SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–The fifth day of state tournament action has completed, and one GMC team advanced while another went home in two different state tourneys. Top seeded and top ranked St. Joseph’s returned to the Non-Public A South Semifinals for the first time in two years with a 79-46 victory over 8th seeded St. John Vianney of Holmdel in the sectional quarterfinals. Meanwhile, second seeded South River fell behind early, and never recovered in a 71-29 loss to third seeded Florence in the Central Jersey Group 1 semifinals. Below are capsules from the two contests involving GMC schools from the fifth day of state playoff action:
Central Jersey Group 1 State Playoffs
#3 Florence at #2 South River–The game got away from South River early as the Rams fell in the semifinals for the second time in three years. Trailing 2-0 at the 5:59 mark, South River gave way to a 17-4 tear over the remainder of the first quarter as Florence of the Burlington County Scholastic League took a 19-4 lead. The Flashes continued to pour it on in the second period with an 18-1 outburst as South River only had one field goal in the entire first half, and trailed 37-5 at the intermission. Florence didn’t stop there either as it scored 13 of the first 15 points of the third quarter to build up a 50-7 advantage at the 4:58 mark of the third. From there, the Flashes cruised to a 71-29 victory. Four different players scored in double figures for Florence including Kyle Ryan with a team high 15 points, Mitchell Tanzini and Jabril Edmonds each had 13, and Femi Adebowale added 10. Derrick Whitaker led all scorers with a game high 16 including three treys in a losing cause for South River. Both teams each had five threes, and the Rams had a 10-6 advantage in points scored at the line, but Florence enjoyed a 50-4 advantage in points scored within the arc. With the win, Florence improved to 18-9 overall and advanced to the sectional championship versus Bound Brook on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM while South River concluded its season at 18-11.
Non-Public A South State Playoffs
#8 St. John Vianney at #1 St. Joseph’s–Vianney battled Joes to an 8-8 tie midway through the first period, but behind the exploits of Bree Tyree, the Falcons scored 10 of the last 12 of the opening frame for a 18-10 lead. Tyree had a three pointer from the right wing and an acrobatic score off a steal while Tyus Battle added a turnaround jumper in the paint to highlight the run. St. Joseph’s continued to pull away in the second by scoring the first seven points over a span of 1:14 for a 25-10 lead as Tyree capped the spurt with another three from the right wing. The Falcons continued rolling as they built up a 20 point lead by the 4:58 mark of the second by scoring 7 of the next 9 points including another three by Tyree. Vianney scored five of the next six points to pull within 16, but Tyree showed some major hang time with a high riser dunk at the 2:02 mark for a 35-17 lead. The Falcons then scored 7 of the last 12 points of the half including a bucket by Alanzo Frink at the 1:05 mark for a 40-22 halftime lead. St. Joseph’s got two more dunks from Tyree in the second half as the Falcons cruised to a 79-46 victory. Tyree led all scorers with a game high 35 points including 23 in the first half. He also had five threes along with 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block. Tyus Battle added 19 points along with 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks while Frink chipped in with 10 points and 9 boards. Zack Howarth and Kevin Callari led the Lancers in a losing cause with 12 points each. Callari scored 10 of his points in the first half. St. Joseph’s improved to 21 -5 overall on the season, and advanced to the sectional semifinals where it will play Notre Dame in the Clash of the Turcos on Monday night at Maglio Gymnasium in Metuchen. St. John Vianney, which defeated 9th seeded Paul VI of Haddonfield in the opening round, concluded the season at 16-10.