2018-19 St. Joseph’s Hoops Schedule Includes Seton Hall Prep, St. Benedict’s, Hudson Catholic, and St. Peter’s Prep
METUCHEN, NJ—The Falcons of St. Joseph’s is looking to up its game. Unsatisfied with just being the top dog in GMC boys basketball for the past several years, this year’s St. Joseph’s squad, which is the GMC Hoops Pre-Season No. 1, is taking on a rugged non-conference schedule in the hopes that it will push it over the top in Non-Public A come March.
In addition to the usual tough GMC Red schedule, which includes the likes of East Brunswick, Piscataway, Old Bridge, J.P. Stevens, and Monroe, which are also in the 2018-19 GMC Hoops Pre-Season Top 10, St. Joe’s will also take on Seton Hall Prep (December 22nd), St. Benedict’s (January 4th), Hudson Catholic (January 19th), St. Peter’s Prep (January 27th), and Penns Grove (February 2nd).
The Falcons will host Seton Hall Prep and St. Benedict’s at Maglio Gymnasium in Metuchen while taking on Hudson Catholic in the Dan Finn Classic at the Jersey City Armory, St. Peter’s Prep at Kean, and Penns Grove in the Holy Cross Prep Showcase in Delran. Seton Hall Prep, which halted three state tournament title runs by the Falcons have gone 1-3 against Joes since 2012 with the lone win coming last season in West Orange on January 20th.
St. Benedict’s is coached by former St. Joseph’s standout and head coach, Mark Taylor, who led the Falcons back to prominence in the mid to late 1990s with the help of standouts Jay Williams (Duke) and Brian Wilson (Holy Cross). From 1997 to 2005, St. Joe’s played in the GMCT Final 6 times in 9 years with titles in 1998 and 1999. The Falcons also made it to the GMCT Final Four in 2004. Current St. Joseph’s head coach, Mike Thompson was an assistant to Taylor during the back to back GMCT tiles in 1998 and 1999.
St. Peter’s Prep took on the Falcons for the 2013 and 2014 Non-Public A State Championships. Both times the Marauders from Jersey City came up short against the likes of NBA talents Karl Anthony Towns and Wade Baldwin as well as a supporting cast that included three NCAA Division I players in Marques Townes (Loyola of Chicago), Bree Tyree (Ole Miss), and Raven Owen (Canisius—later transferred to Division 2 Post University). Hudson Catholic has not played St. Joseph’s since the 2008-09 season (Falcons won 91-21), and have become a powerhouse program under the guidance of former Bloomfield Tech head coach, Nick Mariniello.
Over the past three seasons, the Falcons have reached the Non-Public A South sectional championship. In 2016, St. Joseph’s lost to St. Augustine in the Championship Game at Jackson Liberty, and last season, the Falcons fell to Camden Catholic. St. Augustine went on to win the Non-Public A State Title before falling to Linden in the 2016 T of C while Camden Catholic lost to eventual 2018 NJSIAA T of C finalist, Don Bosco Prep. During that three year period, St. Joseph’s has compiled a record of 70-13.