2016 GMCT Preliminary Round Preview

February 16, 2016 Greg Machos Amboy Tech Hoops, Carteret Hoops, East Brunswick Tech Hoops, Edison Hoops, J.F. Kennedy Hoops, J.P. Stevens Hoops, Monroe Hoops, New Brunswick Hoops, North Brunswick Hoops, Perth Amboy Hoops, Piscataway Hoops, Piscataway Tech Hoops, South Amboy Hoops, South Plainfield Hoops, South River Hoops, St. Thomas Aquinas Hoops 0

Lower Seeds Such as New Brunswick, South Plainfield, South Amboy, EB Tech, and Edison Will Try to Score Upsets

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Tuesday night, play resumes in the 2016 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Tournament with the Preliminary Round games at the higher seeded teams. A couple of Play-In Round Games turned in upsets as 30th seeded and previously winless New Brunswick defeated Middlesex and 25th seeded South Plainfield knocked off Timothy Christian on Saturday.

To view the 2016 GMCT Play-In Round bracket, visit: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=462073.

To view the 2016 GMCT Championship bracket, visit: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=462078.

2016 GMCT Preliminary Round–Schedule

  • #30 New Brunswick @ #14 North Brunswick, 5:30 PM
  • #25 South Plainfield @ #9 Perth Amboy Tech, 5:30 PM
  • #23 South Amboy @ #10 J.P. Stevens, 6:30 PM
  • #22 East Brunswick Tech @ #11 Monroe, 6:00 PM
  • #21 Edison @ #12 Piscataway, 7:00 PM
  • #20 South River @ #13 J.F. Kennedy, 4:00 PM
  • #18 Piscataway Tech @ #15 Perth Amboy, 6:30 PM
  • #17 Carteret @ #16 Bishop Ahr, 7:00 PM

The lowest seed to ever to reach the GMCT Elite Eight was the 2014 South Amboy Governors, which was the 24th seed that year and defeated 25th seeded South River in the Play-In Round, 9th seeded Monroe in the Preliminary Round, and 8th seeded Timothy Christian in the Round of 16. Some past upsets in the Preliminary Round include:

Notable GMCT Preliminary Round Upsets in Recent Years

  • 2004: 25th seeded Metuchen defeated 8th seeded Piscataway Tech.

  • 2005: 22nd seeded Monroe defeated 11th seeded East Brunswick and 21st seeded North Brunswick defeating 12th seeded Woodbridge.

  • 2006: 20th seeded Piscataway defeated 13th seeded Edison and 19th seeded Middlesex upset 14th seeded Perth Amboy.

  • 2007: 20th seeded J.P. Stevens defeated 13th seeded Carteret.

  • 2008: 19th seeded Spotswood defeated 14th seeded Old Bridge.

  • 2009: 19th seeded Carteret defeated 14th seeded North Brunswick.

  • 2012: 19th seeded Old Bridge defeated 14th seeded Spotswood.

  • 2014: 24th seeded South Amboy defeated 9th seeded Monroe.

  • 2015: 22nd seeded J.F. Kennedy defeated 11th seeded Old Bridge.

Will there be any of those kinds of upsets in this year’s GMCT Preliminary Round? Let’s take a closer look around at the eight match-ups in Tuesday’s GMCT Preliminary Round:

#25 South Plainfield (6-15) @ #9 Perth Amboy Tech (15-7)–The Tigers defeated a Timothy Christian (67-55) team in the GMCT Play-In Round that hung tough with Amboy Tech both times this season. TCS lost by five in the first meeting with the Patriots and then 60-46 in the most recent meeting. This will be a battle of guards with SPHS being led by Lamont Williams, who has over 850 points for his career, and Amboy Tech being led by the duo of senior Kyrie Byers and junior Pedro Gonzalez. Some other players to watch out for: Amboy Tech’s Javon Fisher and South Plainfield’s Jason Lee. Fisher is an athletic forward although he is a bit undersized while Lee is a standout football player for the Tigers. Playing in the GMC White gives the Tigers an edge in this match-up. Prediction: South Plainfield scores the upset, 62-55.

#23 South Amboy (11-11) @ #10 J.P. Stevens (12-7)–Both of these teams played Sayreville this season with the 23rd seeded Guvs losing to the Bombers at the buzzer by two (59-57) on the season’s second night at the Friends of South Amboy Benefit Showcase while Stevens lost twice in the waning seconds to the Bombers including a recent 45-43 loss at the Bomb Shelter. However, since South Amboy lost to Sayreville, it has been inconsistent, especially in a recent losing streak, where they lost 6 of 9 games including regular season losses to Koinonia Academy and Wardlaw. Stevens has played well enough to win in a number of games it has lost this season. In addition to the two close losses to Sayreville, the Hawks also lost in overtime at home to Colonia on January 27th (54-49) and Woodbridge (48-44) on January 21st. JPS also lost a tough crossover matchup against 7th seeded Old Bridge on January 30th (72-62). If the Hawks win this won, they will play the Knights again at OBHS on Thursday. Stevens should get that rematch. Prediction: Stevens advances, 60-42.

#22 East Brunswick Tech (15-5) @ #11 Monroe (8-13)–After having some ups and downs through the first month and a half of the season, the Tigers of East Brunswick Tech have started to play like they are capable of with 8 wins in their last 9 games to finish tied for 3rd in the GMC Gold. Monroe has also been hot with 6 wins in its last 8 games. EB Tech sports a squad that has 8 letter winners returning from last season while Monroe only has two seniors in its starting five, which also includes two sophomores and a freshman. However, the Falcon youngsters are very talented. MTHS has solid sophomore and junior classes led by the likes of Luke Patel, Matt, Hoyt, Fritz Frage, and Eric Johnson while freshman Mike Kides has the potential to be a very good player. Connor Stratton returned this season after being on the half for the last month and a half of last year with a concussion, and has battled through injury at times this season. Noah Westbrook has been the most consistent player for the Tigers while big man, Enudy Jimenez provides a nice low post presence. Monroe should advance here.Prediction: Monroe wins, 63-41.

#21 Edison (5-18) @ #12 Piscataway (7-13)–This is a rematch of a game played on January 22nd this year at P-Way, which was won by the Chiefs, 45-41. Edison has played very competitively although it hasn’t shown up in terms of wins and losses. Prior to the seeding meeting, the Eagles lost by seven to Spotswood, and five to Monroe before falling to Carteret for the second time this season. The first time the Eagles lost to Carteret was by two in the Matawan Huskies Tournament over the holidays, where they also lost to tourney host Matawan by three in the opening round. Edison has also lost twice to crosstown rival and 10th seeded J.P. Stevens by a combined total of 6 points. The Chiefs have played much better than their record indicates. This is a young squad with a number of talented juniors and sophomores led by the likes of Cameron Saintil, Jordan Davidson, and Mattias Arrindell. Veteran Darius Gillion provides senior leadership. This should be another knockdown drag out fight with P-Way coming out on top. Prediction: Piscataway wins, 51-45.

#20 South River (15-7) @ #13 J.F. Kennedy (9-11)–These two teams used to be rivals in the GMC Blue before the South River moved down to the Gold Division in 2010-11. The Rams had been flying high with 11 wins in its first 13 games, which earned them a spot in the GMC Hoops Top Ten for several weeks. However, since that time, South River has lost 5 of its last 9 games. The Rams did look much better than Dunellen, but this will be a tall order against a Kennedy team that sports the biggest frontline in the GMC Blue with senior forward, Kush Patel, and junior forward, Pete Obertan. The relatively inexperienced backcourt trio of Kobie Wells, Tamaj Coleman, and Carlton Sears have begun to gel, and as a result, the Mustangs have won 8 of their last 13 games. South River has a mostly young squad with three freshmen in the starting rotation, but they have poise beyond their years. Derrick Whitaker looks to be a very special player while Mike DeSantis and Zac Rafano are solid as well. Mario Nigro, who has scored over 500 career points, is only one of two South River players remaining that played varsity last year. Both of these teams played Spotswood this year with the Rams falling to the Chargers on February 1st in Spotswood (78-62) and Kennedy splitting with the Chargers including the most recent upset win at The SAC, 70-65. Mustangs get the edge here.Prediction: J.F. Kennedy wins, 70-53.

#30 New Brunswick (1-18) @ #14 North Brunswick (5-15)–The Zebras hadn’t won a regular season game although it did come close to one on January 21st in a 42-40 loss to Edison at NBHS. Then in the GMCT Play-In round, the 30th seeded Zebras scored the upset with a 65-55 victory over a 19th seeded Middlesex team that had won 5 of its last 8 including an upset of Bishop Ahr just three days earlier. Can NBHS pull off a similar feat against North Brunswick? Recently history would say no since the Raiders had dominated New Brunswick in recent years before moving up to the GMC Red before last season. However, NBTHS has had some struggles this season. The Raiders had lost 10 in a row at one point after defeating Bishop Ahr on January 4th including a loss at home to Carteret on February 1st (63-50). In the win over Middlesex, Maurice Ffrench scored 21 points while Curtis Revan chipped in with 17 and C.J. Hernandez added 16 including three treys in the first quarter. North Brunswick has plenty of firepower from the perimeter with seniors Pranay Bhandare and Basit Khan along with junior Francis Omowole. Eric Reardon mans the middle while Adryan Salazar has come off the bench to provide some punch as well. Emmanuel Osei is another player to watch down low for New Brunswick. This is a neighborhood rivalry, and regardless of record, these two teams will scrap, but NBTHS should prevail. Prediction: North Brunswick wins, 55-48.

#18 Piscataway Tech (14-7) @ #15 Perth Amboy (7-14)–The Raiders of Piscataway Tech have rebounded quite nicely after a 3-5 start with 11 wins in their last 14 games. The return of German Pimentel has had a lot to do with that, but Ali Austin, Branden Barnes, Khalili Smith Romelo Spencer, and Daniel Peacock have been important contributors as well. In the most recent win over Dunellen (61-52) at P-Way Tech on February 10th, Austin scored 26 points in the win. Pimentel, a football standout at New Brunswick during the fall, provides some athleticism, and additional size and length down low with Barnes. Both Barnes and Pimentel’s presence on the front line, makes this Raiders team tough to beat. However, Perth Amboy has some size down low as well with Jesus Garcia and Jose Genao. The Panthers have had some struggles this season, but have started to play better as of late. Newcomer, Fres Cabrera has provided a spark. One of Amboy’s recent wins came against crosstown rival, Perth Amboy Tech on February 1st (53-34). Piscataway Tech played Amboy Tech twice this season in GMC Gold play, and lost both times. This should give the Panthers of Amboy an advantage here. Prediction: Perth Amboy wins, 60-48.

#17 Carteret (8-13) @ #16 Bishop Ahr (8-8)–This is the rubber match of the 2015-16 campaign for both of these teams. Ahr and Carteret split their two regular season contests in the GMC Blue with the Trojans winning in North Edison (56-47) on January 8th and the Ramblers winning at CHS (65-36) on February 3rd. Both teams have played better with Carteret winning 5 of their last 9 and BGA winning 5 of 7. Carteret also had a couple tough losses against Rahway (56-47) in the Eric LeGrand Classic on January 17th and at home to Perth Amboy (51-44) on January 13th. Both teams scored big wins recently with Ahr defeating Kennedy and Spotswood in a span of 48 hours last week and Carteret knocking off North Brunswick. The underclassmen tandem of junior center, Sean Kudelka and sophomore guard, Alex Santiago, have been really fun to watch this season for the Trojans while junior Jemar Jordan and sophomores Naafi Powell and Naaseir Moore give the Ramblers a bright future. In this year’s season series, the home team has won both times. So, Bishop Ahr gets the nod with the game being played in North Edison. Prediction: Bishop Ahr wins, 50-43.

GMC Hoops plans to be at two GMCT Preliminary Round Games. First, the site will be at Perth Amboy Tech to see the 9th seeded Patriots take on 25th seeded South Plainfield. Then, we’ll travel across town to Perth Amboy to see the remainder of the 15th seeded Panthers take on 18th seeded Piscataway Tech. Follow along on Twitter @gmchoops or on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GMCHoops.