St. Joseph hands South Plainfield its first loss, as Falcons get New Year off on the right foot

After five seasons, Jan Cocozziello is out as boys’ basketball coach at St. Joseph-Metuchen. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

January 3, 2023 by Mike Pavlichko

They say winning cures all. And one win may not cure what ails the St. Joseph-Metuchen basketball team, but then again, a journey of a million miles starts with but one step.

The Falcons – out of the Central Jersey Sports Radio/Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for the first time since it began in 2021 – took out undefeated South Plainfield Monday night, 71-57, behind 24 points from junior Jeremy Clayville, and 16 from senior Josh Ingram.

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It all comes as St. Joe’s deals with some missing pieces head coach Jan Cocoziello thought he would have this year. He’s got a turn-the-page, next-man-up mentality, but his squad may have taken a little bit longer to get there.

They’ve suffered two losses already: in triple overtime to Colonia and in regulation to South River out of the GMC Blue Division, which is 7-0 heading into a home game Wednesday night against Middlesex. So facing another undefeated team – this time, the Tigers out of the White Division – was a good test for the Falcons.

And though they trailed by four after the first eight minutes, they led by four going into the locker room, and took care of business after that.

Test passed.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with St. Joseph head coach Jan Cocoziello about the win over South Plainfield, and getting the 2023 part of the season off on a good note: