Fifth-seed Immaculata got 23 points from Riley Gorman and another 20 from Tyler Burns as they erased a 10-point halftime deficit to beat fourth-seed Pingry, 72-68, in the quarterfinal round of the Somerset County Tournament.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko call all the play-by-play from The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, NJ on February 7, 2026.
In the final Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten before the end of the season, The top four teams remained the same, while most of the rest got shuffled around, with Piscataway and Colonia trending upward.
Gill St. Bernard’s (20-2) remains No. 1, having won 16 straight, including two games last week. The Knight edged No. 3 Rutgers Prep Thursday in Somerset in a potential Somerset County Tournament final preview, 73-68. Then, Saturday, they beat Ridge in the SCT quarterfinals, 71-53. Gill will play Immaculata at 4 pm this Saturday in the SCT semis at Franklin High School.
Holding at No. 2 is St. Joseph-Metuchen (21-1). The Falcons swept their two games last week over a pair of GMC opponents: Sayreville on Tuesday, 66-55, and at St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday, 76-38.
Holding in third is Rutgers Prep (15-7), which went 2-1 in the week gone by. Monday, they beat Watchung Hills at home, 93-54, then lost to No. 1 Gill St. Bernards, 83-68, at home Thursday night. The Knights bounced back Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, rolling past Bridgewater-Raritan, 85-58. Their semifinal will be Saturday against Montgomery at 10 am at Franklin High School, a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
On a 3-0 week, Montgomery (19-3) holds in fourth, winners of eleven straight. After opening with a non-conference win at St. Joe’s of Montvale on Wednesday, the Cougars topped Bridgewater-Raritan on the road, 49-42. Saturday, they beat rival Hillsborough, 53-38, in the SCT quarterfinals, setting up a date with Rutgers Prep this coming Saturday at Franklin High School, a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Moving up two spots to fifth is Piscataway (17-6). The Chiefs had a perfect week, starting with an 84-47 win Tuesday at Woodbridge. They came back home for a Friday non-league win over Franklin, 71-69, then won Saturday at Columbia, 59-51.
Immaculata (16-5) holds in sixth. The Spartans opened the week Tuesday with an 85-50 win over Pioneer Academy, but then lost to No. 8 Hillsborough Thursday night, 78-64. But they bounced back strong, rallying in the second half for a 72-28 win at Pingry in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals. Immaculata will play defending champion Gill St. Bernard’s Saturday at Franklin High School at 4 pm in the semifinals.
Checking in at seven is Colonia (14-8), rising three spots this week. The Patriots had a rough start adjusting to graduation and other losses, but have won eight straight, including four last week. After a 55-47 win over Bayonne on Monday, Colonia won 56-51 at Newark Collegiate Wednesday, 64-52 at Old Bridge Thursday, and capped it with a mammoth win at Wall, the No. 17 team in New Jersey, 52-46.
Hillsborough (15-6) holds at No. 8 on the strength of a 2-1 week. The Raiders beat Watchung Hills, 66-53, on Tuesday, then won at No. 6 Immaculata Thursday, 78-64, before falling 53-38 at Montgomery Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals.
Down four spots to nine is Pingry (11-7), which lost twice last week. Wednesday, they fell at Franklin, 63-59. On Saturday, they got knocked out of the Somerset County Tournament in the quarterfinal round, with a 72-68 loss to Immaculata.
And dropping one spot to tenth is South Plainfield (13-9), which split a pair of games last week. After a 74-72 win at Old Bridge Tuesday, they lost a non-conference game to a solid Chatham team, 59-57.
Click below for the full Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 9:
The last time the Immaculata boys’ basketball team was in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, no one had any idea what a “coronavirus” was.
But now, fir the first time since 2020, they’re back in in, as the fifth-seeded Spartans beat four-seed Pingry up in basking RIdge Saturday afternoon, 74-68, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
And Immaculata had to rally to do it.
In a five-point loss back in early January, the Spartans – now 16-5 – fell behind 28-10 after on quarter of play, and new they needed to come out stronger in the rematch. They did, never trailing in the period, and it was 16-16 after the first eight minutes.
