Tag: semifinals

by Alec Crouthamel

St. Thomas Aquinas girls complete wild comeback, outlasting Monroe in OT to advance to fifth straight GMCT title game

The last time St. Thomas Aquinas, the Greater Middlesex County Tournament’s top seed, lost to a GMC team was January 30th, 2022 against Monroe. In tonight’s semifinal round, history almost repeated itself, but the Trojans completed a double-digit comeback in overtime to take down the Falcons 57-55.

STA will take on Colonia, whose second-seeded girls beat 14-seed Middlesex in the night’s first semifinal, in Friday night’s 6 pm title game at Monroe Township High School, followed by the boys at 8 pm, featuring the same matchups. Both games can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

After the first quarter, Monroe led 22-12 and was able to pick apart the Aquinas defense with great ball movement leading to good shots on the inside and outside.

In the second quarter, the offensive efforts still kept going full speed ahead, but the Trojans were able to force some turnovers down the stretch and went into halftime trailing 32-25. Both teams were led by the bigs, as Aquinas’ sophomore forward Jordan Barnes went into halftime with 11 points – later finishing with 17 – while Monroe was led by senior forward Avery Labaska with 12 first-half points.

The Trojans really turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, limiting the Falcons to only five points in the entire third quarter and was able to cut the defecit to just one heading into the fourth.

That period went back-and-forth the entire way, as both teams traded buckets with neither leading by more than a possession for the whole quarter. However, with time winding down and the Falcons trailing by three, senior guard Halley Cottrell – who finished with a team-high 19 – nailed a game-tying trey with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime, after Aquinas could not score on the other end.

The Trojans were helped by an unsung hero in the extra period, as freshman forward Leah Kearney scored six of their nine points. She scored down low getting past a tough defensive effort from Monroe (16-9) and helped lead St. Thomas Aquinas (20-7) to its fifth consecutive GMC tournament finals appearance, where they won the previous four.

POSTGAME

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel with Aquinas head coach Tim Corrigan and freshman Leah Kearney:

by Alec Crouthamel

Taylor Derkack leads Colonia to GMCT Semifinal victory, ends Middlesex’s Cinderella run

When second-seeded Colonia felt some pressure in the second half, they leaned on one of the program’s all-time players to a 56-40 victory over Middlesex, the Greater Middlesex County Tournament’s 14-seed on a Cinderella run.

Taylor Derkack, the school’s all-time leading scorer, put up a game-high 27 points and contributed in almost every possible way to help bring the Patriots to its second consecutive GMC Tournament final. She racked up numerous rebounds, blocks, and steals to stifle the Blue Jays’ resurgent offense and build a wire-to-wire lead throughout the entire game.

Colonia (19-7) will look to avenge its 49-42 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in last year’s GMC Tournament final, and will have a chance to do so depending on if the Trojans take down Monroe in the other semifinal game. The Patriots played their best basketball in the first half, opening up a 36-15 lead at halftime. Freshman Hailey Conklin was the Patriots’ other double-digit scorer, putting up 15 points.

For Middlesex (15-12), star junior Jess Devine led the way with 21 points, including scoring all 16 of the Blue Jays’ points in the third quarter. Their season ends in the semifinals after a huge tournament run in head coach Stew Lester’s first season.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel with Colonia head coach Sandi Chiera and senior Taylor Derkack:

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Thomas Aquinas wins thriller over St. Joseph in GMCT semis, giving Trojans a chance to win fourth straight county title

The way the first half was going, everyone at Monroe Township High School knew this one would come down to the wire.

Fourth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas knocked off GMC Red champ and top-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen – the same Falcons they lost to twice in the regular season – 56-51 Thursday night at Monroe Township High School, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The Trojans (16-9) will play second-seed Colonia in Friday night’s final at 8 pm back in Monroe, a game that can be heard on CJSR immediately following the 6 pm girls’ final, which will feature the same two schools – Colonia and Aquinas.

Rinelson Dilone led the Trojans with 21 points, while Jeremy Clayville led St. Joe’s (18-8) with 24. 

