2017 GMCT Preliminary Round Preview

Eight Games Set for Tuesday

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Tuesday evening, the Preliminary Round of the 2017 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament will take place with eight games played at the higher seeded team.

GMC Hoops will be taking in two of the match-ups. First, the site will travel over to South Plainfield High School to take in the contest between 20th seeded Middlesex and 13th seeded South Plainfield. After that, GMC Hoops will take a drive over to J.P. Stevens High School to take in the remainder of the game between 19th seeded New Brunswick and 14th seeded Stevens.

The eight preliminary round games of the GMCT break down like this: Two games are at 5:30 PM. Three are at 6:00 PM while another three are at 7:00 PM. Below is both the 2017 GMCT brackets and Preliminary Round schedule.

To view the 2017 GMCT Play-In Round bracket, visit: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=465760.

To view the 2017 GMCT Championship bracket, visit: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=465760.

2017 GMCT Preliminary Round–Schedule

  • #20 Middlesex at #13 South Plainfield, 5:30 PM
  • #24 Spotswood at #9 Piscataway, 5:30 PM
  • #23 Metuchen at #10 J.F. Kennedy, 6:00 PM
  • #18 Timothy Christian at #15 Perth Amboy, 6:00 PM
  • #17 Colonia at #16 Edison, 6:00 PM
  • #22 Monroe at #11 North Brunswick, 7:00 PM
  • #21 South River at #12 East Brunswick, 7:00 PM
  • #19 New Brunswick at #14 J.P. Stevens, 7:00 PM

Of the eight contests, three of them are rematches: #20 Middlesex at #13 South Plainfield, #17 Colonia at #16 Edison, and #21 South River at #12 East Brunswick.

Middlesex played South Plainfield twice in GMC Blue competition, and lost both times including a 68-60 loss to the Tigers on opening night. The two head to head wins helped South Plainfield finish in third place, one game ahead of the Blue Jays. Middlesex is coming off a 56-17 GMCT Play-In Round win over Wardlaw-Hartridge. South Plainfield, which has won 7 of its last 10, had the bye.

Colonia played Edison twice in GMC White competition, and the two teams split with the Patriots edging Edison, 39-37 on January 14th while the Eagles won the most recent meeting at the Eagles’ Nest on February 7th, 57-48. Edison and Colonia both finished tied for 5th in the GMC White at 4-8, but the Eagles have won 7 of 9 since starting the season at 2-11.

South River played East Brunswick at SRHS back on January 30th, and lost 65-47 in a GMC Crossover game that was added to both teams schedules. EB has had its share of ups and downs while South River took some lumps after moving up to the Blue Division this year. The Rams are coming off a 92-54 win over 28th seeded South Amboy in the GMCT Play-In Round.

Three of the match-ups feature contests between teams that were former division rivals: 23rd seeded Metuchen and 10th seeded J.F. Kennedy, 22nd seeded Monroe at 11th seeded North Brunswick, and 19th seeded New Brunswick versus 14th seeded J.P. Stevens.

Both Metuchen and J.F. Kennedy played against each other in the GMC Blue Division last year, where Kennedy finished in second place at 7-3, and 9-15 overall. The Mustangs moved up to the GMC White this year, and have won 7 of 9 since starting the season at 1-7. Metuchen began the season at 5-1, but has gone 5-10 since. The Bulldogs defeated Highland Park in the GMCT Play-In Round (37-36).

Both Monroe and North Brunswick played against each other several years ago in the GMC White Division. Prior to moving up to the GMC Red, North Brunswick dominated the GMC White with three straight division titles. Now, Monroe has moved up to the Red while NBTHS has gone back down to the White. The Falcons have had a tough season, but have been competitive against GMC Red competition. The Raiders have scored a couple nice wins, and finished tied for third with JFK in the GMC White.

Both New Brunswick and J.P. Stevens played against each other in the Greater Middlesex Conference’s White Division last year. The Hawks won both times en route to a fourth place finish in the division. Stevens moved up to the Red Division this year, and has scored some nice upsets over Monroe on opening night, North Plainfield in the Anthony J. Cotoia Holiday Tournament, and recently over Old Bridge. Despite only having four wins so far this season, New Brunswick has made positive strides and exceeded last year’s win total.

The other two contests feature small schools going up against two GMC Red division schools: 24th seeded Spotswood at Piscataway, and 18th seeded Timothy Christian versus 15th seeded Perth Amboy.

