OLD BRIDGE, NJ–On Wednesday afternoon, GMC Hoops traveled down Route 9 South over to County Road 516 East into Matawan to Old Bridge High School to see the Knights in action against the Blue Tide of Harrison. Even though the site was late getting out of the house, it still managed to not miss the opening tip as the scrimmage got off to a late start. The site saw four periods of action before heading out to another engagement, a college hoops game between NJIT and St. Peter’s.
For starters, the Knights have a new addition to the squad that is a familiar face in GMC basketball circles. Rob Olivieri, who had spent the previous three years at Cardinal McCarrick, transferred over to Old Bridge. Olivieri, the younger brother of McCarrick standout, Kevin Olivieri, will be a helpful addition to this squad, which does have some good talent. Speaking of that, the Knights have some good shooters with the likes of Jimmy Gaffigan, Femi Adeleye, and Tyler Abad. Old Bridge also has a talented sophomore in Julian Daley, who also shined on the gridiron this past season.
In the scrimmage, OBHS won three of the four periods watched by GMC Hoops, and won overall by a score of 63-47. However, this game could have been much worse for Harrison. The Knights squandered many opportunities. Old Bridge would get a steal, or force a turnover, only to give the ball right back to the Blue Tide. There were moments when the offense was standing still, and waiting for something to happen. Nevertheless, OBHS still had plenty of firepower. In three of the four quarters, Old Bridge scored 15 or more points including 22 in the first period, and 20 in the final period. The Knights made six three pointers in the time that the site watched including four in the first period.
Gaffigan, who looks physically stronger, and more mature, had a hand in all six threes as he made three, and handed out assists on the other treys including two by Abad. Speaking of Abad, he looks a bit bigger, and will be playing a lot down low, but still popping out to the perimeter for threes. Gaffigan and Abad are playing their third year of varsity ball while Daley and Adeleye are entering their second. Daley is a very gifted athlete, who can handle the ball, and drive to the basket. His jumper is still trying to catch up to the other parts of his game. Although they allowed single digit scoring by Harrison in the middle two quarters watched, the Knights still have some work to do on defense. In the other two periods, Old Bridge gave up 36 of Harrison’s 47 points including 21 in the final frame, which was won by the Blue Tide.
In that final period, one Harrison player had four three pointers, and the Blue Tide won the frame on a last second shot. In both the third and fourth periods though, Old Bridge jumped out to 12-3 leads so the reserves saw a good deal of action. The first quarter saw Harrison in front 13-11 with two and a half minutes left before the Knights exploded with an 11-2 spurt the rest of the way to win the stanza. The Knights open up next Friday night at Woodbridge, another team that the site has seen this pre-season. Then, they travel to Edison to take on the Eagles before going into the holiday tournaments. This year, things are going to be a little different in terms of how the Knights will be spending their holidays.
For many years, Old Bridge competed in the WOBM Christmas Classic in Toms River. However, this season, the Knights will head north to play in a three day round robin at the 2009 Randolph Christmas Tournament in Morris County. Other teams competing in the tournament are: Monsignor Farrell, High Tech, and Randolph. Last year, Old Bridge again lost to a Blue Division team (Metuchen) in the preliminary round of the GMCT at home. They have an energetic young coach in Paul Salisbury, and there is enthusiasm about the program. With the addition of Olivieri, the talented Daley and the experience of Gaffigan, Abad, and Adeleye, the Knights are looking to return to the GMCT Elite Eight, and qualify for the state tournament since reaching the Central Jersey Group IV final in the 2002-03 season.