Somerset County Tournament: Semi-Final Preview

<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Photo by 247 Sports</span></em></p> <p>It was a dominant performance from both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernard's rolled over their opponents and picked up even more momentum heading into the semi-finals. Watchung Hills and Immaculata both survived to advance and have the top-four seeds in the semis. Here is a preview of the action to come on Thursday night.</p> <p><strong>1- Rutgers Prep vs. 4- Immaculata</strong></p> <p>Immaculata is a team with great history but they will have their hands full with Rutgers Prep on Thursday. The No. 1 overall seed picked up a 92-66 victory over Ridge in the quarters. They were led by <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trey-patterson-2/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trey-patterson-2/">Trey Patterson</a></a> with 22 points and 10 rebounds. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/noah-harris/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/noah-harris/">Noah Harris</a></a> logged 14 points and 10 assists while Ryan Pettit finished with 10 points and 10 assists. Rutgers Prep is a deep team. They have their superstar in Patterson, but they have plenty of players who can score such as <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/nico-galette/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/nico-galette/">Nico Galette</a></a>. The only way to beat them is to hope they have an off night from the field.</p> <p>Immaculata will have to lock up on defense and get a big night from <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jaden-honis/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jaden-honis/">Jaden Honis</a></a>. They allowed 56 points in the quarterfinals. Honis scored 28 points to lead Immaculata to victory. Xavier Harris was the only other player in double-figures with 13 points. It seems as though Immaculata does not have the depth and explosiveness to keep up with Rutgers Prep. They will need to find new ways to score if they want to hang around in this one.</p> <p><strong>2- Gill St. Bernard's vs. 3- Watchung Hills</strong></p> <p>The table is set for a Rutgers Prep-Gill St. Bernard's championship on Saturday. First, Gill St. Bernard's will have to get past Watchung Hills. It was a dominant 88-47 win over Bound Brook in the quarterfinals. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/zach-martini/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/zach-martini/">Zach Martini</a></a> logged another double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/mackenzie-mgbako/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/mackenzie-mgbako/">Mackenzie Mgbako</a></a> continued to show why he is one of the best freshman in the state. He finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. There is no better balanced team then Gill St. Bernard's. They have the two big men down low and sensational guard like <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/will-soucie/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/will-soucie/">Will Soucie</a></a> and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/denver-anglin/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/denver-anglin/">Denver Anglin</a></a> on the outside.</p> <p>Watchung Hills won a defensive battle 45-37 over Montgomery in the quarters. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/michael-bressler/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/michael-bressler/">Michael Bressler</a></a> led the way with 12 points. It will be a brother vs. brother matchup as <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chad-martini/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chad-martini/">Chad Martini</a></a> of Watchung Hills will go up against his brother Zach. Watchung Hills will need a better performance from their 6'7 junior in this one. He had just four points against Montgomery but grabbed 11 rebounds. Gill St. Bernard's dominated this matchup in the regular season.</p>