Top-seed Rutgers Prep got 11 points from Hailey Benbow and 10 from Natalia Valdez in a 55-49 win over fifth-seed Bound Brook in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, sending them back to the title game.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the play-by-play from Franklin High School in Somerset, NJ on February 14, 2026.
Second-seed Rutgers Prep held off a late push from third-seed Montgomery for a 66-57 win in the semifinal round of the Somerset County Tournament behind 20 points from Will Brunson and 15 from Nicholas Nsenkyrie.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the play-by-play from Franklin High School in Somerset, NJ on February 14, 2026.
Sometimes when two top teams get together – and these two both were 20-game winners coming into Saturday’s Somerset County Tournament semifinal at Franklin High School – there’s a feeling out period. See what the other team gives you, then figure out what you can take.
There was none of that, however, for top-seed Rutgers Prep when the Argonauts took on fifth-seed Bound Brook. From the opening tip, they passed crisply, scored with ease, and swooped in for offensive rebounds – barely every giving the Crusaders anything beyond one-and-done possessions.
And yet, despite being down 18 at one point in the first half, and as many as 15 in the third quarter, the Crusaders were still in this one right down to the wire.
They had the deficit down to four at 48-44 with 1:52 left, but just couldn’t get any closer.
In the end, Rutgers Prep (21-7) was able to survive and advance, 53-49, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. They’ll play the winner of Saturday’s 2 pm semifinal between second-seed Gill St. Bernard’s and third-seed Franklin in the championship game, next Saturday at 1 pm at Montgomery High School.
Freshman sensation Peytan Pugh was the main reason The Brook (21-2) was able to get back into the game, and stay in it, down the stretch. She had multiple steals, and rather than grabbing the ball, would tip the ball away, chase it down, and score without even the threat of being fouled. She finished with a game-high 23 points.
Bound Brook’s undoing in the first half was Rutgers Prep’s offensive rebounding, forcing the Crusaders into several one-and-dones. The Argonauts also used their length on the offensive side, often getting three or four chances on a number of possessions.
Hailey Benbow – who fouled out with 43 seconds remaining – was the high-scorer for the Argonauts, finishing with 11, while Sophia Georgiades added 10, including a pair of treys.
Meanwhile, senior Ava LaMonica – a four-year starter – who unofficially finished with four rebounds, joined the 1,000-point, 500-rebound club with her effort on the glass.
It’ll be Rutgers Prep’s 15th trip to a county final, all since 2004. They are 10-4 in the title game, but missed last year, snapping a string of nine straight trips, knocked off in the semifinals here at Franklin by Hillsborough, which lost to Gill in the title game, but went on to win the state Group 4 championship.
Prep had won four straight titles before last season, in 2020, and 2022 to 2024. (There was no SCT in 2021 due to the COVID-shortened season.)
Click below for postgame reaction with Rutgers Prep sophomore Hailey Benbow and head coach Mary Klinger , presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
The Skyland Conference Delaware Division is a beast. Three teams are ranked in the statewide Top 20, all from ten up to three.
So, whenever they meet in the postseason, whoever they meet, they are always well-prepared.
So it was Saturday morning in the first Somerset County Tournament semifinal game. Second-seed Rutgers Prep and third-seed Montgomery both came in with excellent resumes. But someone had to win.
That was Rutgers Prep, as the Argonauts (16-8) clinched a berth in their fifth straight SCT title game, dating back to the 2020 season, with a 66-57 win over the Cougars (20-4) at Franklin High School, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Montgomery led by as many as six int he first quarter, but by the end of it, Prep had taken a three-point lead, 16-13. In the second half, they started to pull away, in part because they extended their defense on the Cougars to limit their thee-point ability, after sophomore Mike Simborski hit a couple big threes in the first.
The Argonauts had a 12 point lead late in the first, and Monty closed with a mini 5-0 run to get the deficit to a manageable seven.
But the third quarter belonged to Prep, as they built out to a 13 point lead, getting some big threes from Rocco Loomis, Bryce Williams and Nicholas Nsenkyrie.
And in the fourth, it left Montgomery playing catch-up, but they just couldn’t get much closer. It was an eight-point game with three minutes to go, but every time Monty punched, Rutgers Prep came right back.
Sophomore Will Brunson led Rutgers Prep with 20 points, including two threes, while Nsenkyrie added 15. Logan Franz chipped in 11 and Rocco Loomis had 10.
