Tag: Ryan McKeever

by Alec Crouthamel

Gill St. Bernard’s pulls away in second half over Immaculata, wins 19th straight to advance to second consecutive Somerset County Tournament final

It feels like a broken record at this point.

Gill St, Bernard’s boys basketball wins, powered by a frenetic and physical second half.

The top-seeded Knights (23-2, 7-0) won their 19th straight game with a 67-53 victory over fifth-seeded Immaculata in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals, to advance to their second straight championship appearance.

The Spartans (17-6, 4-1) held their own and then some for the first 16 minutes of action, taking a 28-25 halftime lead after slowing down the game on both ends of the floor for much of the half, coupled with some impressive shotmaking.

Gill St. Bernard’s senior guard Dorsett Mulcahy set the tone with 26 points and seven rebounds, including 14 of the Knights’ 22 third-quarter points as they powered ahead. Fellow senior Prosper Highlander added 16 points and six rebounds, including ten in the second half.

The first quarter was a clash of styles, as Immaculata tried to slow it down while Gill St. Bernard’s wanted to keep on running. The Spartans hit shots in the opening stretch but the Knights ended the first quarter with a 10-8 lead.

Immaculata turned up the heat on both ends in the second quarter, as the balanced shotmaking continued and the Spartans went into halftime with a three-point lead. Senior guard Riley Gorman finished the half tied for the game lead with eight points, while junior Tyler Burns added seven.

Four Immaculata scorers finished in double figures, led by Burns’ 14 — including seven third-quarter points all at the foul line — while Gorman added 12. Junior Bryce Higgins scored 12 points of his own and senior Noah Doss scored ten.

Gill St. Bernard’s came out of the locker room ready to run — as the Knights always are — and eventually took a lead back that they would not relinquish.

Mulcahy got to the basket time and time again, while also knocking down a three-pointer and hitting all three of his free throw attempts. Highlander drew the assignment of Gorman on defense, and came into his own as well in the third quarter with four points. By the time the quarter came to a close, Gill St. Bernard’s had built a 48-39 lead, as both teams found themselves in foul trouble in the frame.

The Knights ran some more in the fourth quarter and put the game out of reach fairly early on. Highlander scored six points while sophomore guard Connor Junker hit a three-pointer of his own as part of a seven-point final stretch.

By the time the dust settled, Gill St. Bernard’s outscored Immaculata 42-25 in the second half and was able to finish the job multiple minutes before the final buzzer sounded.

The Knights advance to their second straight Somerset County Tournament finals appearance, and tenth all-time, tying Bridgewater-Raritan for the county record. They will play in a rematch of last year’s championship bout against second-seeded Rutgers Prep, which defeated Montgomery 66-57 earlier on Saturday for the Argonauts’ fifth straight championship appearance. Gill St. Bernard’s won last year’s tournament matchup 52-46.

They’ll do it all over again next Saturday at Montgomery High School, with tip-off at 3 pm.

Click below for postgame reaction with Gill St. Bernard’s senior Dorsett Mulcahy and head coach Mergin Sina, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:


by Mike Pavlichko

Immaculata rallies from 13-point deficit to get past Pingry, 72-68, moving on to SCT semis for first time since 2020

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:

by Mike Pavlichko

Immaculata looks for stronger start when Spartans travel to Pingry Saturday for SCT quarterfinal matchup

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:

Pingry head coach Jason Murdock
Immaculata head coach Ryan McKeever
by Mike Pavlichko

No. 7 Immaculata reigns as Spartans rain 3s down on No. 10 Somerville for 83-51 victory, 11th straight against Pioneers

Twice this week – on Monday against Vernon and Tuesday against Hunterdon Central – No. 7 Immaculata dropped eleven threes in a game. What would be the odds they’d do it again?

Pretty good, as it turns out.

The seventh-ranked Spartans hit eleven times from downtown Saturday afternoon, en route to an 83-51 home win over No. 10 Somerville in the annual Mayor’s Trophy game.

And forget the kids and their “6-7,” there must be something about the No. 11. Because that’s how many in a row Immaculata has won against their in-town rivals, dating back to 2017. The Pioneers’ last ween against the Spartans came in February 2016.

Then again, there might also be something about the number ten. That’s the jersey number of senior Riley Gorman, who hit six times from beyond the arc Saturday, three times in the first quarter as part of two runs that had Somerville chasing them all afternoon.

After the Pioneers got the first bucket from James Hampton, Immaculata went on an 11-0 run to take an 11-2 lead, then after a three made it 11-5, they strung nine straight points together to make it 20-5 with 3:38 left in the first period. Somerville never got it to single digits the rest of the game.

