Tag: girls' basketball

Franklin Girls Basketball celebrates the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional title.
by Alec Crouthamel

Jimmy Kreie’s first-year success earns Franklin girls’ mentor CJSR’s Somerset County Girls’ Coach of the Year honors

Franklin girls’ basketball is a program built on tradition and plenty of winning, benchmarks set not too long ago in the 2010s. Former coach Audrey Taylor had the Warriors rolling, with four group state titles and two Tournament of Champions trophies, including the famed 34-0 2018-19 squad.

After a six-year hardware drought, Franklin brought back the shine that put the Warriors on the map across the state, under the leadership of first-year head coach Jimmy Kreie.

Following a run at Montclair Immaculate – capped by a Non-Public B title in the school’s final year of operation last season – Kreie headed south and took the job at Franklin.

All he and the Warriors did was reach the Somerset County Tournament final for the first time since 2019, and win a sectional title for the first time since 2020. They had to battle to do it, rallying from a nine-point deficit after three quarters in the Central Jersey Group 4 final against Hillsborough, and outscored the Raiders 22-2 in the final eight minutes.

Their season came to a close in the next round against eventual Group 4 champion Lenape, but the resounding success Franklin saw in Year One has earned Kreie Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Somerset County Girls’ Coach of the Year for the 2025-26 season.

Heading into his first year at the helm, Kreie had some familiarity with the Warriors’ roster — all but one player (Rutgers freshman forward PreciousGem Wheeler) remained from Montclair Immaculate’s 47-39 win over Franklin in December of 2024 — and had seen plenty of star junior forward Aleah Sunkins and sophomore guard Jamila McRiney from his work in the AAU ranks.

Franklin came out of the gates a bit slow with a 1-4 start, but not a single Warrior was fazed. That tied back to Kreie’s philosophy and message: These challenges will make us better.

Whether it was the victory over Gill St. Bernard’s in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, or the comeback win over Hillsborough to win the sectional title, the program’s focus never wavered from the ultimate goal of development and gaining experience, while being around success.

Sunkins enjoyed a terrific season as a junior, averaging a 17-point, ten-rebound double-double per game while being held to single-digit points just twice. The team’s top seniors — guards Alissa Myers, Gianna Mattia, and Kayla Duncan — each had their own game-changing moments when the lights were brightest, and as Kreie put it after the sectional final, put the Warriors on the map.

Following the first breakout season, the future is bright as well. Sunkins will enter her senior campaign next year as one of the premier wings in the area. Kreie is not shy about his praise for rising juniors McRiney and Nola Bright, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. And there is more development to be had for some of the other underclassmen who may not have seen the most action on the floor, but have the talent to compete next season.

Add in a full community and administrative effort to support the program in droves — as Kreie raved about all season — and the Warriors appear to have put themselves squarely back in position as one of the area’s top teams.

Click below to hear Franklin head coach Jimmy Kreie talk about the 2025-26 season, the program’s future, and his coaching philosophy with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Alec Crouthamel

Addy Platt earns CJSR Somerset County Girls’ Player of the Year honors, while her Gill St. Bernard Knights are Team of the Year after sectional title win

Outside of Gladstone, New Jersey, it looked like the Gill St. Bernard’s girls basketball team may have been headed for a retooling year.

Five seniors graduated, and all played college basketball this season as freshmen at the next level. With a solid stable of underclassmen returning, there was a relative unknown with the Knights.

On campus, though, the belief never wavered, even dating back to the summer.

Gill St. Bernard’s proceeded to go 22-6 and win its first sectional title since 2012, making it all the way to Rutgers in the Non-Public B Final.

All that has earned the Knights Central Jersey Sports Radio Somerset County Team of the Year honors, with senior leader Addy Platt named Girls’ Player of the Year in Somerset.

After playing a smaller role in her junior year, Platt burst onto the scene as a senior. She stuffed the stat sheet, averaging 19.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 4.1 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game. The future Saint Joseph’s Hawk also consistently picked up the opposing team’s top option, while drawing the same assignment on the opposite side.

But championship teams aren’t made by just one player, even a star of Platt’s caliber.

