No. 9 Rutgers Prep defeated No. 11 Montgomery, 89-73 at home in one of the greatest 3-point shooting nights in recent memory.
The ball was constantly deflected on entry passes down low, and 50-50 balls at mid-court caused several players to hit the deck. The crowd was into it from start to finish.Rutgers Prep — ranked No. 9 in the NJ.
com Top 10 — and No. 11 Montgomery caused mayhem for an hour-and-a-half in Somerset, except in one area. Complete readiness and a fearless trigger from beyond the arc led to a historic shooting night between two of the Skyland Conference-Delaware Division teams among the tri-rivalry that includes No. 10 Gill St. Bernard’s as the third program. Rutgers Prep and Montgomery combined for 27 made 3-pointers, including 19 from Rutgers Prep. Sophomore Julian Ceberio led with seven trifectas and junior Rocco Loomis poured in six more as“No game is easy for us. We have to be ready every possession to make a difference,” Ceberio said. “Tonight, it felt like all of us contributed and made that difference.”Loomis, who entered Tuesday night averaging 19 points per game, also had 21 points, marking his third game of the season with 20 or more.Rutgers Prep’s win on Tuesday is the program’s 10th straight against Montgomery , which dates back to 2018. The two heavyweights last saw each other in the 2025 Somerset County semifinals, which saw Rutgers Prep record a come-from-behind win after posting 32 points in the fourth quarter.“There’s nothing like playing in these games. We love the support, especially when we play one of our rivals,” Loomis said. Sophomore William Brunson finished with 27 points on 12 made field goals. Two of those baskets came on second-half dunks, including one when he crossed two defenders at center court before ripping it home. This was Brunson’s second 20-point game of the year. He was clutch in the opening and closing quarters, combining for 18 in those two frames. “William is my guy. He’s one of the best players in the state and he opens the floor so well. an unbelievable teammate and player,” Loomis said. Bryce Williams also finished in double figures, ending up with 10. Nicolas Nsenkyire added seven points for Rutgers Prep, and Oliver Cohen had three. Nsenkyire added nine assists and four steals, too. Montgomery’s Ethan Lin dropped 29 points, doing so behind five 3-pointers. Lin recently eclipsed 1,300 career points and has scored 20 or more points in three straight games. He also sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to close out the third quarter. Mike Simborski added 24 points for the Cougars and Shriyans Mallavarapu went for 10. Simborski’s first-quarter basket gave Montgomery an 11-10 lead, the team’s only time in front of Rutgers Prep. Loomis’ free throw tied the game at 11, then Brunson’s put-back layup regained the lead for Rutgers Prep. Montgomery rode a 12-0 run in the middle of the second frame to cut the deficit to three points. Rutgers Prep ultimately went into halftime leading by two. The Cougars will face the other Skyland-Delaware three-headed monster in Gill St. Bernard’s on Jan. 8. Rutgers Prep will next play Pingry on the same day.PJ Potter has been with the high school sports staff at NJ Advance Media since 2021. He covers baseball, girls volleyball and boys basketball throughout the year. He has an extensive background working in...
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