But defense was the name of the game for Aquinas, which had lost twice to the Falcons in the regular season, 80-61, and 81-79 in overtime. There were no 80s this night for the Falcons, who were held to their third-lowest scoring total this season.

Click below for postgame reaction from Falcons’ senior Rinelson Dilone and head coach Bob Turco:

by Mike Pavlichko

Aiden Derkack’s 27 help Colonia boys get back to GMCT final for first time in three seasons

Whether the Colonia boys’ basketball team gets another crack at St. Thomas Aquinas – the team that beat them in the GMC Tournament finals two seasons ago, last time they were there – or faces top-seed St. Joseph doesn’t matter to them.

They’re back in the finals for the first time since 2022, and that’s all that counts.

Speaking of counting, you could be forgiven if you had a hard time keeping track of how many points sophomore Aidden Derkack had for the Patriots. He finished with 27, almost equally distributed among all four quarters, as 2-seed Colonia used a huge third quarter to extend a six-point halftime lead, beating 6-seed South Plainfield 70-37 Wednesday night in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Jaeden Jones had 13 for Colonia (17-8), even though he didn’t score until the third quarter. Thanks to Derkack, he didn’t have to.

South Plainfield (18-7) was led by Dante Dupiche, who had 13, including three triples.

Click below for postgame reaction with Colonia’s Aiden Derkack and head coach Jose Rodriguez:

by Mike Pavlichko

Winningest GMCT program in St. Joe’s takes on Aquinas – winner of last three – for finals berth

Both St. Joseph-Metuchen and St. Thomas Aquinas have had great success in the Middlesex County Tournament, but in no way will their meeting Wednesday night be any kind of de facto championship game. 

There are two teams on the other side who will play before them and would be just as deserving of a shot at the title.

But the two teams that will play the second game Wednesday night in the semifinals at Monroe Township High School are some of the most successful in the history of the event.

The Falcons have won 12 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championships, more than anyone else, but St. Thomas Aquinas is third on the list with four, and has never lost a title game. And though the Trojans have won the last three, the Falcons beat them twice in the regular season, and took the GMC Red Division title.

You can hear both of Wednesday’s semifinals live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with top-seed and St. Joseph-Metuchen against fourth-seed and three-time defending champ St. Thomas Aquinas in the 7 pm nightcap, preceded by Colonia and South Plainfield in the 5 pm game. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action, with an extended pregame at 4:15 pm, including live pregame and coverage throughout the night of the girls’ semifinals with Alec Crouthamel live in Spotswood. Click here to listen.

Probably few figured St. Joe’s might be here, considering they lost top scorer Josh Ingram to graduation, and haven’t had Jeremy DeCaro available, due to injury, the entire season. Enter Jeremy Clayville, who established himself as one of the elite ballplayers in Middlesex County this year, starting things off with a bang. He scored 43 points on opening night against Piscataway, putting the rest of the division, even the league, on notice.

Few might also have expected Aquinas to be here, either. They lost almost their entire roster to graduation and transfer, and didn’t have a whole team to practice together over the summer. But no one’s crying for the Trojans, who’ve won three straight GMCT titles, and yet here they are back in the semifinals, poised for another trip to the league’s final game of the year. Senior Rinelson Dilone and Aiden Ur have emerges as the top scorers, along with Paris Papadatos.

Click below to hear both coaches talk about the semifinal matchup, and scroll down for more info on the game:

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Bob Turco
St. Jospeh-Metuchen head coach Jan Cocozziello

MORE ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S SECOND SEMIFINAL:

(1) St. Joseph-Metuchen (18-7) vs (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (15-9)
When: Wednesday, 7 pm
Where: Monroe Township High School
Broadcast Team: Mike Pavlichko

COACHES: 

St. Joseph: Jan Cocozziello, 5th season (87-38)
St. Thomas Aquinas: Bob Turco, 6th season (116-32)

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

St. Joseph: The Falcons blew by 16th-seed North Plainfield in the first round, but found themselves locked in a battle with 9-seed Timothy Christian in the quarterfinals last Saturday at Piscataway. The Tigers exploited a height advantage early and led for much of the first half until St. Joe’s took a lead, but only had a five-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Eventually, they hit their shots and pulled away for an 86-38 win.

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Trojans topped 13-seed North Brunswick at home in the first round, and topped 12th-seeded Red Division foe East Brunswick 57-45 in Saturday’s quarterfinals at Piscataway behind 23 points from Aiden Ur, and a double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds from Rinelson Dilone

TOP SCORERS:

St. Joseph: Jeremy Clayville (20.2 ppg, team-leading 34 treys), Dave Caruso (10.7 ppg, 17 treys)
St. Thomas Aquinas: Rinelson Dilone (15.8 ppg), Aiden Ur (15.4 ppg, 40 treys), Paris Papadatos (13.9 ppg, team-best 43 treys)

TOP REBOUNDERS:

St. Joseph: Owen Griffin (5.6)
St. Thomas Aquinas: Rinelson Dilone (13.3)

RECENT MEETINGS: These two teams have played five times the last two seasons. Aquinas won all three meetings last year, including a 91-45 win by the Trojans in the GMC semis, en route to a third straight title. This year? St. Joseph won both regular season meetings, by 19 on January 17th, but by a slimmer 82-79 margin on a Dave Caruso bank shot. Will the regular season winner also win the GMC title this year?

GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

St. Joseph: The Falcons have won more titles and have more finals appearances than any other GMC team. They’ve won 12 championships, all in the GMC era (since 1986). They’ve made 21 GMC finals appearances, and had four in the MCT title game – losing all four – in that event’s run from 1965 through 1985. They made every GMC final from 2008 through 2019, which was their last trip, winning five straight from 2010-21014, and another four from 2016-2019.

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Trojans have won the last three full tournaments, dating back to 2020, picking up after the long St. Joe’s run of nine titles in ten years. They also won it in 1992, and are 4-0 all-time in GMCT finals. They also won the MCT in their only appearance, in 1982 as Bishop Ahr.

by Mike Pavlichko

Colonia, South Plainfield boys to battle for trip to GMC Tournament final

One is seeking its second trip in three years to the ultimate game in Middlesex County. The other is trying to get there for the first time in almost two decades.

Either would be worthy of a spot in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship game.

But only one will get there, as second-seed Colonia takes on 6th-seed South Plainfield in the opening game of Wednesday night’s GMC Tournament semifinals at Monroe Township High School.

You can hear both of Wednesday’s semifinals live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Colonia and South Plainfield in the 5 pm game, then top-seed and St. Joseph-Metuchen against fourth-seed and three-time defending champ St. Thomas Aquinas in the 7 pm nightcap. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action, with an extended pregame at 4:15 pm, including live pregame and coverage throughout the night of the girls’ semifinals with Alec Crouthamel live in Spotswood. Click here to listen.

While Jaeden Jones has always been an outstanding ballplayer, and continues to be so, sophomore Aiden Derkack built off an impressive freshman campaign to become one of the top players in Middlesex County this year.

But South Plainfield has also looked very good this year, getting up and down the floor and shooting the three ball well. They beat a bigger school in Red Division for Piscataway in the preliminary round of the GMCT, then upset third-seed Monroe out of the red in the quarterfinals, winning by seven.

Click below to hear both coaches talk about the semifinal matchup, and scroll down for more info on the game:

Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez
South Plainfield head coach John Greco

MORE ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S OPENING SEMIFINAL:

(2) Colonia (16-8) vs (6) South Plainfield (18-6)
When: Wednesday, 5 pm
Where: Monroe Township High School
Broadcast Team: Mike Pavlichko

COACHES: 

Colonia: Jose Rodriguez, 6th season (110-38)
South Plainfield: John Greco, 7th season (111-88)

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Colonia: The Patriots cruised through their first two games, beating 15th-seed Perth Amboy in the first round, then got past in-town rival and seventh-seeded Woodbridge in the quarterfinals Saturday, 65-38. Adien Derkack scored 41 points in the first two games, including 23 against the Barrons, all without the benefit of the three-point arc.

South Plainfield: The Tigers played two very competitive games, edging PIscataway by a single point in a 59-58 win over the 11th-seeded Chiefs in the first round, before upsetting third-seed Monroe in the quarterfinals, 53-46. Ikenna Ibeku logged a double-double against the Chiefs of 16 points and 18 rebounds, while Naim Mouzon – a Piscataway transfer – scored 18 in the win over Monroe in his old gym.

TOP SCORERS:

Colonia: Aiden Derkack (20 ppg, 20 treys), Jaeden Jones (13.7 ppg, 10 treys)
South Plainfield: Abdul Adebule (15.6 ppg, team-best 60 treys), Dante Dupiche (15.2 ppg, 35 treys)

TOP REBOUNDERS:

Colonia: Aiden Derkack (7.5), James Curet (4.3)
South Plainfield: Ikenna Ibeku (7.4), Abdul Adebule (6.3)

RECENT MEETINGS: In the last eight years, these teams have only met five times prior, but Colonia has won all five of those matchups. Last year’ the Patriots beat the Tigers 64-45 in the state playoffs, in the North 2, Group 3 semifinals. The year before they played an epic title game in that section that went to overtime, with Colonia winning again, 56-52.

GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

Colonia: The Patriots are seeking their second trip to the finals in three years. They lost in the 2022 GMCT title game to St. Thomas Aquinas, a year after beating the Trojans to win the Karl-Anthony Towns/.Jay Williams “top” post-season pod during the COVID-shortened season.

South Plainfield: The Tigers have not been to a GMC Tournament final since 2005, but they won it that year, and the year before. Those are their only appearances in the title tilt, which makes them one of just two current GMC schools to make multiple finals, and never lose. The other is St. Thomas Aquinas, which has been to four – and one Middlesex County Tournament, in 1982 – and won them all.

by Mike Pavlichko

Monroe girls seek first GMCT title berth in four years, while Aquinas seeks fifth straight trip, fifth straight title

NOTE: Due to Tuesday’s snowstorm, the GMCT semifinals have been moved to Wednesday at Spotswood High School, with both games being played at the same times.

The Monroe girls’ basketball team has played St. Thomas Aquinas tight the past two years.

In those five matchups, the Falcons have kept the Trojans in the 60s, but they haven’t been able to beat them. But they have been able to beat the STA juggernaut. 

Monroe got a regular season win in their second meeting in 2021-22, and the year before knocked off Aquinas on the road top cap a 13-1 COVID-shortened season and win the Somogyi Family Pod, the top postseason playoff pod that year.

How that will play out Wednesday evening in the GMC Tournament semifinals at Spotswood High School is anyone’s guess.

In the two meetings this year, Aquinas won by 10 and 22. But “they” – whoever they are – say it’s tough to beat a team three times in a season.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have coverage of Wednesday’s semifinals, with Alex Crouthamel providing pregame interviews, live updates, and postgame reaction during our coverage of the boys’ semifinals with Mike Pavlichko. A special, extended pregame show begins at 4:15 Click here to listen.

Aquinas hasn’t needed much adjustment to its new head coach, Tim Corrigan, who came on last year as an assistant to now-retired Joe Whalen, who has MS. Corrigan was brought on knowing he might have to fill in for Whalen a game or two, and poised to take over if and when Whalen stepped away for good.

Though he lost Leah Crosby to transfer to Rutgers Prep, players like junior Gianna Chuffo took over leadership roles, and younger talent like sophomores Jordan Barnes and Trista Whitney got valuable experience against top-flight competition that Corrigan now considers them veterans.

Also a veteran is Monroe head coach Leigh Vogtman, whose team is always in the mix every year, it seems. Seniors Halley Cottrell – the team’s top scorer – and Nicole Turco bring experience, and another senior, Avery Labaska, is leading the team in rebounding.

Click below to hear both coaches talk about the semifinal matchup, and scroll down for more info on the game:

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tim Corrigan
Monroe head coach Leigh Vogtman

MORE ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S SECOND SEMIFINAL:

(1) St. Thomas Aquinas (19-7) vs (5) Monroe (16-8)
When: Wednesday, 7 pm
Where: Spotswood High School
Live Updates: Alec Crouthamel

COACHES: 

St. Thomas Aquinas: Tim Corrigan, 1st season (19-7)
Monroe: Leigh Vogtman, 11th season (182-90)

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Trojans beat 16-seed Edison in the first round, 85-53. They amped it up in the quarterfinals, blowing past 8-seed Spotswood 90-36 behind a game-high 26 points from Fianna Chuffo, who also hit six treys and dished out seven assists.

