by Mike Pavlichko
It’s a battle of two Top Ten teams Saturday afternoon in Metuchen on Central Jersey Sports Radio – powered by Bellamy & Son Paving – when No. 7 St. Joseph entertains No. 5 South Brunswick.
Air-time is at 12:45, with the game getting underway at 1:00. Click here to listen to all the live play-by-play.
The Vikings (3-0) are one of just five GMC teams (entering Friday night action) to be undefeated heading into the second win of the season, with wins over JP Stevens, Edison and New Brunswick. South Brunswick has been somewhat stingy on defense, allowing an average of just over 45 points per game.
The Falcons (1-2) have had a tougher schedule. St. Joe’s had its opener against GMC foe Monroe cancelled due to COVID, then opened last Thursday with a 101-75 loss at Roselle Catholic, which is 3-0 at the time of this writing and No. 2 in the statewide rankings. They beat Piscataway, then lost Thursday this week to St. Benedict’s.
The game is a rematch of last year’s GMC Tournament semifinals, which saw the Vikings beat St. Joe’s 88-77, ending the Falcons’ run of four straight GMC tournament titles. They’d still have to be a favorite, having won 9 of the last 11 GMC Tournament crowns, though second-year head coach Jan Cocozziello calls them an “underdog” against the Vikings Saturday.
Click below to hear from both head coaches ahead of Saturday afternoon’s highly-anticipated tom Ten matchup.