Tag: SCT

January 31, 2026February 1, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Immaculata boys use big third quarter to thwart Bernards as Gorman cracks 1k; Watchung Hills girls pull upset over Somerville in SCT second round play

Next weekend’s quarterfinal round is set in the Somerset County Tournament for boys’ and girls’ basketball, with just one upset, as the ninth-seeded Watchung Hills girls upended 8-seed Somerville to move on and face top-seed Rutgers Prep.

Here’s a look at all eight games played Saturday, along with a recap of Immaculata-Bernards on the boys’ side.

(5) Immaculata 74, (12) Bernards 49

Trailing 32-31 at the half – their first deficit of the game – Immaculata (14-4) fell behind 37-33 but finished the third quarter on a 21-0 run to take a commanding 57-38 lead heading into the fourth, and won by 25. Junior Tyler Burns scored 11 of his 21 points in the third, while senior Riley Gorman added nine of his 23 over that same stretch.

Gorman also joined the 1,000-point club Saturday, getting it on a drive to the basket in the closing seconds of the first quarter.

Immaculats led the entire first quarter, but the Mountaineers (8-10) played a strong second quarter. Bernards cut a 24-13 deficit to two with 4:08 to go before the half on the strength of a 9-0 run, including a trey from senior Richie Jobise.

But in the decisive third, the Spartans stepped up their defense, only allowing two field goals and one made foul shot in the third quarter, all in the opening couple of minutes. Immaculata stretched its defense, broke up passes, and even got a hand on a couple of three-point attempts by the Mountaineers.

Click to hear postgame reaction from Immaculata’s Riley Gorman, Tyler Burns and head coach Ryan McKeever with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

Immaculata moves on to next Saturday’s quarterfinal round at fourth-seed Pingry, which beat them, 64-57, back on January 7th, up in Basking Ridge.

SCT SECOND ROUND – BOYS

(8) Ridge 64, (9) Franklin 58: The Red Devils controlled for most of this one, extending a four-point lead at the end of the first quarter to 33-21 at halftime, and never looking back. Three players finished in double figures for Ridge (8-10), which got 20 from Gabe Kielb – including three from downtown – and 18 from Sidd Narayanabhatla, who hit four times from beyond the arc. Jah’naad Cady led Franklin (8-11) in defeat with 18, going 4-of-5 from the foul line.

(6) Hillsborough 60, (11) Watchung Hills 50: Sophomore Aaron Feath notched his ninth 20-plus point game of the season, scoring 24 to lead the Raiders (13-5) to the win, as they held the Warriors to just six fourth quarter points to seal the deal. Jack Toth added 12 , while senior Derek Feath, Aaron’s brother, scored 11, including three triples. Hills (4-10) was led by Timmy Robertson with 16 – including four threes – in the loss.

(7) Bridgewater-Raritan 71, (10) Somerville 43: The Panthers (12-5) came out hot right from the get-go, taking a 19-7 lead after one quarter, and a 40-16 lead at the half, with the defense holding the Pioneers to single digits on each of the opening two quarters. Somerville falls to 12-7 with the loss.

Quarterfinal Round – Saturday, February 7 (all games times TBA)

(8) Ridge at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s
(5) Immaculata at (4) Pingry
(6) Hillsborough at (3) Montgomery
(7) Bridgewater-Raritan at (2) Rutgers Prep

SCT SECOND ROUND – GIRLS

(9) Watchung Hills 69, (8) Somerville 33: Eleni Esposito scored 24 points for the Warriors (7-8) in pulling the upset, as the senior hit five times from beyond the arc. In a tight game at the half, Watchung Hills was up 28-17, but then kept pulling away in the second half, outscoring the Pioneers 29-14 in the third, and holding them to just two fourth-quarter points. Hailey Seubert added 14 for the Warriors, while Kaylee Lauber led Somerville (14-5) in defeat.

(5) Bound Brook 55, (13) Montgomery 20: Freshman sensation Paytan Pugh scored a game-high 18 points and had eight rebounds in the second-round victory for the Crusaders (17-1), who haven’t lost to a public school all year. Jayden Campbell added 12 points and eight boards as well. Monty (8-7) was led by Alia Johnson’s seven points in defeat. The Bound Brook defense was solid all game, holding the Cougars to just eleven first half points, and nine the entire second half.

(6) Pingry 44, (11) Mount St. Mary 35: Pingry took a 22-16 lead into the half, but saw Mount St. Mary pull to within two after three, before playing lock-down D in the fourth quarter, holding the Lions to just five points to come away with a nine-point victory. Charlotte Huntzinger led the Big Blue (9-7) with 17 points and five rebounds, while Val Tirana had four steals. Mount falls to 5-11 on the season.

