GMC Hoops Blogosphere

GMC Holding Its Own Against Out Of Conference Foes

Conference Teams Combine For Over .500 Record Entering Final Stage Of Season

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ–On Monday, state tournament play began for 25 of the 31 teams in the Greater Middlesex Conference that qualified for the various tourneys categorized by school enrollment. As of the end of play, Wednesday night, the GMC has gone 9-9 against teams outside Middlesex County in state tourney play.

Entering the state tournament season, the 31 teams in the GMC had combined for an 82-76 record during the regular season against teams from other conferences. The conference is now 91-85, and has gone 22-16 since dropping to .500 in the middle of February. It has been an up and down, and streaky season for GMC schools against non-conference foes. The GMC began the year with 8 wins in its first 9 games, and then was clobbered over the holidays.

From that point on, the GMC schools have been on a roller coaster ride against teams outside of Middlesex County. For the most part though, the conference has held its own against many of the conferences in the Central Jersey area. Entering play on Thursday, the GMC is 4-3 against the Colonial Valley Conference, 23-22 versus the Skyland Conference, 10-10 against the Union County Conference, and 16-19 versus the Shore Conference. While the conference has not been dominant against schools from these other conferences, it has been able to hold its own.

A couple conferences that have done fairly well against the GMC this year have been the Burlington County Scholastic League, which has won 5 of 8 games against GMC schools, and the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association, which has won 6 of 9 against the GMC. Breaking down the 91-85 GMC non-conference record by division: The Gold is 32-19. The Red is 27-21. Blue Division is 20-17 while the White has struggled at 12-28. Teams that have done well against non-conference schools this season are: Perth Amboy Tech (8-1), St. Joseph’s (7-2), South River (7-3), East Brunswick Tech (6-2), Dunellen (4-0), Old Bridge (5-2), East Brunswick (5-2), Middlesex (3-0), Piscataway Tech (4-2), and Spotswood (3-1).

GMC-Skyland Challenge–January 19, 2013–Schedule

Good morning everyone.  Here is the latest schedule for the GMC-Skyland Challenge set for today.  GMC Hoops plans to be at Immaculata for the two games there, and then go over to Bound Brook to see Cardinal McCarrick take on the home town Crusaders.

Skyland/GMC Challenge

At Bound Brook

Colonia vs. Warren Hills, 5:00 PM

Cardinal McCarrick vs. Bound Brook, 7:00 PM

At East Brunswick

Timothy Christian vs. Voorhees, 2:00 PM

Piscataway vs. Montgomery, 4:00 PM

Bridgewater vs. East Brunswick, 6:00 PM

At Franklin

South Brunswick vs. Hillsborough, 12:45 PM

North Brunswick vs. Franklin, 2:30 PM

At Immaculata

Bishop Ahr vs. Pingry, 3:00 PM

Woodbridge vs. Immaculata, 5:00 PM

At North Plainfield

J.F. Kennedy vs. North Plainfield, 1:00 PM

At Middlesex

South Hunterdon vs. Middlesex, 12:00 PM

At Monroe

Hunterdon Central vs. Monroe, 7:00 PM

At North Hunterdon

Edison vs. North Hunterdon, 1:30 PM

At Perth Amboy

Delaware Valley vs. Perth Amboy, 1:00 PM

At Phillipsburg

Old Bridge vs. Phillipsburg, 2:30 PM

At Somerville

Carteret vs. Somerville, 2:00 PM

At South Amboy

Manville vs. South Amboy, 11:30 AM

At Spotswood

Bernards vs. Spotswood, 1:30 PM

At Ridge

New Brunswick vs. Ridge, 2:30 PM

At Watchung

Sayreville vs. Watchung Hills, 7:00 PM

GMC Boys Basketball Schedule–Tuesday, January 15, 2012

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–GMC Hoops will be back in action on Tuesday with another trip to Sayreville High School’s Bomb Shelter to see the Bombers in GMC White action against Monroe.  There eight games involving GMC teams on tap including two non-conference contests.  Below is the schedule for Tuesday afternoon and evening:

GMC Boys Basketball Schedule–Tuesday, January 15, 2012

• St. Joseph’s @ Old Bridge, 5:30 PM
• Perth Amboy @ Colonia, 6:00 PM
• Monroe @ Sayreville, 7:00 PM
• East Brunswick @ Piscataway, 7:00 PM
• J.P. Stevens @ New Brunswick, 7:00 PM
• Cardinal McCarrick @ Woodbridge, 7:00 PM
• Edison @ Scotch Plains, 7:00 PM
• New Egypt @ Metuchen, 7:00 PM

GMC Hoops plans to cover Monroe at Sayreville on Tuesday night, a JV/Varsity Doubleheader between St. Joe’s and EB on Thursday, and some of the contests from the GMC-Skyland Challenge on Saturday.

2012-13 GMC Boys Basketball Team Rosters

Now Have Rosters For All 31 GMC Teams

I’m still behind the eight ball on the rosters, but have made significant progress in the past couple days. Over the past two days, I’ve posted rosters from all the 31 schools in the Greater Middlesex Conference that play basketball. Below are the teams that we have rosters for.

2012-13 GMC Boys Basketball Rosters

• Bishop Ahr
• Cardinal McCarrick
• Carteret
• Colonia
• Dunellen
• East Brunswick
• East Brunswick Tech
• Edison
• Highland Park
• J.F. Kennedy
• J.P. Stevens
• Metuchen
• Middlesex
• Monroe
• New Brunswick
• North Brunswick
• Old Bridge
• Perth Amboy
• Perth Amboy Tech
• Piscataway
• Piscataway Tech
• Sayreville
• South Amboy
• South Brunswick
• South Plainfield
• South River
• Spotswood
• St. Joseph’s
• Timothy Christian
• Wardlaw
• Woodbridge

If you have a roster for your team that is not posted on the site, please e-mail me at gmachos@gmchoops.com.

GMC Hoops Highlights–December 26, 2012–Middletown South vs. J.P. Stevens–Cotoia Tourney

Here are some video highlights from the opening round contest between Middletown South and J.P. Stevens in the 2012 Anthony J. Cotoia Tournament at South Plainfield Middle School. Middletown South jumped out to a 6-0 lead, and went on to lead 19-16 at the half before scoring six straight points to begin the second half, and hit a three pointer to end the third for a 31-21 lead en route to a 44-29 win. The Eagles went on to beat Perth Amboy in the semifinals before losing to Hunterdon Central in the Championship.

GMC Hoops Floor Cam Highlights–December 26, 2012–Middletown South vs. J.P. Stevens–Cotoia Tourney

Here are video highlights from Middletown South’s victory over J.P. Stevens in the opening round of the 2012 Anthony J. Cotoia Tournament at South Plainfield courtesy of the GMC Hoops Floor Cam. Middletown South jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first 1:12 of the game, and then outscored Stevens 9-6 over the final 9:45 of the first half for a 19-16 lead at the intermission. In the third period, the Eagles opened up the second half with the first six points as well, and outscored the Hawks 12-5 in the frame including a buzzer beating three to take a 31-21 lead in the fourth. From there, Middletown South led by as many as 17 points late in the fourth before winning 44-29.

GMC Hoops Game Notes–Middletown South vs.  J.P. Stevens–Cotoia Tournament–December 26, 2012

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–In nightcap of the evening doubleheader at South Plainfield Middle School, the Hawks of J.P. Stevens took on Middletown South in the opening round of the 2012 Cotoia Tournament.

The Eagles jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first 1:12, and never relinquished the lead although Stevens tied the game late in the first period, and only trailed 19-16 at the half. The third quarter saw the Shore Conference team begin to pull away with the first six points of the third quarter for a 25-16 lead at the 5:23 mark, and then got a three pointer to take a 31-21 advantage heading into the fourth.

In the final frame, the Hawks could only get as close as 10 points as the Eagles led by as many as 17 late before winning, 44-29. Below are game notes from the contest.

First Quarter

7:50–MS–scores off the opening tip for a 2-0 lead.

7:20–MS–layup for a 4-0 lead.

