2022 GMCT Semifinals–#2 St. Joseph’s vs. #3 Colonia

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On Tuesday afternoon, the 2022 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball Tournament Semifinals will commence with its first game of the day between 2nd seeded St. Joseph’s and 3rd seeded Colonia. The two teams have met 7 times since 2014 including a meeting in last year’s Karl Anthony Towns-Jay Williams Pod Semifinals. Let’s take a closer look at the two teams.

No. 2 St. Joseph’s (19-5)–Coaching Staff

[mstw-cs-table staff=2021-22-st-josephs-coaches]

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No. 2 St. Joseph’s (19-5)–Team Roster

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No. 2 St. Joseph’s (19-5)–Season Schedule

[mstw_team_schedule team=st-josephs league=greater-middlesex-conference-red-division,greater-middlesex-conference,non-conference season=2021-22]

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No. 3 Colonia Patriots (20-3)–Coaching Staff

[mstw-cs-table staff=2021-22-colonia-coaches]

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No. 3 Colonia Patriots (20-3)–Team Roster

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No. 3 Colonia Patriots (20-3)–Season Schedule

[mstw_team_schedule team=colonia league=greater-middlesex-conference-white-division,greater-middlesex-conference,non-conference season=2021-22]

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No. 2 St. Joseph’s (19-5) vs. No. 3 Colonia (20-3)–Common Opponents

[mstw_league_schedule_gallery team=st. joseph’s league=greater-middlesex-conference season=2021-22 first_dtg=’2021-12-18′ last_dtg=’2021-12-19′]

[mstw_league_schedule_gallery team=st. joseph’s league=greater-middlesex-conference-red-division season=2021-22 first_dtg=’2022-01-24′ last_dtg=’2022-01-26′]

[mstw_league_schedule_gallery team=colonia league=greater-middlesex-conference-white-division season=2021-22 first_dtg=’2022-01-11′ last_dtg=’2022-01-12′]

[mstw_league_schedule_gallery team=colonia league=greater-middlesex-conference-red-division season=2021-22 first_dtg=’2022-02-03′ last_dtg=’2022-02-04′]

[mstw_league_schedule_gallery team=colonia league=greater-middlesex-conference season=2021-22 first_dtg=’2021-02-11′ last_dtg=’2021-02-12′]

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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.

Colonia

• Saivon Pressley: 5’10” Sr. G with 1,295 career points, and averaging 19.0 ppg this season.
• Billy Anderson: 6’7″ Sr. F with 313 career points, and averaging 13.2 ppg this season.
• Noah Taylor: 6’5″ Jr. F
• Jaeden Jones: 5’10” So. G
• Demond Nelson: 6’3″ Sr. G
• Mike Howell: 6’6″ Sr. F
• Matt Scherb: 5’11” Sr. G

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ST. JOSEPH’S vs. COLONIA—RECENT HISTORY

Since the 2013-14 season, Colonia’s last season in the GMC Red, the Patriots and Falcons have met each other 7 times coming into tonight’s GMCT Semifinal contest.  Five of those last seven meetings have been in GMC post-season play including four times in the GMCT.  All four meetings have either been in the GMCT Semifinal (2014 2019) or the GMCT Championship (2015 and 2018).  Last year, the two teams met in the Karl Anthony Towns-Jay Williams Pod Semifinals.  St. Joseph’s has won 5 of the 7 meetings including three in the 2013-14 season.

• March 3, 2021—#2 Colonia 75—St. Joseph’s 64—Karl Anthony Towns-Jay Williams Pod Semifinals
• February 20, 2019—#3 St. Joseph’s 59—#2 Colonia 56—GMCT Semifinals
• February 22, 2018—#1 St. Joseph’s 46—#7 Colonia 43—GMCT Championship
• February 26, 2015—#2 Colonia 54—#1 St. Joseph’s 38—GMCT Championship
• February 25, 2014—#1 St. Joseph’s 3—#5 Colonia 49—GMCT Semifinals
• February 11, 2014—St. Joseph’s 78—Colonia 56—Regular Season Game at Maglio Gymnasium
• January 16, 2014—St. Joseph’s 63—Colonia 38—Regular Season Game at Colonia

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ST. JOSEPH’S vs. COLONIA DID YOU KNOW?

Colonia senior guard, Demond Nelson previously played at St. Joseph’s.  Nelson is averaging 4.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and just under a steal per game in 14 games played for the Patriots.  His season high so far this season is 11 points in a 79-50 victory over Sayreville on January 25, 2022 in Colonia.  He had a season high 6 rebounds in his debut at Carteret on January 18th.

Last year, Maurice Johnson played for Colonia High School after playing at St. Joseph’s his first three years, and helped guide the Patriots to the de-facto Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball title when they defeated both the Falcons and the top seeded St. Thomas Aquinas Trojans to win the Karl Anthony Towns-Jay Williams Pod.  Johnson averaged 3.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and just under a steal per game for the Patriots last season.

A famous player from years past that played at both schools is current Woodbridge High School girls basketball coach, Bobby Timinski.  After playing his first two seasons under the late Bill Kuchar at St. Joseph’s, Timinski transferred to Colonia for his junior year in 1988-89, and on opening night, he immediately made an impact with 44 points in a GMC Blue victory over Carteret.  He would eventually lead the Pats to the 1990 GMCT Elite Eight and Central Jersey Group 2 final en route to finishing with 1,112 points to current rank 7th on Colonia’s all time scoring list.

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Prediction:

Both teams have played Linden, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Piscataway.  St. Joseph’s won by a bigger margin versus Linden (69-51) than Colonia did (33-30).  Colonia defeated Piscataway (71-48) by a larger margin, and held the Chiefs to fewer points.  The Patriots also only lost to Aquinas by 12 and 14 in the two meetings with the second game in North Edison against a Trojans team at full strength.  

Aquinas and Joes played on opening weekend of the season in the Friends of South Amboy showcase on December 18th when both teams were not at full strength due to either injury, COVID, or players having to wait 30 days due to transfer rules.  The Trojans won the contest, 63-56, but the Falcons actually led at one point in the third quarter before the Trojans took control thanks to Adam Silas.

Colonia doesn’t have as much depth or size, but they still have plenty of height with both Anderson, Noah Taylor, and Mike Howell.  St. Joseph’s is a bit smaller, and is smaller than a year ago with the graduation of Miles Whye (Phelps School), but the Falcons are very athletic and long with the likes of Tuck, Simmon, Campbell, Ingram, and Williams.

The key will be which team will be able to establish their tempo and dictate the pace of the game, and also which team will be able to execute in the halfcourt.  The team that executes best in the half court, and can consistently knock down the perimeter shot, will win.

Final Score: Colonia 65—St. Joseph’s 64