(7) Bernards 64, (10) Bridgewater-Raritan 38: The Mountaineers improved to 16-1 with a blowout win over the Panthers (9-9), getting out to a hot start. Bernards – whose only loss came to Roselle Park and the state’s top scorer Sidney Smith (29.8 ppg) – led 23-12 after one, and by 15 at the half, holding the Panthers to just three points in the final quarter to win going away. Four Mountaineers scored in double figures, led by Jasmine Kelleher with a game-high 22. Brooke Helpinstill added 13 and 11 rebounds for a double-double, the first of her career.

Girls’ Quarterfinal Round – Saturday, February 7 (all games times TBA)

(9) Watchung Hills at (1) Rutgers Prep
(5) Bound Brook at (4) Hillsborough
(6) Pingry at (3) Franklin
(7) Bernards at (2) Gill St. Bernard’s

February 1, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

It’s February! SCT moves on to second round, and GMC division races come into sharper focus

High school basketball season is flying by!

Several county tournaments are already underway, including the Somerset County Tournament, with eight second round games on tap Saturday – four on the boys’ and four on the girls’ side.

Meanwhile, we’re less than a week from the GMC seeding meeting – which will be held next Friday morning, with play-in games taking place next Saturday – and we’re starting to get a clearer picture of who will win their divisions.

Here’s the schedule with times of Saturday’s second-round SCT action, with winners moving on to play at one of the top four seeds in the quarterfinals next Saturday:

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT 2nd ROUND – GIRLS:

(9) Mount St. Mary at (8) Immaculata, 11 am – Winner at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s
(12) Bound Brook at (5) Pingry, 2 pm – Winner at (4) Franklin
(11) Ridge at (6) Somerville, 10 am – Winner at (3) Hillsborough
(10) Watchung Hills at (7) Bernards, 12 pm – Winner at (2) Rutgers Prep

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT 2nd ROUND – BOYS:

(9) Watchung Hills at (8) Bridgewater-Raritan), 11 am – Winner at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s
(12) Somerville at (5) Immaculata, 1 pm – Winner at (4) Ridge
(11) Bernards at (6) Hillsborough, 11:30 am – Winner at (3) Rutgers Prep
(10) Franklin at (7) Pingry, 12 pm – Winner at (2) Montgomery

As for the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, there’s no intrigue this year as to who the top seeds will be. On the boys’ side, it will be Red Division champion and defending GMCT-champ Colonia, while the girls’ side will have St. Thomas Aquinas as the one-seed. The Red Division champs – who have won the last five full county tournaments going back to 2019 (when they were still called Bishop Ahr) have steamrolled through the GMC this year, winning Red Division games alone by an average of around 44 points.

Here’s a look at the other divisions on both sides, and how they shape up heading into the final week before the seeding.

GREATER MIDDDLESEX CONFERENCE BOYS: Division winners are guaranteed a top-12 seed in the county tournament, but only the top-eight receive double-byes into the first round. Seeds nine through 12 get a play-in round bye, and start play in the preliminary round of 32.

Red Division: Despite falling to Old Bridge, 65-59, on Thursday, Colonia finished Red Division play at 9-1, ahead of second-place Piscataway at 7-2, which the Patriots beat twice this season.
White Division: Sayreville leads the White at 10-1, with South Plainfield second at 8-3, and while they meet again this Tuesday, that’s the only division game remaining, so the Bombers win the White. Even if the Tigers were to win and they split, it would leave Sayreville 10-2 and South Plainfield 9-3, a full game back.
Blue Division: Edison and Timothy Christian remain neck-and-neck, with the Eagles at 7-1, the Tigers at 6-1, and a lot of basketball to play. Timothy Christian has Carteret at home Monday, a visit to New Brunswick Wednesday, and a home game with Edison that could decide the division if the Tigers win their first two games of the week. Edison plays two division games this week. Besides their visit to Timothy on Thursday, they visit JP Stevens the night before. It’s very likely Thursday’s meeting will decide the division.
Gold Division: There’s a “sort of” three-way tie at the top with lots of basketball to be played. Metuchen is 7-2, while Middlesex and Spotswood are both 6-2, tied in the loss column but with an extra game in hand. The Bulldogs have one division game left, at JFK on Monday. Middlesex visits Spotswood Thursday, which could be a big factor. Spotswood visits South River on Tuesday, with a day off before hosting the Blue Jays. The Chargers already lost to them once, and already split with Metuchen. Middlesex and Metuchen also split. This one might go down to the wire!
Silver Division: The champ here is Dunellen, which is 12-2 in the division, and won it by a game over Piscataway Magnet (11-3).

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE GIRLS: Division winners are guaranteed a top eight seed ion the county tournament, giving them a double-by to the first round, the round of 16.

Red Division: Easy. St. Thomas Aquinas is the Red Division champ at 11-0.
White Division: Middlesex clinched the White Division Wednesday with a win over North Brunswick, coupled with Spotswood’s overtime loss to Edison, as the Blue Jays finished 12-2, the Chargers 11-3.
Blue Division: It’s not a three-way tie, but it is a three-way race between Carteret (11-0), Metuchen (10-1), and Highland Park (9-2), all with three division games left to play. The scenarios here could get very involved, but a lot will be decided they all square off against at least one of others this week. Carteret visits South River Monday, then plays at Highland Park Wednesday and at Metuchen Thursday. The Ramblers are in the drivers’ seat, as they have already beaten both this season. Metuchen gets Highland Park at home Monday, then after a Wednesday trip to JFK, hosts Carteret Thursday. Metuchen has a won over the Owls already, but lost its first meeting with the Ramblers. And Highland Park visits Metuchen Monday, before getting Carteret at home Wednesday. They lost to both earlier this year. But, as of now, their online schedule says they play JFK Friday – after the seeding meeting – and that could not only affect them, but also the others, where a division champ might not be determined by the time the committee meets Friday morning. Of course, Carteret could avoid that with a sweep this week, or maybe even two wins, depending how everything else shakes out. Already having wins over both its nearest competitors also gives the Ramblers a leg up.
Gold Division: Calvary Christian is the easy winner here at 14-0 – by the way, they’re 16-1 overall – a full four games ahead of Mother Seton.

May 25, 2024May 25, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset County Tournament Notebook: A look back at the 2024 championship game

With Bridgewater-Raritan winning the 2024 Somerset County Tournament, the Panthers continue to rewrite the record books.

Last year’s 23 wins were a program record, this year they set a new mark of 24, with with the title game win, have extended that to 25.

The Panthers will have a chance to extend that even further, now fully focused on the NJSIAA state tournament, where they will host ninth-seed Edison Wednesday in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 quarterfinals after the long Memorial Day weekend break.

Winning a sectional title would extend that streak to 28, while a state Group 4 title would get them to 30.

And it’s been a remarkable two year run:

Bridgewater-Raritan is now 48-10 over the past two seasons.
Skyland Conference Delaware Division champions two years in a row (10-0 in 2024, 10-2 in 2023)
Skyland Conference Champions two years in a tow
2024 Somerset County Tournament Champions
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 finalist in 2023.

Here are some more notes and nuggets from the 2024 SCT finals:

Rible does it again…

The Panthers – 25-4 overall – are now 14-0 in games in which Cory Rible has pitched. Though he’s thrown more pitches in his appearances over the last month or so, he shows no signs of tiring. But the Memorial Day break probably won’t hurt him either. He’ll be all ready to go in relief in next Wednesday’s sectional quarterfinals, and in Friday’s semis if need be.

Though Rible has given up a few runs of late, he had a stretch of eight games from April 9th through the 27th in which he didn’t surrender a single earned run.

The 33 pitches he threw in Friday night’s SCT final was the fewest of his last three relief appearances. He threw 67 on May 7th against Immaculata, and 65 against Watchung Hills in the semifinals out at Diamond Nation in Flemington on Monday.

Ridge scores, but so does BR…

Ridge had scored 27 runs in just 12 innings across two Somerset County Tournament games, an average of 13.5 runs per contest. It was clear that against better pitching like the Panthers have they probably wouldn’t score that many.

They did manage to get their runs though. They scored seven against Bridgewater-Raritan, the most they had given up in five games. They allowed seven to Rutgers Prep in an 11-7 regular season win May 15th. The only other team to score more than seven against B-R was West Morris, in their first loss of the season, an 11-7 defeat back on April 19th.

And the seven runs they scored were the third most by a losing team in the SCT title game. Only Somerville (10) in 1986 and Hillsborough (11) in 2007 scored more.

A lot of runs, but was it a record?

The 17 combined runs scored by Ridge and Bridgewater-Raritan were the second most in a regulation Somerset County Tournament Final.

Immaculata and Hillsborough combined for 23 in the 2007 title game, but that was a ten inning game Immaculata won 12-11. Bernards and Somerville combined for 24 in 1986, when the Mountaineers won 14-10 in regulation.

The 2024 output topped the 16 scored in a 13-3 mercy-rule win by Montgomery over Immaculata in 2010.

Meanwhile, the ten runs scored by Bridgewater are tied for the sixth-most scored by a winning team in the finals.

History lesson…

None of the Bridgewater players were even born the last time the Panthers won the SCT; if they had been born on that day – May 25, 1996 – they’d be turning 28 today, well out of college.

So, how did that one go?

In front of 1,100 at North Plainfield’s Krausche Field – per a Courier News story written by the legend himself, Harry Frezza, the top-seeded Panthers rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh and held on to beat six-seed Immaculata 7-5. That was their first title since the merger of Bridgewater East and West in 1991.

