We've just archived the summaries on several scrimmages that we covered in the pre-season, the three games seen at the 2006 Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic at Seton Hall University on December 17th, the Freshmen and JV Games of the Week, Freshmen and JV Roundups, blog entries, and all the summaries for the month of December, 2006, the first, second, third, and fourth weeks of January, 2007, and the first and second weeks of Feburary, 2007 in the summaries archive.

GMC Hoops Summaries--February 24, 2007
GMC Tournament--Championship

Smith Leads P-Way To First GMCT Crown Since 1995, 59-50

By Greg Machos
February 24, 2007

PISCATAWAY, NJ—For the first time since the days of John Celestand, Justin Bailey, Delvon McMillan, and Derek Clapps, the Chiefs of Piscataway have a conference championship. After having a 4-20 season that those in P-Way would like to forget in 2005-06, the Chiefs put together a run for a championship that many will remember for a long time. Outrebounding McCarrick by a 45-14 margin, and limiting Vince Rosario to just 5 of 20 shooting from the field including 1 of his last 15 over the final three periods of the game, Piscataway jumped out to a 30-24 halftime lead, and then pulled away from a 42-38 third quarter lead for the 59-50 victory over Cardinal McCarrick for its first conference championship since 1995. Junior forward, Omar Smith led the way for the victors with 7 of 10 shooting from the floor for 14 points along with 14 rebounds for a double-double as well as three assists, two steals, and a block. Mike Woodall chipped in off the bench with a 5 of 7 effort for 10 points along with three steals, an assist, and a rebound.

Sophomore forward, Tristian Benjamin made five of eight shots and one of two from the foul line for 11 points along with 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, an assist, and a steal. J.D. Griggs chipped in with seven points on three field goals and a foul shot to go along with 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, an assist, and a steal. Junior guard, Brian Waluk helped out by adding two field goals and a 4 of 5 showing at the foul line for 8 points as well as 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. James White contributed with 7 points on two field goals and a 3 of 4 showing at the line as well as five assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Soeke Lumor only had two points on a field goal in three attempts, but he came up big on the boards as well with eight rebounds. Also playing, but not scoring for Piscataway were: Thomas Bennett (0 of 1 FG and an assist), Joel Crayton (0 of 4 FGs and a block), Tyshaun Jackson (0 of 1 FG and an assist), and Junior Belle.

Meanwhile, Mike Burwell led the way in a losing cause for McCarrick with a 6 of 13 shooting effort from the floor including a three pointer, and 3 of 5 makes from the foul line for 16 points as well as 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Vince Rosario ended up 5 of 20 from the floor including two three pointers, and made two of four attempts at the line for 14 points along with 6 assists, 4 rebounds, a block, and a charge. Carlos Garcia did what he could to help out offensively with a 3 of 7 effort from the floor with all three made field goals coming from beyond the arc for all nine of his points while picking up three assists, two charges, and a rebound. Branten Widgeon helped out with a 2 of 3 effort from the floor for four points along with a steal. Rounding out the scoring for the Eagles were: Ricky McCutcheon (1 of 2 FGs and 0 of 1 FTs for 2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal), Julio Rosario (1 of 2 FGs for 2 points, 3 steals, and a block), and Colin Romer (a three pointer in his only shot attempt for three points along with a rebound). Rolffi Canela (0 of 3 FGs) also played, but didn’t score.

For the game, Piscataway shot just 25 of 57 from the floor for 43.9 percent and had no three pointers on the night. However, the Chief defense limited McCarrick to just 19 of 51 shooting from the floor for 37.3 percent including seven three pointers to keep the Eagles in it as long as possible. P-Way also got a slight edge in the free throw shooting department with a 9 of 18 showing for 50 percent while the Eagles were just 5 of 11 from the charity stripe for 45.4 percent. Turnovers were fairly even, but the Chiefs again got a slight edge, 16 to 17. In other statistical areas, Piscataway enjoyed advantages in rebounding (45-14), assists (17-14), steals (9-5), and blocks (7-2). McCarrick only held edges in three pointers (7-0) and charges (3-0). Both teams scored double digit points in each period with Piscataway outscoring McCarrick in the second and fourth, the Eagles garnering a 14-12 edge in the third, and the first period scoring was even. The Chief efforts in both the second and fourth proved to be the difference as Piscataway outscored McCarrick by a 33-22 margin. McCarrick went just 9 of 26 from the floor in the first half, and 10 of 25 in the second half while P-Way went 14 of 30 over the first two periods including a nice 7 of 13 showing from the floor to open the game, and 11 of 27 in the final two periods. Both teams were somewhat familiar with each other after competing in a scrimmage back on December 7th in Piscataway. McCarrick got the slight edge that day, but it was a hard fought defensive war. This game was still as physical, but as the game progressed, it became evident that the Chiefs were the better team on this day.

Things were a bit scary for the Chiefs early on as White picked up two quick fouls in the first 4:11 of the game. Nevertheless, Piscataway jumped out to a 6-4 lead on a White jumper from Waluk, and a layup by Griggs off an assist by Benjamin. A little more than a half minute later, Garcia fed Rosario for a trifecta from the top of the key for a 7-6 McCarrick lead. P-Way took the lead back with a score, but the Eagles returned the favor courtesy of another Rosario three pointer. This time it was set up by Burwell, who passed to the senior guard for another trey from the top of the key to make it 10-8 with 1:52 left in the period. Lumor then tied the game with a follow off of a Crayton miss to knot it at 10-10 at the 1:25 mark. Both teams continued to go back and forth as they exchanged baskets the rest of the way for a 14-14 tie going into the second. Altogether, there were seven lead changes and seven ties in just the opening period alone. Rosario came out blazing with ten of his team’s fourteen points on 4 of 5 shooting from the floor including two threes as the McCarrick strategy of getting Rosario going early utilized in the South Brunswick game was working to perfection once more. However, things gradually began to turn the other way for Rosario and his Eagles. Piscataway’s frontline, physical play, stifiling defense, and sheer athleticism began to wear down McCarrick.

In the first minute of the second quarter, Piscataway took the lead on the first of a number of offensive rebounds and putbacks by Smith. This time it happened to be one off of a miss by Griggs to make the score, 16-14. Rosario got McCarrick’s first points of the frame by making one of two foul shots at the 6:23 mark to make the score, 16-15. However, twenty-five seconds after that, Smith scored again, on another offensive rebound and putback as a theme was beginning to develop here with the Chiefs now leading, 18-15 with 5:58 to go before halftime. Just under a minute would go by before Burwell got a score for the Eagles to make it 18-17 as Piscataway’s head coach, Guy Jensen called for a timeout. Following the stoppage, McCarrick would take the lead as Burwell tipped in a Rosario miss to make it 19-18 at the 4:17 mark. On the next Piscataway possession, Waluk made a pair of free throws to put the Chiefs ahead again, 20-19 at the 4:09 mark. The Eagles would reply right away though with a layup by Rosario from McCutcheon to make it 21-20 at the 3:53 mark. Rosario then followed that up with a fine defensive play as he drew a charge on Smith at the 3:44 mark. Both teams continued to go back and forth for a bit more as the Chiefs would tie things up at 24-24 with a 4-3 run over the next 2:02 before Garcia drew another charge on Smith for his second personal foul at the 1:51 mark. The Eagles had chances to take the lead again, but Burwell missed a front end of a one and one at the 1:30 mark, and Romer did the same at the 25.2 mark. Meanwhile, the Chiefs broke away from the deadlock with a 6-0 run to end the half as Woodall got two field goals down the stretch to highlight the burst to make it 30-24 in favor of the Chiefs at the break. In addition to the seven lead changes and ties in the first period, there were another six lead changes and a tie before P-Way broke away going into the intermission. So, in total, the first half had 13 lead changes and 8 ties alone.

In the second quarter, Rosario was just 1 of 6 from the field while the rest of the Eagles were 3 of 8 for a 4 of 14 team showing in the frame. Meanwhile, Piscataway fared a bit better at 7 of 17 from the floor, but it was good enough to give them a six point lead at half. Overall in the first half, Rosario was 5 of 11 from the field including two three points, and made one of two at the line for 13 points while Burwell made 3 of 6 shots from the floor, and 2 of 3 from the foul line for 8 points to make up 88.9 percent of the Eagle offense. On the other side, P-Way was much more balanced with Griggs, Benjamin, Woodall, and Smith all scoring six points each to account for 80 percent of the Chief offense while shooting a combined 12 of 20 for 60 percent. Each team had ten turnovers in the first half although the Chiefs made seven miscues in the second period while McCarrick only made five. Another factor that loomed over the Eagles was three personal fouls for Julio Rosario over the first two periods of action. In the second half though, Rosario’s older brother Vince, would be shut down to the tune of only one point over the final two periods of the game as Piscataway outscored the South Amboy parochial school, 29-26.

As the third period got underway, Piscataway continued to pound the offensive boards. One particular possession, Griggs had two offensive rebounds and a putback attempt, and then Smith grabbed another offensive board that led to White feeding Waluk, who was cutting to the basket for a layup to make it 32-24 with 6:44 to go in the frame as the Eagles called for time. Following the timeout, the Eagles fought back with six straight points including a score by McCutcheon from Burwell to make it 32-30 at the 5:40 mark. McCutcheon had a chance to cut the lead even further as he was fouled on the play, but he missed the bonus foul shot for the conventional three point play, and the Chiefs called a 30 second timeout. After the stoppage, P-Way ended the period with a 10-8 edge for a 42-38 lead as Rosario was still looking for his first points of the second half. At the start of the fourth, Rosario finally got on the board with one of two free throws to make it 44-39 in favor of the Chiefs at the 6:57. On a previous possession, Benjamin scored a layup for Piscataway off an assist by Waluk. Unbeknownst to Rosario, that would be his final point of the contest. The Chiefs then scored the next four points as Smith got a basket off an assist by White, and then got another bucket on a putback to make it 48-39 before Burwell got a free throw to make it 48-40 at the 4:36 mark.

After a Piscataway timeout, and White picked up his fourth personal on a push off at the 3:34 mark, Garcia made a three pointer to cap a 5-3 run to make it 51-45 as the Eagles called a timeout with 3:03 to play. Although White would foul out at the one minute mark, the Chiefs stayed in control the rest of the way with seven of the next nine points to take a 58-47 lead including two free throws by Waluk. Garcia hit another trey to make it 58-50 with 24.4 to play, but Benjamin closed out the scoring with one of two foul shots in the waning moments for the 59-50 victory. With the win, Piscataway completes a remarkable turnaround with its first GMCT crown in a dozen years. P-Way improved its record to 16-9 overall, and 14-6 in the GMC while McCarrick drops to 19-6 overall, and 17-4 in conference play. Each team moves on to the states where the Chiefs open up play on February 26th at Watchung Hills in the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV Tournament while McCarrick will begin play on Friday, March 2nd at home against Trenton Catholic in the Quarterfinal round of the Non-Public B South State Tournament. Earlier in the day, the Lady Chiefs made it a clean sweep for Piscataway as they defeated South Plainfield in a hard fought championship game, 51-47. Piscataway led in the Girls Championship Game, 49-44, but South Plainfield got a three point play to make it 49-47. The Lady Tigers had several chances to tie including an intentional foul at the 44.5 second mark, but came up empty in two attempts at the foul line, and after several more chances in Piscataway’s end of the floor, turned the ball over with 22.2 seconds to go. The Lady Chiefs then put the game away with a score at the 9.6 second mark for the four point victory.

GMC Hoops Summaries--February 24, 2007
Week Ten Of Action

Cardinals Say Goodbye To Its Fans With 60-47 Victory Over Monroe

By Greg Machos
February 24, 2007

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ--It's always hard to say goodbye. Especially, when you are a proud basketball program like the St. Peter's Boys Basketball team. Although the feathers of the Cardinals have been ruffled in recent years, the program has always been synonymous with success in Middlesex County, and this year's edition of the team did its best to restore some of the old luster. The Cards capped its best regular season since the 1998-99 campaign with its fifteenth win of the season in the final game ever to be played at the Old Red Tile Palace barring an upset of St. Rose in the Quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA Non-Public B South State Tournament, and more importantly, an upset by Timothy Christian, a team St. Peter's has beaten twice this season, over top seed Gloucester Catholic. In a game that wasn't scheduled until recently, St. Peter's jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first quarter, went on a 14-6 spurt during the second, and opened the third quarter with a 9-4 run to take a 41-22 lead, and went on to win easily over the Monroe Falcons, 60-47.

