Tag: Somerset County Tournament

by Mike Pavlichko

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UPCOMING SCT SCHEDULE:

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

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

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge earns top seed over fellow Skyland Delaware Co-Champion Immaculata in 2025 Somerset County Tournament

For the second time in four seasons – and first since 2022, when they last won it – the Ridge baseball team has been awarded the No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament, as voted on by the county’s coaches at Monday night’s seeding meeting.

Ridge (13-3) and Immaculata (9-4) were co-champions of the Skyland Conference Delaware Division, and the top seed figured to go to one of those teams, with the other getting the No. 2 seed. The Red Devils and Spartans split a pair of regular season meetings, with Immaculata winning the first meeting, 10-4, at Diamond Nation in Flemington on April 9th. Ridge won the rematch 8-0 at home the next day.

The top four seeds get byes to the quarterfinals. That group was rounded out by Watchung Hills (9-6) at No. 3 and Rutgers Prep (10-4) the fourth seed.

Teams five through ten get byes to the second round, which include – in order – Somerville, defending champion Bridgewater-Raritan, Hillsborough, Bernards, Gill St. Bernard’s and Manville.

Teams 11 through 14 will open in first round play, with No. 13 Pingry visiting No. 12 Montgomery, and No. 14 Bound Brook playing at No. 11 Franklin.

While the first round is scheduled for Wednesday, the Pingry/Montgomery game could get moved to Thursday, since the Cougars already have a regular season game schedule with Manville at TD Bank Park 6 pm Wednesday. That game can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Here’s the complete 2025 Somerset County Tournament bracket:

Here’s the schedule for each round of the 2025 Somerset County Tournament. All rounds through the quarterfinals are at higher seeds.

  • First Round: Wednesday, May 7
  • Second Round: Monday, May 12
  • Quarterfinals: Wednesday, May 14
  • Semifinals: Monday, May 19 (TD Bank Park, 1 and 4 pm)
  • Finals: Wednesday, May 21 (TD Bank Park, 6 pm)
by Mike Pavlichko

Seeding the Somerset County Tournament: How will coaches vote Monday night??

Well, that was fast!

It seemed like a sprint through the high school baseball regular season, and while some games remain in between and around the county and state tournaments – since some will have byes and others will get knocked out early – it’s time to seed the county playoffs, and first up is Somerset County, this Monday.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have complete coverage of the seeding meeting, with our entire Somerset County Tournament coverage presented once again by Zoned Sports Academy of Bridgewater.

There are 14 teams in Somerset County, and it’s a unique event because all those teams are scattered about the Skyland Conference, whose other teams hail from Hunterdon and Warren Counties. Those teams play in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament.

And it makes for some uneven comparisons, to be sure. For example, Watchung Hills is 9-5 overall in 14 games, but had played nine against Somerset County opponents, going 8-1. But Manville, which is also 9-5 overall, has only played three games against county competition, and is 2-1. Those two wins came against Bound Brook, the only other Somerset County team in their division – the Skyland Raritan – and those are the only two county games the Crusaders have played.

The seeding is determined by the coaches, each of whom vote, with points tallied, and the teams arranged in order. The coaches can appeal their seeding, one place at a time. For example, if Team A was seeded ninth and they believe they should have been eighth instead of Team B, the coach of Team A makes his case to the group. Team B gets a chance to defend their seed, then the coaches vote, and a simple majority rules. If Team A loses, it stays where it is. If Team A wins, they move up, and can appeal again, if they wish.

Some appeals are successful, some are not. Sometimes there are no appeals, as happened in the girls’ seeding this past winter. And sometimes it’s an easy one. In one appeal on the boys’ side this year, the higher seeded coach agreed they should have been lower, and the appeal was granted.

Since there are no “rules” as to the voting – for example, in the GMC, a team can’t be seeded higher than a team above it in the standings, regardless of head-to-head results – and it’s all up to the coaches, it can sometimes be difficult to predict. But here’s our take.