6:48–MS–gets steal for a layup and a 6-0 lead.

4:59–JPS–gets on the board with a basket for a 6-2 MS lead.

4:30–JPS–John Maxham hits three pointer for a 6-5 MS lead.

4:02–MS–layup for an 8-5 lead.

3:15–MS–basket for a 10-5 lead.

2:30–JPS–Sajeh Chowdhary hits baseline jumper from left side for a 10-7 JPS lead.

1:40–JPS–Veer Patel hits three from right side of the key for a 10-10 tie.

53.8–MS–three pointer from right side for a 13-10 lead.

40.4–JPS–turnover.

Second Quarter

7:26–JPS–Shariff Burch–fouled–makes both FTs for a 13-12 MS lead

6:57–JPS–traveling

5:18–MS–knocks down three from left side of the key for a 16-12 lead.

5:04–MS–deflects ball out of bounds.

3:46–JPS–timeout after MS hits another three for a 19-12 lead.

2:15–JPS–three pointer from right wing for a 19-15 MS lead.

1:26–JPS–Francois Ballou–fouled–makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 19-16 MS lead.

53.0–JPS–Burch called for offensive foul.

0.0–MS–unable to score, but lead at the half 19-16.

Third Quarter

7:42–MS–turnover.

7:35–JPS–turnover.

6:45–MS–draws charge on Burch.

5:23–MS–starts 2nd half with a 6-0 run including a layup for a 25-16 lead.

3:30–JPS–Chowdhary–gets steal and is tripped up for foul  on floor.

3:12–JPS–timeout after Chowdary hits line drive shot for a 25-18 MS lead.

2:59–MS–three pointer from top of the key for a 28-18 lead.

2:30–JPS–Chowdhary hits three pointer for a 28-21 MS lead.

1:58–JPS–deflects ball out of bounds.

1:54–MS–traveling.

3.4–JPS–loses he ball out of bounds after Chowdary misses three and the Hawks can’t make the follow.

0.0–MS–hits three at the buzzer for a 31-21 lead.

Fourth Quarter

6:15–MS–scores basket down low for a 33-21 lead.

5:47–MS–throws ball out of bounds–turnover.

5:12–JPS–fouled on floor–Ballou–makes both FTs for a 33-23 MS lead.

4:44–MS–full timeout.

4:23–MS–fouled–makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 34-23 lead.

4:00–MS–picks pocket for steal.

3:38–MS–three point play for a 37-23 lead.

3:36–MS–deflects ball out of bounds.

3:00–JPS–Chowdhary sinks baseline jumper for a 37-25 MS lead.

2:41–JPS–timeout after Maxham scores for a 37-27 MS lead.

2:22–MS–fouled–makes both FTs for a 39-27 lead.

1:38–JPS–Chowdhary goes up and deflects pass, but is called for a foul–fouls out of the game–MS–makes both FTs for a 41-27 lead.

33.9–MS–fouled–makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 44-27 lead.

20.0–JPS–Veer Patel knocks down jumper from left baseline for a 44-29 MS lead.

0.0–MS–runs out the clock for a 44-29 win.

Reflections On 2012-13 Season Openers

A Little Bit Of Everything To Start The New Hoops Season

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–With the first day of the 2012-13 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball season out of the way, it’s time to look back on some of the contests from Friday afternoon and evening.  There was a little bit of everything from the 15 or so contests involving GMC schools.  There were some close ones and upsets while other games were blowouts.  The Gold Division looks like a pretty tight group from top to bottom while East Brunswick fired off the first salvo in its battles with Red Division rival St. Joseph’s.  Spotswood, North Brunswick, South Brunswick, Carteret, Sayreville, and Edison all rolled to double digit wins.

East Brunswick Makes Statement In Jolting St. Joe’s

Prior to the start of the season, the Bears were already considered strong contenders for both the GMC Red Division, and the GMCT.  They had competed against tough off-season competition such as the teams in the East Coast Conditioning Fall League, where it won the championship by defeating Rutgers Prep, Linden, and St. Patrick’s.  The tandem of NJIT bound Rob Ukawuba (17 points) and Princeton bound, Amir Bell (18 points) proved to be tough to handle for the Falcons with a combined 35 points.  EB was able to withstand an early 15-2 storm by St. Joe’s that turned a 4-0 deficit into a 15-6 lead.  Karl Towns, who tied Bell for second game high with 18 points, scored 10 of those points in the first quarter.  Immaculata transfer Wade Baldwin led all scorers with 24 for St. Joe’s.

Trailing by seven at the end of three quarters, the Bears finished strong with a 22-11 surge in the fourth to come away for the victory.  There shouldn’t be any panic in Falcon country though.  St. Joseph’s had an early season loss to Teaneck last season in the Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic, but was able to roll to 28 straight wins, its third straight GMCT, and its first ever state title before bowing to Plainfield in the Tournament of Champions semifinals.  The Falcons have new personnel, and the chemistry still may not be there yet.  Expect these two teams to duel like this in the next regular season matchup at EB, and perhaps a third time in the 2013 GMCT Championship.

Gold Division Parity

We may be just one game into the season, but already there are indications that the Gold could end up being a horse race with a battle from top to bottom.  Timothy Christian pulled off a bit of a surprise by edging South River in Piscataway on Friday evening.  Despite losing two 1,000 point scorers in Kristian Svendsen and Dan Decker, head coach Chris Hobbs and his Tigers still proved that they are tough to beat.  TCS limited a potent South River offense to just 39 points.  Meanwhile, our division favorite, Dunellen had to hang on to win by two over South Amboy on the road (53-51) and Perth Amboy Tech knocked off a Warldaw team (35-31) with a number players returning including senior forward, Justen Davis.  Kelvin Perez showed he is ready to step up and take on more responsibility with the departure of two 1,000 point scorers in Rashad Adams (playing football at Albright) and Malcolm Batts (Middlesex County College).

Many Double-Digit Wins

While there were signs of parity in the Gold, there wasn’t much in the other three divisions on Friday.  Of the 14 games that reported scores, seven of them were won by at least 13 points.  Three of those games were seen by GMC Hoops with North Brunswick rolling past New Brunswick (79-49), Spotswood cruising past South Plainfield (74-46), and Old Bridge downing Perth Amboy (55-36). 

In its win over the Zebras, North Brunswick got a solid effort from senior guard, Iverson Fleming with pumping in 22 including four threes.  Dennis Ford chipped in with 17 including the first seven points of the second half to give the Raiders a 49-29 lead.  Jordan Gonzalez added 12 points as well while football standout, Jaylen Hobdy scored all 8 of his points in the third.  Spotswood got similar efforts from junior guard Jake Dadika (30 points) and senior guard Dalonte Grant (17 points) in its victory over South Plainfield.  The Chargers, which took advantage of Tiger fouls on three point attempts in the first half by scoring 10 points including a perfect 7 of 7 at the line, weathered a 19-6 rally by the Tigers from the end of the second period to the end of the third, and withstood a 20 point effort from senior forward, Claude Payne for the win.  South Plainfield showed flashes of improvement in the contest, but lacked a perimeter game to complement Payne down low. 

Over in Perth Amboy, senior forward Sultan Aminu (22 points) and junior guard Tyler Drews (20 points) combined to account for 75 percent of the Knights scoring in the win over the Panthers.  Many of those points came in the final 8:41 as the veteran duo combined to score 17 of their team’s 19 points as OBHS pulled away.  Another blowout occurred in South Brunswick as the third ranked Vikings rolled to an easy 71-45 victory over Colonia.  Senior forward, Chris Bourne led the way with a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds for SBHS.  With all of these double-digit wins, one has to wonder if there is a great deal of separation between the top teams in the GMC, and the rest of the conference.