The Chargers are playing another team from Piscataway after defeating 25th seeded Piscataway Tech (81-69) in a rematch of the opening round contest in the 2016 Bound Brook Crusader Classic, also won by Spotswood (90-58). Spotswood has been plagued by injuries this year including one of its top players, J.T. Vento. Piscataway and Spotswood both lost to Ahr this season. The Trojans split with the Chargers, but won their most recent contest on January 25th in North Edison (79-51). BGA later defeated P-Way at PHS on January 30th (72-64).

Timothy Christian and Perth Amboy played against each other during the fall at the 2016 Monroe Sports Center Fall League. Amboy, which finished 7-1 overall in the league, won easily over the Tigers, which were without the likes of point guard, Josh Alcoriza. Timothy Christian finished second in the GMC Gold behind Amboy Tech, and has two of the division’s three crossover wins by defeating South River (84-60) on December 17th and Middlesex on February 8th (55-49). The Panthers have two quality crossover wins over 6th seeded Carteret (69-62) and 11th seeded North Brunswick (75-67).

The Blue Division is 20-15 in crossover games while the Red Division is 14-6. The GMC White is 8-13 in crossovers while the GMC Gold is 3-12. Spotswood is 4-3 in crossovers. Perth Amboy is 2-0. Timothy Christian is 2-1. Metuchen is 2-1. East Brunswick is 2-2. Monroe is 2-2. South River is 2-2. J.P. Stevens is 1-1. J.F. Kennedy is 1-2. New Brunswick is 1-3. North Brunswick is 1-3. Piscataway is 0-1.

In the five Greater Middlesex Conference Play-In Round games played on Saturday, the Blue Division went 4-0 with all four wins coming in head to head match-ups against the GMC Gold. Monroe won the other play-in round game for the GMC Red over Dunellen of the Gold Division. The GMC Gold went 0-5.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s GMCT Preliminary Round Match-Ups:

#24 Spotswood (6-17) at #9 Piscataway (11-8)–The Spotswood Chargers are looking to make it a clean sweep over the Piscataway Township schools, but it won’t be easy. Playing without standout player, J.T. Vento (injured), the Chargers will have to rely heavily on the guard play of Matt Vento, Andrew Fuzesi, and Abdul Nieskens. Piscataway will counter with a quick, athletic team that also has a bit more size with Keshawn Grant. If Spotswood has the problems with offensive rebounding that it did against P-Way Tech, and if it has troubling handling pressure like it did against Edison, then it will be a long night. Prediction: Piscataway wins 65-50.


#20 Middlesex (11-9) at #13 South Plainfield (8-11)–This is the third time that these two schools will match-up this season. The Blue Jays and Tigers have both had their share of ups and downs, and battled it out for third place in the GMC Blue with South Plainfield winning out by a game thanks to its two head to head victories over Middlesex. Deshai Smith, who was a key component on South Plainfield’s football team that just fell short to Rumson-Fair Haven in the Central Jersey Group 3 Football Championship, is healthy now, and the Tigers have responded with 7 wins in their last 10 games. Will McLaughlin and Dylan O’Connor also provide some pop from the perimeter. Middlesex has plenty of scoring from the outside as well with Chris Hendricks, Tyler Ha, Nick Montajes, and Chris Spencer. They also have more length with Jake Robel in the middle. Tough for one team to beat another three times in a season, but South Plainfield is at home, and more rested. Prediction: South Plainfield wins, 60-57.


#23 Metuchen (10-11) at #10 J.F. Kennedy (8-9)–The Bulldogs started the year with five wins in their first six games, but has since fallen on hard times with 10 losses in their last 15. Kennedy was on the opposite side of the spectrum with 7 losses in their first 8 games before winning 7 of their last 9. Metuchen edged Highland Park in the GMCT Play-In round, 37-36 while Kennedy hasn’t played in almost a week since defeating Spotswood on the road (58-54) last Wednesday. Both teams have plenty of firepower and length with Metuchen having Danny Flaherty, Thomas Christine, and Devin Miller while JFK counters with Pete Obertan, Bendji Pierre, and Tamaj Coleman. Prediction: J.F. Kennedy wins, 58-42.


