Senior Amari Campbell goes to the hoop for St. Joseph-Metuchen against Hudson Catholic on February 12, 2022. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
There was a time, not too long ago, when St. Joseph of Metuchen being in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship game was almost a foregone conclusion. And why not?
They made every title tilt from 2008 to 2019, a stretch of 12 appearances that had never been done before, not even in or around the great Taylor family Perth Amboy dynasty in the 1970s, back when it was the Middlesex County Tournament.
A combination of one year out, and the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the a shortened season with county tournament “pods” in 2021, and all of a sudden it’s been three years since the Falcons have played for a trophy.
But Jan Cocozziello and his team will try and change that tonight, when the 2nd-seeded Falcons (19-5) take on third-seed Colonia (20-3) in the GMC Tournament semifinals tonight at Monroe High School.
Central Jersey Sports Radio will have full coverage of both semifinal games as Mike Pavlichko calls all the action, beginning with pregame at 4:45 for the Colonia-St. Joe’s matchup at 5:00. The second semifinal is set for 7 pm. Click here to listen to both games for free, with no registration required.
Cocozziello says a number of factors have played into his team’s 19-5 season, and an occasional lack of cohesiveness with the unit, even though it is no doubt a talented one, led by Ethan Simmon and his 19.6 points per game, including 45 in his team’s first two games of the GMC Tournament, against Spotswood (in a 104-49 win) and South Plainfield (a 73-54 quarterfinal victory).
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk to head coach Jan Cocozziello about the Falcons’ season, what can be gleaned from two recent losses to elite programs, and tonight’s matchup with Colonia: