Tag: Tim Palek

March 5, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Hillsborough boys may be top-seed, but will have to topple two-time title winner Montgomery to claim Central Jersey Group 4 championship

The last time (the only time) the Hillsborough boys’ basketball team won a state sectional title, it was 2015. Coming off a 22-3 year in which they beat Gill St. Bernard’s to win the Somerset County Tournament championship.

Ian Progin’s team didn’t quite make the encore, bowing out in the quarterfinals of the SCT to Montgomery, the Raiders were 11-12 heading into the state tournament, not even a top eight seed.

All they did was win four games on the road, culminating with an upset of top-seed Freehold Township on the road in the final, 66-58, making for a boisterous trip back up to the ‘Boro from Monmouth County.

This year’s team? Well, they’re 22-7. And nothing’s easy, but having earned the top-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, they would certainly be considered a contender for a title. Since the tournament started, they’ve cemented that rep, entering the state Top 20 at No. 20 last week, up one spot this week to 19.

They will face another state-ranked team Friday night in the CJ4 final: No. 14 Montgomery, as the top-seeded Raiders take on the third-seeded Cougars (24-4) for some NJSIAA hardware. Central Jersey Sports Radio will be there so you can listen to the game, with tip-off set for 6 pm, pregame at 5:40 pm. Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel will be on the call. Click here to listen.

While many will look at Montgomery’s two wins over Hillsborough this year – by 16 on the road in the regular season in mid-January, and 15 at home in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals back on February 7th. But Montgomery also took a pair of losses to Rutgers Prep, while the Raiders beat them, 82-79, the next game after losing to the Cougars in the SCT.

While the guards get a lot of attention – including Derek Feath, who now owns the single season three-point record at Hillsborough with 78 and counting – it was the frontcourt that came up big Tuesday in the semis against Jackson. Layne Pawlowski scored 13 and had six rebounds, Kai Williams had ten and five rebounds, and Kow Quagrine had nine.

And Hillsborough may need that against Montgomery’s big, Sriyans Mallavarapu. Also known as “Shree,” he had 12 blocks in Monty’s 61-49 win at second-seed Marlboro Tuesday in the semifinals.

Click below to hear Hillsborough head coach Tim Palek talk about the Central Jersey Group 4 final against Montgomery with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

March 3, 2026March 3, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

In tale of two halves, Hillsborough boys pull away from Jackson Twp. in third quarter, clinches first sectional final berth in 11 years with 73-44 win in CJ4 semifinals

If you watched the first half of top-seed Hillsborough’s Central Jersey Group 4 semifinal against fifth-seed Jackson Township Tuesday night, then left and looked at the final score later, you might wonder what in the world happened.

Or think it was a typo.

Well, it wasn’t. In fact, for the Raiders, it was picture perfect and nearly flawless.

The first half saw seven ties, at two, six, eight, ten, 12, 14, then – after Jackson took a six point lead and threatened to pull away – at 28-28 late in the half. Hillsborough led by two at the break, 30-28.

In the second half, things just changed. The Raiders hit more shots, clamped down on defense, and – when Jackson did get to the basket – made them miss, and scooped up rebounds, then got in transition and scored. That all fueled a 19-6 third quarter for ‘Boro, and ultimately a 73-44 win heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Bigger than a win, it got the Raiders back to a sectional final for the first time since they pulled off a miraculous run in 2015, when they were 11-12 heading into the state tourney, but won the Central Jersey Group 4 title, stunning Freehold Township on the road, 66-58, with a team led by late head coach Ian Progin.

Sophomores Aaron Feath and Layne Pawlowski each had game-highs of 15 points in the win, with Feath coring ten after the break, and Pawlowski 13. Aaron also hit a buzzer-beating three at the end of the third to give his team a 49-34 advantage, it’s biggest of the game at that point. They led by 27 later, in the fourth.

Another tenth-grader, point guard Jack Toth, ran the offense like a well-oiled machine, and finished with 13, all in the first half.

The win puts top-seed Hillsborough (22-7) in the Central Jersey Group 4 title game Friday night at home against third-seed Montgomery (24-4), which beat second-seed Marlboro on the road Tuesday night, 61-49.

The Cougars are the two-time defending champions in the section, and beat Hillsborough twice this year: 53-37 on January 13th in the regular season, and 53-38 on February 7th in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals.

Click below for postgame reaction from Hillsborough sophomore Aaron Feath and head coach Tim Palek, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

January 24, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Raiders take fourth straight, as Hillsborough tops visiting Ewing 57-44, behind 22-point day from Aaron Feath

Four ties, six lead changes.

That’s some good, back-and-forth basketball.

All of that came in the first half, though, as this Hillsborough boys’ basketball team clamped down on defense in the second half and got 22 points from sophomore Aaron Feath – ten of which came in the fourth quarter – en route to a 57-44 win over visiting Ewing Saturday afternoon.

The game followed a ceremony dedicating Ian Progin Court, named after the former longtime boys’ and girls’ basketball coach who passed away last spring after a battle with cancer.

Feath scored 12 in the first half, helping his team take the lead back just before halftime as the Raiders used a 9-2 run to take a 32-28 lead into the locker room.

After an 8-7 third quarter – in which ‘Boro held the Blue Devils without a field goal for nearly the first six minutes – the Raiders eventually built up a 12-point lead with under two minutes to go, helping to keep Ewing at bay.

Junior Kow Quagraine finished with 16 for Hillsborough, including two spectacular second half baskets, one where he made a nifty move on the baseline, and another where he took a no-look, behind the back bounce pass from just a foot away after a rebound for the finish.

The win was the fourth straight for the Raiders (11-4), who have no won eight of their last nine heading into Monday night’s Somerset County seeding meeting.

Though they’re just 2-2 in conference, those two losses came by a combined seven points, back-to-back in mid-December: a 51-49 loss at Gill St. Bernard’s, and a 62-57 loss to Franklin two nights later.

Ewing falls to 11-4 with the loss, but for the Raiders, it’s a big power point pickup of around 39 points (not factoring in OOWP) for the state playoffs.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with Hillsborough sophomore Aaron Feath and head coach Tim Palek, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

January 22, 2024 by Dylan Allen

Hillsborough looks to beat Rutgers Prep for the first time since 2013, and maybe earn a top seed in the SCT in the process

Defense, defense, defense: a main reason behind Hillsborough’s success this season.

The Raiders have won nine of their last ten games, beat Gill St. Bernard’s not once, but twice, and sit at 10-2 overall, 4-0 in Skyland Conference Delaware Division play. But on Tuesday night, Rutgers Prep won’t be a walk in the park.

The Argonauts sit at 10-4 overall and are also undefeated in conference play at 5-0. Averaging 69.1 points per game, it will be Hillsborough’s toughest test defensively thus far this season.

And there are major implications for seeding in the Somerset County Tournament, which is just a couple of weeks away. With Gill essentially out of the picture, how the two games between the Raiders and Argonauts play out will be huge, not to mention Montgomery being in the mix as well.

All that defense aside, if Hillsborough wants to come out on top and beat Prep for the first time in over a decade, then they’ll need their main offensive contributors to do their part. And it will need to be a full team effort on both ends of the floor.

Senior forwards Jayden Green and Philip Unangst have been the one-two punch on offense for the Raiders this season. With Green and Unangst averaging 15 and 14.5 points per contest. But watch out for Nick Losch on the perimeter. Losch may not average the numbers of Green and Unangst, but he sure is a threat from downtown. In his 11 games played this season, Losch has hit 17 three pointers which ranks second on the team behind Unangst, who has 19.

Zion Harrison is another guy who can take his game to the next level any given night. Harrison has scored in double figures in three games this year. His numbers may be down compared to prior years, but his experience at the varsity level cannot be overlooked. Harrison, a senior, is in his third year on the varsity squad and provides a ton of upperclassman experience.

The game comes down to this. Hillsborough’s defense versus Rutgers Prep’s offense.

It’s a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen calling all the action. Pregame starts at 6:45 pm, with tip-off at 7:00. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Dylan Allen talk with Hillsborough head coach Tim Palek

December 14, 2023December 15, 2023 by Mike Pavlichko

No. 7 Hillsborough makes statement in opener, knocking off No. 5 Gill on Unansgt bucket

In the shuffling that happened in the off-season with the Skyland Conference basketball divisions, Bridgewater-Raritan moved down to the Raritan, while Hillsborough moved from the Raritan to the Delaware.

Ranked seventh in the preseason Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, the Raiders made their case to move up even higher.

Never leading in the game until midway through the fourth quarter – except for an early lead on the first basket – Hillsborough chipped away, chipped away, and chipped away some more, en route to a 49-48 home win over the visiting fifth-ranked Knights.

The win was Hillsborough’s first over Gill St. Bernard’s in nearly a decade, with 15 straight losses in between. Their last win over Gill came in the 2014 Somerset County Tournament Final, a 53-52 victory. Ian Progin was the head coach, and James Smith was the hero with a late bucket to give the Raiders the win.

Thursday night featured more dramatics: With 30-seconds left coming out of a time out, down by one, Hillsborough went ahead by one with six seconds left on a Phillip Unangst bucket.

They got a steal on the inbound with Gill out of time outs, but Boro missed both free throws. Gill got the rebound, drove the floor, and got a look at a floater in the paint, which missed, securing the win for Hillsborough.

Jayden Green led the Raiders with 15 points, while Phillip Unangst chipped in 14 and Nick Losch added 13.

Click below to hear Hillsborough head coach Tim Palek talk about the Raiders’ opening night win over Gill St. Bernard’s with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

January 3, 2023 by Mike Pavlichko

Hillsborough three barrage buries Montgomery boys early in Skyland Raritan win

Only once in his career had Junior Zion Harrison hit more than twice from beyond the arc in a single game. And through the first five games this year, he only hit once.

But Tuesday night he did it four times as part of a nine-triple onslaught, as Hillsborough put Montgomery behind the eight ball early, and beat the Cougars 64-43 in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Harrison had three treys in the first quarter alone, as the Raiders (5-1, 2-1 in the Skyland Raritan Division) hit seven of their nine from beyond the arc in the first half, pushing out to a 21-6 first quarter lead, and a 34-19 lead at half.

Montgomery (3-5, 0-2) wouldn’t go away though. Three times, Hillsborough had a 20-point lead, only to see the Cougars climb back to within 14 or 15, thanks mostly in part to freshman guard Ethan Lin, who had 17 points and scored in all four quarters.

Harrison finished with a game-high 22 points, while fellow junior Jayden Green added 15.

The Raiders – who started last season 3-11, enduring COVID absenteeism along the way – have now won 11 of their last 14 regular season games, and are looking like a team to contend with in their division, if not the county, with their only loss coming to Ridge on Opening Night.

Hillsborough boys basketball picking up right where it left off in Palek’s first season

The end of calendar year 2022 for the Hillsborough boys’ basketball team ended perhaps even better than the 2022 portion of last season ended.

A year ago, in Tim Palek’s first season after coming over from Bernards, the Raiders started the season 2-10, but went 8-5 the rest of the way after finding their groove.

This year, there’s been less groove to find. Sure, they graduated some key players, but seven who were in the rotation a year ago are back, including their top two scorers: senior Ben Spitzer (12.8 ppg) and junior Zion Harrison (11.6 ppg). And Spitzer can shoot from long range, with 15 on the season, including four in a season-opening 55-53 loss to Ridge, their only defeat of the season so far.

Tuesday night, the Raiders (4-1) will entertain Montgomery (3-4) in a key game for both teams – for Hillsborough to keep its early-season momentum going, for Montgomery to get the ship righted before passing the point of no return.