#18 Timothy Christian (15-4) at #15 Perth Amboy (6-14)–Timothy Christian will have a chance to prove itself, and prove the seeding committee wrong with a preliminary round match-up against Perth Amboy. The Tigers have a very talented squad led by Rob Saydee, who is just two points shy of 1,000 points for his career, Will Clemons, and Pierce Kokosinski, who have about 1,000 points between them. Josh Alcoriza directs the offense from the point guard spot while A.J. Myha provides some length while stretching the defense with his added three point shooting. Fres Cabrera is one of the most fun players to watch in transition for Perth Amboy while the Panthers have plenty of firepower from the likes of Joshua Cabezudo, Chris Carrera, and Jahzeel Espiritusanto. This game could be one of the better ones of the night. Prediction: Perth Amboy wins, 60-51.


#17 Colonia (6-14) at #16 Edison (9-13)–Both of these teams split with each other during the regular season with both games decided by single digits, and the home team winning. Colonia has a very talented junior class led by Frank Lehman, Tim Carroll, and Kristian Chapman while Edison has a very talented sophomore class led by Christian Wantong and Jaymin Vakharia. The Eagles have more veteran talent though with the likes of Joe Cudakiewicz, Justin Turner, Cecil Bonds, and Dominic Kurtyan in the starting five. Edison is also the hotter of the two teams with 7 wins in its last 9 games since starting the season at 2-11. Expect this one to be another close battle with the home team winning again. Prediction: Edison wins, 55-50.


#22 Monroe (4-17) at #11 North Brunswick (10-10)–Don’t be fooled by Monroe’s record. The Falcons are a much better team than their record indicates. The Purple Birds have just experienced some bad luck over the course of this season. Nevertheless, Monroe, led by the likes of Sashank SIndhia, Luke Patel, Matt Hoyt, and Mike Kides has remained competitive for the most part. North Brunswick, meanwhile, has had more of an up and down year, but has had some success finishing tied for third in the division with J.F. Kennedy, and defeating Sayreville (91-86 2OT) on opening night and East Brunswick in the Brunswick Classic (47-44). The Raiders are led by Maneet Batra, Jordan Salisbury, Quadir Bulter, and Marquise Stewart. Common opponents: Both teams lost to South Brunswick, North Brunswick defeated EB while Monroe lost to the Bears twice, and Monroe lost to New Brunswick while the Raiders defeated the Zebras twice. Expect this one to be a nip and tuck battle. Prediction: North Brunswick wins, 60-58.


#21 South River (9-12) at #12 East Brunswick (11-10)–The big question in this game for South River will be whether or not Derrick Whitaker will get his 1,000th career point. Whitaker, who scored 29 points in the 92-54 victory over 28th seeded South Amboy in the GMCT Play-In Round on Saturday, is just 21 points shy of a grand. These two teams played each other back on January 30th in South River with the Bears winning, 65-47. Both of these teams played a common opponent in New Brunswick as well with the Rams winning big in South River on January 21st while East Brunswick edged the Zebras on day one of the 2016 Brunswick Classic. Dante Ralph has put up big numbers for EB while Gil Wyman has provided consistent play, and Joe Sampson has the ability to fill it up. Mike DeSantis and Joey Nigro can light it up from three for the Rams, which made 14 treys in the win over South Amboy. EB’s defense should slow down the 94 feet of heat attack of SRHS.Prediction: East Brunswick wins, 68-49.


#19 New Brunswick (4-15) at #14 J.P. Stevens (6-14)–Both of these teams experienced some tough times, but occasional moments of brilliance this season. The Zebras defeated J.F. Kennedy on opening night, and had a nice crossover win over Monroe while recently winning over Colonia. Meanwhile, Stevens defeated Monroe twice including a last second win in Monroe on opening night, and also defeated North Plainfield in a holiday tournament and Old Bridge recently (32-29) on February 2nd. Tempo will go a long way in determining the outcome, and the key to that will be Stevens point guard, Tyrese Conover. If the junior guard can keep the Hawks in control, they will have a good chance in winning. The match-up of Conover and New Brunswick’s freshman Ahyan Miller-Brown should be an intriguing one. Curtis Revan, who scored a game high 24 points in a win over West WIndsor-Plainsboro South on January 28th (55-46), is a load down low while Kenny Lebron and Jodie Harris provide perimeter pop for the Zebras. Elisha Smith and Rishav Ghosh are key players to watch for the Hawks while Javon Scott is a solid defender and shot blocker on the interior for JPS. Hawks get the edge at home. Prediction: J.P. Stevens wins, 44-39.