SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–The second day of action around the Greater Middlesex Conference in 2010 was one that did open some eyes. East Brunswick is the only undefeated team in the GMC now with a 5-0 mark after the Bears cruised past Woodbridge, 63-36 at WHS. The Bears, which defeated North Brunswick and New Brunswick over the holidays in the inaugural Brunswick Classic, was pre-season ranked fourth by GMC Hoops behind McCarrick, Monroe, and St. Joseph’s. So, there’s no surprise here in EB getting off to a solid start.
Middlesex won an afternoon game at Pingry, which helps the GMC improve its record against the Skyland Conference to 5-6 overall. The conference had started the season at 0-4 against Skyland foes before the Jays ended the skid with a come from behind 37-34 victory over Manville in the opening round of the Shello/Santy Tournament in Dunellen. Now, the GMC has won five of its last seven against the Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren conference. Also, after a 5-7 start against non-conference competition, the Greater Middlesex Conference has won 25 of its last 39 games to have a mark of 30-21 against foes outside Middlesex County.
New Brunswick won its second game in a row with a 59-55 decision over Colonia. The Zebras, which started the season at 0-3 after losing to Cardinal McCarrick on December 23rd, has won three of its last four with the only loss coming against East Brunswick in the Championship Game of the Brunswick Classic (68-62). The Zebras are starting to show that they are worthy of being placed in the GMC Hoops Pre-Season Top Ten. The Patriots on the other hand, remain winless at 0-5 with four of the losses coming by a combined total of 16 points. A team that is young and suffered heavy losses to graduation, particularly on the front line (Nnamdi Usuwa and Mike Nweme), has been competitive against a tough early season schedule.
Carteret pulled off its second big upset of the season by defeating ninth ranked Sayreville (50-47) on Monday night at CHS. The Ramblers, which defeated Cardinal McCarrick at home on December 21st, has now won two straight, and are 3-1 in conference play. CHS is also 2-0 at home. The Bombers have now lost two in a row after starting the season at 3-1. However, Sayreville has also been very competitive with all three of its losses coming by a combined total of 10 points including a loss in overtime at Monroe on December 21st (66-62). The wins by New Brunswick and Carteret along with the competitiveness of Colonia and Sayreville is further proof that the GMC White will be another dogfight this season.
St. Joseph’s returned to regular season play with a tougher game than expected versus Old Bridge at the Bird Cage in Metuchen on Monday night. The Falcons prevailed 56-51 over the Knights after pulling out the victory down the stretch in an otherwise sloppy game. The Knights have to feel good after starting the year at 4-2, and only losing to St. Joe’s by five on the road, especially after the Falcons battered them twice last season. The verdict is still out on Old Bridge, but its starting to become clearer that they might be for real in 2009-10. A solid effort at home against undefeated East Brunswick this week will further solidify the Knights in the GMC Red.
In other action, North Brunswick improved to 6-1 by defeating a South Plainfield team (57-44) that has been a nemesis of sorts over the past couple seasons. Entering into Monday night, the Raiders had played the Tigers four times with SPHS winning three of the four including both games last season. South Brunswick had to go to overtime to beat still winless Edison (0-6) by a score of 59-56 while Perth Amboy got back on the winning track with a 51-36 victory at J.P. Stevens. The Hawks also remain winless at 0-5.