First, here’s a look at the standings of teams from Somerset County, by division, including their overall and division records, as well as their record against other teams in the county. A few have games still to be played Monday afternoon before the seeding meeting, while Ridge is scheduled to host New Providence at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater at 5 pm Sunday.

With nobody undefeated, especially in the lower divisions, and the Delaware considered the top division, one looks at Ridge and Immaculata – the Skyland Delaware Co-Champions – for the top seed. Here are a few notes:

  • Ridge has four more wins overall, and one fewer loss than Immaculata, but they did split this season. The Spartans won the first matchup 10-4, but the Red Devils pitched an 8-0 shutout in the rematch, outscoring Immaculata 12-10 in the two games.
  • The teams are co-champions in the Skyland Delaware, one of the toughest divisions in the state.
  • Ridge has more wins against Somerset County opponents, 8 to 5, but they also have two county losses, while Immaculata has just one. Each team lost one to the other, but Ridge’s second Somerset County loss is to defending SCT champ Bridgewater-Raritan, which is 5-11 overall, 4-6 in the division, and just 1-6 vs. Somerset County foes. (The Panthers, for the record, started the season 0-6 but have won three of their last four.)
  • Ridge is ranked No. 16 in the NJ.com state Top 20, while Immaculata is in the “Under Consideration” category, but not ranked.

A few coaches we talked to also seemed to lean toward Ridge, so with all of the above, we believe the Red Devils will get the top seed, followed by Immaculata.

The next question is who does the three-seed go to? You’ve got a good Watchung Hills team at 9-5 overall, Raritan Division champions, and 8-1 against Somerset opponents, and Rutgers Prep at 10-4, Valley Division champs, and a 6-2 record against the county. We’re going to go with Watchung Hills here, followed by Rutgers Prep to round out the top four.

The next few teams could be Bridgewater-Raritan (5-11) and Hillsborough (7-8) – who are in that order in the division even though the Raiders beat the Panthers twice head-to-head – as well as Manville (9-5). Somerville (8-6) and Franklin (5-7) split, but the Warriors are ahead of them in the Raritan Division.

We think Hillsborough will go next at five, and be followed by Bridgewater-Raritan, despite just the five wins, due in large part to the strength of schedule in the division. Remember, it’s coaches voting, and we think there’s some respect there, especially as they heat up later in the season. We think the coaches will put them higher based not simply on body of work, but potential.

Keep in mind, Rutgers Prep was 1-6 at the time the 2023 SCT was seeded, and they ran the table with upsets to win the championship.

The rest can get dicey with not much to consider apples to apples and oranges to oranges here. We’ll go with Franklin at seven, followed by Somerville at eight, being among the larger schools. (While Somerville has an extra county win out of division, it came against Pingry.) Then, it can be tricky with Manville (9-5), Bernards (7-8) and Gill St. Bernard’s (8-7). We’re going to predict Bernards at nine, Manville at ten and Gill at eleven.

That leaves the last three seeds, which we believe will go to Montgomery (3-11, Pingry (2-13) and Bound Brook (1-11).

Here are our predictions, top to bottom:

  1. Ridge (13-3)
  2. Immaculata (9-4)
  3. Watchung Hills (9-5)
  4. Rutgers Prep (10-4)
  5. Hillsborough (7-8)
  6. Bridgewater-Raritan (7-8)
  7. Franklin (5-7)
  8. Somerville (8-6)
  9. Manville (9-5)
  10. Bernards (7-8)
  11. Gill St. Bernard’s (8-7)
  12. Montgomery (3-11)
  13. Pingry (2-13)
  14. Bound Brook (1-11)

Here’s the schedule for each round of the tournament:

  • First Round: Wednesday, May 7 at higher seeds (some games may be played other days due to conflicts with previously-scheduled matchups)
  • Second Round: Monday, May 12 at higher seeds
  • Quarterfinals: Wednesday, May 14 at higher seeds
  • Semifinals: Monday, May 19 at TD Bank Park, 1 and 4 pm (on CJSR)
  • Finals: Wednesday, May 21 at TD Bank Park, 6 pm (on CJSR)
  • Finals Rain Date: Friday, May 23 at TD Bank Park
by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – SCT Boys Final: (1) Gill St. Bernard’s 52, (3) Rutgers Prep 46

Top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s got 15 points from freshman Connor Junker – including three huge three-pointers in the second half and critical foul shots down the stretch – en route to winning its first Somerset County Tournament title in three years, with a 52-46 victory over third-seed Rutgers Prep.

Click below to listen to all the action as called by Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe on Central Jersey Sports Radio on February 22, 2025, from Montgomery Township High School

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – SCT Girls’ Final: (1) Gill St. Bernard’s 68, (3) Hillsborough 48

Top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s won its first Somerset County Tournament title since 2014, beating third-seed Hillsborough 68-48 in the championship game. The Knights were led by UConn-bound Gandy Malou-Mamel with 22 points, while Hillsborough had a game-high 22 from Francesca Schiro.

Click below to listen to all the action as called by Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe on Central Jersey Sports Radio on February 22, 2025, from Montgomery Township High School.

by Mike Pavlichko

Gill’s back on top, as Knights take Somerset County boys title, 52-46, over two-time defending champion Rutgers Prep

Call the 2024-2025 high school basketball season the Season of Gill.

The last two years, it was Rutgers Prep sweeping the Somerset County Tournament on the boys’ and girls’ side. This year, Gill St. Bernard’s wields the broom.

A couple hours after the Knights’ girls took the title with a win over Hillsborough, the top-seeded boys held up their end of the bargain, coming from behind in the second half to beat third-seed and two-time defending champion Rutgers Prep, 52-46, at Montgomery High School in Skillman, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

And the hero was, perhaps, an unlikely one. The big names for Gill are Dorsett Mulcahy – who had 12 before fouling out with just under five minutes to play – and Kobe Closeil and Kieran Quinn and Stanley Njekwe.

But on this Saturday afternoon, it was 5′ 11″ freshman Connor Junker who played the hero. He finished with 15 points – the leading scorer – on four treys, two in the third and one in the fourth, then hit three of four free throws on a pair of late trips to the line that helped seal the deal.

Gill improved to 20-5 with the win, while Rutgers Prep dropped to 18-9. It was GSB’s third win this season over the Argonauts.

Gill couldn’t hit a bucket to save its life early in the third, as Prep took a three-point halftime lead and got it to as much as nine in the third quarter. But the Knights battled, and kept it close enough until they could make a move.

Junker provided that spark, and the rest of the team followed.

Not bad for a freshman. Now, what can he do for an encore?

Click below for postgame reaction from Gill St. Bernard’s freshman Connor Junker and head coach Mergin Sina, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Gill St. Bernard’s freshman Connor Junker. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

by Mike Pavlichko

Gill St. Bernard’s girls take first Somerset County crown since ’14 with 68-48 win over Hillsborough

With four-time defending champion Rutgers Prep getting knocked out in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals last week, the one thing we all knew was there would be a new champion this year.

Would it be top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s, seeking its first title in eleven years? Or third-seed Hillsborough, which hadn’t won it since 2006, it’s last trip tot he title game?

Gill had beaten the Raiders twice this regular season, by 33 and 34 points. But they led those games by 13 and 14 at the half. So when Saturday’s title game hit halftime and Hillsborough was within four, there was at least the potential it could be different.

But it wasn’t as Gill came out with a 68-48 win to take the Somerset County title, their sixth overall, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

But while the Raiders doubled-down on Gill big and UConn recruit Gandy Malou-Mamel, and kept her relatively in check in the first half, the second say the Knights utilize 5-11 Maya Abramson more, which opened up things for Malou-Mamel. Even before that, Abramson had a big third, hitting a three to start then back-to-back buckets to gill Gill a double-digit lead for the first time.

Hillsbrough never led, and got the game to within a possession here and there, but could never quite get over the hump. And getting in foul trouble further stymied the cause.

Malou-Malel finished with 17 points, but had to work hard for every single one. Abramson added 14, including two treys, as did Sidney Quinn. Gill improved to 21-3 with the win.

Hillsborough falls to 20-6 with the loss, but they’ll open the state tournament as the No. 1 seed in Central Jersey Group 4, coming off their first-ever state title last year, in North 2, Group 2. Francesca Schiro scored 21 in the loss.

Click below for postgame reaction from Gill St. Bernard’s senior Maya Abramson and head coach Mark Gnapp, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset County Tournament Boys’ Final Preview: It’s Gill St. Bernard’s and Rutgers Prep for the ‘chip, yet again

After two years of seeing the Gill St. Bernard’s and Rutgers Prep boys’ basketball teams battle it out for the Somerset County title, Montgomery came in and crashed the party with a stellar 2023-24 season, and fell just short to the Argonauts in the championship game.

But this year, for the third time in four seasons, it’ll be the Knights and Argonauts battling it out for county supremacy, when they two meet at Montgomery High School in the 2025 Somerset County Tournament finals.

Both teams are right near the 20-win mark. Both can shoot, defend, and race up and down the floor. Every time they meet, it’s a battle that probably requires a few more ice packs and bandages than your typical high school game.

An all out war.

You can hear Saturday afternoon’s championship game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 3 pm, following the 1:00 girls’ title tilt between top-seed Gill and third-seed Hillsborough, with pregame at approximately 2:45. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the action. Click here to listen.

The similarities between the teams are striking, and both teams have grown immensely since last year.

Rutgers Prep was younger. Andrew Kretkowski, Jacob Canton, and Rocco Loomis – huge contributors for the Argonauts – were just freshmen last season, and led by a junior in Myles Parker. He’s now a senior, leading the team at 16.1 points per game, not too far ahead of Kretkowski – averaging 15.5 – and Canton at 15.2 points per game. And then there’s Loomis, playing great defense, and taking charges, including a couple of big ones in the semifinals against Montgomery.

As much as Rutgers Prep was able to play through the youthful inexperience last season, Gill had a more difficult time with a good deal of roster turnover. It was a rare off-year for Mergin Sina’s program, but they’re reaping the benefits this season. Kind of like when you start shaving every day: it just comes back stronger the next time.

Dorsett Mulcahy is the point guard, and if that name means anything to you, yes, it’s the younger brother of Bayonne native and former Rutgers standout Paul Mulachy, who’s also helping Sina on the bench this season. By the way, he also missed several weeks last season due to injury, stunting the Knights’ cohesiveness.

But here’s how tough Gill is to play: they have just a single player averaging double-figures in scoring, but seven players are averaging at least six points a game, and a total of 59 points per. That’s balance, and it makes it difficult to hone in on any one player defensively. Trying to defend Gill is like whack-a-mole.

MORE ON THE SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT BOYS’ FINAL:

(1) Gill St. Bernard’s (19-5) vs. (3) Rutgers Prep (18-8)
When: Saturday, 3 pm
Where: Montgomery Township High School
Broadcast Team: Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel (LISTEN HERE)

COACHES:

Gill St. Bernard’s: Mergin Sina, 14th season (273-72)
Rutgers Prep: Matt Bloom, 7th season (151-47)

STATE RANKINGS:
Gill St. Bernard’s: #5 NJ.com
Rutgers Prep: #12 NJ.com

PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:

Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mergin Sina with Justin Sontupe
Rutgers Prep head coach Matt Bloom with Mike Pavlichko

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Gill St. Bernard’s: The Knights cruised past 9-seed Watchung Hills in their opener, in the quarterfinals, 52-32, matching their lowest point total of the year in a victory. (They did it twice before in a road win at Hillsborough in Late January, and against Ramapo earlier in the Month at the Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic Showcase.) They followed it up last Saturday with a 56-45 win over fourth-seed Ridge in the semifinals.

Rutgers Prep: The Argonauts had to pull off some magic to make it to a fourth straight Somerset County Tournament final (2020, and 2022 through ’24 – there was no SCT in 2021 due to COVID). After blowing past sixth-seed Hillsborough in their opener, in the quarterfinals, 80-44, they found much more difficulty with a Montgomery team they had beaten by four just two weeks prior at home. Prep trailed by 14 at one point in the third quarter, but started chipping away, and really made their push after a Bohdan Biekietov elbow in the final five minutes and change sent him packing with his fifth foul. The Cougars still had the lead at that point, but collectively could not hold on to it.

