Ross Gets POTW, P-Way Tech Selected for TOTW, and Sayreville and South Amboy Choice for GOTW
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–The holidays are here and the first week of the 2015-16 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball season is in the books. Now, it is time to select the weekly honors for the opening week. The first week of action saw some surprises with a few teams and players that have been below the radar coming up with solid efforts. Let’s take a look at our choices for the GMC Hoops Week One Honors:
It has been a year, almost to the day overdue, but East Brunswick’s Matt Ross earned Player of the Week honors for his efforts in the season opener against North Brunswick and an even better performance in the victory over Perth Amboy several nights later. The choice for GMC Profile, or the GMC Hoops Team of the Week honor is Piscataway Tech for its 3-0 start to the season. Finally, for Game of the Week, two Raritan Bay Schools, Sayreville and South Amboy were selected for the down to the wire classic they played against each other in the nightcap of the Friends of South Amboy Showcase on the second day of the season.
GMC Hoops Week One Player of the Week–Matt Ross of East Brunswick
Last year, Matt Ross, started off his junior campaign with some monster performances in the season’s first week. However, GMC Hoops selected Bree Tyree of St. Joseph’s for his performance including a highlight reel dunk against South Brunswick on opening night. This season, Ross left no room for doubt with a game high 20 point performance in a 63-44 opening night win over North Brunswick at Churchill Middle School, and then a 29 point effort in the win over Perth Amboy on December 22nd in Amboy. Ross also had some success on the academic front by recently being accepted to Urinsus College of Pennsylvania and from the Centennial Conference.
In the win over North Brunswick, Ross led four different EB players in double figures. Ross finished with 8 field goals and four foul shots. Against Perth Amboy, he had 12 field goals and five foul shots. So although he hadn’t made a three in either game, he still managed to average 24.5 points per game on 20 field goals on 9 free throws. In 2014-15, Ross helped guide EB to its fourth straight GMCT Final Four while averaging 17.2 points per game on 92 field goals, 54 threes, and 67 free throws in 24 games according to stats compiled at nj.com. With Ross as well as Addis Ralph and Mike Vick returning for EB this season, expectations are high again for the Bears.
GMC Hoops Week One Profile–Piscataway Tech Raiders
The GMC Gold entered the 2015-16 season with a lot of changes. No school underwent more transition this past off-season, or in the past several years for that matter than Piscataway Tech. Not only did the Raiders have a new coach for the fourth time in the past three seasons, but they also had lost 80 percent of its starting five from a season ago. Gone to graduation were the likes of Aziz Austin, Kyle Wider, and Frank Howard while Letrell West transferred to St. Joseph’s. Lenny Reyes, who previously coached at Metuchen and South Amboy, took the helm at P-Way Tech after Mike Gordon stepped down in the off-season.
Despite those changes, the Raiders showed some potential in a pre-season scrimmage at Carteret. Trailing by six at 38-32 with under four minutes left in the fourth, the Raiders rallied with a 9-3 run including a three by Ali Austin, several free throws by German Pimentel, and then a jumper from the left elbow on a follow by Khalil Smith at the buzzer to end the scrimmage in a 41-41 tie. Building on the momentum from that superb finish to their final exhibition of the season, the Raiders won their first three games of the season including an upset win over GMC Hoops pre-season favorite to win the Gold Division, East Brunswick Tech on opening day.
The only returning starter from last season was Ali Austin. However, with the likes of Pimentel, a standout on the gridiron for New Brunswick this past fall, Branden Barnes, Romelo Spencer, and Khalil Smith all returning from either a reserve role or coming up from JV last season, the Raiders do have some solid pieces to still remain a factor in the GMC Gold. Austin will be the key though. In the 60-50 win over EB Tech on opening day, Austin took command with a solid performance as he collected a share of game high with 18 points along with 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Pimentel chipped in with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds while Spencer added 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.
GMC Hoops Week One Game of the Week–Sayreville @ South Amboy–December 19, 2016–Friends of South Amboy Showcase
Prior to the start of the season, GMC Hoops had learned that junior standout, Ryan O’Leary had transferred from South Amboy to Sayreville. His transfer set the stage for a great nightcap to the fourth annual Friends of South Amboy Benefit Showcase being held at South Amboy High School. For the first time since the showcase began, Cardinal McCarrick and South Amboy were not playing each other after McCarrick closed up for good in June. Replacing the Eagles in the main event was Sayreville, a team that was looking to contend in the GMC White Division.
Despite losing O’Leary, the South Amboy Guvs, and their second year head coach, John Zammitt, were not only still optimistic about the season, but also confident of making a game of it against the bigger school Bombers, which rolled in their season opener versus Edison at the Bomb Shelter some 24 hours earlier. South Amboy also won on opening night, but only by three against a South River team that was only returning three players with varsity experience from last year, and had three freshmen in its starting lineup. Prior to the game, Coach Zammitt’s felt good about his team’s chances and insisted that the game would not only be much closer than people though, but also his Guvs were going to be in it until the very end.
Those thoughts would be prophetic as South Amboy took it to the Bombers, who were ranked 9th in the GMC Hoops Pre-Season Top Ten. One key was the Guvs defensive approach as they limited junior big man, Jahsim Floyd to only three points on the night. Senior Nick Reagan battled Floyd throughout before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter. O’Leary would step up though for the Bombers against his old mates by scoring a game high 32 points. He also got some help from Henderson Mautes, who sank a couple first half threes and Zach Alessi, who made some big plays down the stretch. However, it was O’Leary, who became the hero. After South Amboy committed a turnover late in the game, Sayreville set up the last play for O’Leary, who drove in for the game winning basket in a 59-57 victory.