Down a run, with two outs, designated hitter Grant Neary singled home Danny Houston to tie the score at 5-5. Carlo Puppo got his third hit of the night. Mike Perotti walked to load the bases. Then Steve Sullivan drew another walk to make it 6-5, while an infield hit by Steve Gossh drove in another run. He’d bounced the ball to short, but no one was at second to take the throw, and everyone was safe.

Play an hour earlier

The last two years, the Somerset County Final started at 7 pm at TD Bank Park, but for whatever reason, this year started at six. Certainly neither team helped themselves with a bevy of early walks, but the game was sloppy.

There were five errors in the game between the teams – three by Ridge and two by Bridgewater-Raritan – but there were other “errors” that didn’t show up on the board.

Early on, players had trouble finding the ball in the sun. In that 6 to 7 pm hour, the sun is above to just barely above the suite level roof at TD Bank Park. The left side of the field had the most issues. It even appeared to throw off B-R catcher JR Rosado, who stumbled trying to zig zag to catch an early pop foul about 20 feet down the third base line as we went from the grass to the dirt baseline.

By 7:00, the shadows had just about reached the outfield grass.

Make a note for next year: start the final at 7 pm instead of six.

Somerset County Tournament History

1973    Bridgewater-Raritan East def. Hillsborough, 1-0
1974    Somerville def. North Plainfield, 1-0
1975    Watchung Hills def. Hillsborough, 6-4
1976    Ridge def. Watchung Hills, 4-3 (10 inn.)
1977    Hillsborough def. North Plainfield, 5-0
1978    Bridgewater-Raritan East def. Hillsborough, 9-2
1979    Hillsborough def. Ridge, 2-0
1980    Ridge, def. Franklin, 7-1
1981    Manville def. Immaculata, 4-1
1982    Watchung Hills def. Bridgewater-Raritan West, 15-0 (mercy rule)
1983    Watchung Hills def. Hillsborough, 2-0
1984    Ridge def. Immaculata, 2-0
1985    (2) Ridge def. (1) Immaculata, 5-0
1986    Bernards def. Somerville, 14-10
1987    Somerville def. Ridge, 2-1
1988    (6) Bridgewater-Raritan West def. (1) Ridge, 3-1
1989    (1) Ridge def. Bridgewater-Raritan West, 5-4
1990    (7) Bridgewater-Raritan East def. (4) Somerville, 9-1
1991    (1) Immaculata def. North Plainfield, 11-3
1992    (2) Somerville def. (1) Watchung Hills, 9-2
1993    (3) Watchung Hills def. (1) Immaculata, 5-4
1994    (3) Immaculata, def. (1) Watchung Hills, 5-2
1995    (1) Somerville def. (3) Ridge, 7-6
1996    (6) Bridgewater-Raritan def. (1) Immaculata, 7-5
1997    (2) Immaculata def. (1) Bridgewater-Raritan, 2-0
1998    (3) Immaculata def. (1) Bridgewater-Raritan, 3-2
1999    (1) Immaculata def. (6) Hillsborough, 8-0
2000    (1) Immaculata def. (2) Ridge, 2-0
2001    (2) Immaculata def. (5) Montgomery, 6-1
2002    (1) Immaculata def. (2) Ridge, 10-0 (mercy rule)
2003    (3) Montgomery def. (8) Pingry, 5-4
2004    (3) Immaculata def. (1) Hillsborough, 1-0
2005    (2) Hillsborough, def. (1) Immaculata 5-1
2006    (1) Immaculata def. (7) Pingry, 8-0
2007    (1) Immaculata def. (3) Hillsborough, 12-11 (10 inn.)
2008    (1) Immaculata def. (2) Hillsborough, 9-1
2009    (2) Watchung Hills def. (9) Montgomery 4-0
2010    (2) Montgomery def. (1) Immaculata, 13-3 (5 inn.) (mercy rule)
2011    (8) Ridge def. (3) Hillsborough, 4-3 (8 inn.)
2012    (4) Hillsborough def. (7) Bridgewater-Raritan, 4-3 (12 inn.)
2013    (6) Bernards def. (5) Immaculata, 6-5
2014    (4) Hillsborough def. (2) Ridge, 4-3 (9 inn.)
2015    (6) Hillsborough def. (9) Watchung Hills, 3-1
2016    (1) Montgomery def. (6) Watchung Hills, 2-1
2017    (10) Rutgers Prep def. (1) Montgomery, 7-2
2018    (3) Immaculata def. (9) Montgomery, 6-5
2019    (2) Immaculata def. (5) Ridge, 6-5 (12 inn.)
2020 & 2021    NO TOURNAMENT
2022    (1) Ridge def. (6) Rutgers Prep, 6-0
2023    (12) Rutgers Prep def. (2) Ridge, 1-0
2024    (1) Bridgewater-Raritan def. (3) Ridge, 10-7