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 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.

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–Among the array of boys basketball showcases this season is the upcoming showdown between GMC and Skyland Conference teams on January 19th.  According to a recent article from MyCentralJersey.com, there will be 20 games at 15 different locations.  Some key matchups include Bridgewater-Raritan at East Brunswick, South Brunswick vs. Hillsborough, Piscataway vs. Montgomery, Spotswood vs. Bernards, and Woodbridge vs. Immaculata. 

All proceeds from the games will go toward the “In Brayden’s Eyes, The Brayden Carr Foundation,”  Brayden Carr, was the son of former Rutgers assistant coach, Jim Carr and Natalie Zeno Carr, who was an athletic trainer at South Plainfield in the mid-90s.  Brayden died back in May 2011 at the age of 2.  In Brayden’s Eyes, The Brayden Carr Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization that raises money for provide athletic, social, rehabilitative, and academic opportunities to children with seizure conditions, with or without motor delays from associated cerebral palsy, as well as to provide humanitarian support/relief to their parents.  The idea was brought up by South Plainfield Athletic Director Al Czech last year according to an article at nj.com.

Below is a schedule of the boys games on tap for January 19th

Bound Brook HS
Colonia vs. Warren Hills
Cardinal McCarrick vs. Bound Brook

East Brunswick HS
Piscataway vs. Montgomery
Timothy Christian vs. Voorhees
East Brunswick vs. Bridgewater-Raritan

Franklin HS
North Brunswick vs. Franklin
South Brunswick vs. Hillsborough

Immaculata HS
Bishop Ahr vs. Pingry
Woodbridge vs. Immaculata

J.P. Stevens HS
J.F. Kennedy vs. North Plainfield

Middlesex HS
Middlesex vs. South Hunterdon

Monroe HS
Monroe vs. Hunterdon Central

North Hunterdon HS
Edison vs. North Hunterdon

Perth Amboy HS
Perth Amboy vs. Delaware Valley

Phillipsburg HS
Old Bridge vs. Phillipsburg

Ridge HS
New Brunswick vs. Ridge

Somerville HS
Carteret vs. Somerville

South Amboy HS
South Amboy vs. Manville

Spotswood HS
Spotswood vs. Bernards

Watchung Hills HS
Sayreville vs. Watchung Hills

I’m still currently working out getting all the details including start times for the games.  Girls games may also be involved as well.  According to Al Czech in a recent e-mail, there will be games at South Plainfield 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 2:00 PM as well as at J.P. Stevens.  I’m planning to at least see the game between Cardinal McCarrick at Bound Brook.  We’ll have further details on GMC Hoops Coverage of this upcoming event soon.

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.

Kyle Alvarez got the Mustangs within two when he hit a three as he was fouled for a four point play with 1:14 to go, but JFK was unable to get any closer in a 51-47 loss. Alvarez ended up with 13 points while sophomore Joe Duffy chipped in with 9. Then, in the final, Warren Hills got a steal for a dunk by Ryan Callahan with 1:25 left as they outscored Edison, 6-2 down the stretch for the 37-34 victory.

The Eagles trailed 31-25 before going on a 7-0 run sparked by a steal for a layup by Marcus Cudjoe, and then Cudjoe hit a foul line jumper with 2:36 left for a 32-31 lead. Callahan ended up with 19 points while Darrien Pinkman added 13 for the Streaks. Dennis Amuzu, who got the start in place of Raekwon Ross, scored a team high 14 points while Qassim Bass-Ali chipped in with 10.

Edison rallied back with 7 unanswered points sparked by a steal for a layup by Marcus Cudjoe, and then capped by a Qassim-Bass Ali layup for a 32-31 lead. However, the Warren County school finished the game with 6 of the last 8 points including a steal for a dunk with 1:25 left to come away with the title, 37-34. Below are some game notes from the contest.

Pre-Game Notes

Game at Frank N. Cangelosi Gymnasium–the Eagle’s Nest. Warren Hills enters the game at 2-2 after defeating J.F. Kennedy by the score of 54-47 in the opening round of the Haley Tournament.  Edison advanced to the final by defeating Mater Dei in the opening round, 62-45.  Eagles come into the contest at 3-2.  Dennis Amuzu, who scored 11 points in the win over the Seraphs, is getting the start

First Quarter

7:02–ED–Dennis Amuzu–scores on layup off nice entry pass by Marcus Cudjoe for a 2-0 lead.
5:47–ED–Amuzu knocks in three from left wing for a 5-1 lead.
4:40–WH–fouled–missed both FTs.
2:56–ED–Amuzu fires in three from right wing for an 8-1 lead.
2:53–WH–timeout
1:41–ED–turnover.
1:23–ED–Amuzu tries to save the ball from going out of bounds, but steps on sideline–WH ball.
50.9–WH–layup–first FG of game.
0.0–WH–banks in three pointer from right side of the key as time runs out for an 8-6 ED lead.

ED–Amuzu–all 8 points on a layup and two threes.
WH–2 FGs including a three, and 1 of 3 FTs in period.

Second Quarter

7:42–WH–turnover.
7:29–ED–Qassim Bass-Ali fires in three from left wing for an 11-6 lead.
6:44–WH–turnover.
6:33–ED–Marcus Cudjoe–fouled–makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 12-6 lead.
5:44–ED–Bass-Ali–layup from Jordan Westbrooks following steal for a 14-6 lead.
3:53–ED–calls timeout.
3:33–WH–fouled–makes two FTs for a 14-8 ED lead
2:45–ED–turnover.
2:36–WH–loses ball out of bounds–turnover.
1:50–ED–Bass-Ali fouled–makes both FTs for a 16-8 lead.
1:43–WH–fouled–makes both FTs for a 16-10 ED lead.
1:27–ED–Westbrooks puts in follow for an 18-10 lead.
1:15–WH–fouled–makes 1 of 2 FTs for an 18-11 ED lead.
1:00–WH–deflects ball out of bounds.
7.4–WH–fouled–makes both FTs for an 18-13 ED lead.
0.0–ED–Aris Smith gets ball from Matt Demanjcik, but just misses layup at buzzer.  ED leads 18-13 at half.

ED scoring in 2nd–Bass-Ali–7 points, Westbrooks–2 points, and Cudjoe–1 point.

ED scoring in half–Amuzu–8 points, Bass-Ali–7 points, Westbrooks–2 points, and Cudjoe–1 point
WH–0 FGs and 8 of 9 FTs in 2nd.

ED–6 FGs including 3 threes in first half.   Also went 3 of 4 from the line.
WH–2 FGs and 9 of 12 FTs in half.

Third Quarter

6:03–WH–opens quarter with 4-0 run on two layups.
4:23–ED–30 sec timeout–leads 23-21 after layup.
1:30–ED–Westbrooks block leads to Bass-Ali layup from Cudjoe for a 25-23 lead.
34.0–WH–#13 slams home a two handed jam for 25-25 tie after Westbrooks hustle is wasted on save for ED.
0.0–ED–hits rim on jumper from the left corner as time runs out for a 25-25 tie.

Fourth Quarter

7:49–WH–#13–basket and the foul–for a three point play, and a 28-25 lead.

6:45–WH–fouled–missed both FTs.

6:32–ED–Westbrooks fouled–missed both FTs.

6:00–WH–three pointer from right wing for a 31-25 lead.

5:58–ED–full timeout.  WH on a 15-7 run over last 11:29.

3:24–ED–Amuzu swipes steal in WH backcourt–draws foul–makes 1 of 2FTs for a 31-30 WH lead.

2:36–ED–takes 32-31 lead on foul line jumper by Cudjoe.

2:11–WH–30 sec timeout.

1:25–WH–#13–anticipates pass well for the steal and goes in for one handed flush and a 33-32 lead.

1:01–WH–gets rebound and is fouled–not in bonus.

44.7–WH–fouled–makes both FTs for a 35-32 lead.

35.7–ED–Bass-Ali fouled–makes both FTs for a 35-34 WH lead–ED timeout.

28.1–WH–fouled–missed both FTs.

20.4–WH–with fouls to give–fouls ED in front of bench–ED–timeout.

17.1–ED–inbounds the ball, and gets it to Bass-Ali, who goes to the basket, but is stopped.

10.9–WH–timeout after making two FTs for a 37-34 lead.

7.9–WH–fouls on floor–ED still not in bonus.

0.0–ED–Amuzu misses three attempt from left side, and Bass-Ali missed the follow–WH wins 37-34.