Monroe: The Falcons routed 12-seed Metuchen, 77-41, in the first round, then won a slog Saturday in the quarterfinals in Spotswood, beating fourth-seed North Plainfield, 38-29. Top scorer Halley Cottrell hit six threes en route to a 31 point night against the Bulldogs, while Evangelina Francisco led with 11 against the Lady Canucks.

TOP SCORERS:

St. Thomas Aquinas: Gianna Chuffo (16.5 ppg, team-leading 82 treys), Jordan Barnes (14.2 ppg)
Monroe: Halley Cottrell (18.5 ppg, team-leading 80 treys), Evangelina Francisco (14.7 ppg)

TOP REBOUNDERS:

St. Thomas Aquinas: Leah Kearney (10.1), Jordan Barnes (8.9)
Monroe: Avery Labaska (7.2), Nicole Turco (4.8)

RECENT MEETINGS: Aquinas has won five straight, including two this year and three last year, but Monroe won two of the previous three. The teams split two regular season meetings in 2021-22, with STA winning the first and the Falcons winning the second. Monroe also beat Aquinas in the 2021 COVID-shortened season’s GMC Somogyi Family Pod, the league’s top four-game pod that year, in North Edison.

GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Trojans have been to the finals the last four years, and won every time, looking for a fifth straight berth and fifth straight title this season. Aquinas (a.k.a. Bishop Ahr for several decades, though Aquinas was its original name) has been to ten GMC finals, and 12 county finals overall, winning seven GMC titles and one Middlesex County Tournament title.

Monroe: The Falcons are looking for their fourth overall trip to the GMC finals. Vogtman took them in 2020, where they lost to Aquinas, as well as in 2016 (they were the top-seed and lost to East Brunswick) and 2015 (where they lost to top-seed Piscataway in overtime).

by Mike Pavlichko

Two stars, but big supporting casts as Colonia, Middlesex girls battle for berth to GMCT final

NOTE: Due to Tuesday’s snowstorm, the GMCT semifinals have been moved to Wednesday at Spotswood High School, with both games being played at the same times.

Colonia has senior Taylor Derkack. Middlesex has Jess Devine.

Those are the players that get the most attention for the second-seeded Patriots and the 14th-seeded Blue Jays, and certainly they will be the key players to watch in Wednesday’s GMC Tournament semifinal game between the two.

But both teams have so much more in terms of key players, and their success very well could be the determining factor in who moves on to the title game Friday night.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have coverage of Wednesday’s semifinals, with Alex Crouthamel providing pregame interviews, live updates, and postgame reaction during our coverage of the boys’ semifinals with Mike Pavlichko. A special, extended pregame show begins at 4:15 Click here to listen.

Derkack is the all-time leading scorer in Colonia girls’ history, surpassing Matti Chiera, the coach’s daughter, who’s now at William Patterson. She has 1,934 career points, and is averaging an even 24 points per game this season. She leads the team in all three types of shots – twos, threes and foul shots – as well as points, rebounds, assists (71), blocks (73) and steals (107).

Not too shabby.

Among those, Jess Devine – just a junior and already a 1,000 point scorer for the Blue Jays with 1,270 – is first in all categories but two. But even those are close. Senior Jaclyn Deshields has 55 treys to Devin’s 54, and Devine has five blocks, while Senior McKenna Healy has nine to lead the team. She’s averaging 23.3 points per game.

Yup, not too shabby either.

But it’s the supporting cast both coaches will need to be the difference. Shields brings Middlesex the 1-2 punch. Everyone else has to be considered to contribute to keep Colonia from just paying attention to Devine.

Same for Colonia, which gets big contributions from three-point shooters Mya Patino and Isabel Gidado as well.

Click below to hear both coaches talk about the semifinal matchup, and scroll down for more info on the game:

Colonia head coach Sandi Chiera
Middlesex head coach Stew Lester

MORE ON TUESDAY NIGHT’S OPENING SEMIFINAL:

(2) Colonia (18-7) vs (14) Middlesex (15-11)
When: Wednesday, 5 pm
Where: Spotswood High School
Live Updates: Alec Crouthamel

COACHES: 

Colonia: Sandi Chiera, 5th season (74-35)
Middlesex: Stew Lester, 1st season (15-11)

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Colonia: The Patriots topped 18-seed Carteret 52-36 in the first round, then beat 7-seed East Brunswick 43-22 in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Taylor Derkack poured in 38 of her team’s 52 points against the Ramblers – including five from beyond the arc – then scored a human 16 in a lower-scoring victory over the Lady Bears. 

Middlesex: The Blue Jays stunned third-seed JP Stevens in the first round, 48-39. The game marked the first time since 2013 a GMCT girls’ top four seed had been knocked out before the quarterfinals. They followed it up with a 66-59 win against six-seed South Brunswick Saturday. Top-scorer Jess Devine had 26 points against the Hawks, then had a double-double of 33 points and 11 assists against the Vikings. She also added five treys.

TOP SCORERS:

Colonia: Taylor Derkack (24 ppg, 40 treys), Mya Patino (9.5 ppg, 37 treys), Isabel Gidado (6.6 ppg, 20 treys)
Middlesex: Jess Devine (23.3 ppg, 54 treys), Jaclyn Deshields (9.4 ppg, 55 treys)

TOP REBOUNDERS:

Colonia: Taylor Derkack (12.4), Nashaelah Hooker (5.3)
Middlesex: Jess Devine (6.6), McKenna Healey (6.4)

RECENT MEETINGS: These two teams rarely meet, with Colonia being a Group 3 school and Middlesex being a Group 2 or 1 over the last decade-and-a-half. They have only played three times since 2012, with the Patriots winning in 2022, but the Blue Jays beating Colonia in 2021 and 2012.

GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

Colonia: The Patriots are playing in the semifinals for the third straight season. They made their first-ever GMC Tournament final last year, falling to St. Thomas Aquinas in the title game. 

Middlesex: This is the Blue Jays first time in the GMCT final four since 2020, when they lost to Monroe. The Blue Jays have never made a county final, whether in the GMC era (since 1986) or its predecessor, the Middlesex County Tournament, which ran for eleven seasons from 1975 through 1985.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: GMC Tournament Boys’ Semifinals

Top-seed and two-time defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas and seventh-seed South Brunswick moved on to Friday’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament Championship Game with semifinal wins on Wednesday, February 15th at Monroe Township High School, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Scroll down to hear Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the play-by-play.

In Game One, South Brunswick knocked off 3rd-seed South River behind 20 points from Harmehar Chhabra, and 11 from Kalani Antoine, while Jeremy Grospe had nine on three treys to lead the Rams in defeat.

#3 South River vs. #7 South Brunswick

In Game Two, St. Thomas Aquinas beat fourth-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen 91-49. The Trojans were led by Michael “Deuce” Jones with 16, including three treys, while the team hit 15 overall, a team record in the five seasons under head coach Bob Turco. Jaden Kelly added 15, while Terrell Pitts chipped in 14. Josh Ingram scored 28 to lead all scorers in a losing effort for the Falcons

#1 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. #4 St. Joseph-Metuchen
by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: Somerset County Tournament Semifinals

The Rutgers Prep girls’ and boys’ basketball teams advanced to their respective Somerset County Tournament Championship games with wins over Franklin on Thursday, February 16th, 2023, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino had the call.

In Game One, the Rutgers Prep girls ousted No. 5 seed Franklin 67-38, getting a game-high 26 points from junior Mikayla Blakes, and 11 each from senior Katie Ledden and freshman GiGi Battle. Precious Wheeler led Franklin with 14 in defeat.

Girls: #1 Rutgers Prep vs. Franklin

In Game Two, the Rutgers Prep boys beat 5th-seed Franklin 81-66, getting game-highs of 20 points apiece from juniors Jadin Collins and John Kelly. Junior Cam Brown had 18 to lead Franklin in the loss.

Boys: #1 Rutgers Prep vs #5 Franklin