But with strong play inside and out, Pingry (11-7) went on a run – punctuated by a couple of two-handed slams by 6′ 8″ Dylan Cowell – to take a 13-point lead late in the half, and a ten-point lead, 38-28 at the break.
Turnabout came in the third quarter, however, as Riley Gorman had two big three to spark a run that saw the Spartans regain the lead with 2:05 to go in the period. Immaculata also got the benefit of two goaltend calls on the run against Pingry.
Gorman – the 6′ 2″ senior who scored his 1,000th point last Saturday at home against Bernards in the first round – finished with 25 points and three triples, giving him a team-best 66 treys this season.
Down the stretch, he and many others contributed. Senior Noah Doss executed on defense. Adam Sandborg off the bench had a key rebound late off a missed Doss free throw that kept Pingry from getting any closer.
Immaculata will play the winner of Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup between 8-seed Ridge and top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s next Saturday at Franklin High School, where all four semifinals – between the girls and boys – will be played.
It’s their first trip to the semifinals since 2020, when they beat Somerville to get there, but lost to Rutgers Prep in the semis. Their last trip to the SCT title game was 2009, when they were the top-seed and won it all, beating second-seed Ridge 58-49 for their first win in six finals berths.
Click below for postgame reaction with Immaculata senior Riley Gorman and head coach Ryan McKeever, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Despite a disastrous first quarter where Immaculata trailed Pingry at home 28-10 at the end of it, the Spartans fought back and were able to cut their deficit to one measly point in the fourth the last time these two teams met, almost a month ago. The Big Blue held on, though, picking up a 64-59 win.
So when the fifth-seeded Spartans (15-5) visit fourth-seed Pingry (11-6) Saturday afternoon in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals, getting out to a good start will be Job No. 1.
A trip to the semifinals is on the line, and you can hear it on Central Jersey Sports Radio beginning with pregame at 12:45, and tip-off at 1:00 from the Pingry School in Basking Ridge; click here to listen.
This is the highest seed Pingry has ever earned in the Somerset County Tournament, getting a double-by for the very first time, according to head coach Jason Murdock, whose team has a signature win this season over 2025 SCT and Non-Public South B finalist Rutgers Prep.
That was a 64-58 win that reverberated far and wide, knocking off a team ranked in the state’s Top Ten at the time. Dylan Cowell scored 29 in the win, and three players finished with double-doubles in an inspired effort. Cowell grabbed 14 rebounds, while Neel Sapidi scored 15 and grabbed ten, while Ryan Rust went for 12 and 14.
Immaculata has played solid basketball for much of the year, with no real clunker losses. Four of the Spartans’ five losses have come to the top four seeds in the tourney – Gill St. Bernard’s, Rutgers Prep, Montgomery and Pingry, with the other to the team right behind them, sixth-seed Hillsborough. And they have a signature win over Bridgewater-Raritan, a 64-57 victory on January 8th that was the Panthers’ first of the season after winning their first ten.
Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches and Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
Some big wins and tournament losses this week threw a wrench into the Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings, with the list pared down to ten this week, while three teams dropped out, and two new ones took their place, rejoining the Top Ten after bowing out earlier this season.
Holding on at the No. 1 spot – and on a 14-game winning streak – Gill St. Bernard’s (18-2) went 3-0 this week. They beat Immaculata at home Tuesday, 89-68, then won a pair of games down at the Metro Classic at Stockton University. They beat Paramus Catholic 65-46 on Friday, then got a 67-53 win over Spire Academy’s (OH) International team.
St. Joseph-Metuchen (19-1) stays in second, mainly on its overall body of work, despite taking its first loss of the season at previously-unranked South Plainfield, 55-54 in overtime. The Falcons rebounded with a 56-30 win at Monroe on Thursday, a 58-52 win over Crestwood Prep (Canada) Friday at the Metro Classic, and a 67-43 win over New York Military (NY) at home Sunday afternoon.
Moving up a spot to third is Rutgers Prep (13-6). The Argonauts were 2-0 last week, beating Franklin 83-65 on Tuesday, then Salem, 67-55, on Thursday.
Also up a spot this week is Montgomery (16-3), which has won eight straight, including a pair in the week gone by. The Cougars topped then-No. 3 Pingry Wednesday, 68-54, then beat Central Jersey College Charter, 72-32 on Friday.
