Vikings lose thriller in GMCT semifinals
BY GEORGE ALBANO
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Above, South Brunswick’s Dan Stonkus rejects St. Joe’s Kenny Widgeon during the GMCT semifinal on Tuesday at Middlesex County College. At left, the Vikings’ Martin Soaries drives the lane.

From Dave Turco’s viewpoint, the South Brunswick High School (SBHS) boys basketball team was just three inches away from playing in Friday night’s Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) championship game.

Three inches. That’s how close Turco, the Vikings’ third-year coach, felt a potential game-winning three-point shot by Martin Soaries was from going in during Tuesday night’s heartbreaking 46-44 loss to St. Joseph of Metuchen in the GMC semifinals at Middlesex County College in Edison.

Down by two and with the ball, South Brunswick had a chance to tie, or win, with two seconds to go. But with 6-foot-9 center Danny Stonkus saddled with four fouls going up against St. Joe’s 7-footer Andrew Bynum, Turco elected to go for the three and the win.

But Soaries’ shot from the top of the key, off the inbounds pass, was slightly off the mark as time ran out on the Vikings, who fell to 19-5 on the season.

“We had a chance to tie, but I chose to go for the three. It was my decision,” Turco explained after the game. “With Danny playing with four fouls, I didn’t think if we tied it we’d be able get through the OT [overtime], so I went for the win. I made the decision.

“We got a good look too. I actually think the big guy got a piece of it and it sliced off to the left. Another three inches to the left and we’re playing at Rutgers Friday night.”

Instead, it will be third-seeded South Plainfield (18-5) and No. 4 St. Joseph (16-8) in the final. South Plainfield upset No. 2 Colonia 56-44 in the first game of Tuesday night’s semifinal doubleheader.

“In our opinion, and I could be proven wrong Friday night, tonight was the championship game,” Turco said. “We felt the winner of tonight’s game was going to win the championship. But in high school, on any given day you never know.”

Perhaps no one knows that better than South Brunswick, the GMC Red Division champs and the top seed in the tournament. The Vikings beat Sayreville 72-65 in the opening round behind Soaries’ 31 points, and then turned back Old Bridge 62-50 in the quarterfinals as Stonkus led the way with 14 points.

But waiting for them in the semis was a tough St. Joseph team that had already inflicted one of the Vikings’ four previous losses on them, a 46-26 blowout Feb. 2.

“We just had a horrible shooting night,” Turco painfully recalled. “We made only 12-of-53 shots [23 percent] and we had 23 turnovers. We scored only six points in the first quarter, five in the second quarter and only two in the third. It was just a bad night.”

The Vikings did beat St. Joe’s in their only other meeting, 65-55 back on Jan. 4, but Bynum missed that game with a knee injury.

So Turco and company knew the rubber match would be tough and they were right. Bynum, who will play for UConn next season, had 20 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocked shots for St. Joseph, who raced out to an early 20-8 lead. South Brunswick still trailed 25-13 late in the second quarter, but managed to cut the deficit to 26-19 at halftime and finally forge ahead 34-32 lead after three.

And when Soaries drilled a 3-pointer early in the fourth period, it completed a 24-7 scoring spree by the Vikings, which gave them a 37-32 advantage. But Stonkus then picked up his fourth foul with just over five minutes left and took a seat on the bench as the momentum began to turn.

“They just went to work with the big guy after that,” Turko said.

Behind Bynum, St. Joseph quickly scored five straight points to tie the game at 37-37 as Stonkus returned to the floor. South Brunswick went back in front and was protecting a 44-41 lead when Bynum converted a three-point play to tie it again with 2:46 to go.

Bynum, who scored his team’s final five points, then put back an offensive rebound with 1:50 remaining to give St. Joe’s a 46-44 lead. There’d be no further scoring, but plenty of excitement, especially on the final play of the game, which came up short for the Vikings.

“Our shooting hurt us again tonight,” Turko said. “We were 12-for-53 with 23 turnovers the last time we played, but we weren’t much better tonight, only 18-for 51 and just 2-for-16 from three-point land. But we only had seven turnovers this time. Going into the game, we thought if we hit our shots, we had a chance to win. We didn’t hit many, but we still had an opportunity to win.”

“It would’ve been nice to win, but we’re a young team,” he added. “A couple of our underclassmen got some good experience tonight.”

Stonkus, who averages 13.5 points, 14.7 rebounds and 8.4 blocks, and small forward Coron Short are the only two seniors in the starting lineup, while backup center Brent Hunt is the only other upperclassman on the roster.

“And we play 11 guys,” Turko noted, “so eight guys will come back next year.”

Soaries, a shooting guard whose 14.6 scoring average leads the team, is only a sophomore, while starting point guard Tommy Hill is a junior, and fellow junior Nick Fazio and sophomore Joe Clancy have alternated at the other starting forward spot opposite Short.

Meanwhile, juniors Mike Zwiren and Paul Taeffner, and sophomores Devon Young and Cory Kelly have also contributed coming off the bench.

“These kids worked as hard as any group we’ve ever been involved with,” said Turko, who’s seen the Vikings improve from 13-11 his first season to 15-9 last year to 19-5 and counting this season. “They put in 80 games in the summer and fall, and through hard work and lifting, they made themselves better and went further than last year.

“But the biggest difference this year from last year is how well they get along together. They all like one another and that makes it easy for a coach.”

The future looks even brighter for the Vikings. Besides the eight returning varsity players, the South Brunswick freshmen team won its semifinal game in the county tournament Tuesday and will play in the finals on Saturday, while the JV team played in semis of its county tourney on Wednesday.

“So you’ve got some good youth behind this group,” Turco said.

But this season is not over yet. The Vikings are seeded No. 2 in the Central Jersey Group IV state tournament (Trenton is No. 1) and have a first-round bye. They’ll return to action on March 2 when they host the winner of the first-round game between No. 7 Marlboro and No. 10 Middletown North.

“We have some time off to work on our shooting and get ready to make a state run,” said Turco, who led Carteret High School to the 2000 Central Jersey Group II state title before he came to SBHS. “Hopefully we can win the sectional. We’re the No. 2 seed so we’re home until the finals.

“Whatever happens, it will be good experience for our guys. We’re gonna miss Danny’s and Coron’s leadership next year, but by going deep in the county tournament and hopefully deep in the state tournament, that experience will help our young players take it a step farther next year.”