East Brunswick Tech Off To Best Start in 15 Years
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–There is going to be some head scratching here about this selection. Â Especially considering Cardinal McCarrick defeated CBA to improve to 6-0 on Friday night and South Brunswick won its fourth straight by edging second ranked East Brunswick on Saturday afternoon. Â However, were going with a program that has struggled to be competitive in recent years, and now has enjoyed perhaps the most success since GMC Hoops was launched in the Summer of 2000.
In March of 2000, the East Brunswick Tech Tigers lost to Bernards in a memorable triple overtime game for the Central Jersey Group I Championship at Piscataway High School. Â Players on that team were Eric Bynes and Jamall Jenkins, who later transferred to New Brunswick and contributed to back to back Central Jersey Group II Championships. Â Meanwhile, E.B. Tech floundered for two seasons despite having bright spots in Darnell Edwards and T.J. Gilsenan, who was among the top three point shooters in the GMC during that period. Â Under the guidance of Rick Schmid, E.B. Tech would qualify for the state playoffs in 2002-03, but constant turnover in head coaches and players made things difficult for the Tigers to be competitive.
Fast forward to the 2008-09 season, Jerry DelGuercio took over as head coach, and the Tigers put together their best season since that sectional finals appearance in 2000. Â The team was led by Homer James, Corey Ragland, and future 1,000 point scorer, Robert Brown, who also played football at Perth Amboy. Â The Tigers started that season at 3-2, but managed to defy lowly pre-season expectations by GMC Hoops to finish second behind Dunellen. Â However, in the quarterfinals of the Central Jersey Group I State Tournament, EB Tech fell to its Gold Division nemesis Perth Amboy Tech by a point, 54-53. Â DelGuercio left after that season, and Jeff Staples took over. Â The Tigers were decent in 2009-10, but not as good as the year before.
Returning to the present, this year’s East Brunswick Tech is an interesting mixture with players like Saadiq Riles and Enudy Jiminez returning along with the arrival of new faces such as Connor Stratton, who was a contributor to the successful season by the East Brunswick JV, Silas Stanley, Mason Settembre, Josh Brody, and Noah Westbrook. Â The Tigers started off much like the EB Tech teams of recent years with a 25 point loss to Piscataway Tech on opening day, but the Raiders are one of the favorites to win the GMC Gold this year after being in the Blue Division for the past two seasons. Â Since then, the Tigers have played very well with four straight victories and their first holiday tourney title in five years.
East Brunswick Tech has beaten two of the top Gold Division teams from last year in South Amboy and Timothy Christian although those teams are rebuilding after very successful seasons a year ago. Â The Tigers also defeated an athletic West Caldwell Tech (46-34) team in the semifinals of the North Jersey Tech Tournament at Somerset Tech before surging in the second half to defeat Koinonia Academy of Plainfield in the Championship (46-28). Â These Tigers are not like EB Tech teams of recent years. Â On defense, they draw charges. Â For instance, against West Caldwell Tech, the Tigers drew four in the first half alone including three by Stratton. Â East Brunswick Tech can also shoot from the perimeter. Â The Tigers opened up the game against West Caldwell Tech with four treys to take a 12-3 lead.
The team is still ironing out some rough edges. Â The chemistry is improving, but the squad already showing signs that it could be a contender in a GMC Gold Division that has 9 teams with the additions of Piscataway Tech and Highland Park. Â Congratulations to the Tigers on this fine start, and best of luck the rest of the way.