Monroe, which began the season with a 8-3 record in its first eleven games, have stumbled on hard times since. Although the 2006 GMCT Final Four member qualified for the state tournament for the second year in a row, it has lost a key player in senior Shamil Graham with a broken fifth metatarsal in his pinky toe, and now lost eleven of its last fifteen. Tough way to enter competition in the state tournament, where the ninth seeded Falcons will travel to Hamilton to take on eighth seeded Hamilton West in a rematch of last year's Central Jersey Group III Championship Game. MTHS started the game going 3 of 15 from the floor, and turned the ball over nine times in the first period of play while St. Peter's made 7 of 17 attempts, and committed seven miscues. Things didn't get much better as the Cards shot 8 of 15 in the second for a 15 of 32 effort from the floor in the first half while Monroe did slightly better than in the first going 5 of 13, but was 8 of 28 from the field and had 13 turnovers at haltime. For the game, the Cardinals were a blazing 28 of 52 from the floor including two threes for 53.8 percent while Monroe was the complete opposite although it improved a bit by virtue of a solid 18-11 fourth quarter showing to end up with a 19 of 55 effort including four threes for 34.5 percent.

There weren't a lot of free throws in this game as the Falcons went 5 of 6 at the charity stripe for 83 percent while the Cardinals were only 2 of 4 for 50 percent. In other statistical areas, St. Peter's enjoyed advantages in rebounding (33-22), assists (19-13), and charges (1-0). Both teams had three blocks each while Monroe held edges in three pointers (4-2), steals (10-4), and astonishgly turnovers after a rocky first half (20-22). The home team scored in double figures in each period while the visitors di so in each of the final three frames. The Cards outscored the Purple Birds in each of the first three periods while Monroe got the edge in the fourth. St. Peter's got its third GMC crossover victory over the season, and its most impressive since Monroe is two divisions above in the GMC White, and a state tourney qualifier. Couple that with the fact that Cardinal McCarrick lost to Piscataway in the GMCT Championship Game, 59-50, the Cardinals are now in first place in the latest GMC Hoops Trophy Standings with eight points, one ahead of Piscataway.

Once again leading the way for St. Peter's was junior forward, Justin Morgan, who has had a knack for playing well under the GMC Hoops spotlight with 17 points on 8 of 13 shooting for 61.5 percent while making his only free throw attempt. He also collected eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal. Point guard, Brandell Whitehead had perhaps his best game covered by the web site with 7 of 11 shooting from the floor including a three pointer for 63.6 percent, and 15 points. The junior also picked up five assists, four rebounds, and a steal. Sophomore Dominic Appiah made 4 of 7 shots 57.1 percent, and one of three at the line for nine points. Like Morgan, the St. Peter's center also grabbed eight rebounds while handing out an assist. Junior standout, Travis Evans made 4 of 10 shots for an even 40 percent shooting for 8 points while also collecting 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Adrian Johnston went 3 of 7 from the floor for 6 points along with 3 rebounds, an assist, and a charge. Michael Gilbert chipped in with a three pointer in the second half for his only points while handing out two assists, and senior reserve, Johnnie Curry, who recently became eligible, made one of two shots for two points along with four rebounds, an assist, and a block to round out the Cardinal scoring. Mike Rosado and Bruce Vereen-Nealous also played, for the Cards, but didn't score. On the other side of the ledger, three Monroe players: Juniors Justin Mitchell and Ivan Barreto and sophomore Steven Blish, each had seven points each while Vinny Mahmoud added six. However, senior Mark Gulick led the way with 10 points on four of nine shooting including two threes. Gulick also picked up four assists, three rebounds, and a steal.

Mitchell also collected three rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal while Barreto picked up two assists, two steals, and a rebound. Blish had three rebounds and an assist. Mahmoud added four assists, three rebounds, and two steals to his stat pile. Ryan Clark made two field goals for four points along with four rebounds and a block. Freshman Ken Pace Jr. came in the game in the fourth quarter along with Tim Brix, Brian Rudowitz, Joey Ruopoli, and Blake Bascom to round out the Monroe scoring. Pace had a field goal for two points along with a rebound, assist, and a steal. Ruopoli added a field goal for two points, and Bascom made two at the foul line for his two points along with an assist. Rudowitz (a steal), Brix (a steal), James Pellino (three rebounds), and Ryan Walp (a rebound) played, but didn't score. St. Peter's got going quickly with six of the first eight points over a span of 2:11 as Appiah, Morgan, and Johnston all made field goals to give the Cards a 6-2 lead. Curry, who was honored before the game since it was Senior Day, got his only two points of the battle with a layup off an assist by Whitehead to make it 8-2 at the 2:53 mark after neither team scored for nearly three minutes. The Cardinals then added two more scores to make it a double digit lead at 12-2 before Monroe got two straight scores including a steal and layup by Bareto at the 1:29 mark to make it 12-6 in favor of St. Peter's. Morgan then closed out the first quarter scoring with a bucket to make it 14-6 going into the second.

The second quarter began with a layup by Appiah off an assist by Whitehead for a 16-6 lead before Barreto answered with a three pointer from Gulick to make it 16-9 at the 6:09 mark. Over the next 5:07, St. Peter's blitzed the Purple Birds again with a 14-6 tear that included a three point play by Appiah as he was fouled while shooting a jumper that had a kind bounce to make it 30-15 with a little over a minute left in the first half. The Falcons then scored three of the last five points of the second period to go into the locker room trailing, 32-18 at the break. Whitehead led the first half scoring for the Cards with 8 points on four of seven shooting to go along with three assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Appiah added a 3 of 4 effort plus that bonus free throw for 7 points as well as 5 rebounds. Morgan was only 3 of 7 for 6 points along with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal, but he would heat up in the second half. Meanwhile, Barreto led Monroe with all seven of his points in the first half on a perfect three of three from the field to go along with an assist and a steal. The third quarter began much like the first half ended with St. Peter's on the attack. The Cardinals scored nine of the first thirteen points of the second half over a span of 3:39 to take a nineteen point lead. Capping the run was an offensive rebound and assist on a three pointer by Whitehead from the left wing to make it 41-22 at the 4:21 mark.

Monroe finished out the period with an 8-7 effort, and then made it respectable with an 18-11 showing in the fourth for a 26-18 run over the final 12:21 to make it a 60-47 Cardinal victory. With the win, St. Peter's closed out the regular season at 15-8, and 9-6 in conference play while Monroe dropped to 12-14 and 8-13 in the GMC.

GMC Hoops Summaries--February 20, 2007
GMC Tournament--Semifinals

McCarrick Stuns South Brunswick In Semfinal Thriller, 67-64

By Greg Machos
February 20, 2007

EDISON, NJ—This was the game we had hoped to see back on January 13th in South Brunswick. On that day, South Brunswick was the top ranked team, and Cardinal McCarrick was the second ranked team in just about all the respective area polls. However, the Vikings dominated the Eagles, and since that time Cardinal McCarrick slipped to ultimately end up with a fifth seed in the 2007 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. In the tournament though, the Eagles have straightened their feathers, and regained some of the shine it had earlier in the season. After winning its opening round game over Edison, 68-50, McCarrick avenged a late season loss to East Brunswick on February 3rd with a 71-62 victory in the Elite Eight round. On the other hand, South Brunswick continued to register wins although complacency may have set in on the top ranked and top seeded Vikes.

Teams that the Vikings were beating by twenty-five, thirty, or forty points, were now only losing by single digits, and the aura of invincibility that had surrounded South Brunswick all season seemed to have eroded somewhat until the first two rounds of play in the GMCT. In the Round of 16 against sixteenth seeded Sayreville, the Vikings simply rolled to an 85-43 rout of the Bombers. Moving on to the Quarterfinals, South Brunswick jumped out to a 26-6 lead in the first quarter, and never looked back in an 84-50 blowout of ninth seeded Bishop Ahr. The fire was back in the belly of the Vikings to put their stamp on GMC Tournament history along with the likes of the 2004 South Plainfield Tigers, which were the last team to go through its entire conference regular season and tournament undefeated. For a while in the first half it seemed that South Brunswick High School was well on its way with another easy win over McCarrick. After only leading by three after one period, 14-11, the Vikes opened the second with a 19-5 rampage with its trademark style of defense and transition offense for a 33-16 lead midway through the second quarter.

However, the Eagles somehow weathered the storm, and embarked on a 15-0 run over the next 5:15 that included an 8-0 spurt to end the first half, and a 7-0 burst to begin the second to make the score, 33-31 in favor of SBHS with 6:15 to go in the third as Viking second year head coach, Chris Balent, called for time. From that point until the end, this game grew into a classic for the ages as McCarrick with only four players getting into the scoring fought toe to toe with a team many had labeled as a juggernaut that couldn’t be stopped. Led by senior Vince Rosario, who ended up going 12 of 21 from the floor on the night including four three pointers for 57.1 percent, and one of three at the foul line for a game high 29 points as well as seven assists, three rebounds, a steal, and a charge, Cardy Mac took down Goliath, 67-64, in a semifinal reminiscent of the 1992-93 South Brunswick team’s win over Perth Amboy in the Final Four of the 1993 GMCT. Junior forward, and Highland Park transfer, Mike Burwell chipped in with 20 points on 7 of 13 shooting from the floor including three trifectas for 53.8 percent, and 3 of 4 at the foul line. But the real hero in this game was sophomore forward and younger brother of Vince Rosario, Julio, who had perhaps the game of his young career at McCarrick with 7 of 9 shooting from the floor including two treys for 77.8 percent and 16 points.

The younger Rosario also came up big in other areas with three blocks, three steals, three rebounds, and an assist while Burwell collected a double-double with 11 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists, and a steal. The only other McCarrick player to score was senior reserve guard, Colin Romer, who made one of two field goal attempts for two points along with two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Romer also did a splendid job covering and shutting down South Brunswick’s Devon Young, who still managed to collect 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the floor including three treys for 58.3 percent and a 2 of 2 effort at the line as well as six rebounds, a steal, and an assist. Also playing in the game, but not scoring for McCarrick was senior guard, Carlos Garcia (four assists, two rebounds, and a steal), Rolffi Canela, Ricky McCutcheon (0 of 1 FGs and a rebound), and Branten Widgeon (0 of 1 FGs, a steal, and a charge). Meanwhile, for the Vikings, which had seven of its players get into the scoring column, Martin Soaries chipped in with 7 of 13 shooting from the floor including two threes for 53.8 percent and made one of two at the line for 17 points while also picking up six assists and four rebounds. Vineesh Manchanda had perhaps his best game of the season with 5 of 8 shooting from the floor for 10 points while picking up four rebounds and an assist. Brian Morgan had another strong game off the bench with a 3 of 5 shooting effort including two threes for 8 points in addition to a rebound and a steal.

Rounding out the scoring for the Vikes were Arman Wilson (1 of 7 FGs and 3 of 3 FTs for 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists), Ray Dasant (1 of 4 FGs and 1 of 2 FTs for 3 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals), and Malcolm Soaries (0 of 5 FGs and 2 of 2 FTs for 2 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, steal, and block). Mike Sobers also got into the game for the Vikes and missed his only shot while grabbing a rebound. For the game, McCarrick as a team shot 27 of 47 from the floor for 57.4 percent while South Brunswick was just 24 of 56 from the floor for 42.9 percent. At the line, the Vikings had the edge going 9 of 11 for 81.1 percent while the Eagles were just 4 of 7 for 57.1 percent. Cardinal McCarrick forced 21 Viking turnovers while making 17. The Eagles also enjoyed advantages in other statistical areas such as three pointers (9-7), steals (8-5), blocks (7-1), and charges (2-0). South Brunswick only had edges in rebounding (26-22) and assists (17-16). Both teams scored in double digits in each period with South Brunswick outscoring McCarrick in the first and second quarters, and the Eagles outgunning the Vikes in the third and fourth quarters. Cardy Mac outpaced SBHS by a 51-31 margin over the last twenty minutes of the game including a 25-17 showing in the third quarter to trail by only one at 50-49 heading into the fourth.