Down two spots to fifth is Pingry (11-5), which lost its only game this week, 68-54 to Montgomery.
Up one spot to six is Immaculata (14-4). The Spartans lost at No. 1 Gill St. Bernard’s on Tuesday, but came back with a 74-54 home win over North Hunterdon Thursday, then beat Bernards 74-49 on Saturday afternoon in the Somerset County Tournament second round. The fifth-seeded Spartans will travel to four-seed Pingry this Saturday in the quarterfinals.
At seven – up two spots – is Piscataway. The Chiefs beat then-No. 6 East Brunswick 81-74 on Tuesday, then South Plainfield 70-49 on Thursday, before falling 72-62 to Ewing in the Mary Walker Classic in Hackensack on Sunday.
Hillsborough (13-5) holds steady at NO. 8 after a 1-2 week. It began with a 54-52 loss Tuesday at Montclair, but the Raiders came back with a GMC crossover win over Sayreville on Thursday, 89-74, then beat Watchung Hills at home Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament’s second round, 60-50. Sixth-seeded Hillsborough will visit neighbor and third-seed Montgomery this Saturday in the quarterfinals.
Then, there are two “new” teams.
South Plainfield (12-8) rejoins the rankings at No. 9, starting the week off by knocking off the top -ranked GMC team, St. Joseph-Metuchen, ending its 16-game win streak to start the season, 55-54 in overtime. After a 70-49 loss Thursday to Piscataway, the Tigers rebounded with a 77-62 home win over Notre Dame.
And back in at No. 10 is Colonia (10-8), which has been improving all season long. After a 65-29 win at Monroe Tuesday, the Patriots beat then-No. 6 East Brunswick at home, 56-44, and completed a 3-0 week when they beat Roselle Saturday, 62-51.
The Bears dropped out to make room for the two new teams after a 1-2 week, also losing to Piscataway, but also beating St. Thomas Aquinas.
And the two teams tied for tenth dropped out, as well. Briddgewater-Raritan (12-5) beat Somerville Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament, but lost to Ridge on Tuesday. Somerville (12-7) went 1-2 as well, falling to Warren Hills along with Bridgewater-Raritan in the SCT, while beating College Achieve in the preliminary round on Tuesday.
Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 8:
Once again,m there were few changes in the Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 7, as Gill St. Bernard’s and St. Joseph-Metuchen remain Nos. 1 and 2, while Hillsborough joins the back having won eight of its last nine games. No one dropped out this week, with two teams tied for tenth.
At No. 1 is Gill St. Bernard’s (15-2), winners of eleven straight. The Knights went 3-0 in the week gone by, with an 88-63 win over Hunterdon Central Tuesday, a 79-41 victory at Watchung Hills Thursday, then another win over CBA, 64-52, at the Big Jersey Showcase at Caldwell University Saturday.
St. Joseph-Metuchen (16-0) holds in the No. 2 spot. The Falcons won a pair of GMC games during the week – 81-25 at Woodbridge Tuesday and 59-45 at No. 6 East Brunswick Thursday – then followed it up with a 39-35 win over Coatesville (PA) in a showcase Saturday at Paterson STEAM
Holding in third is Pingry (11-4), also with a 3-0 week. The Big Blue were 46-44 winners at Phillipsburg Tuesday, then 71-53 home winners over Ridge on Thursday, before winning a non-conference matchup Saturday against South Plainfield, 54-50. Tuesday at 5:30, they have a meeting at No. 5 Montgomery.
Rutgers Prep (11-6) checks in at No. 4, after a 2-1 week. They won a GMC crossover at East Brunswick Tuesday night, 77-63, then won at Immaculata Thursday back in Skyland Conference play, 93-87, before falling Saturday, 74-52, to Roselle Catholic in the Big Jersey Showcase at Caldwell University, snapping a five-game winning streak.
Montgomery (14-3) has won six straight and holds in fifth after going 2-0 this past week. They won Tuesday at Ridge, 44-37, then beat Franklin at home, 70-44.
