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).

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–Prior to the season, I had indicated that the Blue and Gold Divisions were going to be tough. With the additions of Piscataway Tech and South Plainfield in the Blue, and the exit of P-Way Tech from the Gold, competitive races were expected this year in these two divisions. So far the season hasn’t disappointed. At the midway point we have a three way tie in the GMC Blue, there are three teams separated by one game.

If there is any parity in the GMC, it lies in these two divisions mostly. For instance, of the seven games that were played on Wednesday, five of them were decided by single digits, and six were determined by 10 points or less. Oh, by the way, the sixth game, the one that was decided by ten points, went to overtime. South River needed an extra session to defeat Timothy Christian, 72-62.

Gold Division Free For All

Speaking of the Rams, they have come back from the dead in divisional play. After losing its first three league games, South River has battled back with victories over Wardlaw (57-36), East Brunswick Tech (78-44), Amboy Tech, and TCS. A big part of that was the play of Tyler Harris, who had a monster week in week four with 89 points in three games.

Besides the rally in the GMC Gold, the Rams also have beaten a very good Group I school from the Shore in Keansburg twice. First time was a come from behind overtime victory in the Genevieve Hawley Tournament Championship (73-71) at Henry Hudson Regional HS over the holidays, and the second time was last Saturday at home (79-77). Matt Martinez has also played very well for the Rams. He pumped in 27 points in the win over Timothy Christian, and had a double-double in the first win over Keansburg with 16 points and 10 assists. Martinez has a great handle, shoots the ball well, and plays with great confidence. He is probably the best point guard at South River since this site was launched in 2000.

Let’s not forget Sean Darrar, who was the hero in the first win over Keansburg. The younger Darrar scored all 11 of his points in the final 5:35 of the contest including three treys. One of the threes tied the game at the buzzer to force overtime, and then another was the game winning with 18.7 seconds remaining. Against East Brunswick Tech, South River opened the game with a 28-6 first quarter rampage that included five threes. Two of those treys were by Harris, who scored the first 9 points of the game for the Rams, and had 14 of the points in the period. He ended up with 22 in the first half, and 30 for the game. Another of the two treys came from Bobby Applegate, who can provide scoring from the perimeter as well as length on defense, and rebounding.

Back to the rest of the Gold Division, there is a lot more competitive balance this year with the departure of Piscataway Tech. For instance, even though Amboy Tech is 2-5 in the league, they have lost a number of close games including a one point loss at home to Dunellen, and overtime losses to Timothy Christian and East Brunswick Tech. They also suffered a loss to South Amboy without two top players in Agnel Etienne and Jonathan Sosa. Jordan Little is a solid player in the middle for the Pats while Kelvin Perez has been the most consistent. Wardlaw is also 2-5, but they have been a strange team.

The Rams have lost twice to Amboy Tech by four and defeated Dunellen. Wardlaw also lost by one in non-conference play to North 13th Street Tech of Newark in the Joe Silver Holiday Tournament. Justen Davis is a solid rebounding and scoring combination, who is closing in on 1,000 points. Noah Ganz gives the Rams some perimeter punch while Ish Menns and John Newman provide athleticism. Matt Rosado gives much needed experience at the point while John Pohopin gives additional scoring from the outside. East Brunswick Tech has struggled since a 2-0 start with six losses in its last 10 games. Mark Alston and Brett Carmen have been solid for the Tigers.

Moving up to the top half of the Gold, Dunellen, South Amboy, and Timothy Christian are all locked in a three way battle for first place at 5-2. The Guvs appeared to have control of the division late last week, but three straight single digit losses including one at the buzzer to Highland Park, have brought them back down to .500. Thankfully, South Amboy only has won loss in the division during this recent tough stretch, a 50-42 defeat at the hands of Dunellen on Wednesday. The Governors are led by a group of juniors that includes Steve Herdman, Joe Fruncillo, Nick Kales, and Dan Murphy. They also have sophomore Tim Kales and senior Matt Lavan in the rotation.

The Guvs could easily be 9-3 at least if it weren’t for tough crossover losses to Cardinal McCarrick (54-51 in OT on December 15th), Sayreville (54-46 on January 12th), and the buzzer beater to Highland Park. In all three games, South Amboy had the held including an 11 point advantage on McCarrick. If this group begins to figure out how to close out close games against these bigger schools from the upper divisions of the GMC, they could make a bit of a rumble in the county tournament. Herdman, who recently had his 37 consecutive game streak with at least one three pointer broken, came back the next game with four in the first period as the Guvs defeated Wardlaw, 60-38. Fruncillo has had game high in each of the last three games.

Despite losing two 1,000 point scorers in Dan “Triple” Decker and Kristian Svendsen to graduation, and another key player from last year’s team in Devon Johnson, who transferred to Edison this year, the Tigers of Timothy Christian are still a factor in the GMC Gold. Led by senior Jeff Parker and junior Brandon Summers, this edition of the Tigers are a solid shooting bunch that still play solid defense and great team ball. Trailing by four near the end of regulaton and in overtme at Amboy Tech last week, TCS found a way to win (54-51) as Summers came up with two scores to tie the game with a minute to go in overtime and Parker won it with a three from the left wing with 31.8 seconds to go.

Jarret Locke is a nice little playmaker, who was just a split second shy from winning the contest in regulation with a heave just inside halfcourt. He also had a runner that tied the contest. Mike DiLeo provides some additional scoring punch while reserve Zach Coyle helped the Tigers stay in front for a while in the third against the Patriots with a trey from the left wing. Evan Waldron clogs up the middle, and gives TCS some much needed size down low. Head coach Chris Hobbs has some help on the bench this year with an assistant, and that has helped him find ways to keep the Tigers in the hunt despite the turnover from last year.

Finally, we get to Dunellen, which could be the most intriguing team of all in this division. The Destroyers did take some hits to graduation by losing the likes of Sean Gibney and Jeff Puckett, but they still had a lot back this year with Deon Brown, Dylan Hoski, Matt Heidinger, Tony McGuane, and Orville Thompson. However, DHS has had some struggles that included losses to Wardlaw, Middlesex, and more recently, Timothy Christian. Keep in mind though that Dunellen has always gotten off to tough starts under head coach Bernie Buniak only to come on strong and either win or challenge for the division crown in late January and February.

Three Way Horse Race In GMC Blue

While four teams are in the hun in the Gold Division of the Greater Middlesex Conference, three teams are battling for first place in the Blue. Carteret moved into sole possession of first at 8-1 with a come from behind, 75-72 win over Spotswood on the road on Wednesday night. The Chargers, which came into the week undefeated in both division and conference play suffered two straight conference losses including a 74-59 defeat to North Brunswick at home on Monday night.

Tied with Spotswood, and only a half game back of Carteret in the standings is Piscataway Tech at 7-1. The Raiders rolled over Bishop Ahr, and have a tie breaker over Carteret thanks to a thrilling, 54-52 win on the road at CHS on January 4th. Spotswood defeated the Raiders at P-Way Tech to start the new year. Despite moving up a division, and losing the likes of Galen Smith, Khairi Mosely, and Mo Pierre to graduation and the likes of Will Joyce and Jalen Jackson to transfer, Piscataway Tech has managed to not only stay in contention, but get some early season quality wins on the road at Carteret and over Group IV schools, Passaic and Paterson Kennedy in the Jingle Bells Jubilee over the holidays.

Turell McClendon, Jordan Lackey, and Aziz Austin carry much of the load for PVT, but role players Robby Pierre, Inderpaul Pingahila, and Willie Patterson have contributed nicely as well. Head coach Karl Towns has also made some defensive adjustments, and now he is looking like a strong GMC Hoops Coach of the Year candidate. He may have mellowed a bit on the sideline as well, but he was very close to top form in the win over Carteret two weeks ago. Carteret also took some heavy losses to graduation by losing the likes of Avery Carter, Tanveer Dosanjh, Joe Nigro, and Kevin Van Dyke among others, but still had the likes of sophomores Jaquan Robertson and Brandon Gilder back along with senior Elijah Torres.

Younger brother Zach Torres has also contribued off the bench while newcomers Tyrell Lockley and Joe McRae provide athleticism and versatility. Forward Andrew Stam gives CHS some length and scoring ability from the perimeter. The team in the Blue with the most experience back is Spotswood. Even though the Chargers lost 1,000 point scorer, Tommy Soulias, who is now playing well at Kean, they had the likes of Jake Dadika, Dalonte Grant, Jamal Lewis, Corey Brown and Kevin Fox all back this year. In addition they have some solid newcomers such as freshmen Marlon Hart and Eric Dadika coming off the bench. Jake Dadika is one of the top scorers in the GMC this year whle Grant provides additional scoring punch to make this one of the best backcourts in the conference.

Lewis may be undersized, but his athletic ability and tenacity help him compensate for that as he has put up a number of double-digit scoring games recently including 18 in a victory over Bishop Ahr. Corey Brown brings his football toughness on the boards while scoring from either the perimeter or by going to the basket. Kevin Fox demonstrated a nice knack of perimeter shooting to help the Chargers put the game out of reach against BGA. Hart and the younger Dadika also find ways to contribute any way they can.

For a while, Bishop Ahr appeared to be a contender with five wins in six games after an opening night loss to Carteret, but since then, the Trojans have come back down to earth with three straight losses including an overtime defeat at Metuchen, and double digit setbacks to division frontrunners Spotswood and Piscataway Tech. The BGA was hit hard by graduation with all but two players graduating last June. However, head coach Dennis O’Keefe has a solid sophomore class headed by Tom Weiler, and a couple transfers from St. Joseph’s including Owen McLeod. Mike Jensen, one of the two holdovers from last year, has a knack for getting to the basket while Greg Patuto provides some scoring from the perimeter. Senior guard, Tom Duffy has the ability to make plays and score.

Like Ahr, Middlesex had also been playing well for a stretch before suffering several setbacks. Although the Blue Jays are presently hovering around the .500 mark, they look to be more improved this year, especially with Rutgers Prep transfer, Austin Bardaji in the lineup. Prior to Bardaji getting into the rotation, the Jays had won 5 of its first seven games with the only two losses to division contenders Bishop Ahr and Piscataway Tech. Middlesex also defeated Dunellen in a crossover for the 2012 Shello/Santy Christmas Tournament Championship. However, the Jays have stumbled as of late with losses to divsion heavyweights Spotswood and P-Way Tech before falling at home to JFK.

Speaking of the Mustangs, Kennedy is starting to play better. After a 1-4 start the Stangs have split their last six with wins over Metuchen, South Plainfield, and Middlesex while losing to Spotswood, Piscataway Tech, and Point Pleasant Boro. JFK suffered close defeats to Warren Hills (54-47) and Mater Dei (51-47) over the holidays at the Gene Haley Tournament in Edison. Head coach, Chris Banos was hit hard by graduation as he lost his entire starting lineup from last year, but he is not making excuses and hopes his young bunch that includes Kyle Alvarez, Darrin Perez, Mike Weinstein, and Joe Duffy will continue to grow.

Metuchen has struggled in the early going this season, but second year head coach, Jon Korellis pretty much had figured that. He felt his team would start playing better come January. The Bulldogs have only won three games this season, but two of them included the overtime win over Bishop Ahr and a solid win over Group IV Howell of the Shore Conference. Metuchen also gave Piscataway Tech some trouble before falling in overtime (57-51) in the first full week of the season. Artie Flaherty Jr. is playing much like his dad did when he scored over 2,000 points to become the all time leading scorer at the school in the early to mid-1980s. Tom Chalker continues to grow at the point while Brian Eustace, Hunter Clarke, Frank McGuire, and Evan Collier have contributed well.

South Plainfield, which looked to be one of the favorite’s in the division entering the season, conntinues to go through some growing pains under second year head coach, Justin Chiera. The Tigers have lost a ton of close games including to Perth Amboy (48-39 OT), Middlesex (60-53), J.F. Kennedy (57-52), Bishop Ahr (64-57), and Carteret (55-50). Claude Payne has been the bright spot for the Tigers with a solid consistent effort in the paint this season. Justin Glover has also had some solid games while youngsters Jordan Hankerson and Jason Lee have come up from the JV to make key contributions. SPHS has come up with some wins over Metuchen and Highland Park over the last week. Hopefully, they can use the recent successes to turn things around.

Finally, we have Highland Park, which has talent with the likes of football standouts, Nadre Hepburn, Jordan Long, and David Webb, but the Owls have not been able to get it to translate into more victories. HPHS does have a couple recent wins over neighborhood rival Metuchen and South Amboy to hang its hat on.

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.

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.

CARTERET, NJ–Despite the heavy losses to graduation from last year’s team, a squad that won 20 games for the school for the first time since they won the GMCT in 2002 when a guy named Dave Turco was coaching at the school, and Omar Alston was patrolling the paint, the 2012-13 edition of the Carteret Ramblers could still be in contention for the Blue Division crown. With the likes of guard Elijah Torres returning along with sophomores Jaquan Robertson and Brandon Gilder, and a number of new faces, the Ramblers look to be more athletic than they’ve been in years.

The athleticism was on full display in a late Friday afternoon contest against Blue Division rival, Metuchen, which still has a young squad, but with a lot of experience after enduring a 7-16 campaign last year. Carteret used full court pressure to help turn what had been a game deadlocked at 10-10 with 1:36 to go in the first period, into a 48-14 rout by the 5:41 mark of the third. Over a span of 11:34, the Ramblers outscored Metuchen 38-4 including a 28-0 shutout in the second period, and 32 unanswered points before the Bulldogs sophomore point guard, Thomas Chalker hit a runner to end the run a little more than two minutes into the second half.

From there, Carteret was in cruise control to a 65-33 win to improve to 3-1 overall including a 3-0 mark in the GMC Blue. Joe McRae led the Ramblers with 20 points while Tyrell Lockett added 14 and Robertson chipped in with 10. Torres contributed with not only 5 points, but also at least 5 assists in the contest. Younger brother, and sophomore Zach Torres also helped out with 7 points and 4 assists. Evan Collier led the Bulldogs in a losing cause with 12 points while sophomore Artie Flaherty chipped in with 8. Metuchen, which took Piscataway Tech into overtime before losing 57-51 on Monday night, still showed its youth and inexperience with its struggles against Carteret’s pressure.

The Ramblers were able to get a lot of their points off the press with easy baskets and transition scores. Metuchen fell behind 10-4 midway through the first period before getting three point plays by Collier and Chalker to tie the game with a little more than a half minute left in the period. CHS then reeled off six straight points for a 16-10 lead before Collier got another score and Hunter Clarke finished the first period scoring with two of his four points on the night. Those would be the final points for the next 10:51 for the Bulldogs as Carteret broke the game open in the second. The Ramblers had eight layups in the quarter, which were mostly manufactured off the press before Zach Torres knocked in a three to end the half for a 44-14 advantage. The trio of Lockley (14 points), McRae (12 points), and Robertson (8 points) combined for 77 percent of the Carteret first half scoring.

Finishing off the onslaught, the Ramblers opened the second half with another four points including a jumper from the right elbow by Robertson at the 6:02 mark for the 34 point lead. Carteret went on to lead by as many as 40 points in the fourth quarter before Collier helped Metuchen, which fell to 0-4 overall and in divisional play, finish on a positive note with a 8-0 run to forge the 65-33 final score. The game played by Carteret was a bit different than from Rambler teams in the past. Built on a foundation of tough and physical man-to-man defense, past Rambler teams had to grind wins out. This year, CHS looks to press more, and score in transition. Even with Gilder (played on CJ Group II champ football team) and perimeter threat Andrew Stam not in the lineup, the Ramblers still managed to win comfortably over a Metuchen squad that was looking to be a contender in the Blue this year despite its youth.

One player from last year’s Bulldog squad that didn’t return this year was Ryan O’Neill, who decided to sit out after having a number of injuries. The loss of O’Neill, who would have been the team’s only returning senior, hurts the Bulldogs since he would have helped stabilize this young squad, especially against Carteret’s pressure. However, head coach Jon Korellis believes his squad will begin to gel in January. There is a lot of good talent back in Bulldog Country with plenty of future left as well. Right now, MHS is still a work and progress, and continuing to learn and develop. Carteret has won by double digits in each of its three victories, and its lone loss was to Colonia from the GMC Red. In that contest, the Ramblers got two late third quarter threes to pull within four heading into the fourth, but couldn’t get any closer.

Having a solid perimeter game will also bolster the Ramblers chances. There wasn’t much three point shooting in this contest by Carteret, and there were some struggles hitting jumpers inside the arc as well. Having Stam, who hit for five threes and 22 points in a win over JFK earlier in the week, back in the lineup will help compliment the transition game and athleticism. After playing in the Gene Haley Memorial Tournament for many years, and winning last year’s tourney title, the Ramblers will be competing in the Hillsborough Holiday Tournament with a first round game against Hightstown on December 27th at 3:00 PM. Meanwhile, Metuchen will be having its own holiday tournament this year with a first round matchup against Keyport on December 27th at 4:00 PM.

Pre-Game Notes

Carteret enters the game at 2-1 after a 64-54 loss to Colonia at home on Tuesday night. The Ramblers had a couple late third quarter threes to pull within four entering the fourth, but couldn’t get closer as the Patriots won the GMC crossover matchup. Prior to that, CHS had won its first two games over Bishop Ahr and J.F. Kennedy. Meanwhile, Metuchen is still searching for its first win even though it played Piscataway Tech tough before losing in overtime. The Ramblers are led by Elijah Torres, Jacquan Robertson, and Brandon Gilder while Metuchen is led by Hunter Clarke, Artie Flaherty Jr., Thomas Chalker, and Frank McGuire.

First Quarter

7:24–CAR–takes a 4-2 lead on two free throws by Elijah Torres.
6:31–MET–ties game up at 4-4 on a nice move for a bucket by Artie Flaherty.
2:46–CAR–6-0 run including layups by Josue Romero and Jaquan Robertson for a 10-4 lead
1:35–MET–timeout–after MET ties game at 10-10 on a basket by Collier and a three point play by Chalker CAR goes on a 4-0 run including a steal for a layup by Robertson for a 14-10 lead.
1:24.8–CAR–Robertson steal to McRae for a layup, and a 6-0 run for a 16-10 lead.
34.3–MET–Collier–#24–drives in and hits an off-balanced shot for a 16-12 CAR lead.
52.5–CAR–turnover.
32.5–MET–Hunter Clarke powers in for a layup and a 16-14 CAR lead.
0.0–CAR–misses jumper at the buzzer–still leads 16-14.

Second Quarter

5:37–CAR–starts period with a 8-0 run including layup by Lockley and Robertson for a 24-14 lead.
5:00–CAR–Robertson deflects pass out of bounds.
4:48–CAR–steal for a layup by McRae for a 26-14 lead.
2:50–CAR–Lockley scores on a layup underneath for a 30-14 lead.
2:38–MET–timeout after CAR gets a steal for a layup by McRae for a 32-14 lead…CAR on a 16-0 run to start period.
2:18–CAR–forces turnover.
2:06–MET–Collier forces CAR turnover.
1:52–CAR–#13–Torres forces steal, gets layup, and is fouled–misses bonus FT for a 34-14 lead.
1:26–CAR–Elijah Torres–swipes steal–draws foul–makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 35-14 lead.
1:04–CAR–McRae swipes steal, and goes in for a layup, and a 37-14 lead.
46.4
5.0–CAR–#13–Zach Torres–connects for three from the right wing for a 44-14 lead.
0.0–clock runs out with MET leading 44-14.

Metuchen 1st half scoring

Hunter Clarke–2 points
Frank McGuire–2 points
Thomas Chalker–3 points
Evan Collier–5 points
Artie Flaherty–2 points

Carteret 1st half scoring

#1–Elijah Torres–3 fpoints
#22–Jaquan Robertson–8 points
#23–Tyrell Lockley–14 points
#12–Joe McRae–12 points
#44–Josue Romero–2 points
#13–Zach Torres–5 points

Third Quarter

6:59–CAR–score down low for a 46-14 lead.
6:02–CAR–Robertson pulls up for short jumper from right elbow, and a 48-14 lead.
5:41–MET–Chalker hits runner from left side for first MET points since 32.5 second mark of the first quarter. Ends a 32-0 CAR run.
5:12–CAR–McRae hits jumper from left side of the foul line for a 50-16 lead.
4:57–MET–Collier–scores on putback for a 50-18 CAR lead.
4:11–MET–30 sec timeout after CAR score for a 52-18 lead.
2:41–MET–Clarke scores on putback for a 52-20 lead.
2:20–CAR–McRae scores on layup for a 54-20 lead.
2:07–MET–Flaherty drives to the basket, and draws foul–makes both FTs for a 54-22 CAR lead.
30.9–MET–technical foul on bench–CAR–#34–misses both FTs.
7.7–MET–Clarke blocks CAR shot.
0.0–MET–misses shot from right wing as time expires–CAR leads 54-22.

Fourth Quarter

7:46–MET–Flaherty fouled–dmakes 1 of 2 FTs for a 54-23 CAR lead.
7:35–MET–Collier blocks shot.
6:44–CAR–Zach Torres hits floater for a 56-23 lead.
5:55–MET–McGuire fouled–makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 56-24 CAR lead.
5:05–MET–after CAR gets next 4 points including a layup by #1 for a 60-24 lead. Collier draws foul, but misses front end of 1 and 1.
3:43–MET–Collier–fouled on drive–misses both FTs–Brian Eustace forces CAR to lose ball out of bounds–MET ball.
3:31–MET–Flaherty–fouled on scoop shot down low–makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 60-25 CAR lead.
3:17–CAR–Elijah Torres drives down the left lane and banks one off the window for a 62-25 lead.
3:02–MET–Eustace deflects ball out of bounds.
2:39–CAR–#10–three pointer from left wing for a 65-25 lead.
2:30–MET–Flaherty scores on layup for a 65-27 CAR lead.
1:55–MET–Collier–fouled–makes both FTs for a 65-29 CAR lead.
1:21–MET–Collier–drives left baseline and hits layin for a 65-31 CAR lead.
1:14–CAR–turnover
1:08–MET–Collier fouled–makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 65-32 lead.
1:06–CAR–Elijah Torres gets rebound, but steps out of bounds.
9.4–MET–McGuire–fouled–makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 65-33 lead

CAR wins 65-33.

Metuchen Scoring

Collier–12 points
Flaherty–8 points
Chalker–5 points
McGuire–4 points
Clarke–4 points

Carteret Scoring

Elijah Torres–5 points
Zach Torres–7 points
Robertson–10 points
Lockley–14 points
McRae–20 points
Sean Kenny–3 points
Romero–2 points
Brandon Benjamin–2 points
Chance Shaw–2 points

METUCHEN, NJ–On Monday morning, GMC Hoops received information from Metuchen boys basketball head coach, Jon Korellis on the first annual Bulldogs Holiday Tournament being held Christmas week at MHS.  Over the past 12 years of GMC Hoops, Metuchen has competed in the Brearley Bear Classic, Roselle Park Tournament, and the Pepe/Levee Tournament. 

Four teams are competing in the Bulldogs Holiday Tournament with each representing a different conference:  Metuchen (Greater Middlesex Conference), Bernards (Skyland Conference), A.L. Johnson (Union County Conference), and Keyport (Shore Conference). The first round of the tourney will be held on December 27th and the final round on December 29th.  Below is the schedule of games for the two days:

2012 Metuchen Bulldogs Holiday Tournament–Day One–December 27th

• Arthur L. Johnson vs. Bernards, 12:00 PM
• Keyport vs. Metuchen, 4:00 PM

2012 Metuchen Bulldogs Holiday Tournament–Day Two–December 29th

• Consolation: Arthur L. Johnson-Bernards loser vs. Keyport-Metuchen loser, 12:00 PM
• Championship: Arthur L. Johnson-Bernards winner vs. Keyport-Metuchen winner, 2:00 PM

GMC Hoops plans to cover at least one game from this tournament.

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.