Mario Castro-Sanchez – Central Jersey Sports Radio

Each team had a touchdown, missed the extra point, and Gill St. Bernard’s had a field goal just before the half.

No, not really, but that’s what the scoreboard inside the Knights’ gym looked like when it read 15-12 in favor of Gill at halftime of their Somerset County Tournament semifinal game against Ridge in Gladstone Thursday night.

Repeat: That wasn’t the score after one quarter. That was the halftime score. Only two players each had scored for their respective teams, and the leading scorers at the time – Mario Castro-Sanchez for second-seed GSB and Nikola Borovicanin for the 6th-seeded Red Devils – each had only eight points.

It looked for a moment as if the game would be decided in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, when Castro-Sanchez scored the go-ahead bucket to make it 46-44 Knights with 12.1 seconds remaining. But Ridge had the answer, as Liam Clark finished a layup with 2.1 to go. to end it to the extra period tied at 46.

Gill (18-6) then closed the deal in overtime, outscoring the Red Devils 11-6 for a 57-50 win. Ridge fell to 19-5 with the loss.

Castro Sanchez finished with a game-high 26 points, with eight of them coming at the free throw line in OT. Ebrahim Kaba added 16, while Nick Losada finished with 13.

For Ridge, Nikola Borovicanin led with 16 points, and Liam Clark had 14.

Now, it’ll be a rematch of last year’s title game when Gill meets top-seed Rutgers Prep (19-7) in the Somerset County Tournament Final at Montgomery High School, Saturday at 3 pm. Gill won last year’s matchup 84-63.

That game can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, and will immediately follow the 1 pm girl’s title tilt with the same teams, top-seed Rutgers Prep and second-seed Gill St. Bernards. Pregame coverage starts at 12:45.