South Brunswick actually started the game strong by making almost 50 percent of its shots in the first two periods (14 of 30 for 46.7 percent). However, over the final two frames, the Vikes grew tentative perhaps feeling the weight of history on them, and even more importantly, having to handle a close game against a GMC opponent. Like when UNLV played against Duke in the 1991 Final Four in Indianapolis, South Brunswick didn’t seem to know what to do when the game got tight, and when the Vikings began to fall behind. Their play down the stretch was a reminder of how South Plainfield played late in the fourth quarter against Piscataway in the 2004 Quarterfinals at SBHS. The difference in that game was that the Tigers ultimately found a way to prevail and maintain their place in GMC history. In the third and fourth quarters, the Vikings went just 10 of 26 from the floor including four three point baskets for 38.5 percent. After committing only seven turnovers in the entire first half, South Brunswick uncharacteristically began making mistakes with fourteen in the second half alone. Against Bishop Ahr in the Elite Eight, SBHS only had ten turnovers for the entire game with most of them occurring in the fourth quarter when the reserves entered the game. The first quarter was closely played with the Vikings taking a 14-11 lead. The Eagles came out swinging though with seven of the first ten points as Burwell connected on two field goals and Rosario added a three pointer while Young had the only South Brunswick points with a trey. However, the senior Viking forward got his team to within two on a layup at the 4:15 mark to make it 7-5. A little more than thirty seconds later, Malcolm Soaries passed off to twin brother Martin Soaries for a three pointer and an 8-7 lead at the 3:44 mark. Rosario then countered with what seemed to be a gravity defying move as he hung up in the air while avoiding defenders through the lane for a layup to give the Eagles the lead again at 9-8 with 2:32 to go in the first.

On the very next Viking possession, Manchanda gave South Brunswick the lead again with a jumper from Martin Soaries to make it 10-9 at the 2:17 mark. Wilson then added a pair of free throws at the 1:29 mark to make it 12-9, and the Vikes maintained the three point lead as the period ended. South Brunswick made 5 of 12 shots from the floor including two treys for 41.7 percent while McCarrick was 5 of 9 from the field including a three pointer for 55.6 percent. Rosario, who only scored 12 points in the previous meeting between these two schools in January, already netted seven on 3 of 4 shooting including a three pointer while Burwell made 2 of 5 shots for 4 points along with 4 boards. Young and Martin Soaries both had five points for South Brunswick while Manchanda and Wilson added two each. In the second quarter, the Vikings came out on the attack with a 5-0 run in the first 53 seconds including a score inside by Young off an assist by Dasant, and a three pointer by Martin Soaries off an assist by Young for a 19-11 lead as McCarrick head coach, Joe Lewis called timeout at the 7:07 mark. Following the stoppage, the Vikes made it a 7-0 burst as Dasant came up with a steal, and then handed out an assist on a layup by Morgan to make it 21-11 before Rosario countered with one of two at the line for a 21-12 Viking lead at the 6:40 mark.

After Rosario put an end to the South Brunswick run with his free throw, the Vikings resumed their assault hoping for a knockout. Over the next 1:51, SBHS scored seven of the next nine points as Dasant had a hand in all the Viking points. The senior forward handed out assists on a three pointer by Morgan, and a score by Young, and then got into the act himself with his only field goal of the game on a layup off a feed by Martin Soaries to force the Eagles to call for time again at the 4:49 mark with the score now reading, 28-14 in favor of South Brunswick. The timeout didn’t seem to be the remedy at first as the Vikings scored five of the next seven points to grab their biggest lead of the game at 33-16. However, slowly but surely McCarrick’s kids began to regain their composure. As Rosario had mentioned to both the Star-Ledger and Home News-Tribune in his post game interview, “We had taken their best punch.” Indeed it had, and the Eagles punched back to the tune of an 8-0 rally on a three pointer and field goal by Julio Rosario, and a deep three by Vince Rosario with a defender right in his face to make it 33-24 at the intermission. By the break, Rosario had already accumulated more points in this matchup than he did in the entire game in South Brunswick on January 13th. The senior, who was closing in on 2,000 points for his career, made five of ten shot attempts including two threes, and one of two free throws for 13 points while handing out two assists and grabbing a rebound. Burwell was 3 of 7 from the floor for 6 points, but had 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and an assist. Julio Rosario accounted for the remaining Eagle points. McCarrick as a team was just 5 of 13 in the quarter along with a one of two effort at the line, and seven turnovers. Meanwhile, for SBHS, Morgan got all eight of his points on the night in the first half while Young had 9 points, 4 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

One thing that perhaps was overlooked in the final analysis of the game was the fact that South Brunswick’s Malcolm Soaries was hampered with some foul difficulty in the first three periods of the game. At the start of the second half, the Eagles caught a break when they drew a charge on Malcolm Soaries at the 6:55 mark third period for his third foul of the game. Cardy Mac then proceeded to pick up right where it left off in the last half of the second quarter with a 7-0 burst over the first 1:45 of the third. Highlighted the last portion of the 15-0 surge was a layup by Julio Rosario and a three pointer by Burwell off assists by Vince Rosario, and then a steal and assist by Burwell on a layup by Rosario as McCarrick’s all time leading scorer had a hand in the last ten points scored by the Eagles to make it 33-31 at the 6:15 mark of the third. The Vikings then got a score to make it 35-31, but Rosario cut the deficit to one with a three pointer at the 5:47 mark for a now tenuous, 35-34 Viking lead. Wilson came up with a huge play at the 5:21 mark that seemed to give South Brunswick some much needed momentum. The talented junior scored a basket as he was fouled for a three point play, but after he scored the basket, he was assessed a technical foul, and after he made the bonus free throw, Burwell went to the line at the other end for a one of two showing to make it 38-35 with the Eagles now in possession of the basketball.

McCarrick wasn’t able to convert on that particular possession, but shortly afterward, Julio Rosario picked up a steal off Dasant and went in to make a layup for a 38-37 Viking lead. However, Martin Soaries pushed the margin back to three at 40-37 on a score from Manchanda as SBHS head coach, Chris Balent called for a 30 second timeout at the 4:19 mark. Following the stoppage, both teams began exchanging scores as South Brunswick got two three pointers from Young, but the Eagles closed the gap by one with a 7-6 run to make it 46-44 with 1:55 left in the third. Manchanda then made a jumper for a 48-44 lead before Rosario came back with a layup and a foul for a possible three point play, but he missed the bonus foul shot, and the score stood at 48-46 with 1:19 remaining in the frame. Malcolm Soaries eventually returned to the game, and got his only points on the night with a pair of free throws at the 40.5 second mark to make it 50-46 in favor of the Vikes. McCarrick would avoid a turnover on an inbounds by calling timeout at the 17.6 mark, and then when play resumed, Garcia found Burwell for a three pointer to end the period with South Brunswick only leading by one, 50-49. Appearing vulnerable against a GMC opponent for the first time all season, the Vikings opened the fourth with two turnovers including a steal by Rosario off Martin Soaries for the Eagles first lead of the game since they were up 7-5 in the first quarter, and then a turnover by Wilson at the 6:55 mark with McCarrick now ahead, 51-50.

Thirty-three seconds later, South Brunswick was compelled to call for time after a long two point field goal by Julio Rosario made it 53-50. Then for about a span of two minutes or so both teams participated in a series of close calls and missed opportunities to gain the upper hand. When the dust finally settled, McCarrick was still clinging to its 55-52 lead, but Martin Soaries connected on a jumper to make it 55-54 with about four minutes remaining. The Eagles then embarked on a decisive 10-6 run that included a three pointer from the left corner by Julio Rosario, and then after a putback by Devon Young, Vince Rosario came down the floor, and gave a great feed to his little brother for a layup. Manchanda responded with a bucket during the span to make it 65-60 in favor of McCarrick with about a minute to go. Martin Soaries then went to the basket, and was fouled in the key. The senior Viking guard made the first free throw, but missed the second. However, Dasant was there to grab the rebound, and went right to the basket where his shot attempt was blocked by Burwell, but the McCarrick junior forward was called for a foul with about 55 seconds left. Dasant, too, made the first and missed the second, but Manchanda got the offensive board, and appeared poised to put the Vikes to within one with a putback, but his shot attempt was blocked from behind by Julio Rosario, who made big plays on both ends of the floor all night. Vince Rosario then got the rebound, pushed the ball down the floor into the McCarrick frontcourt, where coach Joe Lewis called for a timeout. See the video of this sequence. With the score, 65-62, the Vikings needed a stop, and with about 25 seconds left, they seemed to have gotten it when Young came up with a steal, and headed down the court for a breakaway layup. However, he stopped thinking that the team needed a three, and gave the ball up to a guard to set up a shot from the perimeter.

The Vikes would get that shot from Martin Soaries, but in a case very similar to when Darren Smith made a long two against Raritan in the 2004 North Jersey Section 2 Group III Sectional Final, the South Brunswick guard’s foot was inside the three point line, and it was 65-64 with 5.8 seconds left. Burwell was then fouled on the inbounds with 4.7 to go, and sank both free throws for a 67-64 lead. SBHS has time for one more play. Manchanda then tried to inbound the ball, and after waiting for someone to get open, he fired the ball to center court, where it was intercepted by Julio Rosario as the Eagles celebrated their huge upset win. With the victory, Cardinal McCarrick advances to its first GMCT final since they won it all in 2003, and is now 19-5 overall on the season including a 17-3 mark in the GMC. They will take on the Piscataway Chiefs, which defeated South Plainfield in the other semifinal, 34-31. South Brunswick drops to 22-2 overall, and 17-1 in the GMC.

Piscataway Advances To Final For First Time Since 1996, 34-31

By Greg Machos
February 20, 2007

EDISON, NJ--For the first time in eleven seasons, the Piscataway Chiefs are going to play for the Championship of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. After enduring a difficult 4-20 campaign last year, the Chiefs have rebounded quickly in a turnaround that not too many programs in the GMC can make. In the first game of the semifinal doubleheader at Middlesex County College, P-Way won clash of two old rivals from the Mid-State Conference as it went on a 17-6 surge over the middle two periods to take a 29-19 lead, and then held on for the 34-31 win despite a 12-5 showing by South Plainfield in the fourth including a 10-2 tear over the first 3:09 to pull within two at 31-29 with just under five minutes remaining. It was a hard fought battle with the undersized, but quick South Plainfield squad showing a lot of heart, especially in the final period. These two teams, which were squaring off for the right to play in the finals at Rutgers on Saturday have had a storied past, even in the GMCT.

South Plainfield was making its fourth trip to the GMCT Final Four in the last five years while Piscataway was making its first appearance in the semis since 1996. The last time that these two schools met in the GMCT, it was the 2004 Quarterfinals, and ninth seeded P-Way gave the top seeded and unbeaten Tigers all it could handle before South Plainfield eventually prevailed in an overtime thriller, 59-56, and went on to win the championship for the first ever county or conference crown. The last time these two teams met in a GMCT semifinal, the Chiefs, which were the third seed, defeated second seeded South Plainfield, 70-54 at the Rutgers Athletic Center in the 1991 GMCT. It was actually the second time that season the Chiefs, which went on to win the tourney, had beaten the Tigers. Back in the middle of January that year, South Plainfield, which had been ranked 15th in the Star-Ledger Top 20, at the time, went into Piscataway, and lost 65-56. The Chiefs, led by Nate Grant and Bruce Alston, would ultimately win the 1991 GMCT by defeating top seeded St. Joseph's, 33-29.

Sixth seeded Piscataway reached this year's final four by stunning third seeded Colonia in easy fashion, 60-49 in the Quarterfinal round while seventh seeded South Plainfield, prevailed over 15th seeded and Cinderella story, Old Bridge, which pulled off a shocker over second seeded St. Joseph's in the Round of 16. Seemingly a heavy favorite due to its win over a Colonia team that had soundly beaten South Plainfield twice (on January 15th in Colonia and on February 8th in South Plainfield), Piscataway found out right away what it is like going from the hunter to the hunted. In the opening quarter, the smaller Tigers went right at the Chiefs. Led by senior guard, Shamai Santiago, who scored nine of his 13 points on the game in the first frame, SPHS made 66 percent of its shots according to the Star-Ledger, and took a surprising 13-12 lead going into the second. However, between periods, P-Way changed defensive strategy by placing junior guard, James White on Santiago. White, who sparkled with a splendid 23 point performance versus Colonia, put his defensive hardhat on, and shut down the Tigers' leading scorer. Santiago would only get two more field goals the rest of the game. Both of them came in the fourth quarter including a layup on a nifty drive to cap an 8-2 burst to open the final stanza, and close the gap to four at 31-21 with 6:04 to play, and the other was on a drive through the middle for a layup to make it 34-31 with 34 seconds left after Piscataway's Brian Waluk turned the ball over on a baseline drive at the other end.

The rest of the Tigers would struggle as well. South Plainfield, which had six points during the middle two periods, went just 3 of 18 from the floor for 16.7 percent. As a result, Piscataway pu together a 9-2 showing in the second, and an 8-4 effort in the third to outscore SPHS, 17-6, and take a 29-19 lead entering the fourth. Leading at halftime, P-Way caught a break early in the third as South Plainfield's freshman forward, Dontae Johnson, went 0 of 2 at the foul line, but the Tigers didn't stay down for long as sophomore guard, Mike Burton, picked up his teammate with a jumper to make it 21-17 at the 6:45 mark. Piscataway would call a 30 second timeout at the 6:30 mark to refocus, and the Chiefs then regained control with eight of the last ten points of the period. Waluk, who played a key role in Piscataway's win at Bishop Ahr several weeks ago, got his only point of the game with a 1 of 2 trip to the foul line that sparked the burst for a 22-17 lead. Nearly a minute later, J.D. Griggs (four field goals and two free throws for 10 points), who had seven of his ten points over the span of the second and third quarters, scored on a putback to make it 24-17 with 4:45 to go in the third, and then followed that up with an assist on a layup by fellow teammate, Omar Smith (three field goals plus a free throw for seven points) to give the Chiefs a 26-17 lead at the four minute mark.

Following a South Plainfield timeout, the Tigers scored their last basket of the period as Benny Gibson (two field goals for four points) connected on a jumper from the left wing as he fell down to make it 26-19 with 2:32 remaining. On the ensuing inbounds, Piscataway had the ball stolen away by Gibson, who went in for a layup attempt, but White (a field goal plus a free throw for two points) drew a charge on the Tiger junior with 2:24 to play in the third. The Chiefs then got another score to take a nine point lead before White closed out the quarter scoring with a free throw that made it 29-19 entering the fourth quarter. At the start of the fourth, South Plainfield tried to dictate tempo by picking up the pace a bit, and it resulted in an 8-2 spurt that not only got the Tigers to within four at 31-27, but even brought out a show of enthusiasm from second year head coach, Bill Schulte. Burton, who ended up with ten points on three field goals and four free throws, ignited the rally with a pair of foul shots. Then, the diminutive one, who had six of his points in the fourth quarter, and eight in the second half, took advantage of a steal made by Johnson as the freshman threw the ball up the court to the Tiger guard for a layup that made it 29-23.

Piscataway's Soeke Lumor (two field goals for four points) knocked in a short jumper after spinning away from tough defensive coverage to make it an eight point game again, but Gibson responded with his final field goal of the night on a short jumper from the right baseline, and Santiago got his first points since the opening quarter on a drive for a layup to suddenly make it a four point game with 6:04 left as P-Way called for time. Following the Chief timeout, the Tigers forced another turnover, and Opie Muse was fouled at the 5:56 mark. However, the senior forward misfired on both free throw attempts, and Piscataway maintainted its four point lead. A little over a minute passed when Burton got the ball on the right side, and knifed to the basket for a layup attempt that was blocked by senior Mike Woodall, but a foul was called, and the speedy Tiger guard made two more at the line for a 31-29 Piscataway lead with 4:51 remaining in the game. Moments later, P-Way head coach, Guy Jensen called a timeout at the 4:40 mark. After the stoppage, neither team scored for nearly two minutes before Griggs made one of two free throws at the 2:43 mark to make it a three point game at 32-29. A little more than a miinute later, Tristan Benjamin took in a pass from Smith in the area of the foul line, and knocked down a huge jumper to make it a two possession game at 34-29 with 1:34 to play as South Plainfield called timeout.

Following the timeout, SPHS failed to score, and the Chiefs were in the driver's seat for the win when Waluk lost the ball on a baseline drive to the hoop. Santiago then got the ball, and drove the length of the floor to the basket for a layup to put the Tigers to within a three pointer of forcing over time with 34 seconds left. After Santiago's score, South Plainfield called time again, and when play resumed, P-Way's Smith was fouled, and went to the line for a one-and-one with 28.5 seconds to play. Smith missed the front end of the bonus, and the Tigers got a chance to tie. However, White came up with another huge defensive play as he blocked Santiago's shot attempt, which was rebounded by Benjamin, who was immediately fouled with 5.8 seconds left. But, the sophomore forward missed the front end of the bonus also, and SPHS got the rebound, and called time with 4.9 seconds left to set up one final play. When the game resume, Gibson inbounded the ball with a pass up court, and the ball eventually got to Santiago on the left side, but his shot attempt was off the mark, and the Chiefs punched their ticket to the RAC. With the victory, Piscataway improves to 15-8 overall, and 13-6 in the GMC while South Plainfield drops to 17-7 overall, and 16-5 in conference play.

GMC Hoops Summaries--February 19, 2007
Week Ten Of Action

Morgan And Evans Help Cards Edge New Egypt In Overtime, 50-46

By Greg Machos
February 19, 2007

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—After traveling to Sayreville to watch a Quarterfinal game in the 2007 East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament between Bishop Ahr and Sayreville, which was won by the Junior Trojans of BGA, 67-57, GMC Hoops rambled on over to downtown New Brunswick, and St. Peter’s High School. It has been a very tough week or so for the school and its supporters. After 150 years, the high school is scheduled to close its doors at the end of the school year due to decreasing enrollment and budget issues. Ironically, what is apparently going to be the last season for boys basketball at the school, has been the best one for the Cardinals in the six year coaching reign of Glen Fleming.

With a 12-8 record going into Monday’s matinee against New Egypt of Ocean County and the Burlington County Scholastic League, St. Peter’s has qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 2004, and the third time under Fleming, who is a 1986 graduate of the school. In addition, the Cards won their first GMC Tournament game since the 1998-99 season when it last reached the Elite Eight with a one point, 67-66 victory over J.F. Kennedy in the Play-In Round. It’s obviously a sad time for all the students, faculty, parents, and alumni of this proud school, which has been a major part of the heritage of boys basketball in Middlesex County over the past five decades or so. However, it is even more heartbreaking for this latest edition of the Cardinals since it was comprised of all underclassmen that could have been able to return for a special season next year if the school’s doors were to remain open. “We were looking at a top ten team next year,” said JV coach Ryan Shellhamer, who graduated from the school in 2004, and was a member of the previous two state tourney teams during the Fleming era.

Fleming, who has seen all the highs and lows experienced by the boys program since the inaugural year of the GMC back in 1985-86, has been through a situation like this before. “I was a coach and a teacher at Essex Catholic (later called Bishop Francis) when they decided to close that school down (several years ago), and we didn’t find out about it until May.” St. Peter’s is not the only parochial or private school in the history of the GMC forced to close its doors. Back in 1990, the Diocese of Metuchen shut down St. Pius X High School in Piscataway. The Bruins were then also a member of the GMC Gold Division. Outside the conference, Bayley-Ellard in Morris County was also forced to shut down a couple years back. Current head coach at Bishop Ahr, Dennis O’Keefe, had coached at the school prior to arriving at BGA in the 1992-93 season. Originally, this was supposed to be the final regular season home game, and in light of recent events, the last ever home game for the boys team. However, GMC Hoops learned prior to the game from St. Peter’s athletic director, Dave Hayes that there will be one more game. “We have scheduled a game against Monroe for this Saturday (February 24, 2007),” said Hayes.

Prior to the start of the game, we had a chance to talk to a lot of the folks at St. Peter’s. Talking to Coach Fleming in particular, was a stroll down memory lane to the days when he and fellow assistant Rodney Britton were on the Cardinals along with the likes of Ron Rachilla and Wayne Seibert. It was twenty-one years ago, and Cardinal legend, John Somogyi, had just stepped down as head coach after leading the school to three straight Middlesex County Tournament crowns. “We were actually going to hire Eddie Jordan to take over after Somogyi left,” said Fleming, “I even remember hearing about there being a press conference to announce his arrival, but after Rutgers coach Tom Young took the job at ODU, Jordan went as well.” The 1985-86 edition of the Cards struggled much likes the St. Peter’s teams of the past couple seasons, and in the first year of Fleming’s era back in 2001-02. The team went 2-20 in its inaugural campaign in the GMC. “Our new coach, Billy Mitchell, decided to play the sophomores, and we were also competing in the White Division,” said Fleming. Schools in the GMC White at the time were: Bishop Ahr, Colonia, J.F. Kennedy, Madison Central, Sayreville, South Plainfield, and St. Peter’s.

While conversations were going on with the St. Peter’s staff, the Junior Cardinals were talking on New Egypt’s JV squad. At the half, the Junior Cards were leading, 29-17, but at the start of the third quarter, the Junior Warriors opened the second half with a 13-9 run to pull within eight at 38-30. However, St. Peter’s closed the third with the last four points including an offensive rebound and putback by Bryan Jackson off a missed free throw for a 42-30 lead entering the fourth. The Junior Cards then began the final frame with eleven of the first seventeen points including a three pointer by Israel Vargas with about two minutes left to make the score, 53-36. St. Peter’s then went on to win, 53-39. Moving on to the varsity game, a special presentation was made prior to the tip-off by the web site to Travis Evans, who earned GMC Hoops Player of the Week Honors for Week One for his standout efforts in a key early season win over Dunellen. For New Egypt, it has been a tough season after making the state tournament in 2006 for the first time in its brief school history. The Warriors entered the contest with a 9-13 overall record on the season. Looking at the squad, you could see that New Egypt had plenty of size with the likes of Kevin Janowski, Josh Howard, and Tony Shields.

In light of the circumstances surrounding both teams coming into this game, it actually turned out to be a fine game that went to overtime before the Cardinals pulled it with a 6-2 showing in the extra session, 50-46. The game had a total of nine lead changes and seven ties while neither team had a lead bigger than seven points the entire game. Justin Morgan seems to always put on a show when GMC Hoops comes to town, and this game was no exception. The junior guard/forward scored a game high 25 points on nine field goals and seven free throws to spearhead the Cardinal attack while collecting three steals. Sophomore center, Dominic Appiah, chipped in with seven points on three field goals and a foul shot. Travis Evans only had six points on two field goals and two free throws, but the two buckets came with the game on the line in overtime. Both Adrian Johnston and Brandell Whitehead had five points each on two field goals and a free throw while Michael Gilbert rounded out the Cardinal scoring with a field goal for two points. Meanwhile, the Warriors were led by big man, Janowski, who demonstrated a nice touch from the perimeter at times as well as a knack to score inside. Janowski had a team high 13 points on three field goals and two treys as well as a free throw. Shields chipped in with 10 points on four field goals and two free throws. Howard added eight points on four field goals. Both teams scored in double figures in each of the first three quarters before their defenses clamped down a bit in the fourth. For the game, St. Peter’s made 19 field goals and 12 free throws to account for its 50 points while New Egypt had 20 field goals including three trifectas, but only made three foul shots for its 46 points.

The game began with St. Peter’s drawing first blood on a layup by Morgan to make it 2-0. Then, with a little more than six minutes left in the period, Evans found Morgan for another layup, and the foul for a three point play to make it 5-0. New Egypt answered with four of the next five points including a three pointer by Janowski and one of two at the line by Shields for a 6-4 St. Peter’s lead at the 3:43 mark. The Warriors tied it up at 6-6 less than a half minute later on a steal for a layup. The Cards would retake the lead with a score, but New Egypt once again knotted things up at 8-8 on a layup by Shields at the 2:40 mark. A little more than forty seconds later, the Ocean County School took its first lead of the matchup on one of two free throws by Janowski. A minute after that, Janowski passed the ball down low to Shields for the layup, and the foul as the Warriors got a three point play of their own to make it 12-8 with 55.5 left in the first. St. Peter’s would get those three points back before the end of the first quarter as Appiah converted a three point play at the 37.2 second mark to make it 12-11 going into the second.

The second quarter began with the Cardinals going on a 10-2 tear over the first five minutes of the period to take a 21-14 lead. The Cards scored six of the first eight points over the first 3:55 as Whitehead capped the rally with a steal off an errant Warrior pass for a layup after Morgan scored on an off-balance shot. Following a Cardinal timeout at the 4:05 mark, St. Peter’s scored four more points as Morgan made two free throws at the 3:59 mark, and then the home team got a bucket to take a seven point lead. However, the visitors showed some resolve and resiliency by closing the half with a 9-3 spurt to make it a one point, 24-23 game at the half. Howard highlighted the late second quarter rally with two scores. When the two teams emerged from their respective locker rooms to start the second half, the Cards reasserted its control with a 6-0 burst over the first 1:09 to take a 30-23 lead. Morgan sparked the run with an offensive rebound and putback for one score, and a transition layup for another while Evans got his first points of the contest on a pair of free throws at the 6:51 mark. But, the tide would soon turn after that as the Warriors closed the stanza with 15 of the last 21 points to take a 38-36 lead going into the fourth.