And they played fairly even after that. Immaculata (10-2) led by 15 after those two runs, and was up 17 at the half. But the third quarter also belonged to Immaculata, which led 73-43 after three, and the rest was history. Tyler Burns finished with 18 for ‘Lata, while Bruce Higgins chipped in 17.

Somerville (10-4) was led by Messiah Bradley with 16 – including a pair of treys – while James Hapton added 13 and Brian Palko 12.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with Immaculata senior Riley Gorman and head coach Ryan McKeever, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Immaculata boys take care of the ball, hits big shots in 66-59 win over Bridgewater-Raritan

The first time Immaculata and Bridgewater-Raritan met this year, it was a double-overtime thriller the Spartans won 65-60 back on the opening night of the season, almost a month ago to the day.

Only 32 minutes was needed Thursday night, but it was another rock ’em, sock ’em contest, and Immaculata winning by a similar 66-59 score.

Immaculata took an early 10-4 lead, but the Panthers closed the first quarter strong to go ahead 13-0 after eight minutes. The Spartans tied it up at 25 just before the half, went into the locker room with a 27-25 lead, and never gave it up again.

That doesn’t mean the Panthers didn’t fight back. Boy, did they ever. But every time Brody Nussman or Richie Gardner – who had eight in the fourth quarter alone – hit big shot after big shot, Immaculata had an answer.

Cole Hayden and Riley Gorman were the big reasons why. Gorman finished with 24 points to lead everyone, and 19 of those came in the second half, ten in the final quarter.

“It’s easy when I have good teammates and coaches around me,” Gorman said after the game.

Hayden finished with 16, going 5-for-5 from the foul line, including three-for-three in the third.

That and the fact Immaculata didn’t commit a turnover in the fourth quarter until the final couple of minuets helped them hold off the Panthers, to improve to 9-3 overall, 4-2 in the Skyland Conference’s Raritan Division.

They’re just one game in the standings behind Montgomery, with Ridge in between, and will visit the Cougars next Tuesday before the Somerset County Tournament is seeded on Monday, January 27th.

Bridgewater-Raritan dropped to 8-5, but just 1-5 in the Raritan Division.

Click below for postgame reaction from Immaculata’s Riley Gorman and head coach Ryan McKeever:

by Mike Pavlichko

Immaculata boys net a big upset, beating NJ blue blood CBA in opening round

In the college game, it’s like beating a Michigan, Duke or Kentucky.

Christian Brothers Academy has for a long time been one of the top programs in the state, led by alum and former Rutgers star point guard Geoff Billet.

Wednesday night, in the opening round of the Non-Public South B state playoffs, 11th-seed Immaculata beat 6th-seed CBA down in Lincroft, 56-41, in a game they controlled virtually wire-to-wire.

There were two big reasons why: Davis Adams and Isaiah Honis.

Adams, a junior forward who was averaging 11 points a game coming in had himself a night: 21 points, 12 rebounds, for his fourth double-double of the season.

Honis, who missed significant time with a broken wrist and has been back for a couple of weeks now, added 18. The team has won its last four with him in the lineup, and he’s averaging 17 points per game over the last three, including Monday night’s effort.

The encore, however, will be the hard part for the Spartans.

They’ll go on the road – not far, just to Somerset – to take on third-seed and Somerset County Tournament finalist Rutgers Prep Friday night. Immaculata lost twice to the Argonauts this season, 79-55 on January 11th, and 79-49 just 16 days later.

Click below to hear Immaculata head coach Ryan McKeever talk about the Spartans’ win over CBA:

by Mike Pavlichko

One point guard out, one back, as Montgomery and Immaculata square off in Somerville tonight

Montgomery and Immaculata both have lost their starting point guards this season, and it’s a big reason why both teams are where they are right now in the 2021-22 boys’ basketball season.

The Cougars are 7-7, and graduated a ton from last year. The Spartans are 6-9, despite having much experience back.

Montgomery lost senior point guard and co-captain Ryan Curry with a high ankle sprain early on, but he’s been able to return, helping the Cougars to wins in their last three games, and five of their last seven.

Immaculata hasn’t been as lucky. The Spartans lost senior point-guard Isaiah Honis early on, too, with a broken wrist. But he won’t be back for another two weeks or so. It should come in time for the Somerset County Tournament, at the very least.

That’s no consolation Tuesday night, however, when the Spartans host the Cougars in Somerville, in a game that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Tip-off time is at 7:00, with pregame set for approximately 6:45, as Mike Pavlichko has the call. Click here to listen live, and for free.

Click below to hear a preview of tonight’s game with both head coaches:

Immaculata head coach Ryan McKeever
Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy