SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–The fourth week of action in the 2009-10 season kicked off with six games from around the Greater Middlesex Conference. One of the contests was a non-conference battle while the others were all divisional. There were a couple interesting matchups from the GMC Blue as Bishop Ahr took on Metuchen and Spotswood traveled to J.F. Kennedy.
First, the non-conference game. The GMC lost the third game in its last four outings against foes outside Middlesex County as East Brunswick Tech lost to future conference member, Timothy Christian (58-49). Despite a team high 19 points from Homer James and 10 points by Robert Brown, the E.B. Tech couldn’t overcome TCS in this battle of Tigers. T.J. Janho, a 6’6″ senior center, led the way for Timothy Christian with a game high 23 points while sophomore forward, Kristian Svendsen, chipped in with 14 points, and sophomore guard, Dan Decker added 13. Based in Piscataway, TCS is now 6-3 overall on the season including a 2-0 mark against GMC opponents. The Patriot Conference, the league that Timothy Christian currently plays in, is a combined 5-3 versus schools in the GMC.
Moving on to the GMC Blue, Bishop Ahr scratched out a hard fought victory over a game Metuchen squad at the Dawg Pound on Monday night. In a game that was broadcasted on WCTC, the Trojans fell behind by nine points at a couple junctures of the first half. However, BGA rallied in the second half with a 27-18 showing including a 12-5 spurt in the third to take a 41-39 lead. Junior forward, Pat Widdoss took over from there with 12 of his game high 20 points to help Ahr come away with the 56-52 win. Widdoss sank three field goals including the game winning shot while also going 6 of 8 from the line. For the game, Widdoss had six field goals and eight foul shots. Metuchen, which had won two straight in the GMC Blue and five of its last six overall, went just 2 of 7 from the foul line in the fourth quarter in the loss. The Bulldogs are now 2-3 in divisional play while BGA is still undefeated at 5-0.
In another heartbreaker from the Blue, Tyler Osofsky, who notched a career high 27 points, connected on the game winning three pointer as time expired in a 60-57 Spotswood victory over J.F. Kennedy in Iselin. Senior forward, Allen Kuiper added 17 points while senior guard, Cody Pace chipped in with 9. Rasheed Howard (15 points), Joe Marciano (15 points), and Daishon Robinson (13 points) combined for 75 percent of the Mustangs offense in the loss. Howard had tied the game at 57-57, and JFK had several chances to go out in front, but failed to convert at the foul line. The Mustangs, which went 6 of 15 from the line in the loss to Metuchen on Thursday, missed three charity shots down the stretch to set the stage for Osofsky’s heroics. The win helped the Chargers keep pace with Bishop Ahr in the Blue.
In a bit of a surprise, Highland Park defeated South River on the road Monday night (66-56). Despite the Rams outscoring the Owls beyond the arc (18-0), Highland Park was able to improve to .500 as David Webb made 9 shots from the floor, and another 5 from the foul line for a game high 23 points. Mike Long added 12 points in the victory. The Owls made 27 field goals overall and 12 foul shots while South River made 23 field goals and 7 free throws. Shawn Fenton led the Rams with a team high 21 points while Brandon Walsh chipped in with 13. Both of these teams have played up and down this year despite being much improved. Not surprising since neither team has had a winning track record in recent years, and both are still learning how to win.
Dunellen remained undefeated in GMC Gold play at 3-0 with a solid 67-53 victory over Perth Amboy Tech on Monday afternoon. Jonard Hall turned in a strong effort with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds to go along with 6 blocked shots. Sean Gibney tied for team high with a career high 17 points himself. Dylan Hoski, a freshman, chipped in with 9 points while Luke Francisco added 8. Malcolm Batts (21 points) and Rashad Adams (17 points) accounted for 73 percent of the Patriots offense in the defeat. Meanwhile, South Amboy defeated Piscataway Tech (46-40) on the road to stay within one game of the division lead. The Guvs had a bit more of a struggle than anticipated against the Raiders, which have also played E.B. Tech tough in a 55-52 loss last week.
Bishop Ahr continues to play with fire, and get away with it. I listened to a good deal of the game versus Metuchen on Monday night, and expect the Trojans to have a fight against some of the better teams in the GMC Blue. If they’re not careful, they may get burned. Kennedy is 6-4 overall, but a 1-4 mark in the division. However, the Mustangs have been competitive with all four losses coming by a combined total of 22 points including two buzzer beater shots in defeats to Highland Park (54-53) and Spotswood. South River has played erratically as of late with a nice upset over Metuchen, and then a blowout loss at home to Kennedy, and a ten point defeat at home to Highland Park. I’ve also noticed that Xavier Foster has not been in the last couple of box scores so not having him in the lineup does hurt the Rams a little.