Purple Birds Sweep Player, Team, And Game Of The Week Awards For Opening Weekend
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–After going 9-15 in 2010-11, the Monroe Falcons made a big statement on opening weekend with a 63-57 victory over North Brunswick on December 16th. The Falcons had three players score in double figures including senior guard Victor Sorrento, who scored 25 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the victory to earn GMC Hoops Player of the Week Honors for opening weekend.
Sorrento, who also handed out 4 assists in the win, netted 14 of his points at the foul line while also connecting on five field goals including a three pointer. Through the first four weeks of the season, Sorrento is averaging 17.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and a steal per game. He may be listed as 6’0″, but he plays like he is 6’5″ or taller. Sorrento battles for rebounds, is not afraid to play inside, and he scraps for everything on the floor. He can also score from the periemter, where he is averaging two three point field goals made per contest.
I had the opportunity to see Sorrento play when he was in Middle School. Monroe had a travel basketball team that competes each summer in the Raritan Bay Summer League. There I had the chance to not only see him play, but also his teammate Ryan Genevieve, and Danny Brix, who is now at St. Joseph’s. It is no surprise to me that all three of these kids are enjoying success on the hardwood at the varsity level. Sorrento also shines on the baseball diamond, where he has signed a letter of intent to play for Sacred Heart of Fairfield Connecticut and the NEC. Congratulations, Victor, and best of luck the rest of this season.
As for the rest of the Monroe Falcons, they earned two more honors for GMC Profile, which is our team of the week feature here at GMC Hoops, and Game of the Week along with the Raiders of North Brunswick. Besides Sorrento, Ryan Genevieve has also been putting up big numbers for the Purple Birds. Genevieve, who recently scored 34 points in a 68-54 victory at Woodbridge, is averaging close to 24 points per game. Nick Isola has come into his own this year with 8.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game including a double-double of 10 points and 13 boards in the win over North Brunswick. Isola also came up big in an overtime win over Hutnerdon Central in the opening round of the Anthony J. Cotoia Tournament in South Plainfield over the holidays.
Isola, a junior, scored 6 of his 12 points in the overtime including a perfect 4 of 4 to give the Falcons a 68-64 victory en route to the tourney title over J.P. Stevens later that week. He also pulled down 12 boards. He has had four double-digit rebounding games this season. Also contributing are senior forward, Josh Polefka, who had 9 points and 8 rebounds in the win over North Brunswick, and is averaging 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and junior forward Ryan Stolte, who had 5 points and 5 boards against the Raiders, and is averaging 7.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
The game between the Falcons and North Brunswick on opening night was a bit of a surprise to many around Middlesex County and the GMC. However, the Falcons had a number of key players returning from last year, and Genevieve, Sorrento, Isola, Stolte, and Polefka are veteran players that learned a lot about winning from the likes of Bob Turco and Tim Brix Sr. when they were coming up through the program. Both Genevieve and Sorrento were reserves on the Monroe team that lost to St. Joseph’s in the 2010 GMCT Championship. Current head coach, Nick Puleio has done a solid job getting this team to bounce back this season after being below .500 last year.