Tonight at 6 pm, the Colonia and South Plainfield boys’ basketball teams will play a Greater Middlesex Conference crossover game.
Wait, hold on, being told it’s a state sectional championship game.
Yes, the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 final tonight will be an all-GMC affair, as the top-seeded Patriots (24-4) out of the White Division will take on 2nd-seed South Plainfield (23-6) out of the Blue.
The Patriots are the GMC Tournament runner-up, having lost to St. Thomas Aquinas in the finals, a Trojans team that is now out of the playoffs (they lost last night to Rutgers Prep in the Non-Public South A final) while Colonia is still playing, seeking it’s third title since 2015.
Colonia won that year (when they beat Chatham, and lost to Bergenfield in the Group 3 semis), and in 2019 (when they beat West Morris, but lost to Ramapo in the Group 3 semis). This will be their third straight sectional finals appearance; they also made it in 2018, but lost in the title game to Irvington.
South Plainfield, meanwhile, has not had that level of success of late, but has been building to this moment. Their last sectional title came in 1991.
Click below for a preview of the game as GMC Hoops’ Greg Machos talks with Mike Pavlichko about Colonia, South Plainfield, and their title gama matchup tonight: