Tag: Gill St. Beranrd's

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

INSTANT REPLAY: SCT Boys’ Final – #1 Rutgers Prep 69, #2 Gill St. Bernard’s 67

Cameron Piggee’s and-one with 2.9 seconds to go gave Rutgers Prep its first lead of the game, and after a half-court heave missed, the top-seeded Argonauts knocked off defending champion and second-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s in the Somerset County Tournament Boys’ Championship Game, to take their second-ever county title.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the action from Montgomery High School on February 18, 2023 on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: SCT Girls’ Final – #1 Rutgers Prep 64, #2 Gill St. Bernard’s 39

The top-seeded Rutgers Prep Lady Argonauts won their third straight Somerset County Tournament title, beating second-seed Gill St. Bernard’s 64-39, behind a career-high 21 points for Zahra Alexander, who led her team in scoring for the first time in her scholastic career.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the action from Montgomery High School on February 18, 2023 on Central Jersey Sports Radio.