Five Games Set for Saturday
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–Let the craziness begin. On Saturday, the Play-In Round of the 2017 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Tournament gets underway with five match-ups. The first game of the day takes place at 11:00 AM with 28th seeded South Amboy traveling to play 21st seeded South River.
Four other games will follow at 1:00 PM, 1:30 PM, 2:00 PM, and 3:30 PM. GMC Hoops will take in three of the games starting with the match-up between the Governors and the Rams. Below is both the 2017 GMCT Play-In Round bracket and schedule.
To view the 2017 GMCT Play-In Round bracket, visit: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=465760.
2017 GMCT Play-In Round–Schedule
- #28 South Amboy @ #21 South River, 11:00 AM
- #25 Piscataway Tech @ #24 Spotswood, 1:00 PM
- #26 Highland Park @ #23 Metuchen, 1:30 PM
- #27 Dunellen @ #22 Monroe, 2:00 PM
- #29 Wardlaw-Hartridge @ #20 Middlesex, 3:30 PM
A closer look at the match-ups reveal that only one of them is a rematch from earlier in the season. Over the holidays, Spotswood played Piscataway Tech in the opening round of the 2016 Bound Brook Crusader Classic. The Chargers won that game easily by the score of 90-58, but back then they had a healthy J.T. Vento, who will not be playing today due to injury.
Four of the five contests involve crossover match-ups between teams in the GMC Gold versus teams in the GMC Blue. Entering the day, the Blue Division teams were a combined 16-15 in crossover games while Gold Division teams were 3-8. Of the three wins the Gold has, Timothy Christian has two of them (84-60 over South River on December 17th, and 55-49 over Middlesex on Wednesday night), and Amboy Tech has the other one (a 63-58 victory over Metuchen back on January 9th).
So, the Gold Division teams in action today, have no crossover wins. Some of them haven’t even played a game outside division such as Wardlaw-Hartridge. Combined the five Gold Division teams in action today are 0-6 in crossover games. Spotswood alone is 3-2 with all three wins over Gold Division teams (P-Way Tech, South Amboy, and Timothy Christian).
South River and South Amboy haven’t played each other this year, but are familiar foes since South River competed in the Gold Division last year before moving up to the GMC Blue this year. Metuchen and Highland Park are long time rivals, especially on the football field where the Owls defeated the Bulldogs on Thanksgiving this past season. Wardlaw-Hartridge and Middlesex are also playing each other in the GMCT Girls Play-In round with the Lady Rams seeded 30th at the 19th seeded Lady Jays.
Let’s take a closer look at today’s GMCT Play-In Round Match-Ups:
#28 South Amboy (6-13) at #21 South River (8-12)–South River did not qualify for the Central Jersey Group 2 playoffs this season while South Amboy is the 16th seed in Central Jersey Group 1, and has an opening round match-up at top seeded Florence, which won the section last year including a rout of the Rams in the semifinals.
So, both of these teams are playing to get a post-season win, and end the season on a positive note. The Rams will be hosting the contest, and defeated South Amboy both times last year in Gold Division play. South River is 1-2 in GMC crossover games with its lone win coming over 19th seeded New Brunswick in South River back on January 21st (74-58).
South Amboy has only played one crossover game this season, and it was a 70-46 loss at the hands of 24th seeded Spotswood, which lost to South River twice this season. South River hadn’t swept the season series from the Chargers since 2005 when they actually won three times including an opening round holiday tourney victory in the 2004 South Amboy Tournament.
The Governors are led by sophomore sharpshooter, Kyle Gasiewski, who has been playing very well, especially from three point range. Gasiewski is averaging 17.1 points per game. Alan Kazar provides some scoring punch from down low, and Steven Pena has been getting some minutes and producing as of late. The Rams counter with a solid sophomore class led by Derrick Whitaker, Mike DeSantis, and Zac Rafano.
Whitaker, the GMC Hoops Freshman of the Year in 2016, is rapidly approaching 1,000 points for his career. He needs just 50 points to reach a grand. Whitaker, who scored 35 in a 74-71 win over Keansburg on Thursday, is currently averaging 22.9 points per game, which is in the Top 25 in New Jersey according to NJ.com. Prediction: South River defeats South Amboy behind Whitaker, 60-38.
#25 Piscataway Tech (9-11) at #24 Spotswood (5-17)–This is the only rematch of the day. As mentioned earlier, these two teams played in the opening round of the 2016 Bound Brook Crusader Classic in which Spotswood won easily, 90-58. In that game, Andrew Fuzesi pumped in 28 points while J.T. Vento chipped in with 20 points.
Vento, who was recently injured, will not be in the line-up for today’s game. Spotswood has lost 8 straight games including two this week against J.F. Kennedy (58-54) and Edison (72-61) at home. GMC Hoops saw the Chargers in action on Friday night against Edison. Sophomore Matt Vento led the way in defeat for Spotswood with 21 points while Justin Dekovics chipped in with 13.
P-Way Tech is a much different team than it was back in December. After starting the season at 3-8, the Raiders have won 6 of their last 9, and finished third in the Gold Division. Chris Zambonino was a bright spot for the Raiders in defeat against Spotswood back in December by scoring 22 points while Taquan Smith chipped in with 10.
Branden Barnes, who leads the team in field goals with 85, and is averaging 11.7 points per game, and Zambonino, who leads the team in three pointers with 36, and is averaging 11.1 points per game, are players to watch on the Raiders along with Sergio Rodriguez and Daniel Peacock. Nate Carone is a player to watch for on Spotswood, especially from three.
