Some Surprises, but Dunellen, Perth Amboy Tech, and P-Way Tech Living up to Expectations
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–Prior to the start of the 2014-15 GMC boys basketball season, GMC Hoops had indicated that the Gold Division was most likely going to come down to three teams: Dunellen, Perth Amboy Tech, and Piscataway Tech. So far this season, those three teams have lived up to expectations. Although Dunellen is yet to play Piscataway Tech, the three teams have already been involved in some close battles with Dunellen rallying in the second half to defeat Perth Amboy Tech on December 22nd (40-38) and Amboy Tech edging P-Way Tech earlier this week (56-50). The Raiders also had to hang on to edge a game South River team on Wednesday (72-71). As of this morning, Dunellen stands atop the GMC Gold at 4-0 while Perth Amboy Tech is 5-1 and P-Way Tech is 4-1.
Meanwhile, South River and Wardlaw are not too far out of the picture. The Rams climbed back up to .500 with two wins in their last three games including a victory at Wardlaw and a win at home over Timothy Christian. Led by Sean Darrar, who is the leading scorer in the state as of January 9th according to NJ.com with 25.7 points per game, and bolstered by the addition of Woodbridge transfer, Zach Torres, who is third in the state in assists, the Rams gave Piscataway Tech quite a battle before losing (72-70) on Monday. In that contest, Darrar scored a season high 39 points. Entering the Timothy Christian game on Friday, Darrar was averaging over 33 points per game over his previous three games and scored in double figures in 6 of his first 7 games. Darrar is on pace to become the third 1,000 point scorer in as many seasons at South River. Two years ago, his cousin, Tyler Harris reached that plateau, and last season, Matt Martinez accomplished the feat.
Wardlaw has been one of the surprises early on this season. The Rams along with South River, are 3-2 in Gold Division play as of Saturday morning with wins over Timothy Christian (52-36), Highland Park (55-43), and East Brunswick Tech (51-40). Despite the losing the likes of Shareef Ibraheem, Ish Menns, and Mike Anastasiou to graduation, the Rams still had a number of players returning from last year including Mike Newman, John Pohopin, Nick Palko, and Brendan O’Brien. The Rams also opened the season with a road victory at Belleville. Another team that has surprised somewhat is East Brunswick Tech. Despite losing their last three games to fall to .500, the Tigers have been much more competitive than in recent years. EB Tech won their holiday tournament for the first time in several years, and have already won two division games, which they haven’t done in quite a while.
Speaking of teams exceeding win totals, Highland Park has already won two games this year, which surpassed the school’s win total of all of last year. Over the holidays, the Owls defeated Manville in the consolation game of the 2014 Shello-Santy Tournament (50-45), and on Monday, they downed Timothy Christian (58-47). In the victory over the Tigers, Nasir Boykins scored a game high 15 points while Noah Pointer chipped in with 14 and Piney Harp added 13. Meanwhile, big man, Will Jacob-Perez returned to the lineup to score a game high 17 while Pointer added 10 points to help defeat the Mustangs of Manville. South Amboy hoops got a shot in the arm this week with a couple victories as the Guvs defeated Koinonia Academy of Plainfield on Monday (64-47) and then rolled past Timothy Christian on Wednesday (49-22). Although the Governors are 3-6 overall on the season including a 1-4 mark in division, they have been competitive with 5 of the 6 losses coming by 12 points or less including three by single digits. McCarrick transfer, Ryan O’Leary leads the Guvs with a 16.7 points per game average including double digit scoring in 7 of his first 9 games.
The Destroyers of Dunellen are 5-2 on the young season with four of those wins coming in division play. Dunellen has beaten Timothy Christian, Amboy Tech, Wardlaw, and East Brunswick Tech while also rolling past non-conference foe, Manville in the opening round of the Shello-Santy Tournament. The only two losses suffered by the Destroyers was a 58-50 loss to Route 28 rival, Middlesex in the Shello-Santy Tournament Championship and a 64-50 loss to Spotswood, which is ranked in the GMC Hoops Top Ten. Senior guard, Dave Johnson is leading the way with a 22 points per game average while scoring in double figures in each of his first 7 games. Senior forward, Danny Russomanno has chipped in with a 9.6 points per game average including a season high 16 in the win over Manville. Amboy Tech is also off to a 5-2 start including a 5-1 record in Gold Division play. Much of the Patriots success can be attributed to senior big man, Jordan Little.
The 6’8″ forward has been putting up mindboggling numbers so far this season. Over the holidays in the opening round of the Hudson River Classic at McNair Academic in Jersey City, Little compiled a 29 point, 22 rebound monster double-double in a 72-35 victory over David Brearley of Kenilworth. Little didn’t stop there either. Instead, he collected 38 points and 35 boards in a 94-67 victory over South River, 22 points and 25 rebounds in a win over EB Tech, 25 points and 22 rebounds in a big victory over P-Way Tech and then 24 points and 24 rebounds in a win at South Amboy. So far this season, Little is averaging 21.2 points and 22.4 rebounds per game while also collecting 6.5 blocks per contest. He ranks among the top in the state in scoring and rebounding. Noel Garay and Kyrie Byers have also contributed by being among the state leaders in assists as well. Piscataway Tech has made the most of its return to Gold Division play so far this season.
The Raiders, led by the likes of Aziz Austin, Ali Austin, Kyle Wider, and Letrell West, are 5-3 so far this season with out of division losses to St. Mary’s of Elizabeth in the Al LoBalbo Holiday Tournament and a 78-71 loss to South Plainfield thanks to 37 points by Lamont Williams (on his birthday!) P-Way Tech is 4-1 in divisional play with only a 56-50 loss to Amboy Tech the only blemish on its GMC Gold record. Piscataway Tech did have a bit of a fight with South River on Wednesday before winning by two in a very high scoring contest. The Raiders then lost by six on the road at Amboy Tech on Wednesday followed by the defeat to South Plainfield on Friday. West has really stepped up this season for P-Way Tech. In his first eight games, the sophomore guard/foward has averaged 16.2 points per game, and has scored in double figures six times including the last five contests. Aziz Austin is second on the team in scoring with 15.8 points per game including 26 in the loss to South Plainfield.
Finally, there is Timothy Christian. The Tigers are still searching for their first win of the season after 9 games. It is a rebuilding year for TCS after winning the Gold last year, and making it to the GMCT Round of 16. Timothy Christian lost its entire starting five from last season including Brandon Summers, who is now playing college hoops at Valley Forge Christian College. In addition, the Tigers took a hit when returning big man, Matt Harris, transferred to Franklin Township. However, the Tigers are not feeling sorry for themselves, and coming to play everyday no matter the opponent. The team is led by Josh Decker, who is averaging 12.6 points per game this season, and has scored in double figures in 6 of the team’s 9 contests. Will Clemons has helped out by scoring in double figures also with 10 points per game.
Some key match-ups on the horizon for next week: Piscataway Tech @ Wardlaw on January 12th, Dunellen @ South River on January 14th, and Dunellen @ Piscataway Tech on January 16th.