NEPTUNE, NJ–For the second straight day, GMC Hoops checked out a Greater Middlesex Conference team in pre-season scrimmage action. On this Saturday, South Brunswick traveled down to Neptune to take on a Fliers team that should be in contention for a state sectional crown this season. During the summer, Neptune played in the 2007 Rebounds Team Camp, and went 7-2 to finish third behind Cardinal McCarrick and Plainfield. Then, in the fall, the Fliers were high flyin with an undefeated 8-0 record at the 2007 Rebounds Fall League including a convincing 66-49 victory over McCarrick in the Showcase Games round on November 5th. Last season, Neptune High School was 23-5 overall including a 10-1 mark in the Class B North Division of the Shore Conference. The lone loss in divisional play was to Monmouth Regional at home, 60-58. The other four losses came against the likes of state powers such as Don Bosco Prep (76-56), St. Anthony’s (71-68), CBA (67-53), and in the Semifinals of the 2007 Central Jersey Group III Tournament to Hightstown (52-47) from Mercer County, and the Patriot Division of the Colonial Valley Conference. So, the Fliers lost five games by a combined total of 44 points.
On the other hand, South Brunswick is coming off an historic year with a 27-3 record in 2006-07, and its first sectional title since 1974. The Vikings even went on to play for its first state title since 1968. Unfortunately though, SBHS lost its entire starting five including Devon Young and Martin Soaries. Young is now at Felician, where he is a starter for Del Harrison and the Golden Falcons. Recently, in a game on November 23rd at home against Belmont Abbey, Young scored 20 points to lead Felician to an 83-70 victory. Soaries is now a High Point, where he is considering playing next year. Although the Vikes did lose quite a bit from last year’s memorable team, there is still enough coming back to make them a formidable opponent yet again in the GMC Red. Seniors Arman Wilson, Jordan Tiecher, Sean Lease, Troy Confessore, and Chris Weir as well as junior Mohammed Sanu were all reserves on last year’s team, and more importantly, were major contributors to Junior Varsity teams that have been very successful under the guidance of new head coach, Joe Hoehman. Last year’s JV squad reached the Final Four of the 2007 East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament. Hoehman, who replaces Chris Balent, who is now coaching at Elizabeth, knows this group of six kids very well since he coached them from the time they were freshmen in the 2004-05 season. That year, South Brunswick’s Freshmen team reached the Championship Game of the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament as a twelve seed thanks to upset wins over fifth seeded Cardinal McCarrick, fourth seeded Edison, and eighth seeded Piscataway.
Although I’ve made many trips to Neptune to see action in the various leagues run at the Rebounds Facility, I’ve never been to the high school, which is a block away. Neptune Basketball is rich in traditional with numerous state and sectional titles over the years. The most memorable moments in Flier Hoops History was when Neptune defeated Camden in the Group IV State Semifinals in 1981. That year, the Camden Panthers led by Dajaun Wagner’s father, Milt Wagner, and Billy Thompson, who both went on to join Pervis Ellison in bringing Denny Crum and Louisville a National Championship in 1986, were ranked #1 in the nation, and averaged over 100 points per game. The Fliers have ended many a GMC season as well including Colonia’s (2000 CJ Group III Final, 2001 CJ Group III Semifinals, and 2002 CJ Group III Quarterfinals) and New Brunswick (2003 Central Jersey Group II Semifinals). Notable players in recent Neptune Hoops history include Taquan Dean and Marques Alston.
The teams dueled for five quarters and for the most part South Brunswick held its own in this one. With the exception of a 24-7 showing in the fourth period, which was played by reserves, and finished with a 13-0 Neptune run to pull away from an 11-7 edge, the Vikings were only outscored by Neptune, 48-46. The Fliers were shooting the entire game taking 29 shot attempts from beyond the arc, and making ten of them for 34.5 percent. SBHS won the first quarter by a 13-9 score while Neptune won the second and fourth by scores of 17-11 and 24-7 respectively. The third and fifth periods ended in ties 16-16 and 6-6 for a final score of 72-53. Turnovers were a lot of the story here with South Brunswick making 33 over the five periods while Neptune committed 25. However, this was only the second scrimmage for the Vikes, and Neptune’s uptempo style, and pressure can do that to the best of teams even in the middle of the season, or state playoffs. For the game, the Vikes shot just 20 of 60 for 33.3 percent overall from the floor while the Fliers were 25 of 70 for 35.7 percent.
Besides turnovers, the big issue with the Vikings was rebounding. With all the three point attempts Neptune was taking, there were numerous opportunities for the Fliers to grab offensive boards since shots would come long off the rim. As a result, Neptune High School collected 22 offensive rebounds, and turned some of them into scores by picking up 13 second chance points. South Brunswick’s defense did quite well as shown earlier with Neptune’s overall shooting percentage. With the size and long arms of Tiecher and Lease as well as the athletic ability of Sanu and Wilson, the Vikings should be fine there. They just need to make sure to box out, especially on those long rebounds often produced by missed threes. Confessore did a solid job passing with nice looks to Wilson, Sanu, Lease, and Tiecher for high percentage shot attempts. Some of them weren’t converted though so the Vikes will have to make sure to finish better. In addition, like Piscataway, the reserves for South Brunswick will need to step up. Outside of Weir, who is going to come off the bench to give SBHS a spark when they need it. In the fourth period, the reserves had their chance to prove themselves, and after holding close for the first five minutes, gave way to a 13-0 tear to lose the frame by 17. Last year, the Vikings had the likes of Wilson, Brian Morgan, and Mike Sobers to provide depth. In the Red Division, you will need depth to win, especially if key injuries occur during the course of the season.
South Brunswick, which opened their scrimmage schedule on Friday against Colonia, will continue its schedule against the likes of Immaculata, Bridgewater-Raritan, and Trenton Catholic before opening its season at home against St. Joseph’s on December 14th. The Vikings will then take on Perth Amboy before traveling to Piscataway for a key divisional showdown on December 20th.