Outlook: These two teams are quite familiar with one another, and that can work in the Falcons favor. You know the old cliche of how it's always hard to beat the same team three times in one season. Take for instance what happened in the Round of 16 when 19th seeded Spotswood took on third seeded Bishop Ahr. The Trojans, which dominated Spotswood during the regular season including a 63-50 win on the road at SHS just a week earlier on Feburary 7th, only defeated the Chargers by five, 41-36 in the first round matchup.

Then, there's the presence of third year head coach, Dave Turco, who is about to turn in his third straight 20 win season. The real kicker about this effort by Turco is that it is with a team that has eight sophomores and three freshmen on the roster including point guard, Steve Rennard, and diaper dandy forward, Robbie Ashamole, who both are in the starting five usually. St. Joseph's has only lost once (Notre Dame 50-44 in the 2008 Prime Time Shootout) in games against non-conference teams, and only lost to Piscataway (twice), J.P. Stevens (twice), and a tough crossover loss at home to another semifinalist in Colonia on January 5th (47-41).

Meanwhile, Piscataway has only lost three times all season, and collected its first twenty win season during the heyday of Celestand and Bailey back in the mid 1990s. The Chiefs only lost three times including two overtime games to Bridgewater (55-54) in the 2007 Vaughn Stapleton Classic, and Cardinal McCarrick (70-65) on January 19th in South Amboy. The other loss was to national powerhouse, Oak Hill Academy from Virginia in the Prime Time Shootout, 81-39. The Chiefs started out the season on a roll with impressive victories over the likes of Immaculata of Somerville and Seton Hall Prep in the Stapleton Classic, and then a lopsided win on the road at J.P. Stevens right after the New Year. However, mid-season disciplinary problems hurt P-Way, and the team has done well, but hasn't captured that same sense of invincibility that it had earlier in the year.

These two teams did battle each other during the summer at the 2007 TBSA Summer League in Edison, and the Falcons played the Chiefs tough for a half before Piscataway pulled away in the second half for the win. P-Way has a significant advantage up front with the likes of J.D. Griggs, Omar Smith, and Tristian Benjamin on the frontline. In addition, the Chiefs have the likes of Aaron Hush, Wayne Newsome, and Antoine Beverly off the bench. Let's not forget about the backcourt with the likes of James White and Bryan Waluk bringing their fierce defense and balanced scoring into the fray. Reserves such as Justin Blake, Thomas Bennett, and Jeff Adkins also contribute in the backcourt.

For the Falcons, on the other hand, Rennard, and Nikko Vastola bring up the ball, and provide scoring from the perimeter while Paul Konopacki, Gerard Lewis, and Ashamole anchor the frontline. Steve Brandenberg comes off the bench with his hard nosed play, and provides some scoring punch as well as some rebounding, solid play down low, and nice passing. Gagan Dhaliwal, Mike Simpson, Mark Bauer, and Matt Delaney are sophomores that have no fear, and provide plenty of depth. Both teams are very deep, but the Chiefs are more of a veteran ballclub, and have more tournament experience with their run last year. Hush has been playing extremely well lately, and could be a key factor in the Chiefs prospects.

Tristian Benjamin recently returned to the lineup for Piscataway, and in the last several games has played well including six points off the bench in the loss to Oak Hill, and a share of team high in points with 11 in Piscataway's win against Carteret in the Quarterfinals. Benjamin is a player, who can be blazing hot from the floor at times, or icy cold. Perhaps he is the GMC's version of John Starks in the sense that he can either be feast or famine when it comes to scoring. However, if he is on his game offensively watch out. He has a knock of hitting the short to mid-range jumper. He can slash to the basket, and wont hesitate to make big plays on defense, and turn them into points on offense like his steal for a rim rocking jam in the first half against Seton Hall Prep back in December.

P-Way will need to utilize, J.D. Griggs more. In the victory over Carteret, Griggs only had one field goal, and that didn't come until the 4:07 mark of the fourth quarter. The senior forward needs to get touches not just necessarily for field goals, but also because he can get to the line, and make his free throws as his charity stripe efforts against South Brunswick on January 24th can attest. Omar Smith shared team high honors in scoring with Benjamin, but had a tough day from the floor (4 of 12 FG) versus the Ramblers. Smith needs to make a few more of those shots, particularly down low. Meanwhile, the key for St. Joseph's will be how Rennard handles Piscataway's pressure defense. He's probably well seasoned in it by now since this will be his fifth game against P-Way in his career, but this contest is on a different stage, and his poise and steady direction against Ahr will be needed again versus the Chiefs.

I like Brandenberg coming off the bench. The kid known more as Larry Bird with his floppy blond hair reminiscent of the Indiana State and Boston Celtics legend also has some of the Birdman's trademark passing ability. He can do a lot of the little things for you as his 9 point, 7 rebound, and 3 assist performance against the Trojans on Sunday illustrated. He hustles, dives for loose balls, battles for rebounds, and more importanty, he's a veteran, which on a team with so many youngsters, is so vital. Lewis will have his hands full tonight down low with Griggs, Smith, and Benjamin, but expect Konopacki to help out. Last year in a game at the Bird Cage versus the Chiefs, Konopacki stood tall by using his athletic ability that makes him such a solid volleyball player along with his fearlessness, to go amongst the P-Way trees, and make 7 of 9 shots from the floor for 14 points in a 56-49 win.

Vastola will be a key for St. Joseph's. He has been playing better, and had 12 points including a layup for the first field goal in overtime during the victory over Bishop Ahr on Sunday. If he could get into a rhythm early offensively against Piscataway, that would really help the Falcon chances, and open things up a little. Konopacki and Vastola will have to run the floor well and combine with Rennard's ability to see the floor to get transition and easy basket opportunities like they did during the summer. The Falcons and Chiefs are neck and neck in terms of points allowed this season. However, the Chiefs have been the better team on the defensive side of the ball in the previous two meetings.

Potentially, St. Joseph's can shoot better from the perimeter than the Chiefs, but P-Way's tough defensive backcourt neutralizes that. The frontcourt has to go to P-Way. But, don't count out Turco and his kids since the sophomores are pretty much juniors now, and the familiarity of P-Way will prove to be a benefit. This one will be much closer than the previous two.

GMC Hoops Pick: Piscataway

Outlook: This game will most likely be the closer of the two matchups, and if I think the first game will be much closer than most everyone thinks, this one will be down to the wire like the two Quarterfinal games including the one that involved Colonia on Sunday. The Pats are out to prove that they're still a good ball club despite losing Nnamdi Usuwa to disciplinary reasons. The team has adjusted to life without the athletic 6'5" junior forward, and have relied more on Brandon Hall to take over games while getting steady performances from J.J. D'Amico, and solid defense to put together their current win streak. Since losing to Carteret (58-46) on January 18th, Colonia has won seven of its last eight games with its only loss coming out of conference in a showcase in Paterson against Hackensack of Bergen County, and the NNJIL (59-54) on January 26th.

Meanwhile, Cardinal McCarrick has only lost one game since losing to Lincoln of Jersey City (59-47) on the opening day of action at the 2007 Joe Silver Round Robin in Hillside. The only loss came at the hands of a Union Farmers team that defeated Linden in overtime on February 5th (81-74), and only lost to a prominent New York basketball program in Mount Vernon by four. The Union victory snapped a 17 game winning streak by the Eagles that included victories over Snyder of Jersey City, Hillside, South Brunswick, Colonia, Piscataway, and Bishop Ahr. The Eagles lone loss in conference play was at the hands of the Trojans on December 22nd in South Amboy. In the victory over Colonia, Cardy Mac outscored the Pats by a margin of 34-21 in the second half including a 16-5 tear in the third quarter the put the Eagles back into the game.

For Colonia to win, they will need to put together that same defensive effort in the first half in the first meeting on January 16th for all 32 minutes. If they can keep Burwell to anywhere between 15 and 22 points, they'll have a good shot. The Patriots will need, however, to minimize the turnovers, and prevent Appiah and Widgeon from attacking the glass. They will also need to keep Rosario in front of them, and not let him slash to the basket like he did in the second half of that first contest. Hall and D'Amico will have to step up and put together some decent numbers offensively. Jordan Edmonds will be a key as well since he hit some pretty clutch shots down the stretch in the first meeting. If the junior can provide some additional scoring to balance things out, CHS has a very good chance of winning. Mike Karabin's hustle, defense, and ability to hit the jumper as well will also play a key role for the Patriots.

The Eagles must hope for Burwell to start off well from the perimeter. If he is shaky like he was against South Amboy, it could be a good sign of an upset. Burwell should try to go to the basket early on to get himself in a rhythm, and then try to work his way out. Perhaps taking some midrange jumpers, or bank shots will get him going. Anything to get him feeling good since he will need to put in a big game in such a big stage. Can't forget about Rosario, who will be playing away from his favorite confines of Middlesex County College, where he has shot 17 of 22 over his last two games there, but will still be looking to prove that he is a special player as well. Appiah will be another key again. His ability to crash the boards along with Branten Widgeon exploits a bugaboo Colonia has had the past couple season at least in games GMC Hoops has seen.

Take for instance, a game in early December last season against East Brunswick at CHS. Besides the fact that Hall was saddled with foul trouble and eventually fouled out, which set the stage for heroics from reserve Mike Salvador in overtime, the Bears pounded the offensive glass for putbacks and tip-ins as players such as John McLaughlin exploited the Pats inability to box out. Appiah brought those memories back with nine offensive rebounds including many in the second half to step up while Burwell was struggling, and Rosario was getting himself going for the win. Sean Williams will be one to watch off the bench for Cardy Mac. Williams scored seven points in the win over Ahr last month, and scored 13 in the victory on Sunday versus South Amboy. The senior, who is one of three players from the 2005 freshmen team that finished third behind Ahr and JFK in the Blue, and was seeded fifth in the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament, has a knack to do a lot of the little things like his performance against Middlesex on January 28th can illustrate.

Comparing these two teams, I feel that both have equally good perimeter games when everyone is shooting well, but the Pats have a better overall backcourt with Hall. McCarrick has the taller, and probably more athletic frontline, but Colonia is slightly better defensively despite the fact that the Eagles have improve tremendously in this area during the course of the year, and are much better than they have been in recent years.

GMC Hoops Pick: Colonia