Montgomery was led by Simborski with 29, a new career high. Senior point guard Ethan Lin finished with 20, including 13 in the fourth quarter, on four treys and a foul shot. He’s now 20 shy of tying the all-time Montgomery scoring record of 1,593 by girls’ standout Cameryn Benz (2016). He passed the boys’ record formerly held by Maurice Bahr (1976) earlier this season.
Click below for postgame reaction with Rutgers Prep sophomore Will Brunson, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Montgomery’s last win over Rutgers Prep in boys’ basketball came in the 2018-19 season, with the Cougars winning twice that year. Since then, the Argonauts have won ten straight, but the majority – especially in recent seasons – have been close, including a three-point loss in the 2024 Somerset County Tournament final.
This Saturday, the second-seeded Argonauts (15-8, No. 9 in New Jersey) and the third-seeded Cougars (20-3, No. 10 in NJ) will square off at 10 at Franklin High School to open a full day of basketball in the Somerset County Tournament Semifinals, with all four games on tap.
You can hear that opener as part of our doubleheader broadcast Saturday, starting with pregame at 9:45 am, and tip-off at 10. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will call all the action, with the girls’ semifinal between top-seed Rutgers Prep and fourth-seed Bound Brook to follow. Click here to listen to both games.
Both teams have endured playing brutal scheduled. Prep has taken losses to the likes of Linden, St. Peter’s Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s, and even got knocked off by a pesky Pingry team in early January. Mongtomery had a particularly challenging three-game stretch around the same time with losses in three straight games to Linden, Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s.
The Argonauts lost to Linden by nine earlier in the season, while the Cougars fell by two a few weeks later.
And both have some great players.
Sophomore Will Brunson paces Rutgers Prep with 23.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game , with a team-best 27 blocks. But his 48 threes are just second on the team to the 65 Rocco Loomis has hit; he’s averaging 16.2 a game. And senior Nicholas Nsenkyrie is scoring almost 13, with 30 treys, on a team that has hit a whopping 245 times from beyond the arc. That’s tops in New Jersey.
Montgomery also has some young talent in the likes of Mike Simoborski – second in scoring at 17.9 – and lanky 6′ 9″ Shriyans Mallavarapu, who’s averaging seven boards a game and four blocks. Both are sophomores. Junior Connor Benedict had 46 triples to lead the Cougars – who still have 100 fewer than Prep as a team – and then there’s Ethan Lin.
The Penn-bound senior is the voice of experience, leading by example, and a settling influence if things seem like they’re getting out of hand. Besides his 19.9 points and four assists per game, it’s the intangibles that make him the player he is.
Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:
By no stretch of the imagination did the Rutgers Prep and Bound Brook girls’ basketball teams have “bad” years, or even so-so seasons, at least not by most people’s standards.
The Argonauts finished 20-7, while the Crusaders went 19-7.
But Rutgers Prep didn’t make the county finals for the first time in ten seasons, and they got beat by Gloucester Catholic in the Non-Public South B Final. And The Brook won five titles in a row from 2016-2020.
This season, they are the only two 20-win teams in the Skyland Conference (so far), their county, and Saturday at noon they’ll face off at Franklin High School in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will call all the action, with pregame set for 11:45 am. Click here to listen.
Rutgers Prep (20-2, 5-0 Skyland Delaware Division Champs) is the well-deserved No. 1 seed, their only two losses have come to Red Bank Catholic and Cardinal O’Hara (PA) in showcase games. Bound Brook (21-1, 8-0 Skyland Mountain Division Champs) took its only loss at the hands of Union Catholic, in their own Crusader Classic over the holidays. And yet, Bound Brook, the five-seed is a decided underdog.
Not that that’s ever stopped the Crusaders before. And it helps that hey have a freshman sensation in Peytan Pugh. Averaging 18.1 points per game, 7.7 rebounds, she’s also the team leader in assists (149, 6.8 per game) and steals (191, 8.7 per game), along with a team-best 20 blocks.
But she’s not the only one who can score. Senior Ti’asjah Ferguson is averaging 12.6 per game, and has 75 steals on the year for a defense that has logged more than Rutgers Prep, by a wide margin: 372-217.
That’s the kind of defense Bound Brook will need.
But while they have played a challenging schedule when they can, Rutgers Prep is another story. While Bound Brook coach Jen Derevjanik has been through the wars (go back to those five straight sectional titles) and has WNBA playing experience, her players have not – at least not yet – and with the Argonauts, they will see a veteran group.
