Boys GMCT Has Eight Prelim Games Set For Tuesday night
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–The 2014 GMC journey to the RAC resumes on Tuesday night with eight more games in this year’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. The preliminary round games will be held at the higher seeded team. All of the eight higher seeded teams in the play-in round advanced to the prelims with wins on Saturday including 24th seeded South Amboy, which defeated South River for a third time this season (68-63), 23rd seeded Cardinal McCarrick edged Dunellen (59-56), and 20th seeded Metuchen advanced with a 54-43 victory over New Brunswick. On a side note, GMC Hoops went 7-1 on his play-in round bracket.
With all that out of the way, we will take a look at the matchups:
#17 Old Bridge at #16 J.P. Stevens–This is a rematch from a contest that was played about 10 days ago at J.P. Stevens, and won by the Hawks (50-49). The victory by JPS gave them the edge for the 16th seed, and home court for this game. Both of these teams are better than their records indicate. Both teams have lost a number of games by single digits including one by three in overtime to Shore Conference power Middletown North. Old Bridge has also won several by close margins including overtime wins on the road at Monroe and Piscataway. The Knights, which are led by the school’s all time leading scorer, Tyler Drews, also gave St. Joseph’s a bit of a fight the last time out on Valentine’s Day (76-67) as the hit 12 threes. In addition to defeating OBHS, Stevens also has a victory over fourth seeded North Brunswick at home. Drews can do it all for OB. He can shoot the three, drive to the hoop, get to the line, make free throws, and kick out to a host of shooters beyond the arc including sophomore Stephen Strom, junior Sean Olsen, and Bayonne transfer Luis Cruz. Stevens is led by forwards Nick Dooley and Francois Ballou while the backcourt is anchored by football standout Chewy Chukwuneke at the point, and Shlok Garg at the two.
#18 Piscataway at #15 Perth Amboy–Another intriguing preliminary round matchup is between 18th seeded Piscataway and 15th seeded Perth Amboy. These two Red Division foes played each other only once in the regular season so far this year thanks to the brutal winter here in New Jersey. The Panthers won that matchup in early January at P-Way, 58-50. Amboy is also coming off to tough crossover wins against Dunellen of the GMC Gold (42-31) and Woodbridge of the GMC White (52-49). The Panthers have a nice combination of size, guard play, and depth with forwards Nate Melendez, Auggie Enriquez, and John Wahrmann, and backcourt duo of Carlos Done and Chris Morillo. Piscataway is starting to roll though with three straight wins including a 62-60 win at South Brunswick last Tuesday, a come from behind upset victory over second seeded East Brunswick (45-40), and a play-in round rout of 31st seeded East Brunswick Tech (61-27). The Chiefs will counter with the likes of Plainfield transfer, Najee Luckey and Immaculata transfer Asiah Avent along with Joe Hines (11 points vs. EB), Rachid Schimou (10 points vs. EB), and Elijah Murray-Tucker (8 points vs. EB). Marinus Tavernier is a solid player down low for P-Way as well.
#19 Middlesex at #14 Edison–Here is another interesting matchup between Edison and Middlesex. It has been a while since the Eagles and Middlesex last played. If I’m not mistaken, the Blue Jays last traveled to play the Eagles at EHS in the 2000-01 season (the first year of GMC Hoops). At that time, both teams were fairly strong with the Eagles being led by Felician bound Thomas Johnson and Frankie Eckert, and the Jays being led by James vonBischoffshausen and current Dunellen JV and varsity assistant coach Howie Horowitz. Two great coaches in Edison’s Mike Meagher and Middlesex’s George Rauh were on the sidelines. The Eagles, which eventually defeated unbeaten St. Joseph’s in what was called the Game of the Year by some at the time, went on to win the contest en route to a CJ Group IV state berth that would be ended by current SB assistant coach Bobby Henning and his Bears from East Brunswick. Today’s matchup will have something more riding on it though in a Round of 16 contest on Thursday at Sayreville. Middlesex has had some ups and downs this year, but has demonstrated an ability to play with some of the more elite teams in the Blue. The Jays did beat Metuchen twice, and lost to heartbreakers to Carteret. Middlesex also has a nice non-conference win to boast about with a victory on the road at South Hunterdon. Like MHS, Edison has had its moments this year. The Eagles have beaten Perth Amboy and Woodbridge (twice), and also gave Sayreville a scare at the Bomb Shelter recently. Both teams have good size, athleticism, and go-to guys. Middlesex has Jarret Bogus and Emilio Gonzalez-DeOlio and Edison has Trayvon Washington and Raekwon Ross. Each team has a good supporting cast though with EHS having Devon Johnson, Dennis Amuzu, and Hakim White while the Jays have Stew Lester, Sean Sarnoski, Kayshawn Wilson, and Marcus Evans-Little.
#20 Metuchen at #13 Bishop Ahr–Here is another matchup between division rivals as GMC Blue foes Metuchen and Bishop Ahr will face off for the second time this season. The first contest, which was also held at Ahr, was won handily by the Trojans (52-25). The two teams were supposed to square off again on Friday night, but the game was cancelled since Metuchen was playing New Brunswick on Saturday afternoon in the play-in round. The Bulldogs have had a number of close calls this season with a loss in OT at J.F. Kennedy, a one point defeat at Middlesex, and a two point loss at home to Carteret among others. MHS also has a win at Spotswood as well as a victory early in the season at Timothy Christian in addition to claiming its own holiday tourney. Ahr got off to a good start including its first Gene Haley Holiday Tourney championship since 1996, but then went into a bit of a slide with two losses to Kennedy, two defeats to Spotswood, and a loss at Colonia. Since that time though, the Trojans have surged and moved into fourth place in the GMC Blue with victories over P-Way Tech, Middlesex, and South Plainfield. Metuchen is led by Artie Flaherty Jr. and Evan Collier with a solid supporting cast consisting of Tom Chalker, Hunter Clarke, Frank McGuire, and Brian Eustace. Bishop Ahr is anchored by Owen McLeod and sophomore Tom Weiler with a nice supporting cast consisting of Kevin Krolick, Corey Webster, Pat Astarita, Anthony Abano, and Harry Gelpke.
#21 Piscataway Tech at #12 Carteret–Once again, we have a matchup between two Blue Division rivals. Like a number of the lower seeded teams in this round, Piscataway Tech is much better than their record indicates. The Raiders are 6-11 coming in, but have lost a number of close games this season including one point losses at Kennedy, and at home to Metuchen and Spotswood. P-Way Tech also lost to Middlesex by two early in the season as well. Led by senior Jordan Lackey and junior Aziz Austin, the Raiders have battled Carteret both times this year with the Ramblers coming out on top. In addition to the interior play of Lackey and guard play of Austin, Kyle Wider provides some scoring punch from the perimeter for the Raiders as well as Inderpaul Pinghilia. CHS, which recently lost to Kennedy (72-49) and Spotswood, counters with juniors Jaquan Robertson and Brandon Gilder along with a supporting cast that includes seniors Anthony Spinelli and Sean Kenney. These two teams have played five times in the past three years with Carteret winning four of those contests. Three of those five games have been decided by single digits.
#22 South Plainfield at #11 Woodbridge–Here is a matchup that is being renewed after a couple seasons as the Tigers travel up to Woodbridge. Both of these teams played each other twice a season in the GMC White before SPHS moved down to the Blue Division prior to the start of the 2012-13 campaign. The Tigers are coming off a win over Perth Amboy Tech in the play-in round on Saturday. Chris Mathis leads the way for South Plainfield while forwards Brandon Bernard and Malik Cisson as well as guards Jordan Hankerson and Roemello Monroe round out the supporting cast. Jason Lee recently returned, and he provides size, athleticism, toughness, and a bit of a perimeter touch as well. The Barrons lost a crossover game against Perth Amboy on Saturday at home, but exacted some revenge by defeating Edison on the road last Tuesday (63-57). Woodbridge is led by a solid junior class including Zahneer Shuler and Zaire Robinson while freshman Quassim Glover has played with a poise well beyond his years. WHS also has a supporting cast that includes forwards Mike Cordero and Vince Porcelli as well as Josh Oloweekere, Tyler Smith, and Keshaun Henry.
#23 Cardinal McCarrick at #10 Spotswood–Here is another renewal of an old division rivalry as McCarrick travels down to Spotswood to face the Chargers. Throughout much of the history of the GMC, these two teams have been fierce rivals dating back to when McCarrick was known as St. Mary’s of South Amboy. These two schools played each other for many years in both the Gold and Blue Divisions. Neither team has played each other since McCarrick moved up to the White for the start of the 2008-09 season. The Eagles are coming off a nice last second win over another former Gold Division foe in Dunellen in the play-in round on Saturday. Spotswood also played on Saturday as it won a key Blue Division game over rival Carteret. Cardy Mac got a solid 25 point performance from freshman Pop Brown including the go ahead three with 13.8 seconds left, and two free throws to seal the 59-56 win over Dunellen. Sky Harris had 17 points and 16 boards while Santiago Dervishaj contributed with 12 rebounds and 5 blocks. Aaron Lewis, Keyshawn Roche, and Manny Warren also contribute to this year’s Eagle squad. Spotswood is led by 1,300 plus point scorer, Jake Dadika, and several three point shooters including brother Eric Dadika, Kevin Fox, and Marlon Hart. Hart can also attack the basket while freshman big man, Matt Ciaccio has consistently put up solid numbers.
#24 South Amboy at #9 Monroe–The last time these two teams met was back in the 2007-08 season in the GMCT Round of 16 when South Amboy rolled past the Falcons en route to its first ever GMCT Quarterfinals berth in school history. The Governors probably have their best team since then with a 14-6 record overall. South Amboy is led by 1,000 point scorer Steve Herdman at the point along with big man Joe Fruncillo, who is moving toward getting a grand himself. Tim Kales and Dan Murphy have picked up the slack for the Guvs in the absence of senior Nick Kales. South Amboy is coming off a 68-63 win over South River in the play-in round. It was the third time this season that the Guvs defeated the Rams. The Guvs finished at 8-4 in the GMC Gold. Meanwhile, Monroe is coming off an 81-62 loss at Sayreville that was fairly close for two and a half quarters. The Falcons actually led by nine in the first half, and by three early in the third before the third seeded Bombers went on a 23-4 tear to take a 55-39 lead. MTHS finished tied for 2nd in the GMC White with fourth seeded North Brunswick, a team that the Falcons split with this year. The Purple Birds are looking to make their 2nd GMCT Elite Eight appearance in the past three seasons. Monroe has a solid junior class led by Matt Cocorikis and Tyler Salzer, but they also have a very experienced backcourt with seniors Chris Germano and Jair Davis. David Matel-Okoh provides athletic ability and shot blocking in the paint.
GMC Hoops plans to see a tonight’s matchup between Piscataway and Perth Amboy.