St. Thomas Aquinas senior Jaden Kelly (#5 in white) guards against Colonia freshman Aidan Derkack in a GMC Red Division game on January 12, 2023 in Edison. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
There’s no math involved, no power points, no OSI (oh yeah, that’s football), no winning percentages to calculate, and no opinions to be asked for.
A win tonight for top-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (14-1, 7-0) over No. 10 St. Joseph-Metuchen (8-3, 6-1) would give the Trojans the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division title outright.
A loss, and that’s where opinions and future results could come into play. For one, it would force a three-way championship in the Red, as only the first matchups among division teams counts in the standings, under a one-year pilot program approved by the GMC last Spring.
Second, all three tied teams – Aquinas, Joe’s and Colonia – would have their tie-broken at the GMC seeding meeting to decide who comes out of the Red first, second and third. And that would take into account all four games played among the teams.
For Aquinas, the Trojans have rebounded nicely off their one-point, triple-overtime loss nine days ago against Camden Catholic in the Seagull Classic down the Shore, going 3-0 since. That’s why St. Thomas head coach Bob Turco schedules these games: to challenge his team, and maybe learn their weaknesses in time for when it really matters: the county and state tournaments.
Their win over Colonia last week put them in the drivers’ seat for tonight in the GMC Red Division race.
While the Trojans can certainly score, averaging just under 74 points a game, defense has been their calling card. And that’s what they used in the third quarter last Thursday night to put some distance between themselves and the Patriots, eventually winning 69-46.
Deuce Jones, a transfer from Trenton Catholic, is the team’s leading scorer, but a solid core is back after the graduation of Adam Silas, who’s now at Wofford, and seeing his playing time increase as the season progresses. Terrell Piits, Kamal Lee, Jaden Kelley and Jalen Pichardo – all seniors – also play critical roles.
You can hear tonight’s game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio from the Maglio Family Gymnasium at 7:00, with pregame set for 6:45 pm. Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino will have the call; click here to listen.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Bob Turco:
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