A returning junior class that developed into a dangerous supporting cast propelled Gill into the Team of the Year conversation. Platt’s sister Katie, point guard Melina Miller, and wing Sadie Finn all took advantage of the opportunities in front of them, and altogether, the Knights took another leap forward into the state’s cream of the crop.

Add in an exciting stable of younger talent, and Gill St. Bernard’s won’t be going anywhere.

But for the 2025-26 iteration of the Knights, Platt’s do-it-all leadership and ability to take over games earned her the distinction as the top Player of the Year, and the collective earned Team of the Year.

Click below to hear Knights head coach Mark Gnapp and Platt talk about the 2025-26 season, and what the future holds for both Platt and Gill St. Bernard’s with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

Honorable Mentions:

  • Hailey Benbow, Rutgers Prep: There was no sophomore slump for Hailey Benbow, who averaged 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Argonauts, leading the team in both categories in her second season as a starter. She also sunk 25 triples on the year, and led a defensive-oriented squad with 60 steals.
  • Aleah Sunkins, Franklin: It may take five to play basketball, but the Warriors don’t get where they got this year – to the Somerset County Tournament final, and winning Central Jersey Group 4 – without Sunkins, a junior who averaged more than twice the next leading scorer, at 17.9 points per game. In fact, she averaged a double-double with 10.9 boards per contest, while also hitting 36 threes and tying for team-high honors in steals with Alissa Myers, at 62. A seniors, Myers will be gone next year, but Sunkins will remain the focal point next season.
  • Aletha Reynolds, Bernards: A double-double machine, with 16 during the season, Reynolds averaged 14.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. She helped the Mountaineers to a 10-0 start, and a trip to the North 2, Group 2 semis, where they lost to defending and eventual champion Madison. The senior will attend Catholic University in Washington, D.C. next fall.
  • Peytan Pugh, Bound Brook: Just a freshman, Peytan and Company nearly knocked off Rutgers Prep in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, and reached the Central Jersey Group 1 title game. Why? Because she registered 254 steals, tops in New Jersey, nearly nine per game! A great focal point to build around for the Crusaders over the next three years!
  • Sadie Fleming, Manville: With 13 double-doubles this season, Sadie had another fantastic year to cap off a four-year varsity journey. She averaged 13.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game – helping Manville to a school record 17 wins – finishing the her time with the Mustangs as rare member of the “Double 1K Club” – with 1,238 career points and 1,217 rebounds. Sadie is just the second girls’ player at Manville to crack a thousand, but holds the record for most rebounds in a career – by far! Fleming will attend Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania next year.
Gill St. Bernard's guard Kaity Platt (14) goes up with a layup through contact.
by Alec Crouthamel

Gill St. Bernard’s girls bring good times to Rutgers for Non-Public B final against Gloucester Catholic

Think back to March of 2012.

Adele and Flo Rida ruled the music charts, the Big East Conference was finishing up its penultimate year in its prime form before realignment destroyed it (nope, definitely not bitter), and the Gill St. Bernard’s girl’s basketball team stood at the top as Non-Public state champions, and sectional champions for the third straight year, under former head coach Aaron Gratch.

Now in 2026, the Knights (22-5) are back near the peak of the mountain in the state final, though no Tournament of Champions to follow like the 2012 team, so this is it.

Gill plays for all the marbles on Thursday at Jersey Mike’s Arena on the campus of Rutgers University, in the Non-Public B final against Gloucester Catholic. Tip-off time from Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway is at 5 pm, and we’ve got live coverage on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel calling all the action. Pregame starts at 4:45; click here to listen.

The boys’ game for the Non-Public Group B title against Holy Cross Prep of Delran against will also be broadcast live on CJSR at 7 pm.

Gill has played efficient, workmanlike basketball throughout its path to its first sectional title since the three-peat from 2010-12, but now faces one of its toughest tests yet against the Rams (25-4).

Addy and Kaity Platt once again steal the headlines, and combined for 31 points in the sectional final win over Saddle River Day, but it’s been a team-wide effort to get to this point for the Knights. With point guard Melina Miller setting the table and wing Sadie Finn doing the dirty work with tough defense and extra passes, it’s no wonder Gill has responded with a deep run after a tremendous senior class graduated.

This also won’t be the first time these two teams have seen each other this season. Way back in December — where three months ago feels like three years ago — Gloucester Catholic responded from an early deficit and put the clamps down on Gill for a 60-45 victory at the Shore Games in Colts Neck.

But both teams have evolved in the time since, and are playing at their best at the right time.

It’s a battle of similar but contrasting styles. Neither team goes particularly deep into their bench — both stick with a main six in the rotation, with a seventh usually mixed in somewhere — and both will send pressure in the backcourt. But Gill wants to get out and run, while the Rams are happy to play in a slower, grind-it-out type game.

That’s exactly how Gloucester Catholic — the second seed and champion of South Jersey Group B — won its second straight sectional title against top-seeded Rutgers Prep back on Monday night. The Rams were able to slow the game down and, combined with plenty of missed shots from the Argonauts, hold Rutgers Prep to its lowest scoring total of the year.

They also have continuity on their side, with no graduating seniors from a team that made it to this same stage last year. Senior trio Jalyn Moore, Jahzara Green, and Talia Shumate all played in that state title — a 41-30 loss to Montclair Immaculate, led by now-Franklin head coach Jimmy Kreie before the school closed at the end of the year — and all played pivotal roles in Gloucester Catholic’s December win over the Knights.

Add in a leader with over 700 career wins in 37th-year head coach, and Rams graduate herself Lisa Gedaka, and Gloucester Catholic will not be fazed by the bright lights. The Rams will battle for their first state title since 1983, Gedaka’s junior season.

But Gill is executing at some of the highest levels ninth-year head coach Mark Gnapp has seen in his time in Gladstone. With the state crown — and two long championship droughts — on the line, it may come down to who has the ball last at Rutgers.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel talk with Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mark Gnapp about the Knights’ Non-Public B title matchup against Gloucester Catholic:


Franklin Girls Basketball celebrates the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional title on March 5th, 2026 (Photo: Alec Crouthamel).
by Alec Crouthamel

Franklin wakes up with monster fourth quarter, defeats Hillsborough for first sectional title in six years

It might have been apparent which team was playing for its third straight sectional title, and which team was playing in its first in six years heading into the fourth quarter in the Central Jersey Group 4 final.

In the final eight minutes, though, that perception flipped 180 degrees.

Top-seeded Franklin claimed its first sectional title since 2020, rallying from a nine-point deficit at the end of the third quarter to stun third-seeded Hillsborough 52-41. The Warriors (22-8) turned up the heat exponentially in the final frame, holding the Raiders (21-7) without a field goal in the entire fourth quarter, with just two free throws, leading to a 22-2 scoring margin in the final eight minutes.

Senior guard Alissa Myers proved to be the hero, tying her career high with 20 points, 12 coming in the fourth quarter alone. She knocked down a trio of three-pointers and got Franklin back into the game with her shooting, while the Warriors’ swarming defense stifled Hillsborough the entire way.

Franklin had three scorers in double figures, as star forward Aleah Sunkins shook off a slow start and apparent third-quarter hand injury to finish with 11 points, six coming in the fourth quarter. She knocked down four consecutive free throws in the final minute to put the game out of reach. Sophomore guard Jamila McRiney scored ten points, including two three-pointers in the first quarter to help kickstart the Warriors’ offense.

Juniors Kayla Cebedo and Victoria Liedl each scored 12 points to lead the Raiders, as Liedl converted on four big-time three-pointers to help Hillsborough build its lead to begin with. Cebedo hit two free throws in the final 45 seconds for the Raiders’ only fourth-quarter points. Isabella Ruh scored ten points before fouling out late, attempting to extend the game. Junior guard Nevya Loniewski also fouled out early in the fourth quarter, finishing with five points.

The physicality and athleticism on both sides were apparent from the jump ball, as Franklin ended the first quarter with a 13-11 lead, but Hillsborough continued to play solid defense to open the game as Ruh nailed two treys. Loniewski hit another to open the second quarter to put the Raiders back in the lead, and neither team scored for the next four minutes as the championship pressure appeared to speed up both teams.

Hillsborough eventually gained an edge with two minutes left in the half, but the Warriors managed two straight baskets in the final minutes to head into the locker room with a slim one-point lead.

The Raiders’ championship experience and poise both shone through in the third quarter, outscoring Franklin 19-9 as Cebedo controlled the pace with the ball in her hands, and Liedl knocked down two more three-pointers. Ruh added two baskets at the rim of her own, while containing the Warriors’ offense by speeding them up and forcing turnovers. By the time the dust settled, Hillsborough sat with a 39-30 lead with eight minutes to play, and all of the momentum headed in the visitors’ direction.

But Franklin never lost faith.

The Warriors cranked up the energy on defense, forcing several turnovers in the fourth quarter with its full-court pressure, and the shots finally started to fall. Franklin made four three-pointers in the final period, three from Myers and McRiney added another, while forward Alivia Stewart got downhill and scored four key points. The trio of McRiney, Myers, and senior Kayla Duncan wreaked havoc in the backcourt and carried Franklin back into the game.

By the time the Raiders knew what hit them, the Warriors had ripped off a 20-0 run and taken a double-digit lead.

It wasn’t totally over just yet, as Hillsborough’s strategy to foul with 90 seconds left worked to perfection with six straight missed Franklin free throws, but it ultimately didn’t matter as the Raiders still couldn’t get anything to go on offense. The Warriors then gave the ball to Sunkins to bring the ball up, and she calmly knocked down four straight at the charity stripe, even with a wrap on her hand.

Franklin clinched its first sectional title since a run of four straight from 2017-20, when Audrey Taylor had the Warriors rolling as one of the top teams in the state. Now, in Year One under head coach Jimmy Kreie, Franklin has climbed one mountain and has a chance for another in the state tournament.

The Warriors will face off against the winner of the South Jersey Group 4 finalists, top-seeded Lenape and third-seeded Howell, in the Group 4 semifinals on Tuesday at Deptford Township High School.

Click below to hear postgame reactions with Franklin head coach Jimmy Kreie and senior guard Alissa Myers with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Franklin and Rutgers Prep tip off in the Somerset County Tournament final.
by Alec Crouthamel

Neighboring towns, Hillsborough and Franklin, battle for Central Jersey Group 4 crown

5.6 miles. Ten minutes (or fewer, depending on the amount of lead in your right foot).

That’s the distance on Amwell Road in Somerset County between Hillsborough High School and Franklin High School. And those two schools will face off in the Central Jersey Group 4 title game on Thursday evening, with the top-seeded Warriors (21-8) playing host to the defending Group 4 champions and third-seeded Raiders (21-6).

It’ll be a battle of experience levels, as Hillsborough looks for its third straight sectional title — winning North 2 Group 4 in 2024 and Central Jersey Group 4 last season — while Franklin reached its first sectional final since 2020 under first-year head coach Jimmy Kreie.

It all goes down in Franklin on Thursday evening. You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Alec Crouthamel, with pregame starting around 5:45 pm and tipoff at 6. Click here to listen.

Even after the Raiders lost a group of seniors from that title-winning squad, Hillsborough’s program culture kept some of the underclassmen ready for important action.

They’ve been needed, especially of late. Almost the entire rotation had to shift roles and/or positions with the absence of second-leading scorer Alexa Gaspar in the semifinals against East Brunswick. That preparation helped fuel a come-from-behind victory on the road, to help get Hillsborough to this point.

The Warriors have had mostly smooth sailing in the sectional tournament, winning three games against Shore Conference foes by an average of 40 points.

Junior forward Aleah Sunkins has continued to stake her claim as a top talent in the state, stacking the stat sheet while continuing to improve as a perimeter threat, paired with her ability to get downhill with force. She added a career-high 33 points against Jackson Township in a semifinal victory.

Franklin has a style — and plenty of athleticism and versatility to boot — as things are fully coming together down the stretch of Kreie’s first year at the helm.

It’ll be a heavyweight battle in the sectional title, and a rematch at that. The Warriors defeated the Raiders in Hillsborough 72-44 back on January 6th, but both coaches agree their respective teams have improved and evolved in the two months since that game.

Hillsborough may have the championship experience, but Franklin brings a title-winning coach himself — Kreie won the Non-Public B title with now-closed Montclair Immaculate last season — and a team hungry to reach the heights of the late 2010s, in its first sectional title appearance in six years.

Both teams will look to run and gun, but in the end, whichever team sticks to its plan and stays calm under pressure will likely walk away with the trophy.

Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches and Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:


Hillsborough head coach Courtney Tierney

Franklin head coach Jimmy Kreie

The final scoreboard between Bound Brook (62) and Roselle Park (41).
by Alec Crouthamel

Bound Brook shakes off rough first quarter, topples Roselle Park for first sectional title appearance since 2020

Just by looking at the final score, it looked like second-seeded Bound Brook girls basketball worked a ho-hum, big-time victory in the Central Jersey Group 1 semifinals against sixth-seeded Roselle Park.

But for those watching — and listening on Central Jersey Sports Radio — it was anything but.

The Crusaders (25-3) trailed 17-2 in the first quarter, but rallied back to take a double-digit halftime lead, and continued to build in the second half for a 62-41 victory over the upset-minded Panthers (18-8).

Bound Brook clinched a win, and its first appearance in the sectional title since 2020, when it won the Central Jersey Group 1 title and was won the Group 1 semifinal to end the COVID-19-shortened season.

Freshman guard Peytan Pugh paced the Crusaders with 17 points, while continuing her work as the state’s steals leader with countless swipes at the ball, turning into extra possessions on the offensive end. Bound Brook had three other scorers in double figures, as senior wing Ty Ferguson added 14 — all in the second and fourth quarters — while Lauren Polakiewicz made a trio of three-pointers for 12 points, and Jayden Campbell scored ten.

Roselle Park star guard Sidney Smith — the leading scorer in the state — finished with a game-high 26 points and was the only Panther in double figures. She finished five points shy of her season average, as the Crusaders threw multiple different looks and defenders at her to try to contain her premiere shotmaking.

Roselle Park took all of the momentum to start, playing uptempo on both ends of the floor as Smith scored eight points in the opening quarter and the Panthers’ supporting cast helped lead the way, as Hannah Djokic knocked down two three-pointers and Otilla Dobre added another.

After a 17-2 start, Bound Brook stabilized things a bit with two straight baskets to end the frame down by 11.

Then once the second quarter tipped off, the Crusaders were off to the races.

They outscored Roselle Park 28-7 in the quarter, as their own uptempo style got going, led by multiple steals from Pugh to set up transition opportunities. Bound Brook opened the quarter on a 16-0 run to take the lead back, and eventually went into the locker room with a double-digit lead, at 34-24. The trio of Pugh, Polakiewicz, and Ferguson combined for 24 of the 28 second-quarter points, as the Crusaders snatched all of the momentum back and kept it the rest of the way.

The Panthers wouldn’t go down without a fight, though. Early in the third quarter, Smith put on a heroic scoring run to get Roselle Park back within four, knocking down fallaway jumper after fallaway jumper. But Pugh knocked down a three in the final minute of the quarter and gave Bound Brook some breathing room with a seven-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Roselle Park gave the Crusaders an inch, and they took it a mile to open the fourth quarter. They outscored the Panthers 18-6 and put the game away with an increased focus on attacking the basket and continuing to double-team — and sometimes even triple-team — Smith, daring the superstar scorer to give the ball up and force someone else to beat them.

In the sectional semifinals, Bound Brook shook off a rough start and battled to dominate the final 24 minutes of the game to snap a six-year sectional title appearance drought. The Crusaders will move on to face New Providence in the Central Jersey Group 1 championship game, set for Saturday between the section’s top two seeds.

Click here to listen to postgame comments from Bound Brook head coach Jen Derevjanik and freshman guard Peytan Pugh, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:


by Mike Pavlichko

Manville girls’ coach Mike Knitowski wins 100th game as Mustangs defeat College Achieve Central

The Manville girls’ basketball program is having one of its best seasons in years, with a shot at its first winning record in well over a decade.

Senior Sadie Fleming not only joined the 1,000 point club, but also reached that milestone in the rebounding category, no small feat.

Now, head coach Mike Knitowski has his 100th career win.

He’s been leading the program at his only head coaching job for 13 years, and this is the best season they’ve had. And it’s made for exciting times at the school. The boys’ basketball team beat rival Bound Brook for the first time in over two decades this season – not once, but twice. And the football team notched its first ever playoff win this November against Asbury Park.

Manville girls’ basketball coach Mike Knitowski holds a commemorative banner after picking up his 100th win at College Achieve Central on February 2, 2026. (Photo courtesy Mike Knitowski)

For Knitowski, it’s been a long time coming, with some very lead years early on. High school sports, especially among the public schools, is always cyclical, but that’s even more pronounced at small schools like Manville. Who knows what next year will being with a talented group of seniors graduating, so the Mustangs are enjoying it while they can.

Knitowski’s 100th came Monday night, via a 41-31 win at College Achieve Central in North Plainfield. Sadie Fleming led with 17 points, as Manville improved to 10-6.

Knocked out of the Somerset County Tournament this past weekend in the second round by Bridgewater-Raritan, they’ve really only got one more guaranteed loss this season unless they win the state Group 1 championship, which means they have a really good chance at finishing above .500 for the first time in Knitowski’s tenure, since 2012-13, the year before he arrived, when the Mustangs finished 13-11.

Last year’s squad was 13-13, with their trend headed in the right direction, and they’ve lived up to all those expectations so far.

Click below to hear Manville girls’ basketball coach mike Knitowski talk about the path to his 100th win with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Battle of two young teams as JP Stevens girls visit South Plainfield in second meeting this year

Young teams can sometimes do unpredictable – or, at least, uncharacteristic – things.

Such are the growing pains the South Plainfield girls’ basketball team is experiencing on a squad with four seniors, but no juniors, having lost three starters to graduation.

Well, JP Stevens can do them one better. The Hawks lost four starters to graduation and have just two seniors on the roster, with two sophomores and a freshman in the starting five.

And while the Hawks may be 4-2, and the Tigers 2-4, it was South Plainfield that won the first meeting between the teams back on December 18th, Game Two of the season for both squads.

Game Two in the season series is Tuesday night in South Plainfield, and you can hear it live on Central Jersey Sports Radio as part of a twinbill, with tipoff at 5:30 pm, followed by the 8th-ranked Tiger boys taking on Colonia at 7:00. Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen will have the call; click here to listen.

The death knell for JP in the first meeting was the first quarter, where Stevens got outscored 14-2. And it was one of those key returnees, senior guard Sam Moench, who helped bury them with three triples in that opening period. While the Hawks cut it to as little as two in the fourth quarter, South Plainfield pulled away late for a 43-33 win; Moench finished with 17.

Of JP’s 33 points, junior Aliyah Manley scored 27 of them, adding eight rebounds. Averaging 26.7 points per game, she’s among the top scorers in the state, and also lead the team in rebounds (6.7), treys (22) and steals, with 25 – and she’s swiped six twice already.

Head coach Tim Weber calls her “an awesome player” and says “if she’s one-on-one in half court, I feel bad for the defender.”

Watching Moench and Manley duke it out should make for a great rematch.

Click below to hear pregame interviews with both head coaches:

South Plainfield head coach Alex DeVivo with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Dylan Allen
JP Stevens head coach Tim Weber with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko
basketball
by Mike Pavlichko

NJSIAA approves statewide implementation of running clock in H.S. basketball

Some rules created by NFHS – the National Federation of State High School Associations, which sets standard rules for high schools across the country – are optional, such as the shot clock in basketball. Others govern basic rules of all the sports played in high school, and must be followed.

While New Jersey is still one of several states that have not implemented the shot clock in basketball – often due to concerns about the added cost – one rule it will now implement statewide is that of a running clock.

NJSIAA Spokesman Mike Cherenson confirmed to Central Jersey Sports Radio Wednesday afternoon that its Executive Committee earlier in the day approved the “mercy rule” across the state.

Locally, the Skyland Conference already had it in place, as the rule has always been optional, until now. The NJIC has been using it, too. The Greater Middlesex Conference had voted to begin using it this year.

Now everyone will – girls’ and boys’ basketball – effective this upcoming season, 2025-26.

The measure was proposed by the NJSIAA staff along with the Basketball Committee and Leagues & Conferences.

According to the approved proposal, “Upon the start of the third quarter, if the score differential reaches 35 points or more, the clock will stop only for a time out, injury, technical foul, or when requested by the officials. Normal timing will not resume during the remainder of the game, with the exception of overtime. Any overtime period will resume normal timing.”

The GMC’s implementation of the running clock had a lot to do with lopsided scores in the Red Division on the girls’ side, which has been dominated now for several years by St. Thomas Aquinas.

The Trojans have won the last six GMC Tournament titles, but last year in the regular season, played at a completely different level. Against seven other division opponents – Colonia, East Brunswick, Monroe, North Plainfield, Old Bridge, Piscataway and South Brunswick – by a shade over 45 points a game. In four GMC Tournament games, their average margin of victory was 59.5 points per contest.

Their overall season differential per game was plus-27, including losses, and the county and state tournament.

NJSIAA Basketball Director Al Stumpf says the rule applies to “all varsity games” and adds “conferences have the option of using it [the NJSIAA rule] or their own mercy rule for the subvarsity levels.

In it’s rationale for the rule, included in the proposal put before the Executive Committee, the NJSIAA said its goal was to have a statewide adoption of the mercy rule to “bring consistency across all leagues and conferences and simplify application of the mercy rule for coaches and officials.”

Further, it adds, “this will mitigate the risk of confusion or arguments that can take place when member schools are competing in non-league/conference contests.”

Other NJSIAA sports have their version of the mercy rule. In football, a margin of 33 points or more kicks off the running clock automatically in the second half of a game. Baseball has a ten-run rule that ends a game any time after five innings of play, four-and-a-half if the home team is ahead by ten.

Soccer saw a mercy rule implemented for 2025 as well, where a game will end at the 20-minute mark of the second half if the goal differential is six or more. If the differential grows to six after the 20-minute mark, the game will come to an end, similar baseball. In that sport, if the run differential grows to ten or more after the fifth inning, the game will end at the conclusion of that inning or half-inning, depending on which team is in the lead.

by Mike Pavlichko

Monroe and Middlesex make rare foes in GMC Tournament semifinals Tuesday night

One team has been to three GMC Tournament finals. Not a lot, but more than many.

The other has never been to one.

And the two rarely meet.

But they will Tuesday night, when second-seed Monroe will play on its own floor against third-seed Middlesex for a trip to the GMC Tournament finals this Friday.

You can hear it as part of a semifinal doubleheader on Central Jersey Sports Radio – presented by the George Street Playhouse in downtown New Brunswick – with pregame at 4:40 pm, and tip-off at 5:00, followed by the second game at 7 with top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas and 13-seed North Plainfield. Click here to listen.

Monroe (16-7 overall, 9-5 in the GMC Red, 2nd place) is 0-3 in county finals all time, with appearances in 2015, 2016, and 2020. In 2021, however, they won the Somogy Family Pod at the end of the abbreviated COVID season. It was the de facto GMC title, and they beat St. Thomas Aquinas, but it wasn’t the full tournament.

Middlesex (19-6 overall, GMC White Champions at 12-2) has never been to the title game, but they might have just as good a shot at getting there as Monroe.

That’s because the Falcons – while they may be deeper and/or more balanced – don’t have Jess Devine. She’s the all-time leading scorer at the school – girls or boys – and seemingly on the scoring end of every steal or errant pass that ends up generating transition basketball, which happens for Middlesex… let’s say “a lot.”

The Blue Jays have over 270 steals this season as a team, more than eleven per game.

Monroe’s top scorer is actually averaging more points per game at the moment – Evangelina Francisco, at 22 per contest – than Devine, who’s scoring at a 19 point per game clip. But it’s how Devine scores that deflates the opposition. And those points come in bunches.

Francisco has more threes on the season, with 52, as well, and the rest of the cast balances out nicely. Sophomore Kiera Longo is second on the team at 10 points per game, with Zoe Wilcher and Sofia Rivas both around six.

Both teams can get up and down the floor, though, and this should be a good matchup of the second-place team in the Red and the White Division champs.

Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches:

Monroe head coach Brian Hinz
Middlesex head coach Stew Lester