Tag: Franklin

by Mike Pavlichko

Battle tested Rutgers Prep boys will battle Franklin a third time, this time for a trip to the SCT title game

The Argonauts boys’ basketball team earned its No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament the hard way, with some gritty basketball games in the top division in the conference.

After a buzzer-beater loss at Gill St. Bernard’s, they took firm control with a solid rematch on their home floor. But they didn’t just have to beat the Knights. They also had to gut out tough games like their two matchups with resurgent Franklin this year, including a 90-82 road victory on opening night, and a6 62-55 home win just under a month later on January 12th.

Thursday night, Rutgers Prep (18-7) and Franklin (16-9) will square off for a third time, this time with a trip to Saturday’s Somerset County Finals on the line. It’s a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 7 pm, with pregame at 6:45 following the girls’ matchup between the same teams at 5 pm.

Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino will call all the action. Click here to listen.

For Prep, they are seeking a third straight trip to the Somerset County Tourney title tilt, and fourth in the last five tournaments. They lost to Gill St. Bernard’s in both 2017 and 2018, missed the final in ’19, won it in 2020 by beating third-seed Watchung Hills, then after a one-off Skyland Pod tournament in 2021, fell to top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s last season.

The games with Franklin this year have been good ones. The first one on opening night, December 15th, saw the teams knotted up at 15 after one quarter before Rutgers Prep pulled out to a 14-point halftime lead, and a fourth-quarter rally by the Warriors fell short, losing by eight.

In the second one, it was a similar pattern. Prep led 14-11 after one, then 35-22 at the half, before Franklin made a move in the third quarter and fell short. Jadin Collins scored 23 in both games for the Argonauts.

Click below to hear Rutgers Prep head coach Matt Bloom talk about his team’s season and the matchup with Franklin:

by Mike Pavlichko

It’s the real season now for Rutgers Prep, as Lady Argonauts seek fourth straight SCT Final

Mary Klinger says the regular season is the pre-season. It’s the tune-up for the games that count. It’s where you find your strengths and weaknesses, and work on them before the county and state tournaments.

Well, now the games count. The top-seeded Rutgers Prep girls basketball team has already won its first Somerset County Tournament game, a quarterfinal victory over 8th-seed Ridge, 82-33. Now, it’s the semifinals Thursday night against a familiar foe in big games: Franklin.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will broadcast both games of a girls’/boys’ doubleheader involving the Rutgers Prep teams, both seeded No. 1 in their respective SCT brackets. The Rutgers Prep girls (18-4) take on fifth-seed Franklin (12-11) at 5 pm. Then it’s the boys’ turn at 7:00, with the same matchup: the Argonauts (18-7) versus the fifth-seeded Warriors (16-9).

Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino will call all the action, with pregame for the first contest beginning at 4:45. Click here to listen.

Klinger’s squad is led by junior sensation Mikayla Blakes, with her 22.5 points a game, with significant contributions from veterans like Katie Ledden, Chloe Escanillas, Zahra Alexander and more. That includes freshman GiGi Battle, averaging 9.3 points a game in her rookie campaign.

Franklin isn’t the same team they were pre-COVID, when head coach Audrey Taylor’s team was a pretty regular fixture in the Tournament of Champions, winning it in 2017 and 2019. But they’re still a talented bunch, and can give teams fits.

Click below to hear Rutgers Prep head coach Mary Klinger talk about her team’s season, and the matchup with Franklin:

by Mike Pavlichko

Franklin, Ridge, Pingry, Mount St. Mary girls all advance to Somerset County Tourney quarterfinals

It’s on to the round of eight in the Somerset County Tournament, with all the higher seeds advancing in second round action Saturday afternoon. They now play in quarterfinal action against the top four seeds, which all earned double-byes.

In the top half of the bracket, 8th-seed Ridge beat 9-seed Bound Brook at home, 59-38, in a game in controlled the whole way, starting with a 22-8 first quarter lead for the Red Devils (13-9). Junior forward Emma Landes had her first career 20-plus point game, finishing with 23 on the day. Senior Casey Miller paced Bound Brook (9-12) with 19. Ridge moves on to play at top-seed Rutgers Prep (16-4) Tuesday night.

