South Plainfield’s Jayden Vaca (#3) puts up a shot against Woodbridge in a GMC White Division game on January 25, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Both St. Joseph-Metuchen and St. Thomas Aquinas have had great success in the Middlesex County Tournament, but in no way will their meeting Wednesday night be any kind of de facto championship game.
There are two teams on the other side who will play before them and would be just as deserving of a shot at the title.
But the two teams that will play the second game Wednesday night in the semifinals at Monroe Township High School are some of the most successful in the history of the event.
The Falcons have won 12 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championships, more than anyone else, but St. Thomas Aquinas is third on the list with four, and has never lost a title game. And though the Trojans have won the last three, the Falcons beat them twice in the regular season, and took the GMC Red Division title.
You can hear both of Wednesday’s semifinals live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with top-seed and St. Joseph-Metuchen against fourth-seed and three-time defending champ St. Thomas Aquinas in the 7 pm nightcap, preceded by Colonia and South Plainfield in the 5 pm game. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action, with an extended pregame at 4:15 pm, including live pregame and coverage throughout the night of the girls’ semifinals with Alec Crouthamel live in Spotswood. Click here to listen.
Probably few figured St. Joe’s might be here, considering they lost top scorer Josh Ingram to graduation, and haven’t had Jeremy DeCaro available, due to injury, the entire season. Enter Jeremy Clayville, who established himself as one of the elite ballplayers in Middlesex County this year, starting things off with a bang. He scored 43 points on opening night against Piscataway, putting the rest of the division, even the league, on notice.
Few might also have expected Aquinas to be here, either. They lost almost their entire roster to graduation and transfer, and didn’t have a whole team to practice together over the summer. But no one’s crying for the Trojans, who’ve won three straight GMCT titles, and yet here they are back in the semifinals, poised for another trip to the league’s final game of the year. Senior Rinelson Dilone and Aiden Ur have emerges as the top scorers, along with Paris Papadatos.
Click below to hear both coaches talk about the semifinal matchup, and scroll down for more info on the game:
MORE ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S SECOND SEMIFINAL:
(1) St. Joseph-Metuchen (18-7) vs (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (15-9)
When: Wednesday, 7 pm
Where: Monroe Township High School
Broadcast Team: Mike Pavlichko
COACHES:
St. Joseph: Jan Cocozziello, 5th season (87-38)
St. Thomas Aquinas: Bob Turco, 6th season (116-32)
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
St. Joseph: The Falcons blew by 16th-seed North Plainfield in the first round, but found themselves locked in a battle with 9-seed Timothy Christian in the quarterfinals last Saturday at Piscataway. The Tigers exploited a height advantage early and led for much of the first half until St. Joe’s took a lead, but only had a five-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Eventually, they hit their shots and pulled away for an 86-38 win.
St. Thomas Aquinas: The Trojans topped 13-seed North Brunswick at home in the first round, and topped 12th-seeded Red Division foe East Brunswick 57-45 in Saturday’s quarterfinals at Piscataway behind 23 points from Aiden Ur, and a double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds from Rinelson Dilone
TOP SCORERS:
St. Joseph: Jeremy Clayville (20.2 ppg, team-leading 34 treys), Dave Caruso (10.7 ppg, 17 treys)
St. Thomas Aquinas: Rinelson Dilone (15.8 ppg), Aiden Ur (15.4 ppg, 40 treys), Paris Papadatos (13.9 ppg, team-best 43 treys)
TOP REBOUNDERS:
St. Joseph: Owen Griffin (5.6)
St. Thomas Aquinas: Rinelson Dilone (13.3)
RECENT MEETINGS: These two teams have played five times the last two seasons. Aquinas won all three meetings last year, including a 91-45 win by the Trojans in the GMC semis, en route to a third straight title. This year? St. Joseph won both regular season meetings, by 19 on January 17th, but by a slimmer 82-79 margin on a Dave Caruso bank shot. Will the regular season winner also win the GMC title this year?
GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
St. Joseph: The Falcons have won more titles and have more finals appearances than any other GMC team. They’ve won 12 championships, all in the GMC era (since 1986). They’ve made 21 GMC finals appearances, and had four in the MCT title game – losing all four – in that event’s run from 1965 through 1985. They made every GMC final from 2008 through 2019, which was their last trip, winning five straight from 2010-21014, and another four from 2016-2019.
St. Thomas Aquinas: The Trojans have won the last three full tournaments, dating back to 2020, picking up after the long St. Joe’s run of nine titles in ten years. They also won it in 1992, and are 4-0 all-time in GMCT finals. They also won the MCT in their only appearance, in 1982 as Bishop Ahr.