St. Thomas Aquinas senior Kamal Lee looks to make a pass against St. Joseph-Metuchen in the GMC Tournament semifinals on February 15, 2023. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
It wasn’t “stunning” in terms of the result, or maybe even the margin, since it’s what St. Thomas Aquinas has been doing to opponents all year long.
But the fact that the Trojans and St. Joseph-Metuchen have played two games this year with a grand total differential of seven points – both Aquinas wins – made what happened in Wednesday night’s GMC Tournament semifinals stunning in every sense of the word.
Aquinas hit five of its first six three-point attempts before Joe’s could even blink, and found themselves with a 15-0 lead just over two minutes into the game.
Overall, the Trojans (23-3) hit 15 threes in the game, the most by Aquinas in the past five years under head coach Bob Turco. All five starters scored in double figures, seven different players hit from downtown, and two – Terrell Pitts and Deuce Jones – had a pair of thunderous jams each.
Jones led all scorers with 16, including three treys. Kamal Lee had 12, all on threes. Jaden Kelly had 15, including three trays. Jalen Pichardo has 12 including two threes, while Samir Thomas, Jebron Harris and Sherief Guinyard each had threes off the bench.
In a losing cause for St. Joe’s (15-10), senior Josh Ingram finished with 28 points, enough on a normal night, but this one was anything but, with Aquinas bringing it’s A++ game.
Now, the GMC Tournament Finals Friday night are set. Top-seed and two-time defending champ St. Thomas Aquinas will take on seventh-seed South Brunswick at 8 pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio. No team higher than a six-seed has ever won the GMC or Middlesex County Tournament
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