On the other side of that bracket, fifth-seed Franklin (11-11) more than doubled-up 12th-seed Immaculata, 43-21. This one started out slow, with the Warriors taking a 4-0 lead over the Spartans (11-13) after one quarter. But they picked up the offensive pace over the next eight minutes, taking a 16-5 lead into the locker room, a lead they would not relinquish. Junior guard Iyanna Cotton’s 19 points led all scorers in the game; she was the only one in double figures. Next up for Franklin is a quarterfinal game at 4-seed Hillsborough (14-9) Tuesday night.

In the other bracket, it was 7-seed Pingry (15-9) getting past 10-seed Somerville, 54-34, behind another big second quarter. Up by just two after the first eight minutes, the Big Blue used a 22-9 second period to take a 35-20 lead into halftime. Three Pingry players reached double-figures, led by sophomore center Debra Hill, with a game-high 16. Somerville drops to 13-10 with the loss, while the Big Blue move on to Tuesday night’s quarterfinals, where they will visit 2nd-seed Gill St. Bernard’s (14-6).

The other side of that bracket saw 6th-seed Mount St. Mary move on with a 50-43 win over Bernards (15-7). The Lions (15-9) were led by sophomore Mia Gestosani with 14, while junior Rachel Castela added 12. Game-high honors went to the Mountaineers’ senior guard Sydney Incarnato, with 18. Mount moves on to play third-seed Watchung Hills (16-5) Tuesday night.

by Mike Pavlichko

Three teams out, two new ones join Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Rankings

It was a week of losses, some more impactful than others, in the Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten. Week Four saw the top five remain the same, but there were many changes in Week Four after that.

Rutgers Prep (6-3) continues to hold the top spot; their third loss of the season came by ten to McDonogh of Maryland. St. Thomas Aquinas (8-2) had a 3-0 week, while Gill St. Bernard’s (6-3) remained in third, despite a two loss-week; one came to top-ranked Rutgers Prep, which has not lost a Skyland Conference regular season game since a December 2018 loss to Franklin. The other came to statewide No. 1 St. John Vianney.

South Brunswick (8-2) holds at No. 4, while Edison (10-0) remains No 5.

Franklin (4-4) moves up from seventh to sixth despite a 2-1 week. Their two wins came in-league over Hunterdon Central and previously-6th-ranked Hillsborough.

Bernards (6-3) – which was tied for tenth with Middlesex last week – moves up to No. 7, while the Blue Jays (7-1) rose to No. 8. Mount St. Mary joins the rankings at 7-4 and in the nine-spot, while Old Bridge (6-3) debuts in tenth.

Dropping out were No. 6 Hillsborough, No. 8 Monroe, and ninth-ranked Colonia. The Raiders (4-4) went 0-3 last week against Rutgers Prep, Franklin and Watchung Hills. Colonia was 2-1 with a division loss to Old Bridge. Monroe dropped a pair of games to St. Thomas Aquinas and Colonia.

Below are the full Week 4 Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 7 South Plainfield guts one out against Franklin in GMC-Skyland Challenge

It wasn’t the best defensive effort they’ve had all season – coach and his star player agree – but a win is a win.

No. 7 South Plainfield got by Franklin Saturday evening in the fourth game of the five-contest GMC-Skyland Challenge at Bound Brook High School, with a 76-65 win. Senior guard Brandon Dean, the GMC’s leading scorer at nearly 26 points a game, finished with 23, including eight three-pointers.

The win improves South Plainfield to 8-1, winners of two straight since suffering its first loss of the season earlier this week to St. Joseeph-Metuchen. Franklin drops to 4-5.

Click below to hear postgame comments from Tigers’ head coach John Greco and senior guard Brandon Dean:

by Mike Pavlichko

Girls’ Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten takes out-of-area losses, but top remains mostly unchanged

Rutgers Prep lost once, St. Thomas Aquinas lost twice, and South Brunswick lost, too. But with all those defeats coming out-of-area or out-of-state, they failed to drop in the Week Four Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten.

While Colonia dropped, it was their fourth loss of the season, and the Patriots’ are the only team below .500 in the rankings, though three of those losses – including their most recent – are out-of-area.

Gill St. Bernards (5-1) was the only team that went unbeaten over the Christmas break, and the Knights check in third, behind Prep (4-2) and Aquinas (5-2), with the Vikings (6-2) behind them.