Tony Shields ignited the rally with two scores and then another New Egypt player made a three pointer to give his team a two point, 36-34 lead. Appiah would knot things up again at 36-36 with a layup at the 51.1 second mark, but Howard gave the Warriors the lead again with a score at the 20 second mark to provide the two point edge after three. In the fourth, St. Peter’s rallied back with an 8-4 showing over the first 5:44 to take a 44-42 lead with 2:16 left in regulation. Following a Cardinal timeout with 1:18 to play, Evan had a chance to put the game away, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 34.1 left. With an opportunity to tie, New Egypt got the ball to Janowski down low in the paint on an inbounds play for a layup to force overtime at 44-44. At the beginning of the extra session, New Egypt looked as if it were poised to win with its new found momentum and energy. Within the first minute of overtime, the Warriors got on board with a score to take a 46-44 lead. Sensing the moment, Evans took over for the Cards as he first scored on a baseline jumper from the left side to tie it at 46-46 with about a minute and a half to go. Then, after St. Peter’s got a stop on the defensive end, the Cards found a way to get the ball in Evans hands as Johnston grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed jumper by the junior forward, and gave it back to Evans, who then drove to his left through the middle of the key, and scored a layup as he fell to the floor. New Egypt called timeout shortly afterward, and with 28.2 seconds left, the Cardinals were in front to stay, 48-46. That was because after the stoppage, the Warriors were unable to score, and Morgan rebounded the ball and was fouled. The junior then netted two huge free throws at the 16.6 second mark for the 50-46 win.

With the victory, St. Peter’s moves up to 13-8 overall on the year, and has two more regular season games to play before moving on to the Non-Public B South State Tournament. On Thursday, the Cardinals will travel to Piscataway to take on the Tigers of Timothy Christian from the Patriot Conference, and then on Saturday, they will host their final ever regular season home game against Monroe in a state tourney tune-up for both teams. When state tourney play gets underway next week, St. Peter’s, the fifth seed in this year’s Non-Public B South Tournament, will travel to Belmar and take on fourth seeded St. Rose of the Shore Conference with the winner to face either eighth seeded Timothy Christian, or top seeded Gloucester Catholic.

GMC Hoops Summaries--February 18, 2007
GMC Tournament--Quarterfinals

Sixth Seeded Chiefs Surprise Third Seeded Colonia, 60-49

By Greg Machos
February 18, 2007

EDISON, NJ--For the first time since the 1996 season, the Piscataway Chiefs are in the Final Four of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. With a stingy defense reminiscent of the days of Celestand, Bailey, and Delvon McMillan, the Chiefs held the defending GMCT Champs, Colonia, to just 21 points over the first 21:35 of the contest. The difference this time though was two things. First, Piscataway wasn't going to fade or lose its intensity down the stretch like it did in previous games covered by GMC Hoops against St. Joseph's and Bishop Ahr, and second, the offense was in its best form all season. Prior to the Quadrupleheader of games played at Middlesex County College on Sunday, the web site issued a preview of the GMCT Quarterfinals, and in the capsule on the Piscataway and Colonia game, it stated that for the Chiefs, "the game boils down to their big men being able to finish underneath, and getting good perimeter shooting from either point guard, James White, or shooting guard Brian Waluk."

Well with sophomore Tristan Benjamin going 6 of 9 from the floor, and 3 of 3 at the line for 15 points and J.D. Griggs making three of his five shots for 6 points, the interior game of P-Way never looked any better. Moving on to the perimeter, James White finally delivered on much of the talk and hype that has surrounded him for the past two years. Finally, the potential became reality for everyone to witness. White made 8 of 12 shots from the floor including a three pointer, and went 6 of 10 at the foul line for a season high 23 points. The junior point guard, who became the first Chief to score twenty or more points in a game all season, also collected three rebounds, two steals, and an assist. White scored ten of his points in the opening quarter when Piscataway, which had only scored 60 or more points in a game once before this season (January 4th vs. J.P. Stevens--65-48), overcame an early 4-2 deficit with an 18-6 surge to end the frame for a 20-10 lead. Brian Waluk also chipped in with 2 of 3 shooting and one of two at the line for 5 points while collecting two assists, a rebound, and a steal. Benjamin also added seven rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block while Griggs contributed with five rebounds, two assists, and a block.

Also scoring in the contest were junior forward Omar Smith (2 of 4 FTs for 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists), senior guard, Mike Woodall (1 of 2 FGs including a three pointer and 2 of 2 FTs for five points and two rebounds), Thomas Bennett (1 of 2 FGs for 2 points and a steal), and forward Joel Crayton (2 of 2 FTs for 2 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal). Also playing, but not scoring for the Chiefs was senior forward, Soeke Lumor (three rebounds). As a team, P-Way shot 21 of 40 from the field including two threes for 52.5 percent while clicking on 16 of 27 from the foul line for 59.3 percent. The only down side to the Chiefs effort were turnovers. According to our unofficial stats, the sixth seeded team made 27 miscues, but much of that came in the second half when Colonia deployed fullcourt pressure in an attempt to climb back into the game. On the other hand, Piscataway did force 20 turnovers themselves. In other statistical areas, the Chiefs held edges in rebounding (24-14) and assists (13-10) while Colonia had more steals (12-9), blocks (6-2), and charges (2-0). Three pointers were even with both teams having two each. Piscataway scored in double figures in all four periods while the Patriots scored in single digits in the second and third. The Chiefs also outscored the Pats in three of the four frames to get the win.

For Colonia, Brandon Hall fought valiantly despite some frustration to lead his team. The junior point guard, who was instrumental in last year's tourney run, and this season's tremendous success, registered 19 points on the day including 11 of 12 at the foul line along with four assists, three steals, and a rebound before fouling out with 1:07 left in the game. Sophomore Nnamdi Usuwa chipped in with 10 points of 5 of 7 shooting from the field along with three rebounds. Senior forward, Kevin Edmonds added seven points including a three pointer to go along with four blocks, three rebounds, three steals, and an assist. Joe LaSala gave his typical scrappy effort although he lacked the scoring punch. The senior forward ended up going 2 of 5 from the floor for 4 points, but picked up four steals, three rebounds, two charges, a block, and an assist. J.J. D'Amico contributed with four points as well along with a rebound and a steal while senior reserves, Mike Salvador (2 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal) and Bryant Androvich (1 of 2 FGs for 2 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, and a block) rounded out the scoring for Colonia. Also playing for the Patriots was Brenden Wagner (a steal), but he didn't score. For the game, the Patriots shot just 17 of 51 for 33 percent from the floor, but made 13 of 19 from the charity stripe for 68.4 percent.

Colonia began the game with four of the first six points as Usuwa went to work with two field goals over the first minute and a half. The Chiefs tied it with a bucket at the 5:40 mark, and then took the lead for good on a Griggs layup at the 5:15 mark to make it 6-4. P-Way made it a 7-0 spurt as White canned a three pointer at the 4:40 mark to compel first year Patriot coach, Chris Chiera, to call for time. The timeout didn't seem to be the remedy as the Chiefs appeared on a mission in this game. Over the next 1:55, Piscataway scored six of the next eight points including a Benjamin layup from Griggs at the 4:22 mark, and a steal for a bank shot by White at the 2:45 mark to make it 15-6. Colonia scored four of the next six points including one of two at the line by Hall with 1:34 left in the quarter to make it a 17-10 score, but the Chiefs finished the period with the final three points on one of two at the line by White at the 1:10 mark, and a jumper by Benjamin at the 32 second mark to make it 20-10 entering the second frame. Colonia, which only had a field goal, three pointer, and one of two foul shots over the final 6:30 of the period, had a chance to cut the deficit to eight, but LaSala came up empty on two free throws with no time on the clock.

Moving on to the second quarter, Colonia finally got those two points it was seeking at the very end of the first as the scored a layup off a steal for a 20-12 lead just 40 seconds into the stanza. However, Piscataway retaliated with a three point play courtesy of Benjamin, who again took in a pass from Griggs and scored down low as he was fouled with 7:08 to go in the half. Hall narrowed the gap again to single digits with a pair from the line at the 6:33 mark. With the score now at 23-14, neither team would score for about a little over a minute and fifteen seconds before Piscataway head coach, Guy Jensen, called a thirty second timeout. Following the stoppage, the Chiefs finally broke the minute and a half malaise with a pair of free throws by Crayton for his only points of the game to make it 25-14. Once more, Hall responded for the Pats with two charity shots of his own to make it 25-16 with 4:41 remaining before the break. Another minute and a half would go by before another score, and that occurred when Smith was fouled by Colonia senior reserve, Wagner at the 3:13 mark. Smith then made one of two at the line for a ten point, 26-16 lead. Woodall then made a three pointer at the 2:40 mark to make it 29-16 as the Pats again had to talk it over.

Following the timeout, CHS had a chance to cut into the lead, but Usuwa, missed a front end of a one and one. Shortly afterward P-Way called a 30 second timeout, and Hall promptly picked up his second foul of the game at the 1:42 mark. Thirteen seconds later, Benjamin went back to work with an offensive rebound and putback off a rare White miss to make the score, 31-16. D'Amico would get half of those two back by making one of two at the foul line with under a minute to play before the break to make the score, 31-17. Colonia then closed out the first half scoring as Hall did his patented penetration and dish to LaSala for a layup to make the score, 31-19 in favor of Piscataway at the intermission. Over the last 14:30 of the first half, P-Way was 11 of 19 from the floor including two threes for 57.9 percent while making 5 of 7 at the foul line for 71.4 percent. On the other hand, Colonia was just 4 of 16 from the floor including a trey for 25 percent, and made 6 of 11 free throws for 54.5 percent. Individually speaking, Benjamin was a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor and made his only foul shot for 11 points to go along with four rebounds, two assists, and a steal. In addition, White was 5 of 7 from the field including a three pointer along with one of two at the line for 12 points while collecting two steals and a rebound.

The third period was where the game began to break open for the Chiefs. Over a span of the first 5:25 of the second half, Piscataway embarked on what was pretty much the decisive run of the game with a 13-2 spurt to take a 44-21 lead at the 2:35 mark of the period. The run was ignited by a three point play from Waluk, who took in a Smith pass and scored a layup as he was fouled to make it 34-19 with just over a minute gone by in the third. P-Way made it a 7-2 run as White scored two more field goals to make it a 38-21 lead with 5:20 left in the period. Waluk got his final points of the game at the 4:08 mark when the junior guard grabbed an offensive rebound off a block by Edmonds, and put it back in to make it 40-21. The Chiefs added two more scores after that including a short jumper by White following a missed shot by Benjamin to make it twenty three point lead. Showing the heart of a champion though, Colonia wouldn't go away that easily. First the Patriots closed out the third with six of the last eight points to pull within nineteen at 46-27 going into the fourth. Trailing by nearly twenty at the start of the fourth, the Pats were forced to go with fullcourt pressure in an attempt to create turnovers, and get quick and easy scores to tighten things up again.

And, for a while, that tactic seemed to work very well, the Chiefs lost their composure somewhat, and the Patriots put together a 17-8 spurt over the first 6:50 of the final frame to close the gap remarkably to ten at 54-44 with 1:10 to play. The rally was really given a push in the opening seconds of the fourth when Hall produced a steal, and handed out an assist on a dunk by Edmonds that drew a loud roar from the Colonia student section. The Patriots, which had only lost one conference game all year coming into this matchup, then reeled off nine of the next fifteen points including two free throws by Hall at the 3:31 mark to make it 52-38. Subsequently after that, Colonia scored six of the next eight points in a span of 2:21 to close the gap even more at 54-44 with 1:10 to play. However, that would be as close as the Patriots would get in this one as Hall fouled out seconds later, and Piscataway got the ball in the hands of reliable foul shooters in White and Woodall to seal the victory.

With the win, Piscataway will face seventh seeded South Plainfield, which defeated Old Bridge in the other early quarterfinal. It marks the first time these two schools played in a GMCT semi since the 1991 season when the then third seeded Chiefs rolled past the second seeded Tigers, 70-54, and went on to win its first ever GMCT crown. P-Way is now 14-8 overall on the season, and 12-6 in conference play. Meanwhile, Colonia, which is now 20-3 overall, and 18-2 in the GMC, will begin to tune-up for the upcoming state tournament, where it will be looking to advance to the Final Four of the North Jersey Section 2 Group III bracket for the fourth straight season.

