Boys Basketball: Gill St. Bernard's wins fourth-straight SCT title

FRANKLIN (Somerset) - The saying goes that it's hard to beat the same team three times in a row, and it's a lesson the Gill St. Bernard's High School boys basketball team almost learned the hard way.

The top-seeded Knights faced off against second-seeded Rutgers Prep in the Somerset County Tournament final on Saturday afternoon at Franklin High School, and it was the third time the two teams had met this season. 

GIRLS BASKETBALL: FRANKLIN WINS FIRST SCT TITLE

BOYS BASKETBALL: ST. JOSEPH (MET.) WINS THIRD-STRAIGHT GMCT TITLE

BOYS BASKETBALL: RUTGERS PREP ADVANCES BACK TO SCT FINAL 

Gill St. Bernard's (21-4) won the first two meetings by a combined 24 points, and expected more of the same as it faced off against Rutgers Prep in the county final for the second-straight year. But the Argonauts (15-9) had a different idea as they used their size to their advantage and kept the game close on Saturday.

Neither team led by more than eight points.

But in the end, behind a game-high 25 points from Paul Mulcahy, Gill St. Bernard's won its fourth-straight Somerset County Tournament title with a 56-54 victory. 

"It's tough to beat a team three times in a row, we play them all the time, but we expected to win coming into this," Mulcahy said. "We know that's a very good team, they're long, they're young, but we expected to win, nothing less than that."

The Knights led 53-46 after a basket by Mulcahy with 6:56 left in the game, but a three-point play from Nate Lyles and a putback by Zach Martini pulled Rutgers Prep to within 53-51 with 4:51 remaining. 

Neither team could buy a point for almost five minutes after Martini's basket until Alex Schachne ended the scoring drought with two free throws to give the Knights a 55-51 lead with 39.4 seconds left. 

Lyles hit a 3-pointer with 27.2 seconds left to pull Rutgers Prep to within one, 55-54, and the Argonauts then forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play. With time running out, William Soucie came up with a huge block and John Yoss jumped on the loose ball. Yoss was fouled and went to the line with 4.3 seconds left. He hit one of two to give the Knights a 56-54 lead and the win. 

"We were really confident in our ability and it was a grind out game, third time playing a team," Schachne said. "I'm just insanely happy we pulled it out and it's just a testament to our toughness." 

Gill St. Bernard's led 16-15 after the first quarter and the two teams went back and forth in the second quarter as there were three ties and eight lead changes. Rutgers Prep closed out the quarter on a 5-1 run and led 33-30 at the half. 

In the third quarter the Argonauts opened an eight-point lead with 7:04 left, but Gill St. Bernard's went on a 8-0 run to tie the game 38-38 with 5:16 to play. 

A 3-pointer from Battle put the Argonauts back in front 41-38, but the Knights went on a 9-0 run to take a 47-41 lead with 3:02 remaining. Rutgers Prep forced its way back with a basket from Battle and a 3 from Noah Harris to get within one, 47-46, with 2:02 to play. 

Mulcahy scored the final four points of the third quarter as Gill St. Bernard's took a 51-46 lead. 

"Defensively we picked it up, we started to exploit mismatches, they're bigger than us but slower than us at some positions," Mulcahy said of the second half. "It was a team effort defensively, we started to get deflections, loose balls, there were some big times plays down there on defense, but we just picked up the enthusiasm." 

Schachne scored 18 points as five players combined for the final 56 points. Soucie finished with seven points and nine rebounds. Yarbrough added five points and four rebounds. 

"I'm just really proud of our guys," Mulcahy said. "It shows a lot about our character, our coaching, and the kids we have. We only have six kids and we just won a county championship."

For Rutgers Prep, Battle led with 13 points. Jonah Charles and Martini each recorded 10 points. Martini pulled down nine rebounds. 

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego