Tag: HS Basketball

by Mike Pavlichko

North Plainfield pulls lone upset in boys’ GMC Tournament preliminary round; Timothy Christian’s Fleming tops 2,000-point milestone

All but one of the higher seeds won their GMC Tournament preliminary round games on the boys’ side Tuesday, making it a perfect 16 of 16 in that round, coupled with Monday’s girls’ results.

There were some tight ones, including North Brunswick’s win over Edison and Monroe’s victory over South Brunswick. Timothy Christian’s Jalen Fleming scored his 2,000th point in a win over Perth Amboy Magnet. And 21-seed North Plainfield knocked off Silver Division champion and 12-seed Dunellen.

Here’s a recap of Tuesday evening’s action, followed by Thursday’s “first round” matchups in the round of 16. Scroll down after the recaps for postgame reaction from Middlesex head coach Jared Goldstein after the Blue Jays’ come-from-behind win over South River.

TUESDAY’S GMC TOURNAMENT RESULTS – BOYS’ PRELIMINARY ROUND

  • (16) Monroe def. (17) South Brunswick, 48-43: A late rally by the Vikings (6-17) fell just short as the Falcons built a 23-18 halftime lead and were ahead 36-25 heading into the final eight minutes. Joe Porpora led Monroe with 13 points, while Braden Hoiberg and Anthony Barsa added 10, including a 6-of-10 night from the foul line. (Porpora also went 6-for-8 from the charity stripe.) The Falcons (7-16) will face GMC Red Division champion and top-seed Colonia for a third time this year on Thursday in the first round. Colonia won this season’s first matchup on January second, 57-27, but the second one was much closer: 50-40 on January 28th. Monroe only trailed by three at the half.
  • (9) East Brunswick def. (25) JFK, 78-56: The Bears (13-10) got a huge game out of Matt Mikulka, who scored 30 points – while Cam Vick added 14 and Andrew Carusa 12 – in the win. Kennedy (7-12) was led by Grant Lorentzen with 23 points. It was only an eight point game at the half, but the Bears pulled away with a strong 16-6 fourth quarter. East Brunswick will travel to ninth-seed Woodbridge in a “true” 8/9 game that could be a toss-up. The teams split this year, with East Brunswick winning 65-61 before Christmas, while Woodbridge returned the favor with a 47-44 win on January 16th.
  • (21) North Plainfield def. (12) Dunellen, 66-53: Aaron Potts and Quadir Williams each scored 19 points for the Canucks (12-11) in the upset win over the Destroyers (15-6) at the Faber School. Ryan Hutchins scored 15 in defeat for Dunellen, which got behind big early, 22-8 after one, and trailed 40-21 at the half. Next up, the Canucks travel to five-seed Old Bridge, a team they have very little history with, since they only came over from the Skyland Conference to the GMC two seasons ago. They haven’t met since at least 2010. North Plainfield, which started 0-4 and lost eight of its first nine games, has flipped the script late in the season: they’ve now won four straight and eight of their last nine.
  • (13) Perth Amboy def. (20) Spotswood, 74-63: The Panthers had two players go off for 20-plus points, as Lavion Balthazar and Jadiel Manzueta each scored 23 to lead Perth Amboy (12-10) in the win. Balthazar logged a double-double, also grabbing 15 rebounds. Se’mir Tolbert-Brimage led Spotswood with 20 in defeat. Next up, the Panthers (12-10) travel to North Edison to take on four-seed St. Thomas Aquinas (13-8). Their last meeting was in 2022, a 94-47 Trojans win, the only time they’ve played in the last 15 years.
  • (14) Metuchen def. (19) Piscataway Magnet, 55-42: The Bulldogs (17-6) had a big second quarter, outscoring the Raiders 20-5 to take a 35-18 lead at the break, but almost gave it back when they got outscored themselves 20-8 in the third quarter. In a game dominated by defense, Metuchen then held Piscataway Magnet (17-6) to just four fourth quarter points to come out with the win. Jason Woods had 17 to lead the Bulldogs, who will next travel to play third-seed and GMC White Division champion Sayreville Thursday. It’s been almost three years since their last meeting, a 68-51 Bomber win in the 2022 GMCT preliminary round.
  • (11) Middlesex def. (22) South River, 63-58: Despite getting a 31 point game – including nine free throws – from Alex Grospe, South River (11-10) couldn’t keep the Blue Jays from coming back from an eight point halftime deficit, and a rough second quarter in which Middlesex (16-6) was outscored 20-7, coughing up a 15-10 lead at the end of one. Down 45-39 after three, the Jays stormed ahead in the fourth. Four players scored in double figures, including Owen Reynolds with 17, Chris Kozak with 13, Domenic Parenti with a dozen and Mark Melchiore with ten. Next up, Middlesex will visit sixth-seed South Plainfield, the second-place team in the GMC White Division. It’ll be their first meeting since 2022, and the Tigers have won all four matchups since COVID.
  • (10) Timothy Christian def. (26) Perth Amboy Magnet, 65-31: Just a few second in, senior Jalen Fleming nailed a triple from the right of the key to crack the 2,000 point mark in his stellar career. Fleming finished with 26 points to give him 2,023 total. Elijah Pierre added 20 for the Tigers (13-7), while Chukwudi Raphael Mamah had a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Patriots fell to 11-9 with the loss. Timothy Christian now moves on to play seventh-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen out of the GMC Red. There’s little history between the teams; the Tigers hung in last February in a GMC Tournament quarterfinal matchup before the Falcons – who were the top seed, but got knocked out in the semifinals – won it 83-68.
  • (15) North Brunswick def. (18) Edison, 68-61: A monster night of 30 points and 10-of-11 from the stripe for Tommy Koroma powered the Raiders (9-14) to the win over the Eagles (12-10). Deshawn Burgess added 11 for North Brunswick, which now moves on to play second-seed Piscataway in their first meeting since 2016.

Click below to hear Middlesex head coach Jared Goldstein talk about the Blue Jays’ rally to beat South River with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

WEDNESDAY’S GMC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE – GIRLS’ FIRST ROUND

  • (16) North Brunswick (8-13) at (1) St. Thomas Aquinas (18-6), 5:30 pm: The Trojans have won their GMC Red Division games by an average of 40-plus points per game, and their last loss to a GMC team came on January 20th, 2022, a 55-41 road loss at Monroe. Their last home loss came March 5, 2021, in the COVID-shortened season, when the Falcons topped them to win the GMC’s top postseason pod, the Somogyi Family Pod. Don’t expect much to change.
  • (9) Carteret (15-6) at (8) Calvary Christian (18-1), 4:15 pm: Calvary beat the Ramblers on January 31st in one of the lowest-scoring games of the year, 24-20, but their only loss this year came to Timothy Christian, which is 8-14 in the same division as Carteret. Call it a toss-up.
  • (12) Old Bridge (10-12) at (5) East Brunswick (12-10), 5:30 pm: The Bears have swept Old Bridge each of the last two years and won five straight in the series. East Brunswick won this year’s matchups by 21 and 23 points, but many games in the GMC Red have been competitive, and this one should be, too.
  • (13) North Plainfield (6-16) at (4) Spotswood (17-6), 6:30 pm: Not a lot of history between these teams, with the Canucks winning their only meeting in the last 15 years back in February of last year, 62-27. But North Plainfield was also 18-7 last season, a 12-win swing so far. This should be a good one as well.
  • (14) Colonia (6-17) at (3) Middlesex (17-6), 5:30 pm: Since 2012, these teams have only met three times. Middlesex won a tight one in 2021, while Colonia won the next two. But this is a different Patriots team without stars Mattie Chiera and Taylor Derkcack. Despite the record, it could be a competitive game.
  • (11) Piscataway (10-9) at (6) South Brunswick (11-10), 5:30 pm: South Brunswick swept both games this season, winning 51-43 on January 4th, and 71-61 just three weeks later. Expect another tight one between these two, with the Vikings having a bit more of a veteran edge.
  • (10) Edison (14-9) at (7) Metuchen (18-3), 6 pm: This will be their second meeting this year, as Edison pulled out a 54-42 win before the holidays. Both are solid clubs and this one also should by highly competitive.
  • (15) South Plainfield (14-8) at (2) Monroe (14-7), 4 pm: Throw out the seeds here. Monroe hasn’t lost in five meetings dating back to 2016, but the last couple have been close. They two played in the Monroe Holiday Tournament, and it was a 49-39 win for the Falcons, but only a five-point game at the half.

THURSDAY’S GMC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE – BOYS’ FIRST ROUND

  • (16) Monroe (7-16) at (1) Colonia (19-4), 7 pm
  • (9) East Brunswick (13-10) at (8) Woodbridge (11-9), 5:30 pm
  • (21) North Plainfield (12-11) at (5) Old Bridge (13-9), 5 pm
  • (13) Perth Amboy (12-10) at (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (13-9), 6:15 pm
  • (14) Metuchen (17-6) at (3) Sayreville (18-3), 7 pm
  • (11) Middlesex (16-6) at (6) South Plainfield (15-7), 4:15
  • (10) Timothy Christian (13-7) at (7) St. Joseph-Metuchen (6-12), 7 pm
  • (15) North Brunswick (9-14) at (2) Piscataway (19-4), 5:30 pm

by Mike Pavlichko

GMC Tournament moves to Preliminary Round Tuesday night, with snow in forecast late; girls’ matchups set for Wednesday’s round of 16

The Greater Middlesex Conference may dodge a bullet – or more accurately, a snowflake Tuesday night when the boys get into the GMC Tournament preliminary round.

No issues for the girls Monday evening, with nice dry conditions out. Scroll down further to see first round matchups and capsules.

But first, here’s a look at Tuesday evening’s preliminary round action in the GMC Tournament, followed by Wednesday night’s GMC girls’ first round, the round of 16. Game times are per greatermiddlesexconference.org.

GMC TOURNAMENT – PRELIMINARY ROUND (BOYS):

  • (17) South Brunswick (6-16) at (16) Monroe (6-16), 5 pm
  • (25) JFK (7-11) at (9) East Brunswick (12-10), 6 pm
  • (21) North Plainfield (11-11) at (12) Dunellen (15-5), 6 pm
  • (20) Spotswood (14-8) at (13) Perth Amboy (11-10), 5:30 pm
  • (19) Piscataway Magnet (17-5) at (14) Metuchen (16-6), 4:30 pm
  • (22) South River (11-9) at (11) Middlesex (15-6), 6 pm
  • (26) Perth Amboy Magnet (10-8) at (10) Timothy Christian (12-7), 5 pm
  • (18) Edison (12-9) at (15) North Brunswick (8-14), 4 pm

GMC TOURNAMENT – FIRST ROUND (GIRLS):

  • (16) North Brunswick (8-13) at (1) St. Thomas Aquinas (18-6), 5:30 pm: The Trojans have won their GMC Red Division games by an average of 40-plus points per game, and their last loss to a GMC team came on January 20th, 2022, a 55-41 road loss at Monroe. Their last home loss came March 5, 2021, in the COVID-shortened season, when the Falcons topped them to win the GMC’s top postseason pod, the Somogyi Family Pod. Don’t expect much to change.
  • (9) Carteret (15-6) at (8) Calvary Christian (18-1), 4:15 pm: Calvary beat the Ramblers on January 31st in one of the lowest-scoring games of the year, 24-20, but their only loss this year came to Timothy Christian, which is 8-14 in the same division as Carteret. Call it a toss-up.
  • (12) Old Bridge (10-12) at (5) East Brunswick (12-10), 5:30 pm: The Bears have swept Old Bridge each of the last two years and won five straight in the series. East Brunswick won this year’s matchups by 21 and 23 points, but many games in the GMC Red have been competitive, and this one should be, too.
  • (13) North Plainfield (6-16) at (4) Spotswood (17-6), 6:30 pm: Not a lot of history between these teams, with the Canucks winning their only meeting in the last 15 years back in February of last year, 62-27. But North Plainfield was also 18-7 last season, a 12-win swing so far. This should be a good one as well.
  • (14) Colonia (6-17) at (3) Middlesex (17-6), 5:30 pm: Since 2012, these teams have only met three times. Middlesex won a tight one in 2021, while Colonia won the next two. But this is a different Patriots team without stars Mattie Chiera and Taylor Derkcack. Despite the record, it could be a competitive game.
  • (11) Piscataway (10-9) at (6) South Brunswick (11-10), 5:30 pm: South Brunswick swept both games this season, winning 51-43 on January 4th, and 71-61 just three weeks later. Expect another tight one between these two, with the Vikings having a bit more of a veteran edge.
  • (10) Edison (14-9) at (7) Metuchen (18-3), 6 pm: This will be their second meeting this year, as Edison pulled out a 54-42 win before the holidays. Both are solid clubs and this one also should by highly competitive.
  • (15) South Plainfield (14-8) at (2) Monroe (14-7), 4 pm: Throw out the seeds here. Monroe hasn’t lost in five meetings dating back to 2016, but the last couple have been close. They two played in the Monroe Holiday Tournament, and it was a 49-39 win for the Falcons, but only a five-point game at the half.
by Mike Pavlichko

Do the seeds really matter? With GMC Tournament seeding Friday, we simulate the boys’ tournament – with a twist

Probably within a week of James Naismith organizing the first basketball game, the teams he picked probably griped about who they had to play next.

Probably.

Fast forward 134 years, and teams still gripe about their seeds, whether it’s the county or the state tournament, or the NCAA Tournament.

We have the solution!

Well, not really. This isn’t legit.

Seriously. Please don’t take this seriously.

But we kind of felt like proving a (ridiculous) point today.

Last year, we mock-seeded the county tournament by the Born Power Index, a rating system that assesses teams based on margin of victory (or loss) relative to the strength of the opponent. (Don’t worry, we’re not going to explain it again!)

This year, we’re going a step further, to try and prove the theory that it doesn’t really matter who is seeded where, the best team will – or, at least, will have an opportunity – to win it all.

So this time, we went for the truly ridiculous: we seeded the GMC Boys’ Tournament alphabetically, and then simulated the entire bracket.

That’s right: Calvary Christian (1-14) “earned” the top-seed in our fictional, alphabetized, GMC Tournament, and Woodbridge (10-8) got the final seed at No. 33.

Colonia – which is expected to get the No. 1 seed as the Red Division champ (17-3 overall) – gets the three-seed, based purely on the alphabet.

So how did it play out?

Here are all the seeds from one to 33:

Next, we took a look at the matchups and predicted the outcomes. We didn’t attempt to pick any upsets, or look at matchups, or height mismatches on the inside, or whose press turns the ball over most.

In many cases, the teams had played during the year, and we went with whoever had won head-to-head, or by margin of victory if they split. We went with a Red Division champ over a White Division champ, or a similar record Blue Division team over one from the Gold. There were a few potential toss-ups.

We didn’t predict any scores, just outcomes:

We’re going to show you the bracket later. (Or, scroll down if you want to cheat!)

Here’s the breakdown of rounds by game, and our reasoning for each winner. Again, we picked no upsets, we didn’t look at matchups, and based our picks as wholly as possible on records, prior matchups and common/similar opponents.

Note that one consideration the committee looks at when comparing two teams, while subjective, is how they might do in the other division. Inotherwords, if you had a team from the Red and the Blue and the Blue team had 12 wins and the Red had 8, how would the Blue team have done if they played in the Red?

Keeping all that in mind, note this disclaimer: these are not our predictions if these teams met in the actual tournament! We just wanted to see who might win it, or have a chance to win it, if we seeded the teams having nothing to do with wins, losses, strength, or margin of victory.

Play-In Round:

  • (33) Woodbridge over (16) North Plainfield: The Barrons won a regular season meeting by 34.
  • (17) Old Bridge over (32) Wardlaw-Hartridge: Easy one for the 10-9 Red team over a five-win team from the Silver.
  • (25) South Brunswick over (24) South Amboy: The Vikings are 5-16, the Governors 8-12. With similar records, we go with the White over the Silver.
  • (28) Spotswood over (21) Piscataway Magnet: The Chargers and Middlesex play for first place in the Blue Division Thursday night. Considering them equivalent, P’way Magnet lost to Middlesex earlier this year, so we go with Spotswood here.
  • (20) Piscataway over (29) St. Joseph-Metuchen: The Chiefs won both regular season meetings.
  • (30) St. Thomas Aquinas over (19) Perth Amboy Magnet: Similar records, but should be an easy win for the Trojans.
  • (22) Sayreville over (27) South River: We know the Rams have Alex Grospe, but we’re going with the White Division champs (17-2 overall) over an 8-9 team from the Blue.
  • (26) South Plainfield over (23) Somerset Tech: Another easy one, with the second-place GMC White team over a 3-15 club.
  • (31) Timothy Christian over (18) Perth Amboy: This was a toss-up. They haven’t played, the Panthers are 10-10, and Timothy Christian is 11-6, and playing for the GMC Blue title Thursday night against Edison. The Tigers played up to the White this year, losing to North Brunswick by nine and beating South Brunswick by six. Both are just behind the Panthers. We went with Timothy here considering they’re playing for a division title just one division down, and have a better overall winning percentage.

Preliminary Round:

  • (17) Old Bridge over (33) Woodbridge: This was another tough one to call. The Knights are 10-9, the Barrons 10-8. Woodbridge lost its only game playing up to the Red, 60-40 to Colonia, while Old Bridge won its game against Perth Amboy out of the White. The Panthers are 10-10, similar to Woodbridge, and playing in a tougher division, we went with the Knights.
  • (25) South Brunswick over (5) JFK): The Vikings are 5-16 and play in the White, JFK 5-11 and playing in the Gold. We went with South Brunswick.
  • (12) Middlesex over (28) Spotswood: Keep in mind, the two play for the division title Thursday night, so – as of this moment – we’ll go with Middlesex, as the Blue Jays won the first meeting on opening night, 62-42.
  • (20) Piscataway over (13) Monroe: The Chiefs won both regular season meetings.
  • (30) St. Thomas over (14) New Brunswick: Easy one for the Trojans over the three-win Zebras.
  • (22) Sayreville over (11) Metuchen: The Bombers are having a fine year at 17-2, and we went GMC White champs over a middle-of-the-pack Blue team.
  • (26) South Plainfield over (10) JP Stevens: Going with the No. 2 team in the White over the fifth-place team in the Blue.
  • (15) North Brunswick over (18) Timothy Christian: Raiders won 53-45 over the Tigers back on January 25th.

First Round:

  • (17) Old Bridge over (1) Calvary Christian: Red team over a one-win team from the Gold.
  • (25) South Brunswick over (8) Highland Park: Sure, the Owls are 12-7, but they’re in the Silver and many of their division wins were close. Though the Vikings are 5-16, we’re going with South Brunswick.
  • (5) East Brunswick over (12) Middlesex: We’re taking the 12-9 White team over the 14-6 Blue team, even though the Bears are in the middle of the pack in their division.
  • (20) Piscataway over (4) Dunellen: While Colonia will be the No. 1 seed, Piscataway should get the No. 2, and would be one of the favorites to win the whole thing. Dunellen is a division champ in the Silver, but doesn’t play the caliber schedule the Chiefs do.
  • (3) Colonia over (30 St. Thomas Aquinas: The Patriots won both regular season meetings in the red division.
  • (22) Sayreville over (6) East Brunswick Magnet: The Bombers are the White Division champs, while the Tigers are 0-18.
  • (26) South Plainfield over (7) Edison: The Tigers beat the Eagles in their own Anthony J. Cotoia Holiday Tournament back in December.
  • (15) North Brunswick over (2) Carteret: The Raiders have a better overall record (8-13) playing in the White Division than Carteret (4-16) in the Blue.

Quarterfinals:

  • (17) Old Bridge over (25) South Brunswick: Former Red Division opponents, Old Bridge is 10-9 out of the Red while South Brunswick is 5-16 out of the White. Advantage: Knights.
  • (20) Piscataway over (5) East Brunswick: Chiefs are 17-4, Bears 12-9, and Piscataway plays a challenging out-of-conference schedule. We go with that-a-way with Piscataway.
  • (3) Colonia over (22) Sayreville: That would be a great matchup. We go with the Red winner over the White champ.
  • (26) South Plainfield over (15) North Brunswick: The Tigers beat the Raiders twice in the regular season.

Semifinals:

  • (20) Piscataway over (17) Old Bridge: The Chiefs won both regular season meetings.
  • (3) Colonia over (26) South Plainfield: If the Patriots beat the Bombers, on paper, they beat the Tigers.

Championship Game:

  • (3) Colonia over (20) Piscataway: Colonia won both regular season matchups.

Colonia sure had a hard road to the finals, starting with the opening round. They had to beat St. Thomas Aquinas, the third place team in the Red, then White champ Sayreville and White runner-up South Plainfield before facing the second-place team in the red in the finals.

But if they’re the best team, and many think they are, they should win it, right? It certainly wasn’t easy, but they’ve already swept Piscataway and St. Thomas Aquinas in the regular season.

Piscataway started with Dunellen and got progressively more challenging games, with East Brunswick out of the White, Old Bridge and Colonia from the Red.

St. Thomas Aquinas got knocked out in the first round, having to play Colonia, but they very well could beat them. Always tough to beat a team three times in one year, right?

Here’s the full pre-tournament mock bracket, with teams seeded alphabetically:

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals are set, as (almost) all higher seeds win Saturday

With the exception of the 8/9 games, Saturday’s second round of the Somerset County Tournament – girls and boys – went according to chalk once again. The Watchung Hills boys and Mount St. Mary girls pulled off minor upsets as nine-seeds, knocking off eight-seeds Bridgewater-Raritan and Immaculata, respectively.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s action, with a look ahead to next Saturday’s quarterfinal round, to be held at the site of the higher seeded teams.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT – BOYS:

(9) Watchung Hills 45, (8) Bridgewater-Raritan 37: Bridgewater-Raritan looked in control early on, as the Panthers (10-8) jumped out to a 14-3 lead after one quarter. But the Warriors (9-9) got back into it before halftime, cutting the deficit to four, then stormed ahead on the strength of a 15-point third quarter before hanging on to win by eight. Zack Patetta led a balanced scoring attack with eight, while K.J. West added ten and Timothy Robertson contributed nine points. The Warriors move on to play at top-seeded Gill St. Bernard’s (13-4) next Saturday up in Peapack-Gladstone. The Knights beat them back on January 14th, 62-40, but Watchung Hills won their lone meeting last season, 61-42.

(5) Immaculata 48, (12) Somerville 39: The Spartans (15-4) had three players score in double figures, as Riley Gorman put in 15 points, and Dante Regan and Cole Hayden each added 14. It was a tight game throughout, with Immaculata leading 13-18 at the half over Somerville (13-6). ‘Lata will travel to 5th-seeded Ridge (15-3) next Saturday; the Red Devils have won the last two in the series – back on January 9th, and Valentine’s Day 2023 – but by a combined eight points, with this year’s game being decided by three. This might be the best quarterfinal matchup on the boys’ side next weekend.

(6) Hillsborough 60, (11) Bernards 54: The Raiders found themselves in a tight one at the half, tied at 27-all, but Hillsborough (10-8) edged ahead in the third and pulled away in the fourth. Bernards fell to 9-9 on the season, despite 17 from Monty Douglas. The Raiders’ Lucas Rollan led with 17 as well, while Manny Rodriguez added 15 and Jack Toth chipped in 11. Next up, Boro travels to third-seed Rutgers Prep (13-7) Saturday in the quarters. Rutgers Prep has won 14 straight in the series dating back to January 2015. Hillsborough’s last wins against the Argonauts came in a fantastic 22-3 season in 2013-14, when they beat Prep in a holiday tournament in December, 48-37, and again in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, 62-36, en route to winning the 2014 county title, their first and only since the SCT went to one bracket in 1988.

(7) Pingry 80, (10) Franklin 60: The Big Blue (6-8) led this one most of the way, expanding a six-point halftime lead to 16 with a big third quarter, outscoring Franklin (5-14) 25-15 in the period. Four Pingry players finished in double-figures, including sophomore Dylan Cowell, who scored a career high 22 points, while adding five rebounds and three assists in just his third game of the season. Ryan Rust added 17 and dished out nine assists, while grabbing four steals. Pingry now will travel to second-seed Montgomery (13-4) Saturday for a quarterfinal game. The Cougars beat the Big Blue in their meeting back on January 16th, 64-41.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT – GIRLS:

(9) Mount St. Mary 47, (8) Immaculata 44: The Lions (9-10) trailed by five at halftime and heading into the fourth, but rallied to pull out a narrow win over the Spartans (9-8), in true “survive and advance” style. Ella Reed and Sophia Crum each scored 12 to pace Mount, with Mia Gestosani adding 11, and Natalie Beck grabbing 11 rebounds. The Lions earn a trip to top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s (15-2) Saturday in the quarterfinals, and it’ll be their first meeting in four years. Gill won one-off crossover matchups in 2021 and 2020, but Mount St. Mary won a three-point game in 2019; those are their only three meetings since at least 2010.

(5) Pingry 47, (5) Bound Brook 26: The Big Blue (14-4) played stellar defensively from the opening tip, holding the Crusaders (12-5) to six first quarter points, and just a single foul shot in the second quarter, en route to a 23-7 halftime lead. Taylor Francis led Pingry with 18, while frosh Sadie Salmon added 10, matching a career best with just her second double-figure scoring game. Next up, the Big Blue travel to fourth-seed Franklin (6-12), which has won two straight against them, including a 59-49 decision earlier this season on January second.

(6) Somerville 41, (11) Ridge 36: Senior Charlotte Taylor paced the Pioneers (15-14) with her 12th double-digit scoring game of the year, pumping in 19 points in the win over the Red Devils (5-13). She also had four boards, five assists, two blocks and five steals in a busy afternoon. Alexa Kovalick had a double-double of 12 points and ten rebounds in a losing effort for Ridge. The ‘Ville travels to third-seed Hillsborough Saturday for a quarterfinal game. There’s little history between the schools in recent years; they’ve only played once in the last decade, with the Raiders winning a January, 2020 matchup 61-56.

(7) Bernards 58, (10) Watchung Hills 40: The Mountaineers (15-2) led this one nearly wire-to-wire; though they had just a one-point lead at the half, the third quarter turned the tide back in their favor as Watchung Hills dropped to 8-10 on the year, despite a 20-point, eight-rebound effort from Zoe Gallic. Aletha Reynolds finished three points shy of a season high with 26 points, to go along with eight rebounds, for victorious Bernards, which now will face four-time defending champion and second-seed Rutgers Prep (13-3). It’ll be their first meeting since 2017, a 73-41 Prep victory.

by Mike Pavlichko

All chalk in Somerset County Tournament first round as 2025 boys, girls get underway

With five games – three on the girls’ side and two on the boys’ – tipping Thursday night to start the Somerset County Tournament, all higher seeds won.

Somerville and Bernards won on the boys’ side, while Bound Brook, Watchung Hills and Ridge were victorious on the girls’ side.

We’ve got a recap of all five, plus the matchups for Saturday’s second round games, all at the higher seeds.

GIRLS

(12) Bound Brook 42, (13) Montgomery 35: The Crusaders got a near-career high – just one point shy – from Ti’asjah Ferguson, who scored 23 in the win, and finished with a double-double, also grabbing 10 rebounds. Bound Brook (12-4) led after the first two quarters, but Montgomery (6-12) stormed back on a 19-6 third quarter to take a 30-25 lead. But the final quarter belonged to Bound Brook, which clamped down on defense and held the Cougars to five points in the final period for the win.

(10) Watchung Hills 55, (15) Manville 22: The Warriors dominated the first half to the tune of a 24-13 lead at the break, then pulled away with a 24-3 third quarter. Three players scored in double-figured for the Warriors (8-9), who got 15 from Zoe Gallic – who led all scorers – along with ten each from Amanda Shatz and Madison DiSarno. The Mustangs fall to 8-6.

(11) Ridge 43, (14) Bridgewater-Raritan 35: The Panthers rallied from 14 points down at the start of the fourth quarter to pull within 41-35, but ended up falling at Ridge. The Red Devils – who started the year with nine straight losses – have now won four of their last seven.

BOYS

(12) Somerville 48, (13) Bound Brook 37: The Pioneers beat the Crusaders for the third time this season – and for a second time in three days, after a 72-48 win at home back on Tuesday. Tim LaCanna led Somerville with 15 points, while Brady Scheier added 13. The Pioneers (13-5) kept The Brook off the scoreboard in an 8-0 first quarter, and led 26-16 at the half. The Crusaders (9-10) kept pace in the second, but couldn’t quite get over the hump. They were led by Dorian Roundtree’s 16 points.

(11) Bernards 53, (14) Manville 36: The Mountaineers (9-8) snapped a three-game losing streak to advance to the second round, getting a near-career high 21 points – two off the mark – from sophomore Marshall Douglass. His brother Monty, a junior, added 13, while Ricky Giebel added 10 and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double. The Mustangs dropped to 11-4 with the loss.

SATURDAY’S SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE

GIRLS:

  • (9) Mount St. Mary at (8) Immaculata
  • (12) Bound Brook at (5) Pingry
  • (11) Ridge at (6) Somerville
  • (10) Watchung Hills at (7) Bernards

BOYS:

  • (9) Watchung Hills at (8) Bridgewater-Raritan
  • (12) Somerville at (5) Immaculata
  • (11) Bernards at (6) Hillsborough
  • (10) Franklin at (7) Pingry
by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset County Tournament tips off tonight with boys’ and girls’ first round games

There are five games total on tap on the boys’ and girls’ sides in the 2025 Somerset County Tournament, which tips off tonight with games at higher seeds.

Winners move on to the second round this Saturday, and quarterfinals the following Saturday, February 8th, also at higher seeds. Semifinals will be at Franklin High School on Saturday, the 15th, with the finals on Saturday, February 22.

Here’s a look at Thursday’s schedule and matchups:

BOYS

  • (13) Bound Brook (9-9) at (12) Somerville (12-5), 5:30 pm: This will be the second meeting this season between the Crusaders and Pioneers, with Somerville having just beaten them a second time Tuesday night, 72-38, at home. It’ll be back on the Pioneers’ court for this one. Somerville won in Bound Brook on January 11th, 40-30, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Bound Brook had won six in a row against The ‘Ville, with the Pioneers’ last win ion the series – before this year – coming back in 2020.
  • (14) Manville (11-3) at (11) Bernards (8-8), 7 pm: The Mountaineers won the their only meeting this year, 58-38 in Manville back on January 3rd. It was the Mustangs’ first loss of the season after a 4-0 start. They’ve won their last four, while Bernards has lost three straight and four of five heading into this matchup.

