vs. 
Late Sunday afternoon, the 2022 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals will have its fourth and final game of the day between top seeded St. Thomas Aquinas and 9th seeded Piscataway. These teams last met in the 2019 GMCT Quarterfinals when 5th seeded Piscataway knocked off 4th seeded Aquinas, then Bishop Ahr (62-55) en route to its last finals appearance, where it lost to St. Joe’s (49-46).
No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (23-1)–Coaching Staff
| Bob Turco | St. Thomas Aquinas Head Coach |
| Matt Gigliello | St. Thomas Aquinas Varsity Assistant Coach |
| Ryan Turco | St. Thomas Aquinas Varsity Assistant/Junior Varsity Coach |
| Chris Young | St. Thomas Aquinas Varsity Assistant/Freshmen Coach |
No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (23-1)–Team Roster
| Player Name | Jersey No. | Position | Height/Weight | Year | High School | College | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrell Pitts | 0 | Guard/Forward | 6'4/190 | Junior | |||
| Adam Silas | 1 | Guard/Forward | 6'3/185 | Senior | |||
| Kamal Lee | 2 | Guard | 6'0/165 | Junior | |||
| Jaquan Harris | 3 | Guard | 6'4/185 | Senior | |||
| Samar Abdullah | 4 | Guard | 6'0/180 | Senior | |||
| Jaden Kelly | 5 | Guard | 6'3/175 | Sophomore | |||
| Sherief Guinyard | 10 | Forward | 6'6/180 | Junior | |||
| Jayden Young | 11 | Guard/Forward | 6'3/170 | Junior | |||
| Jadyn Defense | 12 | Guard | 5'9"/160 | Junior | |||
| Davon Grant | 20 | Guard | 6'1"/210 | Sophomore | |||
| Chris Santner | 21 | Center/Forward | 6'9/200 | Junior | |||
| Phillip Unangast | 22 | Forward | 6'6/185 | Sophomore | |||
| Jalen Pichardo | 23 | Guard/Forward | 6'6/195 | Junior | |||
| Tyler Kadi | 24 | Guard/Forward | 6'1"/185 | Senior |
No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (23-1)–Season Schedule
No. 9 Piscataway (11-9)–Coaching Staff
| Darius Griffin | Piscataway Head Coach |
| Kevin Knols | Piscataway Varsity Assistant |
| Ron Livingston | Piscataway Varsity Assistant Coach |
| Nick McKee | Piscataway Varsity Assistant/Junior Varsity Coach |
| Loroine McKnight | Piscataway Freshmen Coach |
No. 9 Piscataway (11-9)–Team Roster
| Player Name | Jersey No. | Position | Height/Weight | Year | High School | College | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaiden Parks | 1 | Guard | 6'0/170 | Senior | |||
| Jerrick Hargrove | 2 | Forward | 6'4/190 | Senior | |||
| Jonathan Carman | 3 | Small Forward/Power Forward | 6'3/175 | Junior | |||
| Kasir Hart | 5 | Guard/Forward | 6'3/180 | Senior | |||
| Dylan Samuel | 10 | Guard | 5'10/160 | Junior | |||
| Elijah Timberlake | 11 | Guard | 6'0/140 | Junior | |||
| Aaren Austin | 12 | Guard | 6'1/170 | Senior | |||
| Jayden Williams | 13 | Guard | 5'11/165 | Sophomore | |||
| Jaiden Corley | 14 | Guard | 6'0/175 | Senior | |||
| Logan Smith | 20 | Guard | 6'0/165 | Sophomore | |||
| Jalen Thomas | 21 | Center | 6'4/225 | Junior | |||
| Nate Pinheiro | 23 | Forward | 6'2/170 | Sophomore | |||
| Aleksander Sitkowski | 24 | Center | 6'3/200 | Sophomore | |||
| McKensi Brown-Mytil | 30 | Forward | 6'3/175 | Junior |
No. 9 Piscataway (11-9)–Season Schedule
No. 1 St. Thomas (23-1) vs. No. 9 Piscataway (11-9)–Common Opponents
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Timothy Christian |
