Boys basketball rankings: Skyland Conference and area UCC Top 10, through Jan. 1
CN/SKYLAND CONFERENCE AND AREA UCC BOYS BASKETBALL RANKINGS, THROUGH JAN. 1
1. Rutgers Prep (5-2) – preseason No. 1 -- The Argonauts bounced back from back-to-back losses to out-of-state teams to beat Philadelphia power Neumann Goretti (PA). Prep plays at No. 2 Gill St. Bernard’s on Thursday night.
2. Gill St. Bernards (4-2) -- preseason No. 2 -- The Knights lost plenty in four players who transferred. But newcomers Mario Castro-Sanchez (Spain) and Jon Ismajli (Kosovo) are proving to be a formidable 1-2. Senior Castro-Sanchez already has 99 points and sophomore Ismajli leads in steals (13) and rebounds (28).
3. Immaculata (5-0) -- preseason No. 9 -- Senior Davis Adams and sophomore Cole Hayden have been among the list of playmakers in the early going. Spartans play at No. 4 Watchung Hills on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
4. Watchung Hills (5-0) -- preseason No. 6 -- The Warriors have made fast starts to seasons a staple. They are set up for good battle in the Skyland Raritan. They opened with three out-of-conference wins and two Raritan Division triumphs.
5. Union Catholic (3-3) -- preseason not ranked -- The Vikings shouldn’t be overlooked. Two of their losses have been to Elizabeth (3-4), the defending North 2 Group 5 champ, and Linden (6-1), who were runners up in the section. The Vikes are at Plainfield on Tuesday.
6. Ridge (4-1) -- preseason No. 8 -- Red Devils wrapped up the holiday break by winning the Whitey Dukiet Classic, beating host Livingston for the title. Ridge has also beaten Hillsborough.
7. Westfield (4-3) -- preseason No. 3 -- Another Union County Conference team to keep an eye on. The Blue Devils went 3-0 in the LeGrand Holiday Jubilee in Colonia. Westfield play Tuesday at Linden.
8. Bound Brook (5-0) -- preseason No. 5 -- Sophomore Jackson Morrison came up big in overtime in the 60-57 win over Middlesex in the Crusader Classic final, after starters Jordan Summers and Jordan Robinson fouled out at the start of the extra period. Crusaders play host to North Hunterdon on Tuesday in a Skyland Valley game.
9. Hillsborough (4-1) -- preseason No. 10 -- The Raiders added to their program turnaround as they beat Oratory Prep in the Prep Holiday Tournament on Ben Spitzer’s game-winning bucket at the buzzer. The Raiders, 10-15 last season, have won four straight since a season-opening 55-53 setback to Ridge.
10. Franklin (2-4) -- preseason No. 7 -- Two of the Warriors losses were to Delaware Division giants Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernards – and Franklin was in both contests.
ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Delaware Valley (5-1), Bernards (3-3)
DROPPED OUT: Montgomery (3-4)
3 STARS
Here are some of the top performances from the season’s first two-plus weeks:
Theo Rica, Westfield: The senior guard averaged 19 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in the Blue Devils wins over Union City, Woodbridge and Colonia in the LeGrand Holiday Jubilee.
Jordan Robinson, Bound Brook: The senior was named MVP of the Crusader Classic, as he scored 27 points with 17 rebounds, 13 assists and six steals in a first-round win vs. Spotswood, and eight points, eight assists and three steals in the overtime final win over Middlesex.
Francis Denvir, Delaware Valley: Denvir hit for 28 points in the overtime win over Mount Olive in the Voorhees Tournament final, and netted 27 in the first-round win over Somerville. The junior has scored more than 20 in five of Terriers’ six games.
RIVALRY RENEWED
Bound Brook High School’s Crusader Classic boys final between the hosts and Middlesex harkened back to the original Mountain Valley Conference.
A crowd of about 600 watched last Thursday night as the neighboring rivals renewed a series once regarded as one of the fiercest in the region – in all sports. That was when the two were members of the Mountain Valley Conference.
In a battle of the unbeaten, the Blue Jays (5-1) rallied from a 42-32 deficit after three periods with a 24-14 fourth quarter to force overtime. Bound Brook won 60-57 to raise its record to 5-0.
Bound Brook senior Jordan Summers and senior guard Jordan Robinson both fouled out early in the overtime. Senior guard Jared Wooden collected seven of his nine rebounds in overtime to spark the win. Wooden finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals. Summers finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Junior Sebastian Cano scored a team-high 17 points and junior Jack Adamski and senior Tommy Lavornia had 10 apiece for Middlesex (5-1).
HERE’S TO THE WINNERS
Bound Brook (host), Delaware Valley (Voorhees), Hillsborough (Oratory Prep), Manville (Dunellen), Phillipsburg (Easton), Ridge (Livingston), South Hunterdon (host), Warren Hills (Newton) all won Christmas tournament titles.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
Immaculata at Watchung Hills, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday: With Rutgers Prep moving up to the Delaware Division, a case can be made that the Raritan is wide open, with any of the six clubs having a legit shot. These teams will look for a leg up when they get together in Warren.
Montgomery at Hillsborough, 7 p.m. Tuesday: These neighboring teams opened last season with the Cougars winning 69-45. But Hillsborough now resides in the Skyland Raritan, which means Montgomery is a division rival.
Pingry at Delaware Valley, 7 p.m. Thursday: Pingry has moved up to the Skyland Valley and Bernards is now in the Mountain, meaning Delaware Valley has a new threat. Del Val shared the division title with Pingry last season.
Rutgers Prep at Gill St. Bernard’s, 7 p.m. Thursday: Now that they both reside in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division these teams will play at least twice. Game 1 is this week. Both clubs went unbeaten in winning Delaware and Raritan titles, respectively, last season. Gill beat Prep 84-63 for the Somerset County Tournament title, but with the Arogs moving up, they’ll face each other up to four times this year.
South River at Bound Brook, 7 p.m. Saturday: Two unbeaten teams put their perfect records on the line as Bound Brook (5-0) has been matched up with South River (6-0) in the annual Skyland Conference-Greater Middlesex Conference Challenge.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Boys basketball rankings: Skyland and area UCC Top 10, thru Jan. 1