Top Players

Players around the Greater Middlesex Conference that submitted their candidacy for GMC Hoops Player of the Week honors for opening weekend with solid performances on Friday included Amir Bell and Rob Ukawuba of East Brunswick, Jake Dadika of Spotswood, Chris Bourne of South Brunswick, Iverson Fleming and Dennis Ford of North Brunswick, Sultan Aminu and Tyler Drews of Old Bridge, Wade Baldwin and Karl Towns of St. Joseph’s, Jaheem Jackson of Woodbridge, Nick Isola of Monroe, Claude Payne of South Plainfield, Steve Herdman of South Amboy, Deon Brown of Dunellen, Darrin Perez of J.F. Kennedy, Jacquante Madden of Cardinal McCarrick, and Tyler Harris of South River.

2012 Anthony J. Cotoia Holiday Tournament–Schedule

Four GMC Teams Competing In Eight Team Field At SPHS This Week

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Saturday, GMC Hoops received information on the 2012 Anthony Cotoia Holiday Tournament at South Plainfield Middle School over the holidays. Eight teams are competing in this event including three from the Greater Middlesex Conference: J.P. Stevens, Perth Amboy, and South Plainfield. Five other conferences in addition to the GMC will be represented including the Colonial Valley Conference, Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association, Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, Shore Conference, and Skyland Conference. Opening round play starts on Wednesday, December 26th with second and final round action on December 27th and 29th.

Losers on Wednesday’s opening round contests will be placed in a loser’s bracket while the winners will advance to the semifinals on Thursday. Game times on each day will be 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 5:30 PM, and 7:30 PM. Below is the schedule for the first two rounds:

2012 Anthony J. Cotoia Holiday Tournament–Opening Round–December 26th

• Ewing vs. Dickinson, 12:00 PM
• Randolph vs. Hunterdon Central, 2:00 PM
• Perth Amboy vs. South Plainfield, 5:30 PM
• Middletown South vs. J.P. Stevens, 7:30 PM

2012 Anthony J. Cotoia Holiday Tournament–Consolation and Semifinal Round–December 27th

• Consolation: Ewing-Dickinson loser vs. Randolph-Hunterdon Central loser, 12:00 PM
• Consolation: Perth Amboy-South Plainfield loser vs. Middletown South-J.P. Stevens loser, 2:00 PM
• Semifinal: Ewing-Dickinson winner vs. Randolph-Hunterdon Central winner, 5:30 PM
• Semifinal: Perth Amboy-South Plainfield winner vs. Middletown South-J.P. Stevens winner, 7:30 PM

2012 Anthony J. Cotoia Holiday Tournament–Consolations and Championship–December 29th

• 7th Place Game: 12:00 PM
• 5th Place Game: 2:00 PM
• 3rd Place Game: 5:30 PM
• Championship: 7:30 PM

GMC Hoops plans to cover several games from this tourney. Special thanks to Matthew Connell of SPHS for providing information on this tournament.

2012-13 GMC Boys Basketball Opening Day Schedule

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–The start of the 2012-13 season is upon us, and the new season begins with a number of key match-ups among the four newly realigned divisions of the Greater Middlesex Conference.  Below is the opening day schedule of games.

2012-13 Opening Day Schedule

• New Brunswick at North Brunswick, 4:00 PM
• East Brunswick Tech at Morris Tech, 4:00 PM
• Bishop Ahr at Carteret, 5:30 PM
• Dunellen at South Amboy, 5:30 PM
• South River at Timothy Christian, 5:30 PM
• Wardlaw at Perth Amboy Tech, 5:30 PM
• South Plainfield at Spotswood, 6:00 PM
• Cardinal McCarrick at Edison, 6:00 PM
• Highland Park at J.F. Kennedy, 6:00 PM
• Sayreville at J.P. Stevens, 7:00 PM
• Woodbridge at Monroe, 7:00 PM
• Colonia at South Brunswick, 7:00 PM
• Old Bridge at Perth Amboy, 7:00 PM
• Metuchen at Middlesex, 7:00 PM
• East Brunswick at St. Joseph’s, 7:00 PM

GMC Hoops has changed its schedule for opening day to see New Brunswick take on North Brunswick at 4:00 PM.  Then, the site will travel over to Spotswood to see the Chargers take on South Plainfield in a GMC Blue clash at 6:00 PM.  After that, the site will try to head on over to Perth Amboy to see the Panthers take on Old Bridge.