Prediction: This game should be closer than the last time, but Spotswood still has firepower in the lineup from the last game in Andrew Fuzesi, who has 708 career points, and is averaging 12.4 points per game including 37 three pointers. Expect a big game from him, especially if the Chargers are going to win. Spotswood advances with a 72-60 victory.
#26 Highland Park (7-9) at #23 Metuchen (9-11)–After starting the season at 5-1 including wins over South River and Spotswood during week one of the division schedule, the Metuchen Bulldogs have lost 10 of their last 14 games.
Nevertheless, the Bulldogs have still improved considerably over a year ago. Highland Park has also improved some despite also being under .500 entering this game. The Owls claimed fourth place in the GMC Gold, which is the highest finish they’ve had since moving down several years ago.
These two teams are no strangers to each other since some of the players on the two squads played football during the fall and competed against each other on Thanksgiving with Highland Park defeating Metuchen for the first time in five seasons. Both of these teams have veteran talent.
The Bulldogs are led by the likes of Danny Flaherty, Thomas Christine, Devin Miller, David Weiss, and Ethan Leibovits. Flaherty has 654 career points, and is averaging 16.5 points per game while Christine is averaging 12.4 points per game. Highland Park is led by Naeem Ghee, Justin Simms, Nasir Boykins, Angel Holguin, and Dylan Boynton.
Ghee is averaging 11.8 points per game while Justin Simms chips in with 7.9 points per game. Metuchen has a significant advantage from beyond the arc with Flaherty leading the team with 48 three pointers while Christine is second with 21. Simms and Holguin lead Highland Park with 14 each. Prediction: Metuchen will be looking to get even for the football loss on Thanksgiving. Perimeter shooting will give the Bulldogs a decided edge in a 60-35 victory.
#27 Dunellen (8-12) at #22 Monroe (3-17)–Monroe’s record can be deceiving. First, the Falcons lost one of their top JV players from a year ago in Hassan Reid, who moved to North Carolina with his family before the start of the season. Monroe also lost another key player from that JV squad that reached the Final Four of the East Brunswick/GMC JV tourney in Kevin Shea.
Despite that, the Falcons have remained competitive. Besides defeating Perth Amboy and Spotswood in conference play, the Purple Birds also lost by three to Amboy back in early January, and lost by four at St. Joseph’s on December 22nd. Monroe suffered heartbreaking losses to Robbinsville (51-48) and Brick Township (78-70) in OT in their own holiday tournament.
Meanwhile, Dunellen has made strides this past season despite losing its top returning player from last year in point guard, Anthony Buccino, who opted to go out for Winter Track instead. The Destroyers doubled their win total from a year ago after defeating East Brunswick Tech on Wednesday (54-41) to finish tied with South Amboy for fifth place in the GMC Gold.
Monroe is led by Sashank Sindhia, who is averaging 12.7 points per game while junior point guard, Luke Patel has chipped in with 10.1 points per game. Dunellen is led by freshman Tyje’ Kelton, who scored 20 points in the victory over EB Tech along with senior Oscar Caballero, who netted 18 points including three treys in the win over the Tigers. Kelton is averaging 14.3 points per game while Caballero is averaging 13.2 ppg.
Prediction: Monroe is the only Red Division team playing in this round. The Falcons have played a tough schedule, and suffered some key losses. Matt Hoyt has also been in and out of the lineup this season. The Falcons have a lot of firepower while Dunellen has a lot of size. Monroe’s perimeter game led by sophomore Mike Kides, will be the difference. Monroe wins, 55-40.
#29 Wardlaw-Hartridge (4-15) @ #20 Middlesex (10-9)–This will be the nightcap of not only the GMCT Boys Play-In round and GMC Hoops’ planned schedule today, but also a nightcap of a girls and boys doubleheader between these two schools.
The 30th seeded Lady Rams of Wardlaw will be taking on the 19th seeded Lady Blue Jays of Middlesex earlier in the day. Middlesex was the highest seeded team to play in the Play-In round a year ago at No. 19, and lost in that round to previously winless New Brunswick, which then went on to defeat 14th seeded North Brunswick in the preliminary round before losing to Colonia in the Round of 16.
A year ago, Wardlaw lost to South Amboy in the GMCT Play-In Round. The Rams have been battling injuries including to one of its top scorers, Scott Hargrove, who is on the GMC Top Active Scorers list with 578 points. The Rams will be playing their first GMC crossover game this year.
Meanwhile, Middlesex will be playing its fifth crossover game of the year. Both of these teams have common opponents in Dunellen, Highland Park, and Timothy Christian. Middlesex downed Dunellen by double digits twice including a 55-37 win over the Destroyers on January 30th while Wardlaw lost both of its division games to the Destroyers.
Wardlaw split with Highland Park while Middlesex edged the Owls in the opening round of the Shello-Santy Tournament in Dunellen (38-35). Wardlaw lost both of its division games to Timothy Christian while Middlesex fell to the Tigers at home on Wednesday night (55-49). Jake Robel leads the Blue Jays with a 12.6 points per game average while Tyler Ha has chipped in with 10.6 points per game.
The Rams of Wardlaw-Hartridge are led by sophomore Ryan Petela (11.9 ppg), Scott Hargrove (11.6 ppg), Shalon Wallace (7.8 ppg). Another player to watch on Wardlaw is Jordan Rose while John Dickey, a transfer from Rutgers Prep, is a player to watch for on Middlesex. Prediction: With its size and length as well as a solid perimeter game, expect the Blue Jays to win in this one. Middlesex is also a little healthier. Blue Jays win, 58-38.