Chiefs Freshmen and JV Squads Provide Plenty of Talent
PISCATAWAY, NJ – Much was expected for the 2022-23 edition of the Piscataway varsity basketball team. However, injuries and a brutal non-conference schedule in addition to playing the newly realigned Red Division has the Chiefs below .500 heading into the 2023 GMCT. However, the future looks very bright for P-Way. Both freshmen and JV squads have plenty of talent.
Last week, GMC Hoops had an opportunity to see Piscataway’s heralded freshmen team in action against Franklin, and the young Chiefs didn’t disappoint. Twice the Freshmen Chiefs fell behind to its long time arch rival, and both times they rallied back with tremendous surges to ultimately win the game, 65-55. On Saturday, Piscataway’s freshmen finished the season at 19-0 by defeating Edison, 82-45 at home.
The win, especially the margin of victory is quite significant. Last week, the brackets for the 2023 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament came out, and Piscataway was awarded the No. 1 seed and Edison received the No. 2 seed. Piscataway’s freshmen have defeated the likes of 3rd seeded St. Joseph’s and 9th seeded St. Thomas Aquinas during regular season play.
Back to the Franklin game last Tuesday. The Freshmen Chiefs trailed 19-12 with 4:31 remaining in the first half before putting together a 18-7 surge to end the 2nd quarter to take a 30-26 halftime lead. Then, in the fourth, P-Way trailed again 51-48 with 4:22 to play before rallying with a 17-4 tear to end the contest for the 10 point victory.
Piscataway’s Freshmen team opens play in the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament on Wednesday afternoon with a first round game against 16th seeded New Brunswick. The winner will advance to play either 8th seeded East Brunswick, or 9th seeded St. Thomas Aquinas in the quarterfinal round on Friday, February 10th. Semifinals and Championship will take place in Perth Amboy on February 14th and February 17th.
The Junior Varsity also looked quite impressive in its outing against South River back on January 14th. In a rare crossover game between the two schools, Piscataway jumped out to a 47-16 lead at the intermission, and never looked back in a 84-31 victory. The Chiefs Junior Varsity is seeded 6th in the 2023 East Brunswick/GMC JV Boys Tournament, and host 11th seeded St. Joseph’s in the first round on February 10th.
Defending JV champion, St. Thomas Aquinas is the top seeded team in the EB/GMC JV Tournament while Colonia is seeded 2nd, Perth Amboy is 3rd, and South Brunswick is 4th. Semifinals and Championship will be at East Brunswick High School next week. Piscataway is losing the likes of Jonathan Carman, Jalen Thomas, Evan Benson, Khalid Brown, and Elijah Timberlake, but have a solid group returning for next year.
Juniors Logan Smith, Jayden Williams, Dante DuPiche, Elijah Young, and Naim Mouzon will be joined by sophomore Nate Davis and Freshman Donald Nwaigwe, who saw varsity action at the end the Chiefs win at East Brunswick on January 21st as well as played JV in P-Way’s win at South River. Couple that with the solid foundation of talent coming up from these talented freshmen and JV squads, P-Way will look to contend again next season.