 J.P. Stevens |
GMC Crossover 45-61 |
Timothy Christian School Gym (Piscataway, NJ) |
 South Amboy |
 Spotswood |
Friends of South Amboy Charity Basketball Games PPD |
South Amboy MS-HS Gym (South Amboy, NJ) |
| St. Thomas Aquinas |
 St. Joseph's |
Friends of South Amboy Charity Basketball Games 64-57 |
South Amboy MS-HS Gym (South Amboy, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
 J.F. Kennedy |
 North Brunswick |
GMC White 41-66 |
J.F. Kennedy HS Gym (Iselin, NJ) |
 Colonia |
 Woodbridge |
GMC White 77-31 |
Colonia HS Gym (Colonia, NJ) |
| St. Thomas Aquinas |
 Edison |
GMC White 77-55 |
St. Thomas Aquinas HS Gym (Edison, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Brunswick |
 Carteret |
GMC White 64-27 |
North Brunswick HS Gym (North Brunswick, NJ) |
| Woodbridge |
J.F. Kennedy |
GMC White 62-48 |
Woodbridge HS Gym (Woodbridge, NJ) |
| Colonia |
St. Thomas Aquinas |
GMC White 52-64 |
Colonia HS Gym (Colonia, NJ) |
 Sayreville |
Edison |
GMC White 51-74 |
Sayreville HS Gym (Parlin, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carteret |
Sayreville |
GMC White 45-78 |
Carteret HS Gym (Carteret, NJ) |
| Woodbridge |
Colonia |
GMC White 38-64 |
Woodbridge HS Gym (Woodbridge, NJ) |
| North Brunswick |
J.F. Kennedy |
GMC White 54-34 |
North Brunswick HS Gym (North Brunswick, NJ) |
| Edison |
St. Thomas Aquinas |
GMC White 37-71 |
Frank Cangelosi Gym @ Edison HS (Edison, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbridge |
North Brunswick |
GMC White 57-38 |
Woodbridge HS Gym (Woodbridge, NJ) |
| St. Thomas Aquinas |
Colonia |
GMC White 68-54 |
St. Thomas Aquinas HS Gym (Edison, NJ) |
| Edison |
Sayreville |
GMC White 59-41 |
Frank Cangelosi Gym @ Edison HS (Edison, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Piscataway |
Edison |
GMC Crossover 49-56 |
Piscataway HS Gym (Piscataway, NJ) |
 Old Bridge |
Sayreville |
GMC Crossover PPD |
Old Bridge HS Gym (Old Bridge, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piscataway |
St. Joseph's |
GMC Red 60-72 |
Piscataway HS Gym (Piscataway, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Bridge |
 Monroe |
GMC Red 50-56 |
Old Bridge HS Gym (Old Bridge, NJ) |
 East Brunswick |
J.P. Stevens |
GMC Red 54-52 |
J.P. Stevens HS Gym (Edison, NJ) |
 South Brunswick |
 Perth Amboy |
GMC Red 77-49 |
South Brunswick HS Gym (Monmouth Junction, NJ) |
| St. Joseph's |
Piscataway |
GMC Red 90-77 |
Vincent Maglio Gymnasium @ St. Joseph’s HS (Metuchen, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colonia |
Piscataway |
GMC Crossover 71-48 |
Colonia HS Gym (Colonia, NJ) |
| J.P. Stevens |
 Metuchen |
GMC Crossover 52-41 |
J.P. Stevens HS Gym (Edison, NJ) |
No. 1 St. Thomas (23-1) vs. No. 9 Piscataway (15-7)–Recent History
Since Darius Griffin has taken over the Piscataway program, the Chiefs and Trojans have played each other twice including most recently in the 2019 GMCT Quarterfinals. The two teams split both games:
- February 17, 2019–GMCT Quarterfinals–#5 Piscataway 62–#4 St. Thomas Aquinas 55
- January 30, 2017–Regular Season–St. Thomas Aquinas (then Bishop Ahr) 72–Piscataway 64
Key Players
St. Thomas Aquinas
- Adam Silas: 6’3″ Sr. G/F with 754 career points, and averaging 19.2 ppg this season.
- Jaquan Harris: 6’4″ Sr. G/F with 561 career points, and scored 11 points in his only game versus Sayreville this year on February 8th.
- Terrell Pitts: 6’4″ Jr. G/F with 443 career points, and averaging 13.9 ppg this season.
- Jalen Pichardo: 6’6″ Jr. G/F with 517 career points, and averaging 10.2 ppg this season.
- Kamal Lee: 6’0″ Jr. G with 211 career points, and averaging 8.4 ppg this season.
- Sherief Guinyard: 6’6″ Jr. F with 449 career points, and averaging 6.0 ppg this season.
- Jaden Kelly: 6’3″ So. G with 222 career points, and averaging 9.5 ppg this season.
- Samar Abdullah: 6’0″ Sr. G with 527 career points, and averaging 8.0 ppg this season.
- Chris Santner: 6’9″ Sr. F with 78 career points, and averaging 5.0 ppg this season.
Piscataway
- Jalen Thomas: 6’4″ Jr. C with 335 career points, and averaging 14.0 ppg this season
- Jonathan Carman: 6’3″ Jr. F with 174 career points, and averaging 14.2 ppg this season.
- Jaiden Corley: 6’0″ Sr. G with 208 career points, and averaging 13.9 ppg this season
- Logan Smith: 6’0″ So. G with 100 career points, and averaging 6.3 ppg this season.
- Aaren Austin: 6’1″ Sr. G with 243 career points, and averaging 7.1 ppg this season.
- Kasir Hart: 6’3″ Sr. G/F with 113 career points, and averaging 5.3 ppg this season.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS vs. PISCATAWAY DID YOU KNOW?
Aquinas head coach Bob Turco and Piscatway head coach, Darius Griffin are no strangers to each other. Prior to Griffin becoming an assistant coach to Antoine Allen at Piscataway in 2012-13, he had served as an assistant coach to Turco when he took over at Notre Dame.
Turco has led two different schools to GMCT Finals: Monroe (2010) and St. Thomas Aquinas (2020). He won his first GMCT crown with Aquinas in 2020. Turco, the older brother of former St. Joseph’s and Middlesex County College, and current Kean head coach, Dave Turco, led Monroe to three GMCT Final Fours: 2006, 2009, and 2010.
Griffin will be leading P-Way to its fourth GMCT Elite Eight appearance since taking over the program in 2016-17. He has led the Chiefs to one GMCT Finals appearance, which was in 2019 where they lost to St. Joseph’s. Piscataway had back to back North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 semifinal appearances under Griffin as well in 2018 and 2019.
Prediction:
The Chiefs like many of the teams in the Greater Middlesex Conference will have their work cut out for them against top ranked Aquinas, which may have Jaquan Harris return before this year’s GMCT is over. Regardless, the Trojans beat all three common opponents the two schools have played: Colonia, Edison, and St. Joseph’s.
In addition, Aquinas beat Edison at Cangelosi Gymnasium on February 1st (71-37) and Colonia on February 3rd (68-54) while the Chiefs recently lost at Colonia 71-48 on February 11th. Piscataway has its share of athleticism and talent, and won’t back down, but Aquinas has all of that in bunches.
One match-up that will be worth watching will be how sophomore guard Logan Smith handles Aquinas’ pressure. Smith has the ability to make plays, score, get opposing defenders into foul trouble, and get to the foul line.
Final Score: St. Thomas Aquinas 80–Piscataway 65