GIRLS

  • (13) Montgomery (6-11) at (12) Bound Brook (11-4), 5:30 pm: Being a large school versus a small school, these two don’t meet often. They’ve only met three times since 2020, but the Crusaders have won all of them. Monty’s last win came in 2013, 47-9, but since then, The Brook came out victorious in 2020, 2021 and last season, 59-32. The other two wins were both by 20 points.
  • (14) Bridgewater-Raritan (7-9) at (11) Ridge (4-12), 7:30 pm: These two are in different divisions, but have a crossover scheduled for February 15th. Obviously, this one has a bit more meaning. The Red Devils won in a blowout last year, 51-18, but that was their second meeting. The first was a 47-42 win for Ridge, much closer. The Panthers have lost six straight to Ridge, the last win coming by a 40-25 score in the North 2, Group 4 sectional quarterfinals in 2018.
  • (15) Manville (8-5) at (10) Watchung Hills (7-9), 5:30 pm: This will be the first meeting between the schools in at least a decade-and-a-half. And they come in on opposite ends of the spectrum. The Mustangs have won four straight, while Watchung Hills – which had started the season 7-3 – has lost six-in-a-row since.

by Mike Pavlichko

If you think the football playoff formula is confusing, take a look at basketball for 2025

“Back in the day,” as the older folks say, power points were simple.

Six points for a win, residuals from your opponents, plus group size. Total it up at the cutoff date, and your teams were seeded. Simple enough.

But there was little nuance to it, so the NJSIAA has tweaked the formula in various sports.

Power points are still around (somewhat, but for how long?) in high school football. Group points have been eliminated in all sports, as the NJSIAA no longer considers group size a good representative of quality. But in basketball, they’ve added a new wrinkle.

Quality and residual points remain, but a third part of power points will be a strength of schedule factor called OOWP, which stands for “Opponents’ Opponent Winning Percentage.” That number is weighted however; it’s the actual win percentage plus .500. So, a team that’s 3-1, with a .750 win percentage would add .500 to that, and their OOWP would be 1.250.

(Note: Out-of-state opponents are assigned a .500 winning percentage for the purposes of OOWP and residuals.)

Each game is be worth the following:

  • 6 points for a win, 0 for a loss (there are no ties in basketball)
  • 3 residuals for every win by an opponent you beat, and 1 for every win by an opponent you lost to

That total is then multiplied by the OOWP number, giving the power point value for that game.

The values are then averaged by the number of games played. All games count, but 16 is the minimum to be divided by. So, a team that plays 14 games would have their total still divided by 16. A team that plays 20 would be divided by 20.

So, how does this work in practicality?

Let’s take Colonia for example, which is 3-0, counting residuals as of December 24th. Each game is worth 6 quality points, since Colonia beat them all.

  • St. Peter’s Prep: 3-2, OOWP 1.067, 9 residuals
  • Piscataway: 2-1, OOWP 1.250, 6 residuals
  • Woodbridge: 1-2, OOWP .944, 3 residuals

Now, since they beat all three teams, let’s add the quality points, and find the three factors for each game:

  • St. Peter’s Prep: (6 quality points + 9 residuals) x .1.067 OOWP
  • Piscataway: (6 quality points + 6 residuals) x .1.250 OOWP
  • Woodbridge: (6 quality points + 3 residuals) x .944 OOWP

Adding the quality and residual points, we then multiply by the OOWP:

  • St. Peter’s Prep: 15 x 1.067 = 16.005
  • Piscataway: 12 x 1.250 = 15
  • Woodbridge: 9 x .944 = 8.496

The total of all those points is: 16.005 + 15 + 8.496 = 39.501

Then we divide that total by the three games played and get: 13.167.

Now, if you look at the calculations on NJ.com, you’ll see they have 2.469 for Colonia. What gives?

It appears as though they are dividing all teams by 16 games, since none has played nearly that many so far. Just about everybody will play way more than that, meaning those that don’t will be very unlikely to be eligible for the state tournament.

Most teams should get to 16 by late January. The Patriots should be there (baring snow cancellations or reschedules) on January 23rd, when St. Thomas Aquinas visits, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The NJSIAA Cutoff Date is February 15th, about three weeks later.

Unless NJ.com changes its “divide by 16” policy, we will start taking a closer look at playoff projections around the end of January, once the majority of teams have played 16 games. Look for it in late January.

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio unveils 2024-2025 High School Basketball Schedule

With high school basketball season upon us – and some schools opening up early in a “Week Zero” opportunity from the NJSIAA this year – Central Jersey Sports Radio is kicking off our coverage with the unveiling of our 2024-25 Broadcast Schedule.

This year’s regular season slate includes eleven regular season games – with some additional late-season contests to be added at a later date – plus postseason coverage of the Greater Middlesex Conference and Somerset County Tournaments, as well as the NJSIAA State Tournament.

Though South Amboy and Sayreville open the season tonight, most schools begin play this weekend, turning down the opportunity to start as early as December 9, because the NJSIAA option included the caveat that those who tipped off the season early could not go back to scrimmages once they started playing games.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will open the season with three big games next week.

