2016 GMCT Round of 16 Preview

Several Party Crashers Join Top Eight Seeds; All Eight GMC White Teams Reach Round

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Thursday night, play resumes in the 2016 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Tournament with the Round of 16 games at the higher seeded teams. The top eight seeds are all in action for the first time while several lower seeds including 21st seeded Edison, 25th seeded South Plainfield, and 30th seeded New Brunswick all reaching the Sweet Sixteen as well. All eight teams from the GMC’s White Division are in the tourney’s third round.

To view the 2016 GMCT Championship bracket, visit: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=462078.

2016 GMCT Round of 16–Schedule

  • #25 South Plainfield @ #8 Spotswood, 6:00 PM
  • #10 J.P. Stevens @ #7 Old Bridge, 6:00 PM
  • #11 Monroe @ #6 East Brunswick, 7:00 PM
  • #21 Edison @ #5 Woodbridge, 7:00 PM
  • #13 J.F. Kennedy @ #4 Sayreville, 7:00 PM
  • #30 New Brunswick @ #3 Colonia, 7:00 PM
  • #15 Perth Amboy @ #2 South Brunswick, 6:00 PM
  • #16 Bishop Ahr @ #1 St. Joseph’s, 7:00 PM

Of the 16 teams that remain in this year’s GMCT field, eight are from the White Division, five are from the Red Division, and three are from the Blue. Edison, South Plainfield, and New Brunswick have had the toughest road to this point since all three schools had to win in the previous two rounds.

No team that has played in the play-in and preliminary round game has ever gone past the quarterfinal round. The last team to challenge that was the 2014 South Amboy Governors, which reached the Elite Eight as a 24th seed after defeating 25th seeded South River in the play-in round, 9th seeded Monroe in the preliminary round, and 8th seeded Timothy Christian in the GMCT Round of 16.

After losing all of its games during the regular season (0-18), New Brunswick has put things together for the tournament, and it has paid off with two wins. In the GMCT Play-In Round, the Zebras defeated 19th seeded Middlesex by a score of 65-55 at MHS on Saturday afternoon, and then knocked off 14th seeded and arch rival, North Brunswick by a score of 60-50 in the Preliminary Round on Tuesday. If they or South Plainfield win on Thursday, they would be the lowest seed ever to reach the GMCT Elite Eight.

Let’s take a closer look around at the eight match-ups in Thursday’s GMCT Round of 16:

#25 South Plainfield (7-15) @ #8 Spotswood (19-4)–The Tigers have almost doubled their win total in just the past week with a non-conference win on the Thursday before play started in the GMCT, and wins in the first two rounds over 25th seeded Timothy Christian (67-55) and 9th seeded Perth Amboy Tech (55-52). SPHS is following a similar path through the tourney field as South Amboy did in 2014. Can the Tigers duplicate the feat accomplished by the Guvs two years ago? The Tigers will have a much taller order when they take on 8th seeded Spotswood, which boasts the best overall record of any team in the GMC coming into play on Thursday. It will be a clash of top scorers as SP’s Lamont Williams (898 points) takes on Spotswood’s Marlon Hart (1,110 points) and Eric Dadika (1,078 points). South Plainfield has momentum while Spotswood has stumbled a bit in recent weeks with three of its four losses coming since January 29th. The Tigers will also have to contend with the likes of J.T. Vento and Andrew Fuzesi, who can also score in double figures. Prediction: Spotswood wins a close one, 60-56.

#10 J.P. Stevens (13-7) @ #7 Old Bridge (16-6)–These two teams are no strangers to one another as the Hawks traveled to Old Bridge a couple weeks ago for a GMC crossover that was won by the Knights, 72-62. Since falling to 9-5 after a loss to St. Joseph’s on January 28th, Old Bridge has won 7 of 8 with the only loss coming to a hot East Brunswick squad on February 4th (59-53) in EB. Stevens has been looking for another signature win since defeating Woodbridge on December 22nd in North Edison (40-29). JPS has come close with a couple last second losses to fourth seeded Sayreville, a four point loss at Woodbridge, and an overtime loss to Colonia on February 3rd at home. There will be plenty of firepower, especially from the perimeter as the Hawks bring their all time three point shooter, Alex Corrigan and Mike Lionikis to town while Old Bridge has plenty of threats from downtown with Connor Romano, Stephen Strom, Will Osvald, and C.J. Santoro. Stevens is looking to make its first GMCT Elite Eight trip since 2009 while Old Bridge is trying to reach the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2013. Prediction: Old Bridge gets there, but it isn’t easy with a 68-65 win.

#11 Monroe (9-13) @ #6 East Brunswick (14-7)–Both of these teams come into Thursday’s Round of 16 game red hot with EB winning 5 of its last 6 since losing to St. Joseph’s on February 2nd at EBHS while the Falcons have won 7 of 9 since starting the season at 2-11. The Purple Birds are a very young team with a couple sophomores and occasionally a freshman in the starting rotation. Meanwhile, East Brunswick is a much more experienced squad with five seniors in the starting five. The trio of Matt Ross, Addis Ralph, and Mike Vick have led the way for the Bears throughout the season, and especially as of late. However, East Brunswick fares much better in games when more people are involved such as the other two starters Mike Brizuela and Justin Sewnarine as well as reserves such Joe Sampson, Ezra Levitt, and Dante Ralph. So, the key on EB’s side will be the play of Vick, who can make the Bears a more formidable team when he distributes as much as he scores. For instance, on opening night against North Brunswick, Vick only scored 6 points, but handed out 10 assists, and the team had a more balanced attack with Brizuela and Sampson scoring in double figures along with Ross and Addis Ralph. Monroe’s seniors of Eddie Pinto and Kenny Synsyn will need to continue to play well and score in double figures while continuing to get the younger players such as Luke Patel, Matt Hoyt, and Mike Kides involved. Prediction: EB continues to roll with a 65-52 win.

#21 Edison (6-18) @ #5 Woodbridge (17-4)–The Barrons may have been getting ready to face Piscataway on Thursday night before Edison threw a monkey wrench into the works by defeating the Chiefs. Both the Eagles and Chiefs had played several weeks ago in P-Way with the home team winning (45-41). This time, Edison, which has been playing well as of late, and has competed all year, coming up with the 50-47 upset. These two teams played about 10 days ago at WHS with the Barrons coming out on top, 55-44. Woodbridge recently had its 13 game winning streak snapped when it lost to Sayreville last Tuesday at WHS (48-43). The Barrons began the year at 2-3 with two losses to crosstown rival, Colonia and a defeat to J.P. Stevens, but has played very well, and defeated East Brunswick and Sayreville in conference play while recently knocking off a very solid Somerville team the other day. Both teams don’t have a lot of size, but have plenty of athleticism, and players that can make shots, especially from the perimeter. John Zanfordino has been playing very well for the Eagles while Quran Robinson is a player to watch out for Woodbridge. Quassim Glover, Keshaun Henry, and Harry Rutkowski have been consistent contributors for the Barrons while Brandon Radd, Justin Turner, Joe Cudakiewicz, and Alpha Tarawally have played well for EHS. Prediction: Woodbridge will have a tough time, but should beat Edison a third time around, 51-46.

#13 J.F. Kennedy (9-11) @ #4 Sayreville (16-6)–The Bombers haven’t played since last Thursday when it lost to Linden in the 2016 Metro Classic at Kean University while Kennedy has played Monroe (lost 61-55) in a regular a season GMC Crossover last Saturday, and defeated South River (63-47) in the GMCT Play-In Round on Tuesday. Pete Obertan, who was injured in the upset win at Spotswood on January 29th, is back in the lineup and his presence coupled with senior forward Kush Patel, will help the Mustangs counter the length possessed by Sayreville’s man in the middle, Jahsim Floyd as well as from standout guards, Ryan O’Leary and Elijah Clark. Kennedy has played several common opponents and lost to Colonia, Woodbridge, and Monroe this season. Sayreville has gone 4-2 against those three teams in divisional play. The Mustangs have played much better since starting the year at 1-6. JFK has won 8 of its last 13 contests, and that helped it qualify as the 16th seed in the N2 Group 3 state playoffs. One of the keys will be how well point guard, Tamaj Coleman performs in the hostile environment of the Bomb Shelter. He did quite well in the face of a very hostile crowd at The SAC in Spotswood on January 29th, and in much of the second half, the SAC Psychos were quiet. Prediction: Sayreville will get tested, but should come away with a win, 60-47.

#30 New Brunswick (2-18) @ #3 Colonia (14-5)–The Zebras are looking to shock the world with its third straight upset to reach the GMCT Elite Eight, which will be held on their home court this coming Sunday afternoon and evening. New Brunswick has gotten solid play from Pitt bound football standout, Maurice Ffrench as well as senior center, Emmanuel Osei, senior forward, Curtis Revan, and guard, C.J. Hernandez. In the victory over Middlesex on Saturday, the trio of French (21 points), Revan (17 points), and Hernandez (16 points) accounted for 54 of the Zebras 65 points in the victory. New Brunswick won the game at the line and by performing well beyond the arc, especially Hernandez, who sank three treys in the first quarter. In the even more shocking win over North Brunswick, NBHS got a solid game from the tandem of Ffrench and Osei. Don’t be fooled by New Brunswick’s record and their recent success. They are a senior laden team that has taken not only its fair share of lumps this season, but for the past several years. Colonia has handled the Zebras well though in both meetings during league play this year. Chase Barneys, who is now the third all time leading scorer in CHS history and Kolby Chapmann, have shown the way for this relatively younger and inexperienced squad. Both Barneys and Chapmann have the ability to score in bunches and take over games. They did it win in the win at Stevens on. January 27th and again over Lakewood at the Richel Memorial Hoopfest on February 6th. Prediction: Colonia will get more of a fight from a more confident New Brunswick squad, but will hang on for the 53-43 win.

#15 Perth Amboy (8-14) @ #2 South Brunswick (17-3)–Both teams scored big wins on Tuesday. Perth Amboy found a new weapon in its GMCT Preliminary Round win over 18th seeded Piscataway Tech while South Brunswick scored a big victory for the GMC with a non-conference win over Somerset County Power, Ridge of the Skyland Conference. The Panthers of Amboy got a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds from Fres Cabrera while junior Jose Genao turned in a double-double himself with 12 points and 24 boards as well as 6 assists and 4 steals in the 65-51 victory over the Raiders. This was a huge boost for Amboy since a couple players were benched for the contest due to disciplinary reasons. Eric Savage and Mike Ugarte were the heroes in the win over Ridge, which gives the Vikings some much needed momentum going into the GMCT Round of 16 game after losing a tough one at East Brunswick a week ago (81-68). SBHS is looking to return to the GMCT Elite Eight at New Brunswick HS on Sunday, where it lost to Amboy a year ago in a tightly contest battle that came down to the final seconds. South Brunswick has defeated Amboy both times including a 77-37 win at SBHS on February 2nd. Prediction: South Brunswick wins, 67-42.

#16 Bishop Ahr (9-8) @ #1 St. Joseph’s (16-5)–St. Joseph’s returns to action after last playing in the Primetime Shootout on Sunday afternoon against Immaculate Conception of Montclair (lost 51-49). This is also the first time that the Falcons are playing a GMC crossover game this season. All of its previous games have been played either within the GMC Red (12-0) or against non-conference opponents (4-5). Bishop Ahr is also returning to action after a bit of a layoff. The Trojans finished third in the GMC Blue, but finished the season on a strong note with 6 wins in their last 8 games. This is always a great neighborhood rivalry, especially in football, but in recent years, the basketball side of it hasn’t been that competitive. The last time Ahr gave Joes a scare in the GMCT was in the 2008 Tourney when the Trojans led by the likes of Mike Williamson, Kevin Uszenski, Billy Rooney, Derek Figueredo, and Martese Street, took Joes to overtime before losing. Bree Tryee has really picked up his game over the last month. He has just about led the team in scoring in every game during the stretch to take some of the load off Tyus Battle. Ahr is going to have a very difficult time in this contest tonight. Prediction: St. Joseph’s wins, 70-35.

GMC Hoops plans to be at either J.P. Stevens versus Old Bridge, or Edison at Woodbridge for tonight’s GMCT Round of 16. Follow along on Twitter @gmchoops or on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GMCHoops.