GMC Hoops Preview–#2 St. Joseph’s vs. #1 Roselle Catholic–Tournament of Champions–Championship–March 19, 2013

Finale To 2013 Boys Hoops Season Should Be A Dandy

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–Even though the usual finalists such as St. Anthony’s or St. Patrick’s are not in this year’s final, it still should be quite a game when top seeded Roselle Catholic faces off against second seeded St. Joseph’s in the Championship Game of the 2013 Tournament of Champions at Sun National Bank Center in Trenton on Tuesday night.

The Falcons made history on Friday night when it defeated third seeded Atlantic City in the T of C semifinals at Monmouth University.  Not only did St. Joseph’s become the first GMC team to win a game in the T of C since Piscataway defeated Middle Township in the opening round of the 1994 T of C at Rutgers, but it also became the  first school from the conference to play in the final.  St. Joe’s is also making its second straight appearance in the T of C, which no GMC team has ever done before either.

Roselle Catholic is also making its first appearance in the T of C final.  The Lions had not won a state title since the 1962-63 season.  RCHS defeated St. Anthony’s in the Non-Public B State Championship, and then defeated fifth seeded Newark Tech in its semifinal matchup.  The Lions are the third team from the Union County Conference to play in the T of C final.  The last two seasons, Plainfield had represented the conference in the championship only to lose to St. Anthony’s.  The Cardinals defeated St. Joe’s in last year’s semifinal (72-48) en route to that finals berth.

Both teams have had common opponents this season in East Brunswick and  the Patrick School.  St. Joe’s played EB three times, and lost the first two meetings before edging the Bears in a double overtime thriller of a GMCT final (66-63).  The Falcons also played the Patrick School in the finale of the Butch Kowal Scholarship Games at Rahway High School back in the first Saturday of February, and lost 72-65, but they didn’t have the services of big man Karl Towns for that one.  Towns also fouled out in the first overtime against EB in the GMCT Championship.  Those two games did a lot for St. Joe’s in the sense that the Falcons found out a lot about themselves, and learned that they could still be somewhat successful without Towns on the floor.  The two contests did a lot in bringing the team together.

Roselle Catholic played and defeated the Patrick School three times this season including the most recent encounter in the Non-Public B South sectional championship at Jackson Liberty some two weeks ago.  The Lions also played East Brunswick in a revamped schedule at the Primetime Shootout back during the second weekend of February.  RC edged EB in a very competitive game.  Both teams also played in tough out of state holiday tournaments, and out of state foes.  St. Joe’s competed in the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational were it defeated previously unbeaten Broughton of Raleigh, North Carolina, and then lost to DeSoto of Texas in the final.  Roselle Catholic played in the Jameer Nelson Classic where it defeated LaSalle College of Philadelphia and Friends Central.  St. Joe’s played in the Nelson Classic tourney last year.  

The Lions also played Montverde Academy out of Florida, and coached by former St. Patrick’s head coach, Kevin Boyle in the Hoops for Troops showcase at Roselle Catholic at the very beginning of 2013.  The Falcons have also played tough foes including St. Augustine Prep, Paul VI, St. Peter’s Prep twice, and Phelps School of Pennsylvania.  Both teams feature two solid big men in their frontcourt.  One known to put up big numbers offensively while the other plays great defense and rebounds.  For St. Joe’s it is the combination of Karl Towns and James Ziemba while Roselle Catholic has the tandem of Tyler Roberson and Chris Silva.  Towns is averaging 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks per game for the Falcons while Ziemba has piled up big numbers on the boards along with providing great hustle and defense.  Roberson leads Roselle Catholic with 17 points and 11 rebounds per game while Silva chips in with solid shot blocking and rebounding.

Each team has two dynamic guards with St. Joe’s having 1,000 point scorers Wade Baldwin (16.3 ppg) and Marques Townes (14.4 ppg) while Roselle Catholic has the duo of Hakim Saintil (14.2 ppg), and Trenton Catholic transfer, Malachi Richardson (15 ppg).  Both teams also have solid supporting casts with the Falcons having starting point guard Jimbo Long, who along with  Ziemba have won over 100 games in their four years on the varsity roster along with reserves Raven Owen, Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Brunson, and Sean Finan.  Roselle Catholic’s supporting cast consists of freshman starting guard, Asante Gist and reserves Matt Bullock, Kory Highsmith, and Rob Lewis.  Both teams are quite comfortable in both the half court, and in transition.  One key will be which team is able to dictate tempo.

Another key will be which team’s Big Three will be more effective.  Will it be St. Joe’s trio of Towns, Baldwin, and Townes, or will it be Roselle Catholic’s triumvirate of Roberson, Saintil, and Richardson.   Which supporting cast player will make his impact felt?  In the games on Friday, James Ziemba made a couple key hustle plays early in the fourth quarter to help the Falcons hang on to a tenuous lead, and then pull away from Atlantic City while Kory Highsmith sank three treys in the Lions huge second quarter to put away Newark Tech.  Can both teams stay out of foul trouble?  If not, which team will be able to manage it the best.  Finally, which team will be able to take care of the basketball for the team that does will likely be able to dictate tempo, and have an upper hand.