Prep was fully expecting a bounce-back year coming into 2025-26, bringing back every starter and every single key bench player as well. Sophomore Hailey Benbow is the team’s top scorer (13.5 per game) and rebounder (7 per game), while also logging a team-best 52 steals, but the senior leader is Ava LaMonica.
Talk about someone who’s been through the wars, the four-year starter is averaging 12.7 points per game. Fellow senior Sophia Georgiades – in her second year at Prep after a transfer in from Ridge last season – is the team’s top three-point shooter, with 23 on the year.
Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:
In the final Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten before the end of the year, Gill St. Bernard’s has edged up to No. 2, while Colonia and Bound Brook also rose.
Still at No. 1 is Rutgers Prep (18-2). Winners of 12 straight the Argonauts went 2-0 in the week gone by, picking up a Thursday win at then-No. 6 Hillsborough, 72-30, then taking their opening game in the Somerset County Tournament, beating Watchung Hills 73-30 at home Saturday in the quarterfinals. Prep, the top-seed, will take on fourth-seed Bound Brook this Saturday at noon at Franklin High School in the semifinals, a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Moving up a spot to second is Gill St. Bernard’s (17-4), by virtue of their head-to-head win over previously No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas, 67-62, back on Tuesday, a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. They followed it up with a 66-40 won over Watchung Hills on Thursday, then a 67-46 win over Bernards Saturday in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals. Second-seeded Gill will play third-seed Franklin in this weekend’s semifinals at 2 pm on the Warriors’ home court.
The loss to the Knights sent St. Thomas Aquinas (17-5) down one spot to third, coming off a rare 0-2 week. Their second loss cam Saturday at home to George (PA) 75-69.
Moving up one spot to four is Franklin (13-7). The Warriors lost Wednesday at Morris Catholic 63-51, but bounced back with a 70-50 win over Bridgewater-Raritan on Thursday, and a 54-33 victory over Pingry in the SCT quarterfinals. The third-seeded Warriors will play at home Saturday in the semifinals against second-seed Gill St. Bernard’s.
Bernards (17-3) dropped a spot to fifth after a 1-2 week. The Mountaineers started the week with a 55-11 win over North Plainfield, but followed it up with a 50-37 loss at Voorhees on Thursday night. Bernards was knocked out of the Somerset County Tournament by Gill St. Bernard’s on Saturday, falling 67-46.
East Brunswick (18-4) had a 3-0 week, and moves up a spot to six after winning five straight since a road loss at Hillsborough. The Bears won 78-47 Monday at Woodbridge, picked up a 73-59 win over Spotswood Tuesday, then were 37-22 winners at Middlesex on Thursday.
Checking in at No. 7 is Colonia (16-2), also up one spot, following a 1-1 week. They beat Monroe Tuesday, 48-45, but lost Wednesday at Piscataway, 60-54.
Bound Brook is also up one spot, to No. 8, after a big SCT win on Saturday. First, though, they beat Old Bridge, 57-24, on Tuesday, then routed North Plainfield 67-29 on Thursday before winning at Hillsborough, 54-47, in the county quarterfinals. The Fourth-seeded Crusaders will play top-seed Rutgers Prep at noon this Saturday in the semifinals at Franklin High School, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Hillsborough (15-5) falls down to ten after two losses this week, and three straight overall. Granted, all three have been against top ten teams, with the most recent a 72-30 loss to No. 1 Rutgers Prep Thursday, and Saturday’s loss in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, 54-47 to Bound Brook.
And holding in tenth is Woodbridge (15-6). The Barrons lost Monday to East Brunswick, 78-47, then came back and beat Sayreville on Wednesday, 62-57, and won Friday at Carteret, 66-55.
Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 9:
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:
They were upsets by seed, but the result wouldn’t have been surprising either way.
In what looked on paper like the most competitive matchups of the day, the fifth-seeded Bound Brook girls knocked off fourth-seed and 2025 SCT finalist Hillsborough 54-47 on the road Saturday morning, to advance to next week’s semifinals at Franklin.
And in a 5/4 upset on the boy’s side, Immaculata rallied in the second half to win at Pingry, 72-68, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Defending champs Gill St. Bernard’s – boys’ and girls’ – also advanced.
Scroll down for recaps of each game, followed by the semifinal matchups for next Saturday’s semifinals with times, per Tournament Director and Immaculata AD Tom Gambino. Game times are 10 am, noon, 2 pm and 4 pm at Franklin High School, and Central Jersey Sports Radio will have play-by-play coverage of one girls’ and one boys’ game, with recaps and postgame reaction from all four on cjsportsradio.com.
