Tag: Pingry

January 10, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Saturday Hoops Roundup: No. 2 Gill St. Bernard’s boys make case for No. 1 with win over No. 3 Rutgers Prep, Montgomery back to winning; Colonia, Bernards girls stay unbeaten

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.

Bernards won the Artie Flaherty Holiday Tournament at Metcuhen back in December. (Source: @Bernards_GBball on Twitter)

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.

January 8, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Pingry knocks off No. 3 Rutgers Prep, 64-58, and all heck breaks loose in Somerset County hoops

The last few years in Somerset County boys’ basketball have been about Rutgers Prep, Gill St. Bernard’s and Montgomery. They first two have split Somerset County titles, while Montgomery has won back to back Central Jersey Group 4 champions. Bridgewater-Raritan, undefeated heading into Thursday play – more on that in a bit – now is in the mix this year, as well.

Well, now you can add Pingry, too.

A pesky club for years, giving some of the Skyland Conference’s best teams fits, they knocked off third-ranked Rutgers Prep (No. 9 in New Jersey) at home Thursday night, 64-58, in a game that will have a profound effect on the Somerset County Tournament seeding when it takes place later this month.

The Big Blue (7-1) trailed 34-29 at halftime, but used a monster third and incredible defense to hold Rutgers Prep (8-3) to just seven third quarter points, winning the period 17-7, going into the third up 46-41, hanging on to win through an even fourth quarter.

Dylan Cowell came up huge for the Big Blue, scoring 29 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, one of three Pingry players to complete double-doubles on the night, along with 15 points and ten boards from Neel Sappidi, and 12 points and 14 rebounds from Ryan Rust.

William Brunson had 15 points and 12 boards for a double-double for Rutgers Prep.

Now the race gets interesting…

To reset the race for the top seed in the Somerset County Tournament, among the top teams:

Rutgers Prep beat Montgomery Tuesday, 89-73, but fell to Pingry Thursday night
Montgomery lost to Rutgers Prep Tuesday, and to Gill St. Bernard’s 64-53 Thursday night
Rutgers Prep visits Gill St. Bernard’s Saturday afternoon at 3:30

And then, there’s Bridgewater-Raritan. The Panthers had been undefeated heading into Thursday, but they lost 64-57 at home to Immaculata to fall to 8-1. Bridgewater gets their version of Murderer’s Row next week, when the Panthers visit Rutgers Prep Tuesday and host Gill St. Bernard’s Thursday.

Pingry visits Gill next Tuesday night.

There’s still a lot of basketball to play, but as the dust settles from January 8, 2026, it would appear Gill St. Bernard’s – if they can win the games the should – has the early inside track at the No. 1 seed.

But hey, we’ve still got more than two weeks until the seeding meeting.

June 18, 2025June 18, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Gill St. Bernard’s knocked out of state tourney, Pingry and others postponed due to rain

It was already a limited schedule for the NJSIAA state baseball tournament, with Wednesday dedicated to non-public schools, and many already had byes.

Of the two Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area teams to be scheduled to play, only one did, as Gill St. Bernard’s got eliminated by Hawthorne Christian, while Pingry’s game against Union Catholic – along with one other in that section – was postponed, and moved to Thursday at 3 pm.

NON-PUBLIC NORTH B FIRST ROUND

(10) Hawthorne Christian 3, (7) Gill St. Bernard’s 2: The Knights (12-12) fell into a 3-0 hole in this one and couldn’t recover, with a seventh-inning rally falling short. Gill gave up a run in the first and two in the third to the Defenders,, then got one back in the bottom of the fourth on a one-out RBI single by Owen Ehrenkranz, who was stranded after two fly ball outs followed. In the seventh, Joey Fava led off with a single to center, then took second on a passed ball, moved to third on a groundout by Trip Hegarty, then scored on a comebacker to the mound. But that left the bases empty, and Hawthorne starter Matt Altomare got the final out for a complete-game, five-hit win. The Defenders will visit two-seed Morristown-Beard Friday.

In the only other game in the section, 8th-seed Newark Academy routed nine-seed Morris Catholic, 11-1, and will visit top-seed Montclair-Kimberley Academy on Friday.

In Non-Public South A, nine-seed St. John Vianney was scheduled to meet 8th-seed Paul VI Wednesday afternoon at 4 pm. We’ll have a score on that game once it’s final and reported.

UPCOMING STATE PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:

THURSDAY

Central Jersey Group 4 Quarterfinals
(9) Hillsborough at (1) Hunterdon Central, 4 pm (pp’d to 3 pm Friday)
(12) Montgomery at (4) Hightstown, 4:30 pm
(11) Franklin at (3) Edison, 4 pm
(10) Manalapan at (2) Old Bridge, 5 pm

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 Quarterfinals
(9) Bridgewater-Raritan at (1) Ridge, 4 pm (at Diamond Nation, Flemington)
(5) Phillipsburg at (4) Elizabeth, 1 pm
(11) Ferris at (3) Westfield, 4 pm
(7) Columbia at (2) Woodbridge, 4 pm

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 Quarterfinals
(8) Middletown North at (1) Colonia, 4 pm
(12) Carteret at (4) North Hunterdon, 4 pm (at Diamond Nation, Flemington)
(6) Cranford at (3) South Plainfield, 2 pm
(7) Somerville at (2) Millburn, 4 pm

Central Jersey Group 2 Quarterfinals
(9) South River at (1) Governor Livingston, 4:30 pm (at Snyder Ave Park, Berkeley Heights)
(13) Cinnaminson at (5) Raritan, 4 pm
(14) Bordentown at (11) Allentown, 4 pm
(10) Rumson-Fair Haven at (2) Robbinsville, 4 pm

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 Quarterfinals
(8) Lyndhurst at (1) West Essex, 3 pm
(5) Rutherford at (4) West Morris, 4 pm
(11) Mendham at (3) Passaic Valley, 4:15 pm
(10) Bernards at (2) Madison, 3:15 pm

Central Jersey Group 1 Quarterfinals
(9) South Hunterdon at (1) Middlesex, 4 pm
(5) Florence at (4) Shore, 4 pm
(6) Delaware Valley at (3) Metuchen, 4 pm
(7) South Amboy at (2) Pt. Pleasant Beach, 3 pm

Non-Public South A First Round
(11) Pingry at (6) Union Catholic, 3 pm
(10) Donovan Catholic at (7) Notre Dame, 3 pm

FRIDAY

Central Jersey Group 4 Quarterfinals
(9) Hillsborough at (1) Hunterdon Central, 3 pm

Non-Public South A Quarterfinals
(9) St. John Vianney/(8) Paul VI winner at (1) Christian Brothers
(5) Immaculata at (4) St. Joseph-Metuchen
(11) Pingry/(6) Union Catholic winner at (3) St. Augustine
(10) Donovan Catholic/(7) Notre Dame winner at (2) Red Bank Catholic

Non-Public North B Quarterfinals
(8) Newark Academy at (1) Montclair-Kimberley
(5) Rutgers Prep at (4) St. Thomas Aquinas, 4 pm
(6) Pope John at (3) St. Mary-Rutherford, 4 pm
(10) Hawthorne Christian at (2) Morristown-Beard

May 8, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

SCT underway as Franklin routs Bound Brook; Montgomery looks to keep momentum going in matchup with Pingry

The opening round of the 2025 Somerset County Tournament is a split, with one game Wednesday and one Thursday, since 12th-seed Montgomery already had a regular-season game scheduled the day the tournament was supposed to start.

But the Cougars will hope to bottle whatever their secret sauce was against Manville Wednesday in a 5-2 win at TD Bank Park heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio when they take on 13-seed Pingry at 4:30 Thursday afternoon out at Diamond Nation in Flemington.

(11) Franklin 11, (14) Bound Brook 1

The Warriors got out to an early lead in this one, scoring twice in the bottom of the first on a double-steal and a groundout. After Bound Brook got one in the top of the second on a double by Jon Coiro to cut the deficit in half, the Warriors plated seven in the bottom of the inning to take a 9-1 lead.

Dylan Shah drove in two, two errors by the Crusaders led to the next two runs, and a Manny Vasquez bases-clearing double drove in three.

Franklin added six more in the fourth on a sac fly by Elijah Zavatsky, two walks, two hard ground balls in the infield, and a sac fly by Stanley Madera.

Starter Shayne Rooney got the win, allowing five hits and one run in four innings of work, with a very efficient 70-pitch outing as Franklin improves to 6-7. The Warriors will play at 6-seed Bridgewater-Raritan Monday in the first round, the round of 16.

