East Brunswick and Timothy upsets, Eason’s 1,000th point for Woodbridge highlight GMCT boys’ first round action; 6 of top 8 seeds move on

One less than the girls’ side, six of the eight top seeds in the Greater Middlesex Conference boys’ basketball tournament advanced Thursday night in the event’s first round, with one exception, as 12th-seed East Brunswick ousted 5th-seed Old Bridge, 51-50 on the road. 

That was the big highlight, but there were others.

Ninth-seed Timothy Christian won at 8th-seed Spotswood, 75-56, for its second win in three meetings with the Chargers this year. They finished as GMC Blue Division co-champions, but the seeding committee broke the tie in favor of Spotswood, giving them the eight seed and Timothy the nine.

And Woodbridge’s Micah Eason scored his 1,000th point for the 7th-seeded Barrons in a home win over 10th-seed Calvary Christian.

The tournament now moves into the quarterfinal round, moved from its traditional Sunday spot on the calendar to avoid a conflict with the Super Bowl if games run late. 

All games will be at Piscataway High School, with games at 10 am, noon, 2 and 4 pm. but assignments to be announced so there are no conflicts with girls’ teams from the same schools playing at the same time. St. Thomas Aquinas, Monroe, South Brunswick and Colonia all will have both teams in action Saturday.

Here are Thursday night’s GMC Tournament first round results:

• (1) St. Joseph-Metuchen def. (16) North Plainfield, 93-41
• (9) Timothy Christian def. (8) Spotswood, 75-56
• (12) East Brunswick def. (5) Old Bridge, 51-50
• (4) St. Thomas Aquinas def. (13) North Brunswick, 76-58
• (3) Monroe def. (14) Sayreville, 72-56
• (6) South Plainfield def. (11) Piscataway, 59-58
• (7) Woodbridge def. (10) Calvary Christian
• (2) Colonia def. (15) Perth Amboy, 64-37

Saturday’s GMCT Boys’ Quarterfinal matchups (times TBA):

• (1) St. Joseph-Metuchen vs. (9) Timothy Christian
• (4) St. Thomas Aquinas vs. (12) East BRunswick
• (3) Monroe vs. (6) South Plainfield
• (2) Colonia vs. (7) Woodbridge