Aquinas Rolls Past Joes to Win EB/GMC JV Title, 73-44

Unangst Scores Game High 16 to Lead Top Seeded JV Trojans

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ—After winning the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tourney a week ago, and defeating Colonia for the GMCT Boys title on Friday night, St. Thomas Aquinas arrived at East Brunswick High School on Saturday with a chance to make it a Freshmen-JV-Varsity triple crown.  The top seeded JV Trojans took on 2nd seeded St. Joseph’s in the 2022 East Brunswick/GMC JV Boys Championship, and Aquinas left no doubt who was top dog.

Leading 8-5 early on in the opening period, St. Thomas Aquinas embarked on a 15-2 tear that included a layup from the left side by sophomore Philip Unangst to take a 23-7 lead with a little less than two minutes to go in the first quarter.  The JV Trojans then expanded its lead to 44-20 by halftime, and never looked back en route to a 73-44 victory to claim the crown.

Unangst led all scorers and three Aquinas players in double figures with a game high 16 points including 12 in the first half.  Football standout, Jayden Young chipped in with 13 points along with two impressive blocked shots while Craig Belfield added 12 including 10 in the first half.  Davon Grant and sharpshooter Andrew Wisneski (3 treys) also contributed with 9 points each while Jayden Defense (6 points), J. Escobar (3 points), S. McGhee (3 points), and Artis Ray (2 points) rounded out the Aquinas scoring.

Sophomore Jeremy DeCaro led the JV Falcons with a team high 9 points while freshman Dante Regan, Abbas Chalman, and Asket Singh each chipped in with 8.  Both teams had 9 different players score in the contest, but Aquinas had three score in double figures while Joes had none.  The JV Trojans outscored the JV Falcons within the arc (32-24), from long distance (27-18), and went 14 of 18 from the line was Joes was just 2 of 6.

Aquinas outscored Joes in each of the first three periods 25-10, 19-10, and 15-10 with the fourth quarter ending in a 14-14 tie.  St. Joseph’s had 17 team fouls while St. Thomas Aquinas had only 8.  Unangst scored 7 points in the first period, 5 in the second, and 2 in the third and fourth quarters.  The promising youngster made five total field goals including one three, and was a perfect 5 of 5 from the foul line.

Young, who has been a three year starter at QB for Aquinas, and has helped lead the Trojans out of a rebuild into the Non-Public B football playoffs this past season, also had five total field goals including two threes while going one of two from the line.  Belford also had five field goals including two threes.  It seemed as if it were raining threes in the first half for the JV Trojans as they made six including four in the opening period barrage.

The JV Trojans scored over a third of their total points in the opening round as five different players scored:  Unangst (7 points), Wisneski (6 points), Young (5 points), Grant (4 points), and Belfield (3 points).  After Aquinas took control late in the first, the JV Trojans increased the lead to 18 before Regan connected on a three from the right of the top of the key with time running out in the first to close the gap to 25-10 heading into the second.

Continuing its onslaught, St. Thomas Aquinas then scored 12 of the first 17 points of the second period over a span of 3:16 capped by a jumper from the left side by Defense at the 4:44 mark to take a 37-15 lead.  The JV Trojans then finished off the first half with a 7-5 run highlighted by a putback off a missed free throw by Unangst for a 24 point lead at the intermission.  Belfield led Aquinas with 7 points in the frame.

Trying to revive its chances, St. Joe’s began the second half by scoring 8 of the first 11 points of the third as DeCaro struck for a three, and then eluded Young for a layup to close the gap to 47-28 with 5:49 remaining in the third.  All eight points were unanswered after Wisneski opened the third quarter with his final three of the contest.

Unfortunately, the JV Falcons were unable to get any closer as Aquinas scored 7 of the next 9 points in just 3:43 including an and one from Grant for a 54-30 advantage at the 2:06 mark.  The JV Trojans then finished off the quarter by scoring the last five points including two from Young, who slashed his way through the paint for a score and a 59-30 lead heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter ended in a 14-14 draw as Singh led the way for Joes with all 8 of his points on four buckets in the final period.  Regan added his second and final three of the contest as well while Chalman chipped in with a bucket and Phillip Frangie got his only points of the game by going one of two from the line.  Meanwhile Aquinas had six different players score in the period.

Escobar and McGhee led the balanced fourth period attack as Escobar sank a trey for his only points of the game while McGhee had a field goal and made one of two from the line.  Ray had the only other JV Trojans field goal with a layup late in the game while Unangst, Defense, and Grant each went 2 of 2 from the foul line.  St. Thomas Aquinas went 7 of 8 from the foul line in the final frame.

Also scoring in the contest for St. Joseph’s was Tim Sullivan (3 points), Georgio Varocolis (2 points), Devin Gorman (2 points), and Arjun Nath (2 points).  With the victory, Aquinas made it a clean sweep and a Freshman-JV-Varsity Triple Crown in boys basketball.  Aquinas JV finished the season at 19-1 with the only defeat coming at the hands of Bergen Catholic in North Edison on January 24th.

GMC HOOPS TRIVIA:  Aquinas’ freshman team finished undefeated at 15-0 while the varsity is currently 26-1 so in addition to winning the Frosh-JV-Varsity triple crown, the Trojans are a combined 60-2 as a program this season.  The only losses suffered was the JV loss to Bergen Catholic and Aquinas’ loss to the George School (60-48) in the Metro Classic at RWJ Barnabas Arena in Toms River on February 6th. 

Jayden Young’s younger brother Chase was a member of the Aquinas freshman team that rallied from behind to defeat St. Joe’s in the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tourney Final, 67-65.  Chase Young also plays on the football team at running back.  The father, Chris Young is also the freshman boys hoops coach as well as the offensive coordinator for the football team.