Rosario Helps Eagles Avenge Loss With Defeat Of Bears, 71-62

By Greg Machos
February 18, 2007

EDISON, NJ--Coming into its matchup with fourth seeded East Brunswick, Cardinal McCarrick had lost all three of its games versus the top four seeds in this year's GMCT. On January 13th, the Eagles went into South Brunswick, and in a very highly anticipated matchup involving the top two teams in the GMC, McCarrick was beaten soundly, 63-41. Four days later, Colonia came to town, and shut down Vince Rosario and his mates in a 69-54 win to put the Patriots at number two in the polls. Then, a little more than two weeks ago, Cardy Mac traveled to the hostile environment of the Bear's Den, and only got five points from Rosario in a 69-57 loss. However, since that time, the Eagles had won three in a row, and were quietly regaining the confidence they had at the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, the Bears have been one of the pleasant surprises of the year by many. Despite losing its entire starting five and 90 percent of its offense from last year's 18-10 campaign, and a berth in the Central Jersey Group IV Elite Eight, the Bears put together a 15-7 mark including a win over St. Joseph's, two wins over Piscataway, and a crossover win against South Plainfield to be one of the top four seeds.

East Brunswick jumped out to a 19-15 lead in the first quarter, but McCarrick rallied with a 21-14 showing in the second, and after an even third, the Eagles pulled away with a 23-17 effort in the fourth for a 71-62 victory that earned the right to play South Brunswick one more time. Vince Rosario, who was held to a combined total of 24 points in the three games against South Brunswick, Colonia, and East Brunswick, did what all great players do in these situations, and that was raise his game to another level. Rosario made 12 of 24 shots including four three pointers, and 9 of 17 at the foul line for a game high 37 points along with five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two charges including a huge one late on EB's John McLaughlin that helped seal the win. Mike Burwell chipped in with 5 of 10 shooting from the floor and five of five from the foul line for 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. But, perhaps the two unsung heroes were Vince's younger brother, sophomore Julio Rosario, and junior forward, Branten Widgeon. Prior to the game, the GMC Hoops Quarterfinal Preview indicated that someone else needed to step up for McCarrick, and the younger Rosario, and the younger brother of former St. Joe's standout, Kenny Widgeon, did just that. Julio Rosario did have some struggles from the field, but still made two shots while going a perfect four of four at the line for eight points while collecting three steals, two rebounds, an assist, and a blocked shot.

Meanwhile, Branten Widgeon made two of his three shots including a pivotal three point play in the fourth quarter, and also was 100 percent at the line in five attempts for nine points while picking up four rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Carlos Garcia rounded out the Eagle scoring with two points on one of three shooting while handing out four assists, drawing three charges, and grabbing a rebound. Rolffi Canela (three assists and a steal), Ricky McCutcheon (a rebound and an assist) and Colin Romer (a steal) also played, but didn not score for McCarrick. Meanwhile, for EB, the tandem of McLaughlin and Andrew Golczewski led the way with 15 points each. McLaughlin, the team's leading scorer this season with a 12.5 points per game average, made 6 of 14 shots including a three pointer while going 2 of 4 at the foul line. The senior forward also handed out three assists, swiped two steals, grabbed one rebound, and blocked a shot. Golczewski went 7 of 11 from the floor including a trey for all his points while collecting three assists and two rebounds. Eric Eckhardt made it a strong Bear triumvirate by scoring 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting including a layup off a steal in the fourth while picking up 10 rebounds for a double-double along with two steals, an assist, and a charge.

Steve Grossman helped out for East Brunswick with two field goals and two of two at the foul line for six points while collecting four assists, two rebounds, a steal, and a charge. Senior point guard, Jason Henning didn't make any of his field goal attempts, but made five of six at the foul line for all his points while handing out four assists and swiping a steal. Junior reserve forward, Scott Stolzenberg chipped in with three points on one of two from both the floor, and the line while collecting two rebounds and a steal. Matt Gases (2 of 3 FGs for 4 points, two assists, and a rebound) rounded out the scoring for the Bears. Reserve, Brad Reiner (0 of 1 FG and an assist) and Mike Mello (1 of 1 FG for 2 points, 2 assists, a rebound, and a steal) also played, but didn't score. For the game, Cardinal McCarrick went 22 of 50 including four three pointers for 44 percent while East Brunswick went 25 of 51 including two treys for 49 percent. At the line, the game was decided as the Eagles fared much better than the Bears going 23 of 31 for 74.2 percent versus just 10 of 16 for 62.5 percent. In other statistical areas, rebounds (19-19) and blocks (1-1) were even, but McCarrick had more charges (5-2), steals (9-8), and three pointers (4-2) along with fewer turnovers (15-20). EB held the edge in assists (20-16). Note: I have noticed some discrepancies between my shooting statistics, and those reported in the paper not just for this game, but also in the game played ten days ago between Colonia and South Plainfield. Just to let you know, I count shot attempts that players get fouled on. My logic in doing that is the fact that if the shot went in, it would count toward a three point play. Therefore, in my opinion, it should also count as an attempt even if it doesn't go in.

Returning to the game, which was perhaps the most riveting and best played of the four games, the first period began with East Brunswick jumping out in front to a 5-4 led before Henning made two free throws at the 5:06 mark to make it 7-4. The Bears then made it a 5-0 run much to the delight of the Bear Den faithful that traveled to MCC to watch the game and root for their team as Golczewski swished a three pointer from the left corner to make it 10-4 and compel Cardy Mac coach, Joe Lewis to call for time at the 4:29 mark. Following the timeout, McCarrick got going as Burwell passed off to Rosario for a three pointer of his own from the left side to make it 10-7. EB then scored five of the next nine points including one of two at the line by Stoltzenberg at the 2:01 mark for a 15-11 lead. Both teams closed out the opening stanza with four points each to make it a 19-15 Bear lead going into the second. East Brunswick was 7 of 12 from the field including two threes, and made 3 of 4 at the line, but still only led by four, and the scary thing was that Rosario already had more points than in the first meeting. The senior guard for the Eagles, who is closing in on 2,000 career points, made four of seven shots in the frame including a three pointer for nine points. As a team, Cardinal McCarrick was 7 of 15 from the floor, but had trouble with turnovers with seven miscues including ones on its first three possessions.

The second period began with East Brunswick scoring four of the first six points to take a 23-17 lead before McCarrick rallied with a 6-0 run consisting of another three pointer by Rosario off an assist from Burwell, and a three point play by the junior transfer from Highland Park himself at the 5:56 mark to tie the game at 23-23. Following a Bear timeout, McLaughlin put EB ahead again 25-23 with a pair of free throws at the 5:47 mark, but the Eagles answered by taking the lead for the first time in the game with the next four points in a span of 41 seconds. First, Rosario handed out an assist on a layup by younger brother Julio to tie the game at 25-25 with 5:26 left in the half. The younger Rosario, then struck again with a pair of free throws at the 5:06 mark to put the Eagles in front, 27-25 at the 5:06 mark. The next seesawed back and forth for a bit with two lead changes and two ties as McCarrick maintained its two point lead on a drive to the basket by Rosario for a layup at the 3:34 mark to make it 31-29. Following an East Brunswick thirty second timeout to avoid a turnover and Rosario missing a pair of foul shots at the 3:03 mark, the Eagles scored five of the next seven points including a trey from Rosario off an assist by Canela with under two minutes to play to make the score, 36-31. EB responded with two free throws by Grossman at the 1:09 mark to close out the first half with Cardy Mac in front by three, 36-33.

At the half, Rosario, who had ten points in the second quarter, had already scored 19 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field including three treys. Burwell chipped in with 9 points on 4 of 6 shooting and his one bonus foul shot. McCarrick as a team shot 15 of 27 from the floor for 55.6 percent while East Brunswick shot 12 of 20 for 60 percent. The Eagles were 3 of 5 at the line for 60 percent while the Bears were 7 of 8 for 87.5 percent. Turnovers had become even as Cardinal McCarrick only had three in the frame for 10 in the half while EB had seven in the second for eleven in the first half. McLaughlin was 5 of 7 including a three pointer from the floor and 2 of 2 at the line for 13 points, Golczewski was 4 of 5 from the floor including a three for 9 points, and Eckhardt was 3 of 4 from the floor for 6 points. For the game, those three Bears (no pun intended) combined to go 20 of 35 for 57.1 percent although McLaughlin went 1 of 7 in the second half. Rosario and Burwell on the other hand were a combined 17 of 34 for exactly 50 percent. The duo accounted for 73.2 percent of McCarrick's scoring while the East Brunswick trio combined for 71 percent of their team's scoring. The second half would be as good as the first although the Eagles pulled away in the end to prevail.

In a game that saw eight lead changes and five ties as well as neither team having a lead greater than the final nine point advantage McCarrick had at the end, East Brunswick opened up the third period with the first four points of the second half to take a 37-36 lead. The mini-run consisted on a layup by Eckhardt and a jumper by Grossman to actually give the Bears their last lead of the game. Rosario gave the Eagles the lead for good with a pair of free throws at the 6:16 mark to make the score, 38-37. Julio Rosario then followed that with a steal for a layup to make it 40-37 at the 5:41 mark, and then after a Golczewski score made it 40-39, Burwell netted two free throws at the 3:52 mark to make it 42-39. Over the next 2:42, East Brunswick rallied back with a 6-3 rally including McLaughlin's last field goal of the game on a layup to tie it at 45-45 with 1:10 to play in the third. However, after McCarrick called a thirty second timeout to avoid a turnover, Rosario was fouled on a three point attempt, and made one of three at the line with a minute to go in the frame, and then closed out the period with a score off a feed from Garcia to make it 48-45 going into the fourth. In a period that saw both teams combine for the most points in a single quarter of this game, McCarrick pulled away with a 23-17 showing thanks to a 19-11 finish after EB closed to within one at 52-51.

The final period began with the Eagles scoring first on an offensive rebound and putback by Rosario off a miss by Garcia to make it 50-45. Henning got those two points back with a pair from the foul line at the 7:21 mark to make it 50-47. Julio Rosario helped McCarrick push the margin back to five with a pair of his own from the charity stripe to make it 52-47 at the 6:42 mark. Then the Bears made an attempt to pull the game out with a 4-0 run over the next 42 seconds as Gases accounted for all the points with a score from Grossman off a curl play, and then an offensive rebound and putback off a Grossman miss to make it 52-51 with exactly six minutes left. Widgeon made a pair of free throws at the 4:21 mark to make it 54-51, and then after a Golczewski basket made it a one point game again, Rosario made a pair himself at the 3:52 mark to make it 56-53. The Bears scored four of the next six points to make it 58-57 when Widgeon came up with his pivotal three point play that got a friendly roll to make it 61-57. Henning made one of two at the line to keep his team within one possession at 61-58 with a little more than two minutes left, but Rosario took an outlet pass from Widgeon, went down the floor, and scored to make it 63-58, and then drew a charge on McLaughlin the next time down the floor for EB, and that pretty much sealed the win. The Eagles scored eight of the last twelve points for the 71-62 victory.

With the win, McCarrick returns to the Final Four for the first time since the 2004 season when it lost as a second seed to third seeded Colonia. It is the third time in the last five years that the Eagles have reached the GMCT Semis. Cardy Mac, which is now 18-5 overall on the season including a 16-3 mark in the GMC, will take on top seeded South Brunswick, which hammered ninth seeded Bishop Ahr, 84-50. East Brunswick drops to 15-9 overall on the year including a 14-7 mark in conference play.

Tigers Return To Final Four Behind Gibson And Santiago, 44-39

By Greg Machos
February 18, 2007

EDISON, NJ--For the fourth time in five seasons, the South Plainfield Tigers have returned to a now familiar stage, the Final Four of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. While it is true that this year saw SPHS get a break in the previous round with their Quarterfinal opponent, 15th seeded Old Bridge knocking off second seeded St. Joseph's, but in light of some recent events, and the fact, that nobody including this web site, thought the Tigers were ready to return to the semifinals after such a tough year in 2005-06. Two weeks ago, senior forward, Opie Muse, was suspended for several games due to disiciplinary reasons. Then, second year head coach, Bill Schulte, was suspended for a game by SPHS Administration for actions taken late in the Round of 16 victory over North Brunswick. As a result, JV head coach, and assistant, Bob Conway was forced to run things for SPHS as they took on an Old Bridge, a team they defeated 48-43 on January 6th at the Anthony J. Cotoia Gymnasium in South Plainfield.

However, veteran leadership down the stretch made up for all of that as Shamai Santiago, who didn't score a single point for about the first 23 minutes or so of the game, made a three pointer late in the third period, and then scored ten points in the fourth including another three pointer that gave the Tigers the lead for good, 32-31 with 5:49 to play. Then, down the stretch, the senior guard, and junior temmate, Benny Gibson pulled out the win with clutch free throws. Gibson hit a pair at the charity stripe twice in the final 2:30 and Santiago made a pair himself with just 6.5 seconds remaining to propel the Tigers to the 44-39 win over the Knights. Santiago ended up with 3 of 11 shooting from the floor including two three pointers after an 0 of 5 start, and connected on 5 of 6 at the foul line for a team high 13 points along with six assists, three steals, and three rebounds. Danny Hubner was a solid 3 of 4 from the floor for 6 points, but really shined on the defensive end with seven blocks and six rebounds along with a steal. Mike Burton chipped in with 10 points on 3 of 10 shooting including two threes along with a 2 of 2 effort at the line. The diminutive, but speedy sophomore also picked up two assists, two steals, a rebound, and a charge.

Gibson ended up with 9 points on the game on two field goals including a three pointer, and a perfect 4 of 4 at the line. The junior, who was moved to forward after being a guard last year, also collected a rebound, assist, and a steal. Freshman forward, Dontae Johnson rounded out the Tiger scoring with two field goals in six attempts as well as two of two at the free throw stripe for 6 points as well as four rebounds. Also playing, but not scoring were Opie Muse (0 of 2 FGs, 7 rebounds, and a steal), and Danny McCreesh (0 of 2 FGs and 2 rebounds). As a team, South Plainfield shot 13 of 43 including five three pointers for 30.2 percent, but made up for that at the foul line by going a scorching 13 of 14 for 92.9 percent. Another key to the Tiger win was the fact that the seventh seeded team only committed eleven turnovers in the contest while forcing Old Bridge to make seventeen. South Plainfield, which trailed 26-17 at one point in the third period, closed the game with a 27-13 surge to pull the game out. The Tigers scored in double figures in each of the last two periods, and actually scored almost as many points in the third, and more points in the fourth than the entire first half.

Statistically speaking, the Tigers held edges in the areas of rebounding (24-18), steals (9-3), blocks (7-1), three pointers (5-3), and charges (1-0). Old Bridge held their only statistical advantage in assists (11-9). Leading the way for the Knights was senior forward, Elvis Obi, who shot the ball extremely well with seven field goals in nine attempts for 14 points. The 6'4", 180 senior also picked up six rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Junior guard, Quinton Crawford helped out with 8 points on 3 of 6 shooting including two three pointers to go along with four rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. Freshman Joe Reyes and junior Dan Shapiro provided additional scoring punch from the perimeter with five points each on two of four shooting including a three pointer. Both also added two assists and a rebound. Lance Rogers (a field goal and two free throws for four points and five rebounds) and Justin Zimmerlink (3 of 6 FTs for three points, four assists, and two rebounds) rounded out the scoring for Old Bridge. Only six players got into the scoring column for the Knights while five of the seven that got into the game for SPHS got into the scorebook. As a team, Old Bridge fared better than SP by going 15 of 40 from the floor for 37.5 percent, but struggled at the charity stripe going 5 of 12 for 41.7 percent.

The game was as sluggish as the score and shooting statistics would indicate. South Plainfield has been a team that has played many of its games in the 40s this season although there were a couple abberations this season including a 71-56 victory at Woodbridge on January 23rd, and a 70-52 win over Kearny Christian Academy a day later on January 24th. Meanwhile, Old Bridge, which has been one of the top defensive teams in terms of points allowed, has had its main struggles on the offensive end all year although it did put up 66 points in a victory over Dunellen on January 27th. In the first meeting between these two teams, South Plainfield actually led 41-24 in the fourth quarter before the Knights closed the game with a 19-7 run to lose only by five. Old Bridge, which had lost 68-21 a couple nights earlier at South Brunswick, only scored three points against the Vikes in the first half, and had more turnovers than field goal attempts in the first half versus SPHS. But, the Knights improved significantly since that time with wins over East Brunswick, Dunellen, and St. Joseph's. Returning to the game, neither team scored for the first 2:42 of the game before Crawford sank a short jumper off a feed from Zimmerlink at the 5:18 mark to draw first blood. The lead didn't last for long though as Burton replied with a three pointer off an assist by Santiago to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead at the 5:01 mark.

The Knights promptly retaliated with a 5-2 burst as Reyes accounted for all the points with a layup and a three pointer. With 3:02 to go in the first, Old Bridge was a perfect 3 of 3 from the field despite five turnovers in the game. A little less than a minute later, the Tigers got back on the board as Hubner scored on an offensive rebound and putback to knot the game at 7-7. Then, South Plainfield, which went 4 of 10 from the field in the period including a three pointer, took the lead after one, 9-7, as Johnson scored on a baseline jumper off an assist by Santiago. After going ahead by two with a bit more than three to go in the opening quarter, Old Bridge was held scoreless, going 0 of 3 from the floor. However, at the start of the second, the Knights regrouped to take control of the game. In the first 1:46 of the period, Old Bridge scored four of the first six points of the frame to tie the game at 11-11. Elvis Obi had a hand in both scores with a layup, and then an assist on a jumper by Shapiro. Nearly two minutes later, Obi gave the Knights the lead with a score on an offensive rebound and putback to make it 13-11 with exactly four a half minutes left until halftime. Johnson squared things up again at 13-13 with a pair of free throws at the 4:10 mark, but a little more than a half minute later, Shapiro struck again from downtown off an assist by Reyes to make it 16-13 with 3:30 to go before the half.

Old Bridge, which went 9 of 19 from the floor in the first half including two threes, closed out the second period with four of the last six points to take a five point, 20-15 lead into the intermission. South Plainfield was held to just 2 of 13 shooting from the floor in the frame for 15.4 percent. Santiago only attempted three shots in the half, missing all three, and coming up with no points. Obi led the way for the Knights with 6 points on 3 of 4 shooting along with four rebounds and an assist. Hubner got all six of his points in the first half by making all three of his shots while collecting four blocks and three rebounds. The third quarter started out well for the underdog Knights as they scored six of the first eight points of the frame to take a nine point, 26-17 lead with 4:25 remaining in the period. After the Tigers opened the scoring in the second half with a Burton jumper off of a Gibson assist, Rogers made one of two free throws at the 6:12 mark, then the Knights got another score, and a three pointer by Crawford off a feed by Zimmerlink with a little less than four a half minutes left in the stanza to take the nine point lead. Sensing the game was slipping away, South Plainfield began to make its move much like it did against J.P. Stevens back during the holidays in the John "Butch" Kowal Tournament.

First, the Tigers got five straight points from Gibson over a span of 1:53 as the junior scored on a layup and his only three pointer of the game to make it 26-22 at the 2:32 mark. Then, after Old Bridge got a three pointer of their own to make it 29-22, South Plainfield got back to back threes from Burton and Santiago to complete an 11-3 tear, and pull the Tigers within one at 29-28 going into the fourth. At the beginning of the final period, Obi scored a layup to give the Knights some breathing room at 31-28, but Santiago began to take over with one of two at the line for a 31-29 Old Bridge lead at the 6:30 mark, and then he put the Tigers ahead for good 41 seconds later with his second and final three pointer of the game to make it 32-31. After Rogers missed a pair at the line for the Knights with 4:36 left, the Tigers, which spread the floor to take time off the clock, got a pair of charity shots from Burton at the 3:03 mark to make it 34-31. The Knights got one of two at the line from Zimmerlink to make the score, 34-32, but SPHS was able to pull away with fine foul shooting led by both Gibson and Santiago to hold on for the five point, 44-39 victory.

With the victory, South Plainfield advances to the semifinals to take on long time neighborhood rival, Piscataway. The last time these two teams met, the Tigers went to overtime to remain undefeated in a thrilling 59-56 victory in the 2004 GMCT Quarterfinals. SPHS is now 17-6 overall on the season including a 15-4 mark in conference play while Old Bridge pretty much winds up its season with a 7-17 mark overall, and a 6-14 record in the GMC.

Top Seeded Vikings Cruise Into Semifinals, 84-50

By Greg Machos
February 18, 2007

EDISON, NJ--On a day where there was as much tumult in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament as a GMCT nearly two decades ago, there was at least one bit of stability, and that was top seeded South Brunswick. The Vikings, ranked first in the GMC Hoops Top Ten, were still yet to lose a conference game going into their matchup against ninth seeded Bishop Ahr. Coming off a 85-43 wipeout of Sayreville in the Round of 16 on Thursday night in South Brunswick, the Vikes were looking to advance to the GMCT Final Four for the third time in six years. Meanwhile, the Trojans of Bishop Ahr, which defeated Dunellen on the road in the always difficult Faber Gymnasium as Corey Francisco had a monsterous night with a double-double of 37 points and 11 rebounds. However, on this day, BGA, which was in its first quarterfinal since the 1992-93 season, never had a chance.

South Brunswick made sure that there would be no doubt, where it would be on Tuesday evening as the Vikings jumped out to a 26-6 first quarter lead including a 16-2 tear to end the period. Then, despite a modest 11-3 spurt by the Trojans in the middle of the second to pull within fifteen at 34-19 with 2:49 to go before intermission, the top seeded squad in this year's GMCT, closed the first half with a 13-2 outburst to take a commanding 47-21 lead going into the lockeroom, and cruised from there to an 84-50 rout of Bishop Ahr. For the game, South Brunswick not only registered double digits and outscored Ahr in each quarter, but it also scored twenty points or more in three of those periods. Ten of the thirteen Viking players that got into the contest scored while three scored in double figures. The Vikings only had two turnovers in the entire first half, and even had five in the middle of the fourth and final period of play, but ended up with ten after the reserves got into the game late. SBHS went 27 of 55 from the floor including six three pointers for 49.1 percent. Meanwhile, Bishop Ahr, which had 20 turnovers including eleven in the first period, shot 19 of 48 from the floor including a three pointer for 39.6 percent.

At the line, South Brunswick went a blazing 22 of 24 for 91.7 percent while Ahr went 11 of 18 for 61.1 percent. In other statistical areas, the Vikings held advantages in rebounding (24-23), three pointers (6-1), turnovers (10-20), assists (22-15), steals (16-7), and blocks (5-3). South Brunswick's lead grew as large as thirty-five at 62-27 in the second half. Even the reserves held their own against Ahr. Leading the way for the Vikes was senior guard, Martin Soaries, who made 8 of 12 field goal attempts including three treys along with a perfect 6 of 6 at the foul line for a game high 25 points. He also picked up five assists, a rebound, steal, and block. Twin brother and point guard, Malcolm, chipped in with 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting including a three pointer as well as a perfect 3 of 3 from the charity stripe as well. Malcolm also added six assists, two steals, and two rebounds. Senior forward, Devon Young shot well also going a red hot 5 of 7 from the floor including a three pointer along with making both his free throws for 13 points. Young also picked up four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

Junior reserve Arman Wilson chipped in with a 3 of 6 effort from the field including a three pointer as well for 7 points while also collecting two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Three players contributed with six points including: Ray Dasant (2 of 6 FGs and 2 of 4 FTs for 6 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals), reserve Mike Sobers (2 of 3 FGs and 2 of 2 FTs for 6 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal), and reserve Troy Confessore (0 of 2 FGs and 6 of 6 FTs for 6 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal). Senior Brian Morgan came off the bench to make a three point play for his only points of the contest along with two rebounds, and a steal. Junior forwards Jordan Tiecher and Sean Lease each added a field goal for two points while Lease grabbed a rebound to round out the Viking scoring. Also playing, but not scoring were Vineesh Manchanda (0 of 2 FGs, five steals, three rebounds, three assists, and a blocked shot), Mohammed Sanu (0 of 2 FGs, 3 rebounds, and 3 blocks), and Chris Weir (a steal). Meanwhile, for the Trojans, Francisco led the way under very difficult circumstances with 14 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and a block. Three players helped out with six points each including Martese Street (2 of 4 FGs and 2 of 2 FTs for 6 points, 2 rebounds, and a block), Kevin Uszenski (2 of 4 FGs and 2 of 2 FTs for 6 points and 3 steals), and Dan Hurley (2 of 6 FGs and 2 of 3 FTs for 6 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal).

Two Ahr players had five including junior guard, Mike Williamson (5 points, 3 assists, a rebound, and a steal), and point guard, Billy Rooney (2 of 3 FGs including a three pointer for 5 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, a steal, and a block). Junior reserve, Jordan Madsen added four points on 2 of 4 shooting while grabbing three rebounds, and seniors Zack Widdoss (1 of 2 FGs for 2 points and a rebound) and Dennis Cerami (1 of 1 FG for 2 points) rounded out the Trojan scoring. Also playing, but not scoring in the contest were Derek Figueredo (0 of 2 FG and 0 of 1 FT, and an assist), Justin Dews (a steal), Jose De La Cruz (a rebound), Matt Fiorino, and Matt Sheehy. Things actually started out promising for Bishop Ahr as they scored the first points of the game right off the opening tip for a 2-0 lead. However, in less than a minute's time, South Brunswick was already ahead to stay with a 5-0 burst on a layup by Martin Soaries and a three point play by brother Malcolm off a steal and assist by Manchanda to make it 5-2 at the 7:02 mark of the first. Nearly twenty seconds later, Dasant went to the line to make one of two foul shots, and the score was 6-2. BGA eventually got on the board to make it 8-4, but Young got into the act with a pair of free throws that resulted from getting fouled after an offensive rebound at the 5:28 mark to make the score, 10-4.

And the Vikings weren't going to stop there. Martin Soaries struck again for a three pointer, and Young followed that with a steal for a layup to force Ahr's long time head coach, Dennis O'Keefe, who was in his first year at BGA when the Trojans made the Elite Eight in 1993, to call for a 30 second timeout at the 4:19 mark. The stoppage didn't end the hemorrhaging as South Brunswick closed out the opening period with an 11-2 spurt to take a huge 26-6 lead going into the second. The Vikings were just 9 of 19 from the floor including two threes, but made six of seven foul shots, committed only one turnover, limited Bishop Ahr to just eight shots, and forced eleven turnovers. The second period saw BGA make some headway, but then the Vikes shut the door. SBHS began the quarter right where it left off with five of the first seven points of the frame for a 31-8 lead. However, the Trojans put together their best run of the game, an 11-3 tear to close the gap to 34-19 as Viking head coach, Chris Balent, called for time at the 2:49 mark. Emerging from the timeout, South Brunswick went on a scoring rampage with a 13-2 tear over the remainder of the first half to take command. The late run was highlighted by a Malcolm Soaries jumper from Manchanda, a Young layup from Dasant, and a three pointer and layup by Martin Soaries, who had 21 of his 25 in the first half alone, for a 47-21 lead at the intermission.

As a team, South Brunswick was just as hot from the field in the first half as it was nearly a month earlier at the Dunn Center against Elizabeth in its only loss. The Vikes shot 17 of 32 from the field including five threes for 53.1 percent, and made 8 of 9 at the foul line for 88.9 percent. Meanwhile, Ahr was only 9 of 24 from the floor for 37.5 percent, made 3 of 6 at the foul line for 50 percent, and committed 14 turnovers. Martin Soaries was pretty much complete with his work for the day making 7 of 10 shots including three treys and went four of four at the line. On the other side of the ledger, Francisco led the Trojans with a 4 of 9 shooting effort and one of two at the line for 9 points. The third quarter started out right were it left off in period number two with South Brunswick opening the new half with eight of the first ten points to take a 55-23 lead at the 5:47 mark. The run was highlighted by a Martin Soaries layup, a jumper and two free throws by brother Malcolm, and a layup by Dasant. The Vikes then scored seven of the next eleven points to make it a 15-6 tear for a 62-27 lead. From there, Ahr outscored SBHS by a 23-22 margin to make it a bit more respectable, but the Vikings advanced with an 84-50 win.

With the victory, South Brunswick moves up to 17-0 in the Greater Middlesex Conference, and 22-1 overall. Meanwhile, Bishop Ahr drops to 14-6 overall, and 12-5 in conference play. The Vikings advance to the semifinals to play fifth seeded Cardinal McCarrick in a rematch of a meeting on January 13th, which was won by South Brunswick, 63-41. Meanwhile, BGA prepares for the upcoming state tournament with a non-conference game at Immaculata, and then opens the Non-Public A South Tournament with a game at home versus Notre Dame of Lawrenceville.

GMC Hoops Summaries--February 12, 2007
GMC Tournament--Preliminary Round

Genfi's Double-Double Propels Bombers To Rout Over Chargers, 68-42

By Greg Machos
February 12, 2007

PARLIN, NJ--The preliminary round of the 2007 Greater Middlesex Conference took place on Monday night with 12 teams battling in six games to advance to the Round of 16, which is set for Wednesday night, February 14th. One of the games on Monday featured the 16th seeded Saryeville Bombers, which have been a hard luck team most of the season, but have come on strong with six wins in their last ten games since a 3-9 start, and the 17th seeded Spotswood Chargers, which defeated South River handily, 83-45 in the Play-In round on Saturday, February 10th. Usually the game between the 16th and 17th seeds is a very competitive one, much like that of the 8 vs. 9 game. However, this season, it was not. After getting off to a slow start, the Bombers gradually settled down, and took control with the help of senior center, Kofi Genfi. Sayreville's only starting senior, who started the game one of four from the field and 0 of 3 at the line, ended up going 7 of 19 from the floor, and 5 of 11 at the line for 19 points along with 17 rebounds to lead Sayreville to an easy 68-42 victory over Spotswood.

Genfi, who also picked up two assists, a steal, and a blocked shot, brought the house down with 4:48 to play, when he took in an alleyoop pass lobbed up by Ricky Harding for a two handed slam. Although the officials called Genfi for a technical since he hung on the rim too long, the Bomb Shelter, which was very loud despite not having a sellout crowd for the game, went into a complete frenzy with chants of Genfi, Genfi, Genfi to salute their standout player. Harding, by the way, also had 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting including two three pointers in addition to a perfect three of three at the foul line. The junior guard also added six assists, five rebounds, and a steal. Junior Ray Rodriguez also helped out with 3 of 8 shooting including a three pointer for 7 points as well as four rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

Big man, Chris Matagrano, who had an eye infection earlier in the season, started last night, and despite going down with a slight injury, the 6'7" junior came back to score 6 points on 3 of 7 shooting along with 5 rebounds, an assist, and a block. One key substitution was Chris McLafferty's entrance into the game for Matagrano. The sophomore, who ended up going 3 of 6 from the field for 6 points along with 5 rebounds, an assist, and a steal, provided a spark for Sayreville, which continued to pull away in the third quarter after taking a 29-18 halftime lead. Rounding out the scoring was sophomore point guards LaVone Graham (two points, two rebounds, three assists, and a steal) and Paul De La Costa (a three pointer for three points and three assists), and reserves Chris Robinson (1 of 2 FTs for a point and three rebounds), Keyvan Jamedar (a field goal for two points), and Mike Greco (a three pointer for three points), who recently stood out in a JV game against Woodbridge. Also playing for the Bombers, but not scoring were Rashiem Clarke, James DeMild (0 of 3 FGs and a rebound), Michael Lewis (0 of 1 FG, two rebounds, and an assist), and Johnnie Lonan (0 of 1 FG and an assist). Meanwhile, Spotswood was led by Johrn Berner, who got off to a fast start hitting 4 of his first seven shots in the first quarter, but then cooled off by going 5 of 13 the rest of the way. Nevertheless, the senior tallied 23 points on 9 of 20 shooting including three field goals, and two of two at the line. Berner also collected five rebounds, three blocks, and a charge.

Outside of Berner though, there wasn't much production for the visitors from Spotswood. The Chargers didn't really attempt to attack the basket as they stuck to the perimeter for the entire game. Justin Carlson was the only Charger player other than Berner to score more than one field goal in the contest going 2 of 7 from the floor and 2 of 5 from the foul line for 6 points along with 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, an assist, and a steal. Bryan Osofsky, who has been one of the top scorers all year for Spotswood as well as the team's top perimeter threat, only went 1 of 8 from the floor, and made both his foul shots for just four points while picking up three assists and two rebounds. The rest of Spotswoods scoring came from Mike Hohman (2 points, an assist, and a block), Ross Gerhart (2 points, 2 assists, and a rebound), Pat Dwyer (2 points and a block), Cody Pace (2 points and a rebound), and Nick Olesinski (one point and an assist). Also playing for the Chargers were Zack Becker (0 of 5 FGs, 4 assists, and 2 steals), Vinny Vizzi (a rebound), and Joe Petosa (a rebound). For the game, Sayreville shot 26 of 68 from the floor including five three pointers for 38.2 percent while Spotswood was only 15 of 52 including three treys for 28.8 percent. Meanwhile, at the line, the Bombers went 9 of 16 for 56.3 percent while the Chargers were 8 of 13 for 61.5 percent.

In other statistical areas, the home team held advantages in three pointers (5-3), rebounds (45-17), assists (19-12), and steals (5-3) while the Chargers actually held edges in turnovers (7-13), blocks (7-2), and charges (1-0). Sayreville, which was outscored 12-11 in the first quarter, had more points than Spotswood in each of the last three quarters for the win. The Bombers scored in double figures in each quarter while Spotswood scored in single digits in the second, which happened to be the pivotal period of the game. Sayreville seemed overanxious in front of its heavily partisan crowd, which created plenty of noise in the Bomb Shelter. The Bombers began the game going 1 of 11 from the field, and even had troubles at the line. Meanwhile, Spotswood was hot early, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the first 4:53 of the contest as Bomber coach, Shawn Currie, called for time at the 3:07 mark of the first quarter. Following that timeout, the home team got going hitting five of its last six or seven shots while holding the visitors to just two points the rest of the way. Sayreville's 9-2 quarter closing rally was capped by a three pointer from De La Costa, who let one go from the left corner after receiving a pass from Genfi, to make it a 12-11 game going into the second.

In the second period, the Bombers feeded off the momentum gained at the end of the first with a decisive 18-6 showing to take a 29-18 lead into the locker room. Altogether, Sayreville outscored Spotswood, 27-8 over the last 11:07 of the first half to take the eleven point halftime lead. The Chargers, which started the game with four field goals in its first six to eight shots, ended the first half with just as many in their last 22 to 24 shots. Spotswood went 8 of 30 with two threes in the first half for 26.7 percent while Sayreville went 12 of 35 including three treys over the first two periods for 34.3 percent altough the Bombers were 11 of 24 from the floor for 45.8 percent following the shaky start. Spotswood started things on the wrong foot in the opening minute of the second period as Berner traveled with 7:29 to play. Spotswood called timeout after that, and then Sayreville took the lead as Genfi scored on a follow to make it 13-12 with over seven minutes left in the half. Genfi would later missed two free throws at the 6:55 mark, but the Bombers were undeterred with five of the next seven points to take an 18-14 lead with 5:31 left before halftime on a three pointer by Harding and a layup by Genfi.

Carlson got the Chargers back in the contest with four of his six points on the night. The senior center scored on layups in back to back possessions to knot the game at 18-18, but Sayreville took the lead back soon afterward as Genfi scored on a layup as he was fouled off an assist by Graham to make it 20-18 with 4:45 to go before the intermission. The usually reliable Genfi, who was perfect at the line against Woodbridge and Old Bridge, struggled on this night including a miss at the charity stripe on the bonus attempt for the conventional three point play. Rodriguez and Graham added scores over the next 2:01 to make it a 6-0 run, and a 24-18 lead. Genfi then made a pair at the line with 1:53 to go in the half to make it 26-18, and then Matagrano found Rodriguez for a three pointer from the top of the key at the 1:10 mark to make it 29-18 at the half. Spotswood was held scoreless for close to five minutes as Sayreville ended the half with an 11-0 run. In just one half, Genfi had compiled a double-double going 4 of 10 from the floor, and 2 of 5 at the line for 10 points along with 12 rebounds while Rodriguez scored all seven of his points in the first half. Meanwhile, Berner, who had started hot, cooled off going 5 of 14 in the first half including two threes for 12 points along with two rebounds, a block, and a charge.

It would be more of the same in the third quarter as Sayreville went on a 9-2 run after one of two foul shots by Carlson at the 6:25 mark to turn a 29-19 lead, into a 38-21 advantage. Genfi started the run with an offensive rebound and putback at about the six minute mark, and then finished it off when it pulled the rim down on his dunk at the 4:45 mark. While Osofsky made both technical foul shots, and Berner hit another three to make it 38-26 at about the 4:15 mark, the game was never really the same after that. The Bombers closed out the third quarter with a 10-6 run that included two free throws by Genfi at the 4:03 mark, and a Harding jumper to counter a baseline drive for a layup by Berner, and two free throws by Pace with 2:18 left in the stanza to make it a 48-32 lead going into the fourth and final period. The straw that broke the camel's back was when Harding was fouled on a jumper that went in at the 7:22 mark. The junior guard then made the bonus free throw for a 51-34 lead, and Sayreville cruised from there with a 17-8 effort the rest of the way for the twenty-six point win.

With the victory, the Bombers advance to play top seeded South Brunswick, and are now 10-13 overall, and 8-9 in conference play. In additon, Sayreville moves into second place in the GMC Hoops Trophy Standings with six points, one behind Colonia. Meanwhile, Spotswood drops to 13-9 on the season including a .500 mark in conference play.

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