vs. 
On Sunday afternoon, the 2022 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals will have its second game of the day between 2nd seeded St. Joseph’s and 7th seeded South Plainfield. This is the first time these two teams have met in the GMCT since 2005. The Falcons won the GMC Red while South Plainfield won the GMC Blue. Let’s take a closer look at the two teams.
No. 2 St. Joseph’s (18-5)–Coaching Staff
| Jan Cocozziello | St. Joseph’s Head Coach |
| Joe Norton | St. Joseph’s Varsity Assistant/JV Head Coach |
| Coach Prim | St. Joseph’s Freshmen Coach |
No. 2 St. Joseph’s (18-5)–Team Roster
| Player Name | Jersey No. | Position | Height/Weight | Year | High School | College | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kwame Herod | 0 | Guard | 5'10/170 | Senior | |||
| Dante DuPiche | 1 | Guard | 5'11"/165 | Sophomore | |||
| Darren Tuck | 2 | Guard/Forward | 6'3/180 | Senior | |||
| Amari Campbell | 3 | Guard | 6'2/175 | Senior | |||
| Daniel Bellavia | 4 | Forward | 6'2/200 | Junior | |||
| Owen Griffin | 5 | Guard/Forward | 6'4/175 | Sophomore | |||
| Khalid Brown | 10 | Forward | 6'3/180 | Junior | |||
| Tim Sullivan | 11 | Guard | 5'11"/165 | Junior | |||
| Dante Regan | 12 | Guard | 6'0/160 | Freshman | |||
| Anthony Williams | 13 | Guard | 6'0/170 | Junior | |||
| Davey Caruso | 14 | Guard | 5'10/150 | Sophomore | |||
| Ryan Yarnell | 15 | Guard | 5'11"/165 | Junior | |||
| Ethan Simmon | 20 | Guard/Forward | 6'3/180 | Senior | |||
| Alijah Hall | 23 | Forward | 6'3/175 | Junior | |||
| Josh Ingram | 24 | Guard | 6'0/170 | Junior | |||
| Christian Magliacano | 25 | Forward | 6'2/200 | Sophomore | |||
| Scott Schmitt | 35 | Center | 6'10"/220 | Junior |
No. 2 St. Joseph’s (18-5)–Season Schedule
No. 7 South. Plainfield (19-4)–Coaching Staff
| John Greco | South Plainfield Head Coach |
| Matt Connell | SPHS Varsity Assistant |
| Matt Fabino | South Plainfield Varsity Assistant/JV Coach |
No. 7 South Plainfield (19-4)–Team Roster
| Player Name | Jersey No. | Position | Height/Weight | Year | High School | College | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Nigro | Guard | 6'0"/140 | Sophomore | ||||
| Jalen Russell | 1 | Guard | 6'2/175 | Senior | |||
| Tareak Williams | 2 | Guard | 5'11"/165 | Junior | |||
| Gregorio Zambrana | 4 | Guard | 5'11/175 | Senior | |||
| Jaden Lloyd | 5/23 | Forward | 5'11"/160 | Junior | |||
| Zayd Abdul-Hakim | 10 | Guard | 5'7"/130 | Junior | |||
| Joseph Oduro | 11 | Forward | 6'0/170 | Senior | |||
| Anthony Nigro | 12 | Forward | 6'2/175 | Senior | |||
| Steven Moench | 13 | Forward/Center | 6'1"/170 | Junior | |||
| Jack Massett | 14 | Forward | 6'2"/180 | Senior | |||
| Ikenna Ibeku | 15 | Forward | 6'4/175 | Sophomore | |||
| Brandon Dean | 20 | Guard | 5'11/160 | Junior | |||
| Diego Paredes | 22 | Guard | 5'10"/165 | Senior | |||
| Anthony DeLisa | 23 | Forward | 6'0"/175 | Sophomore | |||
| Michael Mendez | 24 | Guard | 5'8"/140 | Junior | |||
| Al Fuschetti | 32 | Guard | 6'0"/167 | Junior | |||
| Matt Kuzma | 35 | Forward | 6'4"/200 | Junior |
No. 7 South Plainfield (19-4)–Season Schedule
No. 2 St. Joseph’s (18-5) vs. No. 7 South Plainfield (19-4)–Common Opponents
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
 J.P. Stevens |
 Perth Amboy |
GMC Red 60-30 |
J.P. Stevens HS Gym (Edison, NJ) |
 South Brunswick |
St. Joseph's |
GMC Red 49-66 |
South Brunswick HS Gym (Monmouth Junction, NJ) |
 Old Bridge |
 New Brunswick |
GMC Red 61-43 |
Old Bridge HS Gym (Old Bridge, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Brunswick |
Old Bridge |
GMC Red 37-62 |
New Brunswick HS Gym (New Brunswick, NJ) |
 Piscataway |
 East Brunswick |
GMC Red 77-71 |
East Brunswick HS Gym (East Brunswick, NJ) |
| Perth Amboy |
J.P. Stevens |
GMC Red 37-65 |
Perth Amboy HS Gym (Perth Amboy, NJ) |
| St. Joseph's |
South Brunswick |
GMC Red 74-56 |
South Brunswick HS Gym (Monmouth Junction, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.P. Stevens |
New Brunswick |
GMC Red 51-35 |
J.P. Stevens HS Gym (Edison, NJ) |
| East Brunswick |
St. Joseph's |
GMC Red 45-72 |
East Brunswick HS Gym (East Brunswick, NJ) |
 Monroe |
Piscataway |
GMC Red 57-55 |
Piscataway HS Gym (Piscataway, NJ) |
| Old Bridge |
South Brunswick |
GMC Red 55-76 |
Old Bridge HS Gym (Old Bridge, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Brunswick |
J.P. Stevens |
GMC Red 55-42 |
New Brunswick HS Gym (New Brunswick, NJ) |
| South Brunswick |
Old Bridge |
GMC Red 67-45 |
South Brunswick HS Gym (Monmouth Junction, NJ) |
| Piscataway |
Monroe |
GMC Red 47-53 |
Piscataway HS Gym (Piscataway, NJ) |
| St. Joseph's |
East Brunswick |
GMC Red 88-55 |
Vincent Maglio Gymnasium @ St. Joseph’s HS (Metuchen, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Brunswick |
South Plainfield |
GMC Crossover 60-70 |
East Brunswick HS Gym (East Brunswick, NJ) |
| Perth Amboy |
 North Brunswick |
GMC Crossover 68-67 |
Perth Amboy HS Gym (Perth Amboy, NJ) |
| Matchup | Time/Score | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Brunswick |
South Plainfield |
GMC Crossover 60-46 |
South Brunswick HS Gym (Monmouth Junction, NJ) |
| J.P. Stevens |
 Metuchen |
GMC Crossover PPD |
J.P. Stevens HS Gym (Edison, NJ) |
Key Players
St. Joseph’s
- Ethan Simmon: 6’3″ Sr. G with 721 career points, and averaging 15.3 ppg this season.
- Josh Ingram: 6’0″ Jr. G with 444 career points, and averaging 15.4 ppg this season.
- Darren Tuck: 6’3″ Sr. G with 557 career points, and averaging 9.9 ppg this season.
- Amari Campbell: 6’2″ Sr. G with 503 career points, and averaging 9.5 ppg this season.
- Anthony Williams: 6’3″ Sr. G with 252 career points, and averaging 7.2 ppg this season.
South Plainfield
- Brandon Dean: 5’11” Jr. G with 687 career points, and averaging 23.1 ppg this season
- Anthony Nigro: 6’2″ Sr. F with 320 career points, and averaging 11.6 ppg this season
- Tareak Williams: 5’11” Jr. G with 201 career points, and averaging 9.6 ppg this season.
- Joe Oduro: 6’0″ Sr. F with 192 career points, and averaging 6.5 ppg this season.
- Jalen Russell: 6’0″ Sr. G with 80 career points, and averaging 3.5 ppg this season.
ST. JOSEPH’S vs. SOUTH PLAINFIELD DID YOU KNOW?
The last time St. Joseph’s and South Plainfield played each other in the GMCT was in the 2005 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament Championship Game, which before the 2013 GMCT Final between St. Joe’s and East Brunswick, was the greatest final in the GMC Hoops era.
The Falcons and Tigers also played each other the year before in the 2004 GMCT Semifinals, which South Plainfield also won. Prior to that, South Plainfield had not beaten St. Joseph’s since the Greater Middlesex Conference was formed in 1985-86.
The two teams appeared to be on another collision course in the 2007 GMCT, which was the last time SPHS reached the GMCT Quarterfinals, but the second seeded Falcons lost in the first round to 15th seeded Old Bridge (41-39) at Maglio Gymnasium.
Prediction:
St. Joseph’s has scored 85 points or more in three its seven games covered by GMC Hoops this year. The Falcons are not a very big team. As a matter of fact, their starting five is smaller than it was a year ago. However, they are still bigger than South Plainfield, and can push the ball up and down the floor, which exerts a lot of pressure on opposing teams.
However, South Plainfield is not afraid to get out and run, and play with the big boys of the GMC Red and White Divisions. Entering this contest, the Tigers are 4-2 in GMC Crossovers this year with wins over the likes of East Brunswick and North Brunswick, and gave South Brunswick a tough fight before losing 60-46 on January 4th in Monmouth Junction. SPHS also beat Bridgewater-Raritan without Dean, and a very good South River team 2 of 3 times.
Brandon Dean is perhaps the most prolific scorer in a season at South Plainfield since the advent of the three point shot for the 1987-88 season. If you look at past history, it is very rare to see a South Plainfield player score 30 points or more in a game. Here are some examples:
- Joe Thompson–39 points–vs. St. Joseph’s–January 12, 1986
- Mike Thompson–35 points–vs. St. Peter’s–February 7, 1997
- Darren Smith–35 points vs. Woodbridge–February 10, 2005
- Darren Smith–31 points vs. St. Joseph’s–GMCT Championship–February 25, 2005
- Lamont Williams–55 points vs. Koinonia Academy–February 22, 2016
This season, Dean, who is averaging 23.1 ppg, has scored 30 points or more four times this season including a career high 37 in a 78-64 victory at Spotswood on February 9th. Dean has also scored 29 points twice this season. Not to be outdone are Ethan Simmon and Josh Ingram, who carried St. Joseph’s during the early season when the team was both impacted by COVID, and didn’t have Darren Tuck eligible.
South Plainfield will have to avoid giving up a huge quarter to St. Joseph’s like Piscataway did against the Falcons at Maglio Gymnasium on January 25th. Dean will need to attack the basket, and get to the line like he did in the Tigers season opener against South River to lengthen the game, and get some of the Falcons in foul trouble like P-Way’s Logan Smith did in that January 25th meeting in Metuchen.
Final Score: St. Joseph’s 88–South Plainfield 75