TOP SCORERS:

Gill St. Bernard’s: Kobe Closiell (10.7 ppg, 15 treys), Connor Junker (9.5 ppg, team-leading 36 treys), Dorsett Mulcahy (9.3 ppg)
Rutgers Prep: Myles Parker (16.1 ppg, team best 63 treys), Andrew Kretkowski (15.5 ppg, 25 treys), Jacob Canton (15.2 ppg, 38 treys)

TOP REBOUNDERS:

Gill St. Bernard’s: Dorsett Mulcahy (6.0), Kieran Quinn (3.9)
Rutgers Prep: Andrew Kretkowski (5.5), Myles Parker (5.3)

MISCELLANEOUS:

Gill St. Bernard’s: Kobe Closiell (55 assists), Stanley Njekwe (30 blocks), Jahmal Dixon (36 steals)
Rutgers Prep: Jacob Canton (124 assists), William Brunson (32 blocks), Myles Parker (77 steals)

RECENT MEETINGS: These games have always been a battle, generally close and highly competitive. Gill won moth meetings this year – 77-64 on February 4th at home, and 78-73 down in Somerset on January 9th. But Rutgers Prep won both meetings last season, 61-43 and 63-53, close games even though Gill is much stronger this year. They also met in the 2023 and 2022 SCT finals. The Argonautus won 69-67 in ’23, while the Knights won the year before, 84-63. Gill also beat Prep in three prior SCT finals meetings in 2011, 2017 and 2018. All three years, Gill was the No. 1 seed; Prep was the two in 2011 and 2018, and the third-seed in 2017.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

Gill St. Bernard’s (8-4):

  • 2010     (2) Ridge beat (4) Gill St. Bernard’s 63-52
  • 2011:     (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (2) Rutgers Prep 68-59
  • 2012:    (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (2) Bridgewater 88-72
  • 2013:    (1) Ridge beat (2) Gill St. Bernard’s 69-56
  • 2014:    (3) Hillsborough beat (1) Gill St. Bernard’s 53-52
  • 2015:    (3) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (1) Ridge 48-39
  • 2016:    (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (3) Somerville 66-51
  • 2017:    (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (3) Rutgers Prep 71-61
  • 2018:    (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (2) Rutgers Prep 56-54
  • 2019:    (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (3) Watchung Hills 73-53
  • 2022:   (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (2) Rutgers Prep 84-63
  • 2023:    (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Gill St. Bernard’s 69-67

Rutgers Prep (3-5):

  • 1988:     (1) Bridgewater West beat (2) Rutgers Prep 94-66
  • 2011:     (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (2) Rutgers Prep 68-59
  • 2017:     (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (3) Rutgers Prep 71-61
  • 2018:     (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (2) Rutgers Prep 56-54
  • 2020:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (3) Watchung Hills 71-57
  • 2022:     (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (2) Rutgers Prep 84-63
  • 2023:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Gill St. Bernard’s 69-67
  • 2024:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Montgomery 64-61

OTHER NOTES:

Perfect, and Almost Perfect, in the Skyland: Gill hasn’t lost to a Skykland Conference opponent all year. Their four losses have came to powerhouses like Don Bosco Prep in the New Year’s Jump Off, St. Peter’s Prep in the Big Jersey Basketball Showcase II, St. Rose in the Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase, as well as Roselle Catholic and The Patrick School’s national team in standalone contests. Rutgers Prep lost its opener to Manasquan, then dropped games to St. Rose, Don Bosco, St. Peter’s Prep and Roselle Catholic, as well as Bergen Catholic in the same Big Jersey Basketball Showcase II. And, of course, their two losses to Gill are their only conference losses. What’s that about trying to beat a team three times in one year?

