third, and never looked back. Freshman Kieran Quinn – who looked anything but playing physical down low – finished with a team high n18 points, including two triples, while Cam Brown finished with a game-high 19 for Franklin (1-2, 1-1).

Click below for postgame reaction with Central Jersey Spots Radio’s Chris Tsakonas, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Gill St. Bernard’s senior point guard Kobe Closeil
Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mergin Sina
by Mike Pavlichko

Roster turnover and injuries leave Gill St. Bernard’s trying to figure it out as Franklin visits

Mergin Sina has seen a lot of things, but even he knows this is an atypical year for Gill St. Bernard’s boys’ basketball.

And his team has only played one game.

With a big roster overhaul from last year, and starting point guard Dorsett Mulachy unavailable due to a back injury – Sina knows from that – his young and inexperienced team committed 24 “unforced” turnovers against Hillsborough Thursday night in its season opener. 

And that led to a 49-48 loss that put the Raiders in the hunt in the Skyland Delaware Division, and the Knights on edge.

But that game is in the past, and after a rare full weekend off from game action – where Sina would normally have his team at a showcase – the sixth-ranked Knights (0-1) come back to entertain No. 8 Franklin (1-1) up in Peapack Tuesday night.

It’s a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas calling all the action. Pregame starts at 6:45 pm, with tip-off at 7. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas talk to Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mergin Sina about the season and Tuesday’s game against Franklin:

by Mike Pavlichko

Little change in Week 1 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten as Aquinas stays atop, Hillsborough moves up after big win

The top four teams all remained the same, while Hillsborough climbed into the Top 5 after a huge win over Gill St. Bernard’s, in the Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week One.

St. Thomas Aquinas (2-0) held in first after a pair of wins over JP Stevens and St. Joseph by the Sea (NY) to open the season.

Colonia (1-0) stayed at No. 2 after a win to open the season Saturday at JP Stevens, 65-35, while St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-0) held at No. 3 with a pair of wins at Piscataway, 92-82, and over Msgr. Farrell (NY), 56-43 on Saturday at the Friends of South Amboy games. The Patriots and Falcons meet in a big GMC clash Tuesday evening at Colonia.

Rutgers Prep (2-0) held at No. 4 this week, after opening wins over Franklin on Thursday, 53-49, and Saturday against Paramus Catholic, 98-45.

Hillsborough (1-1) is in fifth this week after a huge win over Gill St. Bernard’s, 49-48, its first over the Knights in nearly ten years. The Raiders lost to Delbarton Saturday, 64-56.

Gill St. Bernard’s (0-1) dropped to sixth after the loss to Hillsborough.

Checking in at No. 7 is Woodbridge (2-0), which had season-opening wins Thursday against Perth Amboy, 47-35, and Saturday at Edison, 69-40.

In eighth is Franklin (1-1), which came close to knocking off Rutgers Prep in is season opener Thursday, falling by four, 53-49, but them came back Saturday to beat Plainfield, 54-40. The Warriors travel to Gill St. Bernard’s Tuesday evening for a big Skyland Delaware Division game that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio; click here to listen.

At No. 9 is Immaculata (1-1), up one spot. They beat Parsippany Hills on the road Thursday in their opener, but lost to a solid Delaware Valley team Saturday, 55-44. Tuesday night, they host Rutgers Prep.

And joining the rankings this week for the first time is Bridgewater-Raritan (2-0), which beat previous No. 9 Bound Brook, 53-45 on Opening Night Thursday as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, knocking the Crusaders (1-1) out of the rankings. The Panthers then beat JFK Saturday, 71-46.

Below are the full Week One Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Thomas Aquinas heads preseason Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten, while three new teams join the rankings

In the preseason Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten, three-time defending GMC Tournament champion St. Thomas Aquinas holds the No. 1 spot, while three new teams – one from the GMC and two from the Skyland Conference – take their place in the rankings.

Aquinas went 24-5 last year, and has won three straight GMCT titles, in 2020, 2022 and 2023. (There was no full tournament in 2021 due to the COVID-shortened season.) The Red Division champs turned over almost their entire roster, but are expected to be one of the favorites to win it again this year.

Colonia will be among the teams in that conversation, too. The Patriots are No. 2 in the preseason, coming off their second straight North 2, Group 3 title, and led once again by talented point guard Jaeden Jones, who was just named CJSR’s Offensive Player of the Year in football for 2023.

In third is St. Joseph-Metuchen, a Non-Public South A finalist a year ago that went 18-11. Though top-scorer Josh Ingram is gone to graduation, they Falcons bring back a good core and are another GMCT contender.

The next two spots are taken by Somerset County teams, each of which has won one of the last two SCTs. Rutgers Prep – 22-8 a year ago and Skyland Delaware Division champions – checks in at No. 4, while Gill St. Bernard’s – 19-8 last season – is at No. 5. Both had some roster turnover, but should be 1a and 1b – and the order is debatable until they play – in the county.

At No. 6 is Woodbridge, 14-12 last season and with a whole lot coming back, including top scorer Micah Eason. The Barrons were seven points away from an 18-8 year; after a two-point loss at South Plainfield in December, they dropped three games in a four game stretch in January by one point to Perth Amboy, by two at Edison, and by two up the road at JP Stevens.

No. 7 is Hillsborough, which returns four starters, but after winning the Raritan Division, moves up to the Skyland Delaware, swapping places with Bridgewater-Raritan. That’ll make for a very challenging schedule.

Franklin is in at No. 8, coming off a 17-11 season. The duo of Cam and Elisha Brown will help the Warriors make things interesting in the Delaware Division.

At No. 9 is Bound Brook, which is coming off back-to-back 22-5 seasons. But they’ll have to recover from the loss of top-scorer Jordan Summers and his Somerset County best 25.6 points per game. Middlesex transfer Jayden Pearyer will help, while “glue guy” Jarred Wooden runs the offense.

In tenth is Immaculata. The Spartans were 19-6 a year ago and return a host of talent, getting up and down the floor, playing good defense to boot. But they’re also up to the Delaware Division with Prep, Gill, Franklin and Hillsborough.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio unveils 2023-24 H.S. Basketball broadcast schedule

As Central Jersey Sports Radio gets set for its fourth season of high school basketball coverage, we’re announcing our Broadcast Schedule for the 2023-24 campaign.

Just like in the past, we’ll be bringing you boys’ and girls’ basketball in both the Greater Middlesex Conference and Somerset County, with a regular season schedule of ten games – plus additional regular season contests to be added in late February and early January.

And, we’ll have coverage of the GMC and Somerset County Tournaments. That all starts with each tourney’s respective seeding meetings, all the way through to Championship Week in mid-February, including the GMC girls’ and boys’ semifinals, selected Somerset County semis, the GMC championship doubleheader on February 16th, and the Somerset County Tournament championship twinbill on the 17th.

State tournament coverage will be added as well.

It all gets started with games on back-to-back nights next week. We’ll be at Bridgewater-Raritan on opening night as the Bound Brook boys visit the Panthers on Thursday, December 14th, with the GMC boys’ taking the airwaves the next night at JFK visits Timothy Christian.

After Franklin visits Gill St. Bernard’s in a Skyland Conference game the following Tuesday night, it’s the girls’ turn as South Brunswick visits Colonia in the GMC on Thursday evening.

And of course, follow us on cjsportsradio.com for all the latest high school basketball news, rankings and game broadcasts, including postgame reaction after all broadcasts, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

For the full broadcast schedule, click here.

by Mike Pavlichko

Week 7 Friday night Playoff Analysis: Group 5

Note: This article contains an update to the North 5 standings and analysis due to a technical glitch on our part which didn’t include quality or group points for any of the teams. The below reflects the updated standings.

Through the end of the season, Central Jersey Sports Radio will be updating unofficial playoff standings following Friday night’s games. Full analysis after the weekend will come during the week as the official standings are released by Gridiron New Jersey.

Here’s a look at unofficial standings after games of Friday, October 13th in Group 5. Results are calculated using scores on Gridiron New Jersey as of 9:30 am on October 14th:

A quick look shows the Stateliners held steady with their win over Union, though their lead over third-place Union City has shrunk from 0.8 UPR points to 0.2 points. The question is: can they hang on with a win over winless East Brunswick next week, or will it hurt them? And will they get some help from Union City or others behind them? The Soaring Eagles play at 3-5 Clifton next week.

Watchung Hills holds in fourth, their UPR from from 3.4 to 4, while Union drops from fifth to seventh with their loss last night to the Stateliners, and Plainfield holds in sixth with a 6.2 UPR. Bottom line is all those teams should be pretty safe for first round home games if they close with wins next week.

Westfield dropped to 11th place; the Blue Devils host Ridge Saturday afternoon.

As expected, Bridgewater-Raritan went from the wrong side of the playoff bubble to the good side – 17th to 16th – with a huge home win over Elizabeth Friday night. The Minutemen dropped to 20 and should be out; they’ll guarantee that if they lose next week, having only one win, where the NJSIAA minimum is two.

Piscataway dropped to 18th place with its loss to Sayreville at home Friday night. The Chiefs visit New Brunswick next week, and even a win may not help them; the Zebras are winless, and without any other results entered, a win there would drop them from 18th to 21. It doesn’t look good for the Chiefs.

Hillsborough’s win last night, coupled with a Marlboro loss, puts the Raiders up a spot into third, while North Brunswick – which defeated winless East Brunswick Friday night – drops from No. 5 to sixth place. They will try and recoup those points when they play a solid Cranford team at home next Friday night.

Hunterdon Central holds in ninth as the Red Devils snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Franklin, while South Brunswick’s win over Edison gave them a big boost, moving the Vikings from 12th into eighth place.

Old Bridge’s win at New Brunswick didn’t move the needle, as expected, keeping the Knights in 18th place. Franklin and Edison would have a lot of ground to make up. The Warriors are in 21st place, with Edison behind them at No. 22.

Then again, there are three teams in front of them who may not qualify for the playoffs. Williamstown (17th, 0-8) definitely won’t, since they have one game remaining and won’t meet the two-win threshold by the NJSIAA for playoff qualification. That might also be the case for Vineland (19th, 1-5) and Eastern (20th, 1-6), except they both still have two games left: one today, one next week. But even if they don’t, they still play into the UPR formula, so Franklin is 6.2 UPR points out of a playoff spot; Edison is 6.6 points out. That’s a lot of ground to make up. The one caveat here is that Edison plays St. Thomas Aquinas next Friday night and will be guaranteed at least 24 power points if they lose (way more if they win). That would up them from a 7.63 power point average to 9.45, a jump of five spaces (as of today) in power point rank, shedding 2 points off their UPR number.

Bottom line: Old Bridge has a chance, Edison may be a longshot. Vineland and Eastern are the games to watch today. Franklin should be out.