Montgomery (4-11) vs. Pingry (3-13)
Thursday, 4:30 pm at Diamond Nation, Flemington

Montgomery had about as solid a win as they had all season Wednesday in a 5-3 regular-season victory over Manville. They played great defense, executed two sac bunts including a suicide squeeze, got solid pitching and timely hitting, even caught a runner stealing who had reached on an tough error in the second. What else could you ask for?

Now, they’ll need to bottle that up against the Big Blue.

Montgomery had been hitting just a shade over .200 coming into Wednesday’s game, but they scored six runs on five hits to get the win, an efficient effort. Senior John Donahue has been their big bopper, hitting .436, but even more impressive was that the bottom third of the order went 3-for-6 against the Mustangs with two walks, three runs scored, two sac bunts, and two RBIs.

Pingry’s top hitters include sophomore Riley Wong (.469, 9 RBI) and senior Joaquin Stevenson (.432) while senior Matt Carrieri is hitting .346 with three home runs, and freshman Sam deLaurier (.342) has knocked in a team best 12 runs.

UPCOMING SCT SCHEDULE:

First Round – Monday, May 12
(9) Gill St Bernard’s at (8) Bernards, winner at (1) Ridge
(12) Montgomery/(13) Pingry at (5) Somerville, winner at (4) Rutgers Prep
(11) Franklin at (6) Bridgewater-Raritan, winner at (3) Watchung Hills
(10) Manville at (7) Hillsborough, winner at (2) Immaculata

The quarterfinals will be played Wednesday, May 14, at higher seeds.

Central Jersey Sports Radio’s live coverage – presented by Zoned Sports Academy of Bridgewater – will begin on Monday, May 19 with the semifinals at 1 and 4 pm at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater.

May 4, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Power Points Analysis: Immaculata, Rutgers Prep eying top 4 finishes in South A, North B

We’re just two weeks from the NJSIAA cutoff for the state playoffs – coming up on May 17th – and teams across the area continue to jockey for position in the standings.

In the non-public sections, Immaculata and Rutgers Prep are looking at top four finishes in their respective sections. Of the four non-public sections in New Jersey, our local teams only occupy two of them: North B and South A.

Here’s a closer look beyond the numbers at where teams stand and what their chances are, based on NJ.com’s official standings as of games played on May 4th. For a full explanation of the new power point formula, click here.

Non-Public South A: This one is a tough section, with the top three teams all state-ranked. Christian Brothers (14-1, 30.573, #9 in NJ) has a good lead over second-place St. Augustine (13-3, 27.131, #10 in NJ), which in turn has a decent lead over Red Bank Catholic (12-4, 25.503, #20 in NJ). Then, in fourth, is Immaculata (9-4, 23.939). They have a decent beat on a top four seed, 3.654 points ahead of fourth-place Union Catholic. St. Joseph-Metuchen checks in at No. 6 with an 8-6 mark and 20.141 points, right at the midway point of what now is a 12-team field. That could change if anyone opts out, and there are some struggling teams here including Camden Catholic (3-11), Donovan Catholic (1-11) and Pingry, which is just 2-13 with 10.589 points. Everyone who wants to make it here will do so, it’s just a question of how many.

Non-Public North B: There’s a good amount of spacing behind the top couple of teams for now, starting with Montclair-Kimberley (11-2, 24.058) at No. 1 and St. Mary-Rutherford (12-5, 22.182) in second. Not too far back in third is Rutgers Prep (10-4, 20.752), but the Argonauts are bunched in with two other teams that We thing will be battling for the last two spots in the top four, which would guarantee home field advantage through at least the first two rounds. Those two others are Morristown-Beard (9-5, 20.498) in fourth, and St. Thomas Aquinas (12-5, 19.704) in fifth. And while Gill St. Bernard’s (8-7, 15.896) is in sixth, they’re realistically about five power points away from the top four and that might be too much a hill to climb in the next two weeks. Even a deep run in the Somerset County Tournament might not help, as the upset wins that would help them would come after the cutoff. Timothy Christian (0-10, 6.18) sits last, in 12th, if they don’t opt out.

February 3, 2025February 2, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

As Top Ten keeps winning, minimal change to Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball rankings

With only two losses by the entire Top Ten to Central Jersey Sports Radio-area teams, there was minimal change in the Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball rankings, with Gill St. Bernard’s holding at No. 1, while Edison swaps in for Spotswood in the tenth spot.

Gill St. Bernard’s (16-2) kept the top spot after a 2-1 week. The Knights – who picked up the No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament Monday night – beat Franklin on Tuesday, 70-45, then picked up a non-conference wins, 55-46, over Bayonne at home Thursday, before falling 52-41 Sunday to Red Bank Catholic in the Coaches’ Choice Shore Challenge at Holmdel High School. Gill opens SCT play Saturday at home against 9th-seed Mount St. Mary in the quarterfinal round.

Holding in second is Rutgers Prep (14-3). The Argonauts had a 2-0 week after getting the second seed in the SCT, where they have won four county titles in a row going back to 2020 (there was no tourney in 2021). They beat Phillipsburg Tuesday, 61-13, then topped Trinity Hall on Sunday in the Coaches’ Choice Shore Challenge at Holmdel on Sunday. They’ll play in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals Saturday at home against 7th-seed Bernards.

Third is still St. Thomas Aquinas (16-5). The Trojans had a 2-2 week, but won both their GMC games, Thursday over Colonia, 77-45, and Saturday at Old Bridge, 72-37. Those victories were surrounded by a couple of losses to highly-ranked Shore conference squads. Tuesday, they lost 61-43 at St. Rose in Belmar, then fell Sunday, 56-51, to Manasquan in the Coaches’ Choice Shore Challenge at Holmdel High.

Steady in fourth is Hillsborough (15-3), which went 2-0 this week, picking up a 53-44 win at Hunterdon Central Tuesday, then a 75-27 win at Old Bridge on Thursday night.

Bernards (15-2) stays put in fifth, also after a 2-0 week. The Mountaineers won 50-35 at Roselle Park Tuesday, then came back Saturday with a 58-40 win over 10-seed Watchung Hills in the Somerset County Tournament’s second round. Seventh-seeded Bernards travels to No. 2 seed Rutgers Prep Saturday for a quarterfinal matchup.

Holding at six is Somerville (15-4). The Pioneers won 65-52 Tuesday at Montgomery, before losing Friday at Holmdel, 46-31. But The ‘Ville rebounded with a 41-36 win over 11th-seed Ridge Saturday in the SCT’s second round. They’ll visit third-seed Hillsborough in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Staying in seventh is Pingry (14-4), which picked up a 64-3 win at Ridge Tuesday, then took a 64-46 loss to University (Newark) Thursday, before topping 12-seed Bound Brook 47-26 in the second round of the Somerset County Tournament on Saturday. They’ll visit 4th-seed Franklin in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

The last three teams are from the GMC, including Middlesex (16-4) at No. 8. The Blue Jays beat Edison 58-46 Tuesday, then won at North Brunswick 72-49 Thursday, which – coupled with Spotswood’s loss to Edison that night – gave them the Greater Middlesex Conference White Division title. The Blue Jays finished off a 3-0 week Saturday with a 57-53 win at East Brunswick.

Monroe (12-7) holds steady in ninth. IN a 2-1 week, the Falcons lost 46-44 at home to South Brunswick on Tuesday, but came back with two straight road wins: 53-42 at East Brunswick on Thursday, and 53-51 at North Plainfield on Saturday.

But in the tenth spot, Spotswood got bounced after a second loss to Edison (12-8), which took the Chargers’ place after beating them Thursday, 56-50, for a second time this season. That followed a loss to Middlesex, 58-46, on Tuesday.

Below is the complete Week 8 Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten:

January 27, 2025January 26, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

On a solid week, no changes in Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 7

The Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten went 25-2 in the week gone by, necessitating no changes to the rankings in Week Seven.

That keeps Gill St. Bernard’s (13-2) in the No. 1 spot for a second week in a row, after dethroning Rutgers Prep. The Knights were 2-0 in the past week, winning 72-18 at Phillipsburg on Thursday, then beating Dexter (MA) in the More Than a Highlight Showcase at St. John Vianney in Holmdel.

Rutgers Prep (12-3) holds in second, also going 2-0 last week, with a 63-37 win over Hunterdon Central on Thursday, and a 61-36 victory over George (PA) in the More Than A Highlight Showcase.

Still in third is St. Thomas Aquinas (14-3). They won all three of their games this week: 83-48 over Piscataway on Thursday, 90-33 over No. 9 Monroe on Saturday, and 94-77 over Teaneck Sunday in the More Than A Highlight Showcase.

Holding at No. 4 is Hillsborough (13-3). The Raiders took a loss this week at Franklin, 63-60, bt bookended it with a 71-46 win at home against Pennington Tuesday, then beat Scotch Plains-Fanwood 71-33 Saturday at home.

Bernards (13-2) stays at five after a 2-0 week, with a 59-6 Thursday win over Central Jersey College Charter, then a 40-22 win at Millburn on Saturday.

Holding in sixth is Somerville (13-3). The Pioneers went 3-0 this week, picking up a 63-56 win over Voorhees Tuesday, then a 38-30 win at Delaware Valley Thursday, before closing it out with a 57-38 victory at South Hunterdon on Saturday.

Pingry (12-3) holds in seventh off a 3-0 week. The Big Blue won 71-53 at Immaculata on Monday, then beat Watchung Hills 85-53 Thursday, and Lawrenceville on Friday, 70-36.

The last three teams – all in the same place as last week – come from the GMC.

Middlesex (13-4) holds at No. 8 after a 3-0 week that started off with a 53-19 victory over JP Stevens heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, followed by a 66-40 win at Perth Amboy Thursday, and a Saturday road win at South Plainfield, 50-34.

Monroe stays at nine, following a 2-1 week. They beat Colonia 57-24 Tuesday and Old Bridge 65-46 Thursday, before falling to No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas, 90-33, on Saturday.

And Spotswood (14-4) remains in tenth on a 3-0 week. They beat South Plainfield 49-44 on Tuesday, got a 69-43 home win over North Brunswick Thursday, then won at Woodbridge, 62-43 on Saturday.

The Lady Chargers will be on Central Jersey Sports Radio again Saturday for a big GMC White Division game at Edison (5:30 pm – LISTEN LIVE), following an Eagles matchup with Middlesex on Tuesday. Spotswood and the Blue Jays are tied atop the White Division at 10-2, with Edison a game back at 9-3.

Here’s the complete Week 7 Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten:

January 20, 2025January 20, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Gill St. Bernard’s takes over No. 1 spot in Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Top Ten, ending Rutgers Prep’s record 43-week reign

For the first time in the history of the Central Jersey Sports Radio/Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Rankings, there’s a new team at No. 1: Gill St. Bernard’s.

The Knights ended Rutgers Prep’s reign of 43 straight weeks in the top spot; they were the only team to hold that position since our inaugural season of 2021, the COVID-shortened year. They did it with a dominating 64-27 home win over the Argonauts, which ended their 54-game Somerset County win streak and 67-game Skyland Conference win streak,

Gill St. Bernard’s is now 11-2 on the strength of a 2-0 week – also beating No. 4 Hillsborough 72-39 Tuesday – as it moves up to No. 1, while Rutgers Prep slipped back to No. 2 at 10-3, with a Tuesday win at Franklin, 83-58, and a Saturday win over Mary Louis Academy (NY) in the Rose Classic Super Jam in Nazareth, PA, 78-71, sandwiched around the loss to Gill.

The next few teams stayed put, with few losses.

St. Thomas Aquinas (11-3) holds at No. 3 on the heels of a 2-0 week. The Trojans rebounded from Sunday’s home loss to Gill St. Bernard’s with a 95-51 win over South Brunswick Thursday, and a 91-41 victory at East Brunswick on Saturday, extending their regular season GMC winning streak to 46 games, and their overall Middlesex County win streak to 54.

Hillsborough (11-2) remains fourth on a 2-1 week. They opened with a 72-39 home loss to then-No. 2 Gill St. Bernard’s Tuesday, but followed it with a 65-19 drubbing of Phillipsburg, followed by a 71-51 win Saturday at Pingry.

Holding in fifth is Bernards (11-2). The Mountaineers were 3-for-3 last week, with a 5-0-22 win over Manville Tuesday, a 51-18 victory at South Hunterdon Thursday, and a 54-30 home win over Bound Brook on Saturday.

Somerville (10-2) remains at six, with wins over Science Park, 61-32, on Monday, and over Immaculata Thursday, 60-56. They fell Saturday at Ridge, 56-53.

And the last of four straight Somerset County teams is Pingry (9-3), which went 2-1 in the week gone by. The beat Warren Hills 60-25 on Tuesday, and Voorhees 48-45 on Thursday, both on the road, then Saturday at No. 4 Hillsborough, 71-51.

Middlesex (10-4) moved up two spots to No. 8, as the Blue Jays downed then-No. 9 Spotswood Tuesday, 38-32, then picked up a 61-40 decision at Woodbridge Thursday, before closing the week with a 41-32 home loss to Hunterdon Central. (Correction: An earlier version of this story had Middlesex with a win over Hunterdon Central.)

Moving back into the Top Ten at No. 9 is Monroe (8-5). The Falcons went 3-0 this week, beating Piscataway on Tuesday, 52-46; Highland Park on Wednesday, 66-34; then taking out Princeton 52-47 Saturday, on the road.

Spotswood drops to tenth at 11-4 after a 2-1 week. After Tuesday’s 38-32 divisional loss to the Blue Jays, they bounced back with a 55-40 win over JP Stevens, and a 66-5 victory at South River on Saturday afternoon.

Dropping out this week was previously-No. 8 South Brunswick, which lost three games this week, at Old Bridge at St. Thomas Aquinas, and at home against Hightstown.

Below is the complete Week 6 Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten:

January 13, 2025January 19, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Gill’s win at STA shakes up Bellamy & Son Paving Girls Basketball Top Ten for Week 5

With its third big win of the year, Gill St. Bernard’s has moved up in the Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten, which saw two teams drop out, two new teams, and nine of the ten schools move to a new position.

And more could change this week.

Still in first – for a 43rd straight week – is Rutgers Prep (8-2). The Argonauts extended their Skyland Conference winning streak to 66 and Somerset County win streak to 53 in the week gone by, winning a pair of road games: 67-19 at Phillipsburg Tuesday, and 66-52 at Hillsborough Thursday, handing the Raiders their first loss.

The Argonauts will face Gill St. Bernard’s (9-2) on the road Thursday, with the Knights now up to No. 2 inn the rankings, in a rematch from December 16th, which Rutgers Prep won. Gill went 3-0 this past week, beating Franklin on the road Tuesday, 56-43, then Hunterdon Central at home Thursday, 77-35, and then-No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas Sunday evening in the St. Thomas Challenge College Showcase, 67-54.

Gill’s week doesn’t get any easier. Before Thursday’s matchup with Prep, they’ll have to visit 9-1 Hillsborough.

St. Thomas Aquinas (9-3) drops to third with the loss to the Knights, but the Trojans went 2-1 last week, winning Thursday at Colonia, 93-31, then Saturday at Old Bridge, 83-28. And they’ve extended their streak to 44 straight GMC regular season games, and 52 against Middlesex County opponents overall (including the postseason).

Hillsborough (9-1) drops to fourth after a 2-1 week that saw them beat Hunterdon Central, 72-27, at home Tuesday, lose to Prep on Thursday, then beat Plainfield on Saturday, 60-50.

Somerville (8-2) and Bernards (8-2) flip-flopped this week, with the Mountaineers moving up to five on a 3-0 week that included a Monday win over Montgomery, 41-19; a 44-29 win at North Hunterdon Thursday, and a 68-48 home victory over Bridgewater-Raritan Saturday. The Pioneers beat Belvidere 58-47 on Tuesday, and won at Columbia 53-30 Friday, before falling Saturday, 42-38 at Ridge.

Pingry (7-2) jumps into the poll at No. 7. They routed Ridge, 61-13, on Tuesday, they got by Mount St. Mary, 49-38 on Thursday.

South Brunswick (5-4) went 2-1 this week, but 2-0 against area teams, and enters at No. 8. Sandwiched around a Friday non-conference loss to Middletown South, 46-39, the Vikings got Red Division wins over Monroe, 53-30 on Tuesday, and over Colonia Saturday, 48-36.

Down two spots to ninth is Spotswood (9-3). The Chargers went 2-1 this week, beating Woodbridge at home with a dozen treys Tuesday, 72-38, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, then topping Perth Amboy on the road, 53-43 Thursday, before falling to Edison at home Saturday, 54-45.

And down one to tenth is Middlesex (8-3). The Blue Jays lost to South Plainfield Tuesday, 28-28, but rebounded with a win at Edison, 43-37, on Thursday, and a 45-39 home win over North Brunswick on Saturday.

Dropping out were No. 8 Old Bridge – which fell to 5-4 with losses to Colonia and St. Thomas Aquinas this past week – and No. 10 Edison. The Eagles (7-6) split four games, beating Perth Amboy and Spotswood, but falling to Middlesex and East Brunswick.

Here’s the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 5: