Chiefs Standout Caps Big Year By Joining Ravens of Northeast 10
Antonio Chandler of Piscataway shown here soaring for a putback dunk against New Brunswick in the 2019 GMCT Semifinals, recently announced his commitment to attend NCAA Division II Franklin Pierce University of New Hampshire and the Northeast-10.
PISCATAWAY, NJ—Antonio Chandler was one of the key ingredients to lead the Piscataway Chiefs back to the GMCT finals for the first time in eight years. Although P-Way would come up short to St. Joseph’s, and again in the North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 Semifinals to Elizabeth, the Chiefs have returned to prominence in the GMC.
Over the past few days, GMC Hoops learned that Chandler, who was also named the 2019 GMC Hoops Dunker of the Year, announced that he has committed to attend Franklin Pierce University of New Hampshire and the Northeast 10 Conference. Chandler was named to the All GMC Team as well as the All GMCT Team this past season.
This past season, Chandler played in all 29 games for Piscataway, which went 18-11 overall and 9-5 in the GMC Red. He connected on 124 field goals, 42 three pointers, and 64 free throws for a total of 463 points, or an average of 17.8 points per game. Playing only two years at P-Way, Chandler also turned in a junior year where he played in 27 games, made 91 field goals, 39 threes, and 51 foul shots for a total of 350 points according to NJ.com.
Over his two year career at the varsity level with the Chiefs, Chandler played in 55 games, made 215 field goals, 81 threes, and 115 free throws for a total of 813 points. Of those 55 contests, Chandler scored in double figures in 44 of those games including 15 games where he scored at least 20 points. Chandler notched a career high of 31 points during his junior year at East Brunswick in a 66-53 victory on February 3, 2018.
P-Way’s Antonio Chandler pulls up for a jumper in the first half against Watchung Hills in the North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 Quarterfinals on February 28th. Chandler is the latest in a series of GMC standouts to play college hoops in the Northeast-10.
Prior to his two years playing varsity basketball at Piscataway High School, Chandler starred on a freshman team with Tyree Barba-Bey, which made it to the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tourney Final Four, but lost in the semifinals before defeating Old Bridge in the third place consolation, 69-49. The following year, Chandler was one of the key components to a JV Chiefs squad that pulled away from J.P. Stevens (55-41) in the semifinals, and knocked off top seeded St. Joseph’s in the Championship (77-71).
Chandler is the first player in several years to play college hoops at Franklin Pierce. South Plainfield native and former Piscataway Tech standout, Jordan Lackey played at the school from 2014 to 2018. Lackey played in 83 games including 49 starts for the Ravens during that time. He played an average of 19.3 minutes per game over his four years, and made 255 of 507 shots or just over 50 percent from the floor. Lackey also connected on 49 of 145 attempts from three (33.8%) and 169 of 228 attempts from the charity stripe (74.1%).
Lackey finished with a total of 728 points at Franklin Pierce, or an average of almost 9 points per game. During his final two years with the Ravens, Lackey averaged almost 12 points per contest. Franklin Pierce was 29-25 over those final two seasons including a 21-21 mark in Northeast-10 play. The Ravens were 60-50 overall including a 43-41 record in conference competition. The last time Franklin Pierce was in the NCAA D2 Tourney was in the 2013-14 season after winning the East Region and reaching the NCAA D2 Elite Eight in 2012-13.
Lackey is not the only former GMC player to play hoops in the Northeast-10. Others include: Branislav Vujadinovic of St. Joseph’s (Assumption), Dillon Salva of Bishop Ahr and North Brunswick (Merrimack), Jermaine Clark of Perth Amboy (St. Rose), Jeff Adkins Jr. of Piscataway (New Haven), Corey Boland of Wardlaw-Hartridge (Southern New Hampshire), Danny Brix and A.J. Rudowitz of Monroe, Nick Smith of Colonia, and Vince Rosario of Cardinal McCarrick (Stonehill), and Kyle Peason of Woodbridge (Pace). Congratulations Antonio on getting to the next level, and best of luck moving forward.