Action begins with girl-boy doubleheader
By: Rudy Brandl
Most of the top-ranked teams are the same but that doesn’t mean this year’s Somerset County basketball tournaments won’t be exciting.
The seeding meeting produced two very interesting brackets, which will follow the same format as last year with the boys and girls switching semifinal nights from the previous year as usual. Tournament play already started with preliminary round action last week and second round games last Monday night.
Teams seeded in the 5-8 slots hosted second round games Monday, Feb. 10, with the top four teams in each bracket receiving byes until the Feb. 17 quarterfinals. The semifinals are set for Feb. 24 (girls) and Feb. 25 (boys) with a girl-boy championship doubleheader scheduled for Feb. 27 at 6 and 8 p.m. All final four and final round action will take place at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
The Franklin boys and Immaculata girls, which defeated Hillsborough’s teams in last year’s championship games, return to defend their titles as the No. 1 seeds. Both squads are heavy favorites to capture the county crown again. The Immaculata girls are trying to make it five county titles in a row. The first four have come at Hillsborough’s expense.
"I’m sure they’ll play the way they always play," said HHS girls’ head coach Jim Reese, whose team is ranked third in the county bracket. "It won’t be anything different."
Immaculata plays its usual brand of tenacious defense all over the floor and runs a disciplined offense. The Spartans aren’t blessed with a star player, but they have a bunch of scrappy kids who know how to execute. Immaculata entered the week with a 13-2 record.
Teams in the Immaculata half of the bracket have little hope of reaching the finals. That group includes ninth-ranked Manville, which hosts No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s Academy in a preliminary game tonight. The winner of that contest travels to eighth-seeded Somerville Monday night. That survivor earns a trip to Immaculata.
Rutgers Prep saw its 17-game win streak end on Feb. 1, so the Somerset school won’t have to deal with that pressure in the county tournament. If the Lady Argonauts get past fifth-ranked Ridge or the Franklin-Bound Brook winner in the quarters, they’ll get a shot at the defending champs.
The other side of the bracket should be more interesting and competitive. The HHS girls learned the cost of their Jan. 10 loss to Bridgewater-Raritan when they were placed in a tougher spot as the third seed. No. 2 Bridgewater, led by standout post player Melanie Gibbons, simply has to beat either Bernards (7), North Plainfield (10) or Gill St. Bernards (15), while the Lady Raiders must defeat either sixth-ranked Montgomery or Watchung Hills, a team it previously edged by five points.
"These are going to be tough games," Reese said. "Anybody we play in this tournament is going to be tough."
Hillsborough and Immaculata also earned high seeds in the boys’ tourney. The Raiders had a shot at the No. 2 ranking but a home loss to Watchung last week ended those hopes. HHS fell behind the Spartans based on head-to-head competition with Roselle. The Raiders dropped a one-point decision to the Union County school in the finals of the South Brunswick holiday tournament, while Immaculata recently defeated the top-notch team.
So, Hillsborough resides in the same bracket with Franklin, while No. 2 Watchung Hills and No. 3 Immaculata are the top teams on the other side. However, there are some others poised to make tournament noise.
Fifth-ranked Somerville and sixth-seeded Montgomery have outstanding individual players who can carry a team. Kerry Foderingham is having a huge year for the Pioneers and Justin Fried may be the area’s top big man. Then there’s seventh-ranked Bridgewater-Raritan, which slumped early but is red-hot.
"I think it’s going to be a great tournament," Hillsborough boys’ head coach Kevin McGuire said. "If you look at the potential matchups, it’s a bunch of great games."
The list of possible Feb. 17 quarterfinal matchups includes Somerville-Hillsborough, Montgomery-Immaculata and Bridgewater-Watchung. Franklin should have little trouble getting past North Plainfield.
Franklin has most of last year’s team back on the floor this winter and took an impressive 14-2 record into this week’s action. Ricky Wallace leads an athletic group of perimeter players that includes Mitchel Brown and Travis Hogans. James Giles provides an intimidating force in the paint and point guard Kevin Bent is one of the area’s best.
If the Raiders are going to break their six-game skid against the defending county champs, they’ll need to minimize turnovers and do the job on the glass. HHS has proven it can win without big scoring games, but it must contain Franklin’s offensive rebounding and keep the game at a comfortable pace.
Thirty-two teams entered February with hopes of winning a county title, but only a handful have a legitimate shot at taking the trophy. The Franklin boys and Immaculata girls will be tough to beat, but several schools would love to get the chance to knock the defending champions from their pedestals.

