GMC tournaments a pair of wide-open affairs
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

High school hoops fans around the county will certainly get their fill of exciting action over the next two weeks as the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament kicks into high gear.

This year’s tournament, on the boys side in particular, is being touted as one of the most wide-open tourneys in recent memory, with as many as seven teams coming in with a realistic shot at claiming the conference crown.

For the first time in school history, the Metuchen High School boys basketball team is competing in the GMCT as the No. 1 seed.

With noteworthy road wins over Cardinal McCarrick and J.F. Kennedy last week the Bulldogs improved to 17-1. The GMC Blue Division champs went 14-0 in division play and begin their quest for a GMCT title at 7 p.m. today, against a 16th-seeded Woodbridge team that knocked off North Brunswick on Tuesday, 55-52, in its first-round game. Shamar Graves (15 points, eight rebounds) and Brandon Rogers (16 points) led the way for the Raiders, who fell to 9-12 with the loss, while Woodbridge was paced by Pat Brown’s 18 points.

The Barrons enter tonight’s game in need of a spectacular effort if they hope to upset the Bulldogs, who have been the Conference’s best team this winter, and earned the top seed, much to the surprise of their coach.

“I was a little surprised to learn we got the top seed,” Metuchen head coach Rich Stoner said. “I didn’t think they’d give it to a Blue Division team, but it was nice to see the coaches and the athletic directors acknowledge what we’ve done this season. Now, we have to go out and uphold our seeding.”

Metuchen certainly looks poised to make a run at the title game to be held at the RAC on the Rutgers University campus Feb. 23 after posting its biggest road victory of the season last week. With forward Marqus Blakeley, one of the county’s top scorers with over 20 points per game, finishing with a season-low eight points the Bulldogs still managed to beat a very strong Cardinal McCarrick (seeded seventh in the GMCT) team by a 66-57 score.

“That was a really nice win for us,” Stoner said. “That’s a really tough place to play in.”

With a win tonight, the Bulldogs would face either East Brunswick or Dunellen on Saturday in the quarterfinals. East Brunswick, the ninth seed, knocked off JFK, 71-48, on Tuesday behind a balanced scoring effort that produced nine three-point shots.

The Colonia Patriots got the second seed on the boys side, and at 18-3 on the season, are another team that is certainly capable of capturing the conference crown. Colonia plays its opener tonight against a 15th-seeded Sayreville team that knocked off 18th-seeded Spotswood, 58-37, on Tuesday in the first round.

The winner of tonight’s Colonia-Sayreville game will get the winner of the Cardinal McCarrick-New Brunswick second-round game on Saturday at South Brunswick. New Brunswick, the 10th seed, knocked off South Plainfield, 42-30, in the first round.

St. Joseph’s is the third seed and will take on Middlesex, a 81-69 winner over Perth Amboy, on Tuesday, tonight, with the winner to get either Old Bridge or Bishop Ahr. The 11th-seeded Knights knocked off J.P. Stevens in their opener on Tuesday, 67-52, as senior guard Kahlil Bennett (22 points) and senior center Chris Donnelly (21 points, 12 rebounds) put forth dominant efforts. Old Bridge improved to 8-13 with the win.

Bishop Ahr, the sixth seed, knocked off St. Peter, 72-35, on Tuesday, and is another team with a legitimate shot at making a title run. The Trojans are 15-4 on the year, with two of those losses coming to Metuchen.

Monroe could easily have been a higher seed than No. 4, and the Falcons are anxious to prove themselves, starting with tonight’s game with Piscataway, a 52-49 first-round winner over Edison. The Falcons tied Colonia for the White Division title this year, but at 19-3, feel they still have plenty to prove.

With a win tonight, they would earn a shot at the winner of tonight’s South Brunswick-Highland Park second-round game. The Vikings were seeded fifth coming off a 16-4 regular season, and are certainly another team capable of walking away with the title.

The list of favorites in the girls GMC Tournament is a bit smaller, but as Piscataway proved last year (advancing to the finals at a sixth seed), anything is possible.

The Chiefs return as the top seed this winter, earning that distinction on the heels of a 17-4 regular season and a hard-fought GMC Red Division title. The two teams the Chiefs beat out for that title, East Brunswick and South Brunswick, are the second and fourth seeds, respectively, and no one would be surprised to see any of the three capture the crown.

Piscataway opens its run tomorrow night against 17th-seeded Carteret, who knocked of North Brunswick, 68-58, on Tuesday. East Brunswick will host the defending champion J.P. Stevens Hawks, a 62-43 first-round winner over Middlesex. South Brunswick will take on 13th-seeded Woodbridge, who knocked off the 20 seed, Old Bridge, on Tuesday, 58-47, despite 24 points from the Knights’ Kayle Warman. This was a closer game than expected, as the Knights (2-21) showed some heart in giving the Vikings an unexpected challenge.

With a win tomorrow night, the Vikings would advance to Sunday’s quarterfinals at Middlesex County College, where they could meet up with fifth-seeded South Plainfied, another of the conference’s elite teams that could emerge with the title.

Third-seeded Cardinal McCarrick was the Blue Division’s top team this year, and at 19-2 is an obvious threat in this tournament. The Eagles open their run tomorrow night with a matchup with a Sayreville team coming off a 71-34 win over South River on Tuesday. The 14th-seeded Bombers were led by Lauren Bednarz’s season-high 20 points, while Danielle Mokrzycki and Holly Miara chipped in with 15 and 13 points respectively.

The winner of tomorrow’s Cardinal-McCarrick-Sayreville game will face either New Brunswick, the sixth seed, or Bishop Ahr, the 11th seed. The Trojans knocked off 22nd-seeded Monroe on Tuesday, 51-35, and are a dangerous team, capable of springing an upset against anyone.

That leaves the Colonia Patriots, who may be the hottest team in the GMC entering the tournament. With Tiffany McDaniel putting up 20 points and 14 boards on a regular basis, Colonia has won six of its last eight, and is playing its best basketball of the season. Colonia opens tomorrow with a game against a good Perth Amboy team coming off a 56-35 win over JFK in the first round. The winner will get the East Brunswick-J.P. Stevens winner on Sunday at MCC.