The Vikings are followed by Edison (7-0) in fifth, then Hillsborough (4-1), Franklin (2-3) and Monroe (4-1) with Colonia (2-3) in ninth. There was a tie for tenth, with Bernards (5-2) holding court, and Middlesex (5-0) debuting at No. 10.

Below are the full Week Three Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Little new in Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball rankings

No. 9 Edison and No. 8 Monroe flip-flopped this week, but other than that, there were no changes to the Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten for Week Two.

The top five remained the same, led by Rutgers Prep (2-1), followed by St. Thomas Aquinas (4-0), Gill St. Bernard’s (2-1), South Brunswick (4-1) and Colonia (2-3). The Patriots – with two out-of-area-losses – lost at South Brunswick 43-40 last Thursday night, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

READ MORE: Price, defense help No. 4 South Brunswick girls stifle No. 5 Colonia at home

Hillsborough (2-1) held in sixth, while Franklin (2-1) kept pace in seventh, while Edison (5-0) moved up a spot to No. 8 and Monroe (2-1) dropped one to ninth.

Bernards (4-1) held in tenth.

Below are the full Week 2 Girls’ Basketball Bellamy & Son Paving Rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Despite losses, top teams remain at the top in Week One Bellamy & Son Paving girls’ basketball rankings

The No. 1 team in the Bellamy & Son Paving girls’ basketball top ten lost this weekend. So did the No. 3 team, and the No. 5 team.

But with all coming to out-of-area opponents, neither slipped in the Week One rankings.

Rutgers Prep (1-1) remains No. 1, followed by 2-0 St. Thomas Aquinas, with Gill St. Bernard’s (1-1) holding in the third spot.

After No. 4 South Brunswick (2-0), Colonia also held in the fifth spot at 1-1.

Dropping out were the ninth and tenth teams – North Brunswick (0-2) and Mount St. Mary (1-2), with Edison and Bernards – both 2-0 – taking their place.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 1 Rutgers Prep’s defense stifles No. 7 Franklin early to win season opener

Meet the new Rutgers Prep, same as the old Rutgers Prep.

Actually, they’re not that new, with several huge pieces back from last year’s 29-3 team that made the last ever Tournament of Champions title game.

But the results were much the same: a full-court press to open the game left the Lady Argonauts up 7-0 before Franklin could score, and they pulled away to an 86-44 win on opening night at home Thursday.

Junior Mikayla Blakes led all scorers with 26 points in just three quarters of play, as the bench came in for the final eight minutes. Blakes had five treys, including a four-point play in the first quarter where she was fouled making a triple.

Rhode Island-bound senior Katie Ledden followed with 14 points, while freshman Gigi Battle finished with 10, and junior Zahra Alexander had nine. Another freshman in the starting five, Ava LaMonica, chipped in six.

Click below for postgame reaction, sponsored by SportsPlex at Metuchen:

Junior point guard Mikayla Blakes
Mikayla Blakes of Rutgers Prep. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Head coach Mary Klinger
by Mike Pavlichko

Franklin searching for identity as Lady Warriors get set to open the season at Rutgers Prep

The high school basketball season has been condensed, and the preseason is so short, Audrey Taylor hasn’t quite figured out her Franklin girls basketball team yet.

That’s okay, though, because her team’s opponent on Opening Night is Rutgers Prep, whose coach Mary Klinger believes the regular season is just the preseason anyway, until the county and state tournaments come along.

Graduation cost the Lady Warriors their top scorer, Christina Midgette, and her 21 points per game. But after that, everyone else is back. That includes junior Ayanna Cotton (11.1 ppg), as well as the Pecorella sisters – senior Alyssa and junior Tiffany – the next three scorers from last season down the line from Midgette.

Rutgers Prep has won the lone meeting between the teams the last two seasons – 60-34 on Opening Night last year, and 65-33 in February of 2021 – but both programs have had enormous success for quite some time. They are a combined 298-60 the last six years, and are the only teams to win the Somerset County Tournament in that span.

You can hear Thursday night’s game on Central Jersey Sports Radio beginning at 6:45 with the pregame show, and tip-off at 7. Click here to listen as Mike Pavlichko calls all the play-by-play.

Click here to listen to CJSR’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Franklin head coach Audrey Taylor about the upcoming season: