St. Thomas Aquinas, Piscataway, and New Brunswick Represent GMC at NBHS on January 17th
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Last month, GMC Hoops learned from New Brunswick boys basketball coach, Antoine Allen that the annual MLK Roundball Classic is scheduled to return in 2022 with three games at New Brunswick High School on Monday, January 17th. Three schools from the Greater Middlesex Conference: New Brunswick, Piscataway, and St. Thomas Aquinas will be participating.
Top ranked St. Thomas Aquinas will be headlining the showcase with its match-up against Plainfield to start the day at 11:00 AM. Aquinas is currently 8-0 on the season after defeating Woodbridge (84-22) on Tuesday night, defeated St. Joseph’s (64-57) at the 2021 Friends of South Amboy Charity Basketball Games showcase, and also won the Jay Craven Memorial Bracket at the 2021 Boardwalk Classic in Wildwood over the holidays.
Meanwhile, Plainfield has started the season at 3-2 with its only losses to Union County Conference powers, Elizabeth (68-32) and Roselle Catholic (80-47). Before losing to the Lions of RC on Monday, the Cardinals had won three straight including both of its games at the Anthony Cotoia Tournament at South Plainfield over the holidays. One of those victories was an overtime thriller against Edison (73-70) on December 29th.
The clash between Aquinas and Plainfield will be followed by a match-up between Jackson Memorial of Ocean County and Piscataway at 1:00 PM. The Chiefs have still only played one game on the season thus far due to the latest COVID surge. Piscataway’s only win was a 56-36 decision over New Brunswick in the Hub City on December 21st. P-Way is scheduled to host Old Bridge on Thursday, January 6th.
On the other hand, Jackson Memorial, a member of the Shore Conference, is 3-2 overall on the season with its only two losses in the recent WOBM Christmas Classic over the holidays. After defeating Toms River East in the opening round, the Jaguars lost to Red Bank Catholic (47-34) in the quarterfinals, and then Manasquan (50-37) in a consolation.
In the finale, New Brunswick will host Roselle at 3:00 PM. The Zebras, like the Chiefs, have also been affected by COVID, and have only played two games to date this season. Both were losses. In addition to the loss against Piscataway on December 20th, New Brunswick fell in its opener at Perth Amboy (55-49). NBHS was scheduled to play South Brunswick on Thursday, but that game too, has been postponed.
Roselle has had a little more success getting its team on the hardwood to this point. The Rams have played three games so far this season including a victory at home over David Brearley (62-29) of Kenilworth on Monday. Coupled with its 57-46 victory over A.L. Johnson on opening day, Roselle is 2-1 so far this season. The only defeat was a two point loss to New Egypt (60-58) on December 20th.
Below is the schedule of games at the 2022 MLK Roundball Classic at New Brunswick High School on January 17th:
- Plainfield vs. St. Thomas Aquinas, 11:00 AM
- Jackson Memorial vs. Piscataway, 1:00 PM
- Roselle vs. New Brunswick, 3:00 PM