2026 SCT GIRLS’ SEMIFINALS
(5) Bound Brook 54, (4) Hillsborough 47: Freshman sensation Peytan Pugh led all scorers with 27 points, as the Crusaders bounced back from a 27-25 halftime deficit with a 13-7 third quarter to take the lead Pugh finished with a double-double, also grabbing 14 rebounds for the Crusaders (20-1), who are the first 20-game winner this season in the entire Skyland Conference. It will be Bound Brook’s first trip to the semifinals since 2022, when they lost to eventual champion Rutgers Prep, 86-42. They’ll face top-seed Rutgers Prep as they seek their first ever trip to the county final.
(1) Rutgers Prep 73, (9) Watchung Hills 30: The Argonauts expanded an eight-point lead at the end of one quarter to 44-19 at halftime, then held Watchung Hills to single digit scoring in the final three quarters en route to the win. Senior Ava LaMonica led all scorers with 22 points and a pair of treys for Rutgers Prep (18-2), which will face Bound Brook in the semifinals next Saturday. It’ll be the 12th straight trip to the semifinals for the Argos, as they look to get back to the championship game after getting knocked out in last year’s semifinals by Hillsborough. Prep had won the last four SCT titles before missing the game last season.
(3) Franklin 45, (6) Pingry 33: The Warriors (13-7) got 14 points from Jamila Riley, and despite just six points from Aleah Sunkins – the team’s top scorer, averaging over 18 per game coming in – came out with the quarterfinal victory. Franklin held Pingry to just two first quarter points, leading 9-2 after one, but the Big Blue tied it by halftime, and the teams went into the locker room at 15-all before Franklin pulled ahead for good on the strength of a 17-4 third quarter. They’ll meet Gill St. Bernard’s in the semis in their fourth straight trip to the semis; last year, they got knocked out in the final four by the eventual champion Knights, 61-34.
(2) Gill St. Bernard’s 67, (7) Bernards 46: Sisters Addy and Kaity plat combined for 49 of their team’s 67 points as the Knights jumped on Bernard’s early, up 23-9 after one quarter of play. The Mountaineers trimmed the deficit to nine by halftime, but Gill pulled away in the fourth. The Knights (17-4) will meet Franklin for a second straight year in the semis in their fourth straight trip to the girls’ final four.
SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS:
2026 SCT BOYS’ SEMIFINALS
(1) Gill St. Bernard’s 71, (8) Ridge 55: The Knights (20-2) got a game-high 21 points from Prosper Highlander, who recorded a double-double, also grabbing 11 rebounds. Dorsett Mulcahy finished with 15 points and seven assists, while Connor Junker added 11 points. This will be Gill’s second straight trip to the semis as the Knights – whose girls’ team is in the semifinals as well – look to get back to the finals and sweep the Somerset County Tournament for a second straight year. The Skyland Conference’s first 20-game winner this season, they’ll face Immaculata next Saturday at Franklin.
(5) Immaculata 72, (4) Pingry 68: Riley Gorman scored 25 points – 17 in the second half – as Immaculata erased a 13-point second quarter deficit with a rally in the third to win on the road. Now 16-5, the Spartans are in the semis for the first time since 2020, seeking their first trip to a final since they beat Ridge to win it in 2009 as the top seed. Click here for our full game story, and postgame reaction from senior Riley Gorman and head coach Ryan McKeever, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen.
(3) Montgomery 53, (6) Hillsborough 38: The Raiders got out to an early lead, ahead 12-9 after one, but the Cougars clamped down on defense over the next eight minutes, holding Hillsborough to just seven points to take a 21-19 lead at the half, and they pulled away late, winning it in the fourth. Penn-bound Ethan Lin led all scorers with 21 points, including six from the free throw line. Montgomery (19-3) will face Rutgers Prep next Saturday in its third straight trip to the boys’ final four.
(2) Rutgers Prep 85, (7) Bridgewater-Raritan 58: The Argonauts (15-7) got a mammoth game from William Brunson, who scored 31 points, went 7-of-8 at the foul line, and hit six times from downtown, part of a 13-trey afternoon for his squad. Nicholas Nsenkyire added 12 for Rutgers Prep, which will be seeking its sixth straight finals appearance when the Argos’ face Montgomery next Saturday at Franklin in their ninth straight trip to the finals. Head coach Matt Bloom has never missed a Somerset County Tournament semifinal in his eight seasons as Prep’s head coach.
SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS:
The Metro Classic returned for its 13th season, this time down at the Sports Center at Stockton University.
Three different teams from Somerset and Middlesex counties — making up the top three of the latest Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Top Ten — participated in the Thursday-to-Saturday showcase, and headed back up the Garden State Parkway with a sparkling 4-0 record. Some former standouts from the area also got to return home for one final time before they head off to their respective high-major college destinations.
Here’s a full look on how each team did over the weekend.
The Knights (18-2, 5-0) were the lone CJSR area team to play twice, and made the most of their chances with two victories over out-of-area foes to extend their winning streak to 14 consecutive games.
They started on Friday with a matchup against fellow Non-Public Paramus Catholic, coached by former Paterson Catholic and Villanova star Tim Thomas, without the services of leading scorer Dorsett Mulcahy. He returned in the second game of the weekend.
Gill started hot with a double-digit lead after one quarter, led by eight points from junior forward Chase Wieder, as part of a 17-point day, one off his career high. The Paladins fought back with a much-improved second quarter, though, as the Knights’ offense ground to a halt.
Then the third quarter came around.
Gill found its proper footing with its up-tempo, in-your-face defensive and transition styles, outscoring PC 31-14 in the third quarter to open up a 20-point lead after 24 minutes. With the game mostly in hand, the two teams played relatively even in the fourth quarter, finishing off a 65-46 Knights win. Senior forward Prosper Highlander added 17 points and nine rebounds — after ending the first half with just three points — while junior guard Jahmal Dixon added 14 points and five rebounds of his own.
“It was a tough situation,” head coach Mergin Sina said after the game. “It’s a middle-of-the-day game. Kids just got out of school at 11 o’clock. No excuses, but I was worried about this game. Playing at 3 o’clock, driving down from North Jersey at 11 o’clock, kids get out of school, real flat. The kids were sleeping, but we woke up in the third quarter, and we played a little more aggressive, and obviously got the win.”
They went back in action on Saturday, taking on SPIRE Academy’s International team, with Mulcahy back in the fold. Gill got going right away, taking a commanding lead from the start and never looking back, leading by 14 at halftime and eventually cruising to a 67-53 victory. Mulcahy scored 21 points in his return, one of three Knights in double-figures. Highlander scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Connor Junker added 17 points and five boards.
“I think we got some mismatch issues on one end, but they had to guard us on the other,” said Sina after the win. “So there’s some big kids out there, but they had a little issue guarding us on the perimeter. I thought we did a good job, especially in the first half, of limiting them to one shot.”
The Falcons (19-1, 7-0) shook off their first loss of the season against South Plainfield on Tuesday and have now won three straight games, the second coming on Friday at Stockton.
St. Joseph faced off against Crestwood Prep from Ontario, Canada, in a battle that appeared to be in control, but got tight late.
Crestwood used a hot-shooting first quarter to take an early lead, but neither team gained much of an edge in the first half, as both teams went into the locker room tied at 21 apiece.
Even in the third quarter, the two teams played within two possessions, though the Falcons found their stride and methodically built up a solid lead. Junior wing Andrew Kretkowski scored ten points in the quarter, and got seven from sophomore guard Aidan Carter.
Carter and Kretkowski both executed at a high level early in the fourth quarter, as the lead stretched to eight points, and a talented but young Crestwood team fell into an offensive slump. Saint Joseph looked to be in the driver’s seat, but relentless defensive pressure from Crestwood caused some leaks and eventually it turned back to a one-score game in the final minute.
Sophomore center Joel Patrick proved to be the late-game X-factor, getting switched onto the perimeter twice, but holding Crestwood’s guards to desperation shots that Patrick affected both times. The Falcons came away with a 58-52 victory where they certainly faced some adversity late.
“I thought our D was really good the entire night for the most part,” head coach Mark Taylor said after the game. “Made a couple bad rotations, but overall really shut down Isaiah Hamilton. Wasn’t that much of an effect. The other kid surprised us. Number 10 [Sami Uraz] made some shots, so he kept them in it early, but then we kind of cleaned that up. Second half, I thought we did a pretty good job.”
Kretkowski led the way with 22 points and ten rebounds, while also helping limit Hamilton, a top-ten prospect in the 2028 class, on the defensive side. Carter added 21 points — including 17 in the second half and ten in the fourth quarter — and comfortably knocked down some crunchtime free throws. Junior guard Imaad Johnson added ten points while recording four steals.
“Aidan’s special. He can get where he needs to get, which is important. And Andrew’s got a motor and good size,” Taylor added on his star duo. “Those two both played good. They’re our motor, so when they go well, we go well. And let’s hope they keep rolling.”
Kretkowski finished the game with 998 career points and quickly reached 1,000 on Sunday in a win over New York Military Academy.
The Argonauts (13-6, 3-1) notched their second straight victory with a big week ahead, including a Thursday matchup against Gill St. Bernard’s and a showdown with Bridgewater-Raritan in the Somerset County Tournament. They faced off against a team that didn’t even know they’d be participating in the showcase 48 hours beforehand in the Metro Classic, and handled business.
Rutgers Prep was originally slated to face off against Seton Hall Prep, but a late schedule change pitted the Argonauts against Salem, coached by former Rutgers guard Anthony Farmer.
After a bit of a slow start offensively, the Argonauts got going quickly and often, turning an eight-point first-quarter lead into a 36-14 advantage at the half.
The Rams were able to battle back and play even in the third quarter, led by the heroics of guard Tymear Lecator — who finished with a game-high 31 points and six three-pointers — but by that point, Rutgers Prep had controlled the tempo and had the game mostly in hand.
“I think it was honestly energy,” head coach Matt Bloom said of the third-quarter swing. “It’s a big gym, a little bit more quiet than we expected, and I think they kind of swung the energy in their favor, and we handled it. And again, we just have to get better. We’ve got to learn from it and get better.”
Sophomore wing Will Brunson and junior guard Rocco Loomis led the way with 18 points apiece — the duo scored all 16 fourth-quarter points for the Argonauts — as Brunson added five rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Senior guard Nicolas Nsenkyire stuffed the stat sheet as well, with six points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and four steals.
“Honestly, I like that we’re frustrated when we don’t play the way that we think that we can play,” added Bloom. “We have a standard now. The kids are about winning. They want to get better. Any win’s a good win obviously. This is a 12-win team from South Jersey that’s playing us on 24 hours’ notice. So we appreciate that. We love the effort they gave us. They made us better today. But again, coming to the Metro Classic, figuring out a way to win in a game that didn’t completely go our way, especially in the second half, it’s a big deal for our young group.”
Not only did three teams from the area have their own respective success, but a few players out of state returned towards the end of their senior campaigns.
Former Colonia star Aiden Derkack played in his home state for the second and final time this season with Ohio’s SPIRE Academy — led by Elizabeth native and high-school coaching legend Kevin Boyle — facing a three-game gauntlet that saw SPIRE go 3-0 on the weekend.
On the first night, SPIRE faced a test from North Jersey power Bergen Catholic, and came away with a hard-fought 69-59 victory. Derkack finished with 18 points and ten rebounds — both team-highs — along with three assists, while also helping contain Crusaders forward Julius Avent — currently committed to Tom Izzo and Michigan State — to nine points on the night.
Friday saw SPIRE battle against College Achieve Public Charter School from Asbury Park, and found easier success with a cruising 78-49 win. Derkack scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds, while also recording four steals in the process.
SPIRE closed out its Metro Classic slate on Saturday with a battle against Mike Rice and Linden, in a battle of former Patrick School head coaches. That game turned into a grind-it-out battle, as the Tigers slowed the game down and played with physicality on both ends of the floor, led by its fiery coach.
The visitors from Ohio eventually pulled away with a 59-43 victory, as SPIRE’s top-end talent eventually took over. Derkack scored six points on the night but played a big part in helping SPIRE pull away late. The 6-foot-7 guard will head to Providence to play Big East basketball for the Friars after his season at SPIRE.
On the girls’ side, Edison native and former Rutgers Prep star GiGi Battle made her return to New Jersey, as well. Now at DME Academy in Florida, Battle played in one game, a 52-44 loss to St. James of Virginia for DME’s first loss of the year after starting 18-0. Battle scored nine points in the game. DME was originally set to play two games, with the first coming in a nationally-ranked showdown against Pennsylvania’s Westtown School, but that game was canceled.
Battle will head to Indiana to play for Teri Moren in the Big Ten after her season comes to a close, and joins Red Bank Catholic’s Addy Nyemchek as incoming Hoosiers from the Garden State.