Holding at six is East Brunswick (15-3), despite a 1-2 week, but those two losses were to teams above them in the rankings. Tuesday, they lost 77-63 to fourth-ranked Rutgers Prep, then Thursday, lost to undefeated No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 59-45. The Bears got back on the winning side of things Saturday with an 88-55 blowout of Old Bridge.
Still in seventh is Immaculata (12-3), after a 2-1 week. They had a Tuesday 60-55 win at Franklin and a Saturday 82-71 win at Irvington sandwiched around an 93-87 loss Thursday to No. 4 Rutgers Prep.
Jumping into the top ten this week is Hillsborough (11-4), which has won four straight.They beat rival and then-No. 8 Bridgewater-Raritan handily on Tuesday, 53-35, then got a 67-41 win Thursday at Hunterdon Central before beating Ewing at home, 57-44, Saturday afternoon.
Piscataway (12-5) holds steady at No. 8, after a 2-0 week, with a big one coming up this Tuesday. Last week, they beat St. Thomas Aquinas 61-58 in Edison on Thursday, then won 82-46 Saturday at Monroe. The Chiefs are back in action with a big one Tuesday at No. 6 East Brunswick.
And Hillsborough’s debut this week bumps Bridgewater-Raritan (11-4) down into a tenth-place tie with Somerville (11-5). The Panthers lost Tuesday at Hillsborough, 53-35, then bounced back with a Thursday home win over Phillipsburg, 50-36. The Pioneers, meanwhile, lost at North Hunterdon Tuesday, 60-41, then rebounded with a 62-59 win Thursday at Delaware Valley. And the two will meet later this season, on February 12th in Bridgewater.
Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 7:
Six of the teams in the Bellamy & Son Paving boys’ basketball rankings had perfect weeks last week, and it led to no changes in the Week Six Top Ten.
Gill St. Bernard’s (12-2) picked up a pair of league wins in the week gone by – 69-38 over No. 3 Pingry Tuesday, and 74-46 at Bridgewater-Raritan on Thursday. The Knights have won eight straight and – absent a big upset loss in the next week – should be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Somerset County Tournament, which will be seeded next Monday, January 26th. In the past couple of weeks, they’ve beaten Rutgers Prep, Montgomery, Pingry (which knocked off Prep two weeks ago) and Bridgewater-Raritan (which was 9-1 heading into last week).
St. Joseph-Metuchen (13-0) remains undefeated and holds at No. 2, coming up with two GMC wins this past week: Tuesday at Colonia, 54-50, and Thursday over Piscataway at home, 64-57. On Saturday, they gained a 56-44 win over Berkmar (GA) in the Hoops for Harmony showcase at William Penn H.S. in New Castle, Delaware.
Holding in third is Pingry (8-4), despite a 1-2 week. The Big Blue – who jumped up big into the rankings a last week after beating Rutgers Prep, lost Tuesday at No. 1 Gill St. Bernard’s, 69-38, and at home Thursday to Hillsborough, 53-48, before winning Saturday at Princeton Day, 43-29.
At No. 4 again is Rutgers Prep (9-5), which was 3-0 in the week gone by, but has a head-to-head loss to Pingry from a couple weeks ago. This past week, Prep beat Bridgewater-Raritan at home, 72-56, then won 74-60 at Hunterdon Central. Saturday, the Argonauts beat Holy Cross, 77-59 in the Jimmy V. Classic down at Central Regional in Bayville.
Fifth is Montgomery (12-3), which is on a four-game win stream, picking up a trios of dubs in the week gone by. Tuesday, the Cougars won 53-37 at Hillsborough before grabbing a pair of home victories: Thursday over Phillipsburg, 74-48, and Saturday 62-57 over St. Thomas Aquinas in a GMC-Skyland crossover.
Holding at six is East Brunswick (14-1). The Bears won three games this week to extend their current winning streak to eight. Tuesday, they won at South Plainfield, 56-46, then beat Governor Livingston at home on Thursday, 59-27, before picking up a Saturday win at Woodbridge, 73-49.
In seventh again this week is Immaculata (10-2). The Spartans topped Hunterdon Central at home Tuesday, 64-56, then won Thursday at Watchung Hills, 61-59, before coming back home Saturday to beat in-town rival and No. 10 Somerville, 83-51, dropping eleven three-pointers in a game for the third time in their last four outings.
Holding at No. 8 is Bridgewater-Raritan (10-3), which had a brutal schedule this past week. First, it was a 72-56 loss at Rutgers Prep Tuesday, then a 74-46 loss to Gill St. Bernard’s at home on Thursday. The Panthers rebounded with a 66-50 win at South Plainfield on Saturday.
In ninth is Piscataway (10-5). The Chiefs won 77-57 at Old Bridge Tuesday, but then dropped two in a row, falling Thursday at No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 64-57, and Saturday to Colonia, 65-62,
And holding in tenth is Somerville (10-4), which went 2-2 this past week. Monday, they won at College Achieve Central, 63-32, then they picked up a 73-64 win Tuesday at American History. But the Pioneers dropped their next two, including a 57-53 loss against Bernards on Thursday, and an 83-51 defeat at in-town rival and No. 7 Immaculata Saturday afternoon.
Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week Six:
When you think of Gill St. Bernard’s basketball, you think uptempo, flying across the floor, and plenty of victories.
Through one half against No. 3 Pingry, those three factors were present at times, but not enough with a 21-15 lead.
Once both teams emerged from the locker room for the second half of play, things changed.
The Knights (11-2, 5-0) raced out of the gate and never looked back, pulling away for a 69-38 win, outscoring the Big Blue (7-3, 3-0) 48-23 in the final 16 minutes of play.
Fresh off a 33-point, ten-rebound performance in a thrilling win over Rutgers Prep on Saturday, Gill St. Bernard’s forward Prosper Highlander led the way once again, with a 20-point, 12-rebound follow-up performance. After scoring just two points in the first half, he came alive with 12 points in the third quarter with an array of drives to the basket and a three-pointer.
Oh, and he also picked up the tough assignments on defense, stuffing the stat sheet with three steals and two blocks.
Pingry controlled the tempo early on, scoring the first five points of the game and keeping close for much of the first half. Even after the Knights responded to the opening run with ten unanswered points of their own, the Big Blue ended the quarter with six unanswered to stay within a point at 12-11.
That momentum continued into the second quarter. Even as Gill St. Bernard’s appeared to be on the verge of pulling away, Pingry continued to stack up timely buckets to stay within arm’s reach, as head coach Jason Murdock and his team looked to build off the momentum of back-to-back wins over Immaculata and Rutgers Prep last week.
But the Knights’ intensity and pace on both ends of the floor eventually became too much to overcome. They methodically built up their lead as the third quarter went along, turning defense into offense plenty, before the lead eventually ballooned to 17 points to end the third quarter, and 31 points by the end of the game.
Gill St. Bernard’s standouts Connor Junker and Dorsett Mulcahy kick-started the offense in the opening quarter with six points apiece for all of the Knights’ scoring in the opening eight minutes. Junker finished with ten points with two three-pointers, while Mulcahy finished second on the team with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Dylan Cowell led Pingry with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double to go along with three blocks, and was the Big Blue’s only double-digit scorer.
With the win, Gill St. Bernard’s now puts itself in an excellent position for the top seed in the upcoming Somerset County Tournament, as the Knights look to defend their title from a season ago. Last week, they won their only matchups before the seeding meeting with Montgomery and Rutgers Prep, with the Argonauts also having lost to Pingry.
Amid a schedule head coach Mergin Sina calls one of the toughest in the state, Gill St. Bernard’s passed yet another test as the calendar flips to 2026.
Click below for postgame reaction from Gill St. Bernard’s senior forward Prosper Highlander and head coach Mergin Sina, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
For the first time this season, the entire Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten got a complete reshuffle.
It was a challenging week to be sure, as a few top ten teams suffered multiple losses this week, whether in conference play or at showcase games. And the end result is one new team in the rankings, and a new No. 1 squad.
Gill St. Bernard’s (9-3) is the new top team after getting through a heck of a schedule this past week. They opened with a 79-46 win over Ridge, then passed tests from two of the Skyland Conference’s elite – winning 64-53 Thursday at Montgomery (in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio) and again Saturday at home over Rutgers Prep, 90-84. The Knights should have the inside track at the top seed in the county tournament, but first will have to get by Pingry Tuesday; the Big Blue knocked off Rutgers Prep Thursday, and would have a legitimate argument for that top seed if they can beat Gill on the road.
Meanwhile, St. Joseph-Metuchen moves up to No. 2, as they remain undefeated at 10-0. The Falcons went 4-0 in the week gone by; they were 61-45 winners over St. Thomas Aquinas at home Tuesday and beat Old Bridge 75-35 on Thursday in GMC play. Then, Saturday at the Iverson Classic Breakout Series at Paramus Catholic, they beat Archbishop Carroll (PA) 61-50. And on Sunday, they beat Wings Academy (NY), 77-36.
With an upset of Rutgers Prep Thursday, Pingry enters the top ten at No. 3. The Big Blue are 7-2, and last week, knocked off one of the league’s heavyweights in the Argonauts at home. That followed a Tuesday win over then-No. 10 Immaculata, which came back Thursday to hand Bridgewater-Raritan its first defeat of the season. Pingry took a loss Saturday, however, at Oratory Prep, 60-58.
Falling one spot to fourth was Rutgers Prep (6-5), which opened the week with an 89-73 win over Montgomery, but then lost three straight – at Pingry on Thursday, 64-58; Saturday at Gill, 90-84, and Sunday, 79-64, to St. Francis (NY) at their Shooting Stars Shootout showcase event.
Falling from No. 1 back behind Prep is Montgomery, which lost two league games during the week, at Rutgers Prep on Tuesday, then to Gill at home on Thursday. But the Cougars ended a three-game skid with a 66-45 home win over an eight-win Overbrook team from the Tri-County Conference in their own Coaches vs. Cancer Classic down in Skillman.
East Brunswick (11-1) has won five straight, and rises one spot to six this week. The Bears beat Woodbridge 80-54 on Tuesday, Monroe 72-40 on Thursday, then used a big second-half rally to win at Sayreville, 48-47, on Saturday, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Immaculata (6-2) climbed to No. 7 this week from ten. After a loss to Pingry, 64-59, back on Tuesday, they rebounded by knocking off undefeated and then-No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan on the road, 64-57. They also won Saturday, beating Hamilton 77-42.
Down two spots to No. 8 is Bridgewater-Raritan (9-1), which took its first loss of the year Thursday against Immaculata at home. That was sandwiched in between a pair of wins: Tuesday, 69-50, at Watchung Hills, and Saturday at Hillside, 69-54.
Piscataway (9-3) is down to nine after a two-loss week. They fell 68-67 Thursday to previously-ranked Sayreville, then lost Sunday afternoon to East Orange at nearby Plainfield in the Stay Public Basketball Showcase, 74-53.
And down one spot to tenth is Somerville (8-2). The Pioneers lost Tuesday 48-24 to Delaware Valley, but bounced back with a pair of wins: Thursday at home over College Achieve Central, 71-26, then Saturday, 52-20 over Westfield in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Montgomery.
Dropping out this week is No. 8 South Plainfield. The Tigers (8-3) beat Colonia Tuesday at home, 56-42, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, then Woodbridge 88-68 on Thursday, but fell twice over the weekend: Saturday to Ramapo 54-30 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Montgomery, then Sunday 67-46 to Westfield in the Stay Public Basketball Showcase at Plainfield.
Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week Five:
It’s official: we’re in the thick of high school basketball season.
And we’re nearly at the midpoint of the regular season, considering we’re about a month in for most teams, and in the CJSR coverage area, the county seedings are a little less than a month away.
Here’s a look at games of note from Saturday afternoon/evening:
Gill tops Prep; Will Knights be No. 1?
It was a weak of heavy-hitters going at it in Somerset County this week, starting with Rutgers Prep’s win over Montgomery on Tuesday, the second straight loss for the Cougars. Gill St. Bernard’s beat them on Thursday, leaving the race for the top seed in the Somerset County Tournament mostly between those two.
Bridgewater-Raritan might have been in the mix, heading into Thursday’s home game against Immaculata at 8-0, but the Panthers took their first loss of the season that night, and Rutgers Prep got upset by Pingry.
Still, the Argonauts had a shot with a head-to-head at Gill St. Bernard’s Saturday afternoon. It was a tight one, with the Knights even trailing with five minutes and change left. But in the end, a career high night of 33 points – and ten rebounds – from Prosper Highlander, the Knights triumphed, 90-84.
That should give the Knights the inside track at the top seed in the SCT. With the seeding meeting on Monday, January 26th, all eyes will be on Gill this week, as the No. 1 spot is basically theirs to lose. But they will have to deal with the Big Blue on Tuesday, a game the Knights will host at 7 pm.
Gill gets Bridgewater on the road Thursday at 5:30 (the Panthers host Rutgers Prep Tuesday) but won’t get Immaculata – which beat the Panthers – until Tuesday, the 27th, after the seeding meeting.
Montgomery boys back on the winning track…
The Cougars always play tough competition – in their own league and out of conference – but this week ran into quite the buzzsaw. After an 8-0 start, they lost by two to Linden in the Warrior Classic at Manasquan, a close game Kris Grundy said was just a great game anyone could have won.
He was not as happy against Rutgers Prep, saying in a pre-game interview for Thursday’s meeting with Gill St. Bernard’s that they got out of their game a bit against the Argonauts. And pretty much the same thing happened Thursday against the Knights.
So, it was good to be home on Saturday for their annual Coaches vs. Cancer Shootout, where they picked up a win against a solid, 8-2 Overbrook team out of the Tri-County Conference. Mike Simborsko scored 19 points, while Connor Benedict added 15 for the Cougars, who are now 9-3 on the season and get a bit of an easier week coming up, with Hillsborough – a solid 7-3, but not on a par with Linden, Prep or Gill – on Tuesday, and Phillipsburg (1-7) on Thursday.
Colonia girls are back on the map
The Colonia girls’ basketball team had some grand times when Taylor Derkack and Mattie Chiera were on the floor, after Chiera graduated in 2023 and Derkack in 2024, the Patriots struggled to a 7-20 year in 2024-25 under first-year head coach Jill Bachonski.
Well, that’s a distant memory now, as Colonia has already surpassed last year’s win total and is undefeated: 9-0 on the season. Some wins have been on the close side, like a 59-58 victory where they held off a late surge by Spotswood, and a six-point win over Montclair on the first day of the Charlie Dolan Holiday Tournament up at Kearney, which they won. They also have biggger-margin wins over Edison (twice), and even Old Bridge on Saturday, 62-38.
And while Derkack and Chiera were clearly the stars a few years ago, this team is balanced, and young, so they’ll be together a while.
Sophomore Ariana Sosa is the leading scorer at 12.3 points per game, with a team best 16 treys, and 7.3 rebounds per game. Nasaleah Hooker – the only senior and one of two holdovers from the Derkack-Chiera era – is next at 10.7 points and 13.4 boards per contest. Freshman Samantha Howell is averaging 9.8 per game, and junior Hailey Conklin – the other holdout with Hooker – is averaging almost nine points per game.
That’s balance.
We’ll get our first look at Colonia on Tuesday night this coming week, when the Patriots travel to Middlesex for a 5 pm Red National Division game.
Bernards girls also remain perfect…
There’s just one unbeaten team left in the Somerset County – in fact, in the entire Skyland Conference – and it’s not Rutgers Prep, nor Gill St. Bernard’s nor even Bound Brook.
It’s the Bernards Mountaineers. They’re 8-0 after a 53-32 cruise past non-conference foe Hanover Park at home on Saturday afternoon.
They’re a low-scoring team, averaging just 43.1 points per game, but they’re allowing a paltry 31.6 per game. So they’re winning by almost a dozen every time out and have been amazingly consistent: They won their opener by four, their most recent game by 21, but in between by 16, 14, 15, and then three straight games by eleven.
Senior and thousand-point scorer Aletha Reynolds (1,181 career points) is a four-year starter, and averaging 14.6 points per game this season, with three double-doubles already. Junior Jasmine Kelleher (9 ppg) and freshman Jane Freisen (8.2 ppg) have also been key.
Tuesday night will be a big matchup for the Mountaineers, their first meeting of the year – and only one before the SCT seeding – with Somerville (9-2), on the road, Tuesday night at 5:30.