P-Way Wins JV Title for 1st Time in GMC Hoops Era
EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ–Appearing in the East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament Championship for only the third time since 2003, the Piscataway JV Chiefs won its first JV title during the GMC Hoops era, but it wasn’t easy.
Trailing 16-10 after one period, the second seeded Junior Chiefs outscored top seeded St. Joseph’s by a combined margin of 67-55 over the final three periods to post a 77-71 victory. P-Way had 10 different players score led by sophomore Sam Ezeonu, an GMC Hoops All Perth Amboy Freshmen Tournament Team selection last year as a frosh, who scored a team high 16 points in the win.
Piscataway tallied its 77 points on 29 field goals, one three pointer, and making 16 of 25 from the foul line. Nadir Holdman and Josh Perez each added 9 points on four field goals and a foul shot. Omar Humphries chipped in with 8 points while Marvin Randle and Angelo Manalaysay each contributed with 7 points.
St. Joseph’s was led in defeat by junior forward, Dan Young, who scored a game high 23 points on seven field goals, a three pointer, and six made foul shots. Matt Cruz also scored in double figures with 10 points including two threes. Howard McBurnie and Ryan Granito each chipped in with 9 points on four field goals and a made free throw. The JV Falcons had seven different players score in the contest.
The Junior Falcons compiled their 71 points on 18 field goals, 5 three pointers, and 20 of 29 from the foul line. St. Joe’s enjoyed a 15-3 edge in points scored from long distance and had a 20-16 edge in made free throws, but P-Way had a 58-36 edge in points scored from within the arc.
St. Joe’s jumped out to a 16-10 lead as four different players scored for the JV Falcons. Dan Young led the way with 5 points while Ryan Granito and Matt Cruz each added 4 points, and Luke Fresco chipped in with 3 points. Piscataway stayed within striking distance as four different players scored led by Carlos Edmundo, who had 4 points. Randle, Ezeonu, and Andre Bates each chipped in with two.
The JV Falcons collected their 16 points on four field goals, two threes, and 2 of 6 from the foul line. Meanwhile, the Junior Chiefs scored their 10 points on four field goals, and a perfect 2 of 2 from the foul line. P-Way began to turn the tide in the second quarter with a 23-18 showing to pull within one at 34-33 at the intermission. Seven different players scored for the JV Chiefs led by Ezeonu, who had 6 points in the period.
Holdman scored 5 of his points in the period while Antonio Chandler added 4 points and Humphries, Randle, Edmundo, and Daryl DeCohen each chipped in with two points. St. Joseph’s countered with four different players scored led by freshman Howard McBurnie, who scored all 9 of his points in the period. Dan Young chipped in with 5 points while sophomores Jack Hogarty and Matt Crowley added 2 points. P-Way collected its 23 points on 10 field goals and 3 of 5 from the foul line while St. Joe’s tallied its 18 points on 5 field goals and a perfect 8 of 8 from the charity stripe.
In the third, Piscataway took control of the game for good by outscoring St. Joseph’s by a 24-20 margin in the frame for a 57-54 lead. The Junior Chiefs had seven different players score including Humphries, who led the way with 6 points. Bates and Holdman each added 4 points while Randle and Angelo Manalaysay each chipped in with 3 points. Ezeonu and Perez each contributed with 2 points. St. Joseph’s countered with six different players scoring led by Young with 6 points.
Fresco and Granito each added 4 points while Hogarty, Crowley, and Cruz each chipped in with 2 points. Piscataway compiled its 24 points on 8 field goals, a three pointer, and 5 of 7 from the foul line. St. Joseph’s collected its 20 points on 6 field goals, a three pointer, and 5 of 6 from the foul line. Piscataway finished off the win by turning in its third straight 20 point quarter in the game.
The JV Chiefs edged the JV Falcons by a margin of 20-17 in the final period for the 77-71 victory. P-Way had four different players score including Perez, who had 7 of his 9 points in the final period. Ezeonu added 6 of his points in the final frame while Manalaysay and DeCohen chipped in with 4 and 3 points respectively. Young did his best to keep the Falcons in the game with 7 points in the final frame.
Crowley added 5 points while Cruz chipped in with 4 and Granito contributed with a point as four different St. Joe’s players scored. Piscataway collected its 20 points on 7 field goals and 6 of 11 from the foul line while St. Joseph’s compiled its 17 points in the stanza on 3 field goals, 2 threes, and 5 of 8 from the foul line. The game was dominated by free throws as both teams combined to attempt 54 foul shots.
The game saw both teams reach the double bonus before the halfway point of both the second and fourth periods. The officials called the game very closely. Piscataway was only making its third finals appearance since 2003. The JV Chiefs lost in the finals to New Brunswick in 2003 and then lost to Hillsborough in the 2010 JV Championship (64-41). St. Joseph’s made its third trip to the JV finals in the last four years, each time they came up short.
In 2014, St. Joe’s, which was the 9th seed, lost to third seeded East Brunswick (50-37). The following year, the top seeded Junior Falcons lost to second seeded South Brunswick (57-56) in a thriller. Last year, St. Joseph’s lost to South Brunswick in the Final Four. Since 2002, the JV Falcons have appeared in the EB/GMC JV finals 7 times and won the tourney three times (2002, 2007, and 2012).
These two teams played each other twice during the regular season as part of their GMC Red Division schedule. Both teams split by winning on their home court. In the first meeting at P-Way on December 20th, the JV Chiefs won by the score of 56-54. St. Joseph’s won the second time at Maglio Gymnasium in Metuchen on January 19th, 65-51. With the victory, Piscataway’s JV team finished 20-4 while St. Joseph’s JV finished the season also at 20-4.
DID YOU KNOW? Piscataway’s freshmen team also won over St. Joseph’s in the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tourney Final. P-Way’s freshmen was also a 2nd seed while St. Joseph’s was the 8th seed. Piscataway’s varsity made it to the GMCT Quarterfinals for the first time since 2012. Things are starting to look up for P-Way, which is historically one of the top public school programs all time in Middlesex County. St. Joseph’s JV head coach, Bill Kilduff, was the last coach at St. Pius in Piscataway before it closed in 1990. Back then, Kilduff coached a 1,000 point scorer in Kim D’Angillio, and the Bruins scored a huge upset that year by defeating the Ed Bolton and Craig Kearney led South Plainfield Tigers at SPHS in mid-January 1990.