Karma Came Into Play? Having nothing to do with Rutgers Prep, other than the Argonauts being the opponent, Manasquan beat them in their opening game on December 14th, at the Tip-Off Classic at Montgomery, 64-61 on a buzzer-beater. Was there anything Rutgers Prep could do about it? Sure, Matt Bloom will talk about his team and what they did or didn’t do well, but remember the Warriors were the team who lost in controversial fashion to Camden at the buzzer, when it appeared ‘Squan hit the game winning shot, but after the officials conferred, it was waved off. Still, who could have seen that coming in their next time on the court? Even Steven, anyone?

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset County Tournament Girls’ Final Preview: Top seed Gill St. Bernard’s, third-seed Hillsborough seeking first titles in a while

While the Gill St. Bernard’s girls’ basketball team has been a force in Skyland Conference for the past couple of decades, it’s been a while since they last won the Somerset County Tournament.

The last time came in 2014, when they beat another powerhouse, Franklin.

For Hillsborough, it’s been even longer: all the way back to 2006, which is also the last time they were in the finals.

One of those teams will end a long streak Saturday afternoon when the top-seeded Knights take on the third-seeded Raiders ion the Somerset County Tournament Girls’ Championship Game at Montgomery High School in Skillman. Tip off is at 1 pm, with pregame at 12:45. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the action; click here to listen. That game will be followed by the boys’ title tilt at 3 pm between top-seed Gill and third-seed Rutgers Prep.

The series has heavily favored the Knights over the last few years. The Radiers’ last win was a three-point victory on January 6, 2022, a 45-42 win. But Gill got the better of them by 19 later that year, and beat them by eight in the SCT semifinals, their most recent playoff meeting. GSB has won nine straight in the series, with this year’s matchups coming by the widest margins, 33 and 32 points.

Gill has a veteran team, with several starters going to D1 programs. Hillsborough also has a lot of experience, and was a sectional champion last year in North 2, Group 4. They’re down into Central this year, but are the top-seed, and considered at least one of the favorites to go back-to-back this year, though second seed Monroe – a GMC Tournament finalist – could have something to say about that as well.

All the Gill streak against Hillsborough aside, the Raiders also had not beaten Rutgers Prep since 2006, the last time they won – and even had been in – the Somerset County title game. But they snapped that skid with a win over the Argonauts in the semifinals, coming back from a 14-point first-half deficit – and a ten-point gap at the half – to win 58-54.

MORE ON THE SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT GIRLS’ FINAL:

(1) Gill St. Bernard’s (20-3) vs. (3) Hillsborough (20-5)
When: Saturday, 1 pm
Where: Montgomery Township High School
Broadcast Team: Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe (LISTEN HERE)

COACHES:

Gill St. Bernard’s: Mark Gnapp (7th season, 115-44)
Hillsborough: Courtney Tierney (4th season, 76-34)

PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:

Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mark Gnapp with Justin Sontupe
Hillsborough head coach Courtney Tierney with Mike Pavlichko

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Gill St. Bernard’s: The Knights beat nine-seed Mount St. Mary in their opening game in the SCT, in the quarterfinals, with a 67-35 victory in the books. Addy Platt led Gill with 20 points and eight rebounds. They had just as easy a time with fourth-seed Franklin in last Saturday’s semifinals on the Warriors home “neutral” court, winning 64-31 behind a pair of double-doubles from Sidney Quinn (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Gandy Malou-Mamel (18 points 10 boards), who will present matchup headaches all afternoon Saturday for the Raiders.

Hillsborough: The Raiders cruised past fifth-seed Somerville in their opening SCT game, beating the Pioneers 66-32 in the quarterfinal round at home behind 14 points from Francesco Schiro – the school’s all-time leading scorer, girls or boys – and 13 from Mya Loniewski, the second half of ‘Boro’s one-two punch. In the win over Rutgers Prep – their first since 2006, when they beat them in the SCT finals to win their second straight championship and third overall – Schiro had a monster game: 23 points, three treys, five rebounds, five assists, two blocks and 4-of-6 from the foul line. They’ll need another like that Saturday. Loniewski added 13 and Isabella Ruh nearly had a double-double, falling two rebounds shy with 12 points and eight board.

TOP SCORERS:

Gill St. Bernard’s: Gandy Malou-Mamel (17.6 ppg), Addy Platt (10.1 ppg, 14 treys), Sidney Quinn (9.3 ppg, 28 treys)
Hillsborough: Francesca Schiro (21.8 ppg, 40 treys, 1,975 career points), Mya Loniewski (11.5 ppg, 14 treys), Isbaella Ruh (9.6 ppg, 14 treys)

TOP REBOUNDERS:

Gill St. Bernard’s: Gandy Malou-Mamel (9.5), Sidney Quinn (5.4)
Hillsborough: Isabella Ruh (6.4), Francesca Schiro (6.0)

MISCELLANEOUS:

Gill St. Bernard’s: Tessa Lozner (89 assists), Gandy Malou-Mamel (48 blocks), Addy Platt (49 steals)
Hillsborough: Francesca Schiro (121 assists, 92 steals), Isabella Ruh (32 blocks)

RECENT MEETINGS: Gill has won the last nine in the series, including an SCT semifinal matchup in 2022. Hillsborough’s last win came January 6th, 2022.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

Gill St. Bernard’s (5-6):

  • 2008: (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Watchung Hills 38-34
  • 2009:     (2) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (4) Somerville 57-55
  • 2010:     (2) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (1) Bridgewater-Raritan 64-44
  • 2012:     (1) Gill St. Bernard’s beat (6) Rutgers Prep 57-45
  • 2013:     Gill St. Bernard’s beat Franklin 63-57
  • 2014:     Gill St. Bernard’s beat Franklin 55-51
  • 2016:     Rutgers Prep beat Gill St. Bernard’s 41-28
  • 2017:     Rutgers Prep beat Gill St. Bernard’s 62-35
  • 2022:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Gill St. Bernard’s 64-35
  • 2023:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Gill St. Bernard’s 64-39
  • 2024:     (1) Rutgers Prep beat (2) Gill St. Bernard’s 58-55

Hillsborough (3-6):

  • 1996:     (4) Immaculata beat (6) Hillsborough 60-44
  • 1998:     (1) Hillsborough beat (3) Immaculata 50-42
  • 1999:     (3) Immaculata beat (1) Hillsborough 40-35
  • 2000:     (1) Immaculata beat (2) Hillsborough 39-38
  • 2001:     (3) Immaculata beat (2) Hillsborough 29-26
  • 2002:     (1) Immaculata beat (2) Hillsborough 49-44
  • 2003:     (1) Immaculata beat (3) Hillsborough 45-38
  • 2005:     (1) Hillsborough beat (3) Rutgers Prep 40-29
  • 2006:     (5) Hillsborough beat (2) Rutgers Prep 51-45

OTHER NOTES:

Looking for more: Since the merger of the Somerset County Tournament from an A and B Tournament to one event in 1988, Immaculata has won the most titles with 12, followed by Rutgers Prep with ten. But these two teams are next on the list. Gill St. Bernard’s has won five, while Hillsborough has won three.

New face: Hillsborough’s win over Rutgers Prep snaps a four-year stretch of the Argonauts meeting Gill for a title. Prep beat them each of the last three years as a No. 1 seed over the No. 2. And they also met in the one-off Skyland Conference pods in the COVID year, the de facto conference championship. The Argonauts finished that year undefeated, at 13-0.

One for the publics: Hillsborough is the first public school to make the Somerset County girls title tilt since Watchung Hills did it in 2020, falling to Rutgers Prep, 60-34.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – SCT Girls Semifinals: (3) Hillsborough 58, (2) Rutgers Prep 54

Third-seed Hillsborough clinched its first trip to the Somerset County Tournament title game since 2006… with a come-from-behind 58-54 win over second-seed Rutgers Prep. The Raiders trailed by 14 at one point in the second quarter.

Click below to listen to all the action as called by Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas on Central Jersey Sports Radio on February 15, 2025, from Franklin High School in Somerset, NJ.