First, it’ll be girls’ basketball on Tuesday, December 17, as Gill St. Bernard’s travels to Rutgers Prep. The Knights lost super-talented Brooke Baisley to graduation, but return a tone of talent, while the Argonauts return just one starter in Ava LaMonica, but have some new players to shore things up.

Thursday will feature a matchup of two rival GMC coaches, as Colonia travels to Piscataway. The Patriots are led by Jose Rodriguez, whose team won two titles last year – North 2 Group 3 in the states and the GMCT – the only CJSR coverage area school to do so last season. He’s the student in the student/mentor relationship with Bob Turco, who left St. Thomas Aquinas last year to take the head job with the Chiefs. Rodriguez played at Carteret when Turco coached there under his brother, Dave, who’s now head coach at Kean.

We’ll wrap up the first week with the finale of the Friends of South Amboy showcase at South Amboy High School, as Montgomery and St. Joseph-Metuchen square off at 8. The Cougars were a Somerset County Tournament Finalist last year, and won Central Jersey Group 4 in the states, while the Falcons were the top seed in the 2024 GMC Tournament.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2024-25 H.S. BASKETBALL BROADCAST SCHEDULE

The schedule resumes in January with Middlesex and Somerset County matchups on both the girls’ and boys’ sides.

We’ll have semifinals and finals coverage of the GMC Tournament, as well as the Somerset County Tournament Finals. Coverage of the SCT semifinals will be announced at a later date due to a change in scheduling; the event has moved back to it’s “Saturday” format after having the semis on a Thursday and finals on Saturday the past several years, more like the GMC.

The GMC girls’ semifinals will be on Tuesday, February 18, with the boys the next day and the finals on Friday, February 21. All games will be played at Monroe High School.

The SCT semis will be at Franklin on Saturday, February 15, and the finals will be at Montgomery the following Saturday, the 22nd.

We’ll also have live coverage and stories on the seeding meetings, with the Somerset County Tournament confab taking place on Monday, January 27; the GMC will seed on Friday, February 7.

The NJSIAA State Tournament begins Thursday, February 27th, with public sectional finals on Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8. Non-Public sectional finals are Monday, March 10, and State Finals will be that weekend, with the Non-Publics at Rutgers on Friday, March 14, with Public finals there at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Saturday and Sunday, March 15 and 16.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2024-25 H.S. BASKETBALL BROADCAST SCHEDULE

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Thomas Aquinas moves quickly, stays in house, elevating Austin Whitehurst to succeed Turco as head boys’ basketball coach

For Athletic Director Jerry Smith, it was a no-brainer.

St. Thomas Aquinas – seeking continuity after the departure of head coach Bob Turco to Piscataway – has named Austin Whitehurst, an assistant with the Trojans for the last four seasons, as its new head coach.

Whitehurst played scholastically at Monmouth Regional, graduating in 2009. He got a scholarship to Drexel, but injuries cut short his playing days, and he spent two seasons at Brookdale Community College.

After some time as an assistant and coaching AAU ball, Whitehurst landed in North Edison four seasons ago, where some of his AAU players were already with Turco.

Now, he’ll head a program that won three straight GMC Tournament titles in six years under Turco, going 123-34. Several of his AAU players – including Jalen Pichardo – were on the most successful team under Turco’s tenure, in 2021-22, when St. Thomas went 27-2 with only one loss to a New Jersey opponent, to eventual Non-Public South A champion Rutgers Prep.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with new St. Thomas Aquinas coach Austin Whitehurst:

by Mike Pavlichko

Bob Turco departs St. Thomas Aquinas to lead Piscataway hoops program in return to his roots

Bob Turco grew up in Carteret, played at Carteret, and coached under his brother Dave at both Carteret and South Brunswick.

When he broke out on his own, his first head coaching job was at another public school at the southern end of the Greater Middlesex Conference, at Monroe.

Now, after runs at Notre Dame, and for the last six seasons at Bishop Ahr/St. Thomas Aquinas, Turco is back with a public school.

Turco will take over the Piscataway boys’ basketball program, with his hire having been approved Thursday night by the Board of Education.

He leaves St. Thomas Aquinas after a half-dozen seasons with a record of 123-34, having won three straight GMC Tournament titles in 2020, 2022 and 2023. (There was no full tournament in 2021, the COVID-shortened season.) The Trojans’ best season under his tenure was 2021-22, when Aquinas went 27-2 with only one loss to a New Jersey opponent, to eventual Non-Public South A champion Rutgers Prep.

Turco was 154-46 in seven seasons at Notre Dame in Lawrenceville, where he won two Mercer County Tournament titles.

Before that, he spent five years at Monroe, his first head coaching stop, going 97-42, where the Falcons went as far as the GMC Tournament title game in 2010, falling to his brother’s St. Joseph-Metuchen team in their first of five straight titles and nine in a span of ten seasons from 2010 through 2019. Turco is 3-2 as a head coach all-time in the GMCT title game.

Overall, Turco has a record of 374-122 in 18 seasons as a head coach.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Bob Turco about taking the Piscataway job, and his immensely successful run at St. Thomas Aquinas: