SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Saturday, the long holiday weekend got started with eleven games on the schedule including four non-conference games, two crossover games, and five divisional games. The Greater Middlesex Conference won two of four contests against teams outside of Middlesex County on Saturday to stay 13 games over .500 at 40-27 overall. Meanwhile, the GMC Blue improved to 10-0 in crossover games as Middlesex defeated South Plainfield (36-17) and the GMC White kept pace in the GMC Hoops Conference Cup standings by virtue of its 59-31 win over Dunellen.
In a game covered by GMC Hoops on Saturday night, the Carteret Ramblers jumped out to a 20-4 first quarter lead, and expanded it to a 35-12 halftime advantage en route to the 28 point victory. D.J. Hamlet led the way with a game high 15 points while cousin Nasheed chipped in with 12 points. Shaquille Jackson and Ryan Joseph also added eight points each in the win. CHS, which defeated Edison in its only other crossover this season, improved to 2-0 against teams in other divisions of the GMC. More importantly though, the Ramblers got a much needed victory to end a three game losing streak, and improved to 4-5 overall and 4-4 in the GMC. Dunellen, which is yet to win a crossover this season, fell to 4-3 in conference play, and 5-5 overall. See details on this game in the summary, and analysis as well as video highlights here in the blog.
In the other crossover contest, it was a low scoring affair as South Plainfield visited Middlesex. The Blue Jays kept the GMC Blue undefeated in crossover games this season with a 36-17 victorty over the Tigers. After jumping out to a 7-2 lead at the 5:30 mark, SPHS was limited to just 10 points over the remaining 26:30 of the contest. Senior forward, Terrell Mayers turned in his third straight double figure scoring performance with 10 points along with 8 rebounds while John Santoro chipped in with 8 points. Avery Barnes only had four points in the win, but contributed on the boards with nine rebounds. With the win, Middlesex improved to 8-3 overall on the season. South Plainfield, which got four points each from Denzel Mensah and Sharif Ross, dropped to 3-7 overall with the loss.
Moving on to the non-conference games, Cardinal McCarrick took on Lincoln of Jersey City for the second time this season. The Eagles, which defeated Lincoln in the Joe Silver Holiday Tournament (62-59) over the holidays, won by a much bigger margin this time with a 54-37 victory. Sophomore Dana Raysor led the way with 17 points while Mo Isaac chipped in with 10 in the opening game of the 2010 Dan Finn Classic at the Jersey City Armory. The other GMC victory against non-conference foes was Metuchen’s 66-35 victory over Wardlaw-Hartridge in Metuchen. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 20-3 first quarter lead, and never looked back in this matchup against the Patriot Conference. Mike Crusco led the way with a team high 13 points while Kauri Quals chipped in with 10 points. James Warren added 9 points while Evan Carberry contributed with 8. Wardlaw, which will be joining the GMC Gold next season, got a tie for game high honors as Justen Davis and Ian English each scored 14 in the loss. The victory helped the GMC improve to 6-5 overall against Patriot Conference competition.
The two losses suffered by the GMC against teams outside the conference on Saturday were both suffered by teams right next store to one another on Route 27. New Brunswick traveled down to Atlantic County in South Jersey, and lost a tough game to Egg Harbor Township of the Cape Atlantic League by a score of 61-59. The Zebras had a 56-52 lead with three minutes remaining, but Egg Harbor closed out the contest with a 9-3 run for the victory. Tejay Johnson, who scored a team high 21 points for the winners, netted the go ahead free throws with 42 seconds left while Ba Ali chipped in with 20 points. Senior guard, Simuel Williams recorded a game high 25 points while Jaquan Cook added 17 points in a loss that halted NBHS’ six game winning streak. It was the first loss suffered this season by the GMC against a Cape Atlantic League team.
Meanwhile, Highland Park, which was playing its second game in less than 24 hours, couldn’t keep up with another Central Jersey Group I school, Keyport. The Red Raiders, which improved to 6-4 on the season, got a game high 28 points from Tony Lopez, who hit 10 field goals including three treys. Keyport took a 26-16 lead after one period, and then outscored the Owls by a 19-9 margin in the second for a 45-25 lead at the intermission. HPHS got a team high 10 points from big man Frank Husslein and Mike Long as the Owls, which defeated Timothy Christian on Friday (51-38), dropped a game below .500 at 5-6. Meanwhile, the GMC has now lost two straight, and is now 6-4 against the Shore Conference this season.
Moving on to the divisional games, four of the five games played were decided by three to six points. The Monroe Falcons got a huge win on the road at North Brunswick. The Purple Birds got a team high 20 points from Kenny Pace while sophomores Ahmid Williams and Danny Brix chipped in with 13 and 12 points respectively. Monroe increased its lead to two games in the always tough GMC White with the victory while North Brunswick, which got a game high 21 points from Dion Rogers, had lost five of its last seven games following this defeat. In the other game that was decided by six points, East Brunswick improved to 9-1 on the season with a 63-57 decision over a game Piscataway squad. The Bears jumped out to a 17-7 first quarter lead, and held on two win despite being outscored in two of the final three periods. EB made 9 of 11 foul shots in the fourth quarter while junior sharpshooter Anthony Guisti led the way with a team high 20 points. Forward Kevin Lantz chipped in with 12 points and 5 rebounds while Joe Ross (8 points) came up clutch again with a huge three pointer late in the game. Wayne Newsome led P-Way with 21 points and 9 rebounds. EBHS won its third straight game after losing its only game of the season to Old Bridge last Friday.
Sayreville continues to be competitive in the rough and tumble GMC White jungle as the Bombers came away with a 54-50 decision over Colonia at home on Saturday afternoon. Tyron Bethea and Chris Piniero, two reserves, who play more at the JV level, pitched in with huge contributions in overtime to lift Sayreville to the win. Jarrell Smith led the Bombers with a team high 14 points while Darryl Stephenson chipped in with 12. Dave Milewski was active on the boards as he pulled down 16 rebounds for the winners. Junior guard, Matt Wagner led all scorers with 22 points. The victory helped the Bombers keep pace with Monroe and Cardinal McCarrick in the division standings while Colonia dropped another tough one to fall to 2-7 overall on the season. The Pats have lost five games by six points or less. Meanwhile, over in South Brunswick, the Vikings continue to be one of the pleasant surprises in the GMC. Despite their youth, the Vikes moved a game within .500, and improved to 4-3 in the GMC Red thanks to a 50-47 win over a slumping Perth Amboy team that has lost six of eight since knocking off Piscataway in the season opener. Danny Strickland, a sophomore forward, and T.J. Taylor, a freshman forward, led the way for South Brunswick with 10 points each as the Vikings jumped out to a 32-21 halftime lead, and had to hold off a charge in the final two periods by the Panthers. See our GMC Hoops Volunteer write-up on the game.
Finally, St. Joseph’s got solid performances from senior Steve Rennard and sophomore Quenton DeCosey in a 60-30 defeat of Edison at EHS. Rennard scored 22 points while collecting 8 assists, and 5 steals while DeCosey, coming off his stellar performance in the lopsided win over Piscataway on Thursday night, turned in another gem with 19 points, 11 boards, and 4 blocks. The Falcons jumped out to a 20-9 first quarter lead, and never looked back in this one. Yamir Caroo led the Eagles with a team high 11 points. The defeat snapped a mini two game winning streak for EHS while St. Joe’s remained undefeated in New Jersey. The Falcons then went on to play Moore Catholic and St. Anthony’s earlier this week. St. Joseph’s looks like an overwhelming favorite to win the GMC this year. If the Falcons continue to play this well, it will be hard to deny them their fourth ever MCT/GMCT crown.