Timothy Christian ousts St. Joseph from GMC Tournament in 1st round, plus full boys’ roundup as Saturday’s quarterfinals are set

Seven of the eight higher seeds in the boys’ GMC Tournament won their first round games Thursday evening – two going to overtime, with Woodbridge and Sayreville needing extra time to advance – with the lone upset coming in Metuchen, where tenth-seed Timothy Christian beat seven-seed St. Joseph, 56-53.

The Tigers (14-7) did it on an off night in the scoring column – though he contributed in other ways – from Jalen Fleming, who finished with ten. But it was Chukwudi Raphael-Mamah who poured in 24 to lead all scorers – 15 of those coming after halftime – and freshman point guard Elijah Pierre with 14 coming up big.

The game featured 16 lead changes, ten in the second half. The last one went to Timothy, with about five minutes to go. They eventually built to a 54-44 lead late in the period, with Joe’s getting no closer than three with under a half-minute to go.

The Falcons (6-13) were led by Brayden Danchack, who finished with 18, eleven of which came in the fourth in the St. Joe’s rally that fell short. It’s the first time Joe’s has failed to reach the quarterfinals of the GMC Tournament since 2007.

Timothy – who made the GMC quarterfinals for the first time ever last year, and lost 83-68 to St. Joseph – are now in it for a second straight season, and will play Piscataway on the Chiefs’ home court – on a “neutral floor” – Saturday at 2 pm.

Click below to hear Timothy Christian head coach Dennis McNulty talk about the win:

GMC TOURNAMENT BOYS’ FIRST ROUND – THURSDAY

(1) Colonia def. (16) Monroe, 65-44: Junior Aiden Derkack score 28 points for the Patriots (20-4), adding six rebounds and five assists. It was close early, with Colonia up six after one, but down five at the half, 27-22. But they finished strong after the break, up six heading into the fourth, where they outscored Monroe (7-17) by a count of 27-12. The Patriots will play eight-seed Woodbridge in Saturday’s semifinals at Piscataway.
(8) Woodbridge def. (9) East Brunswick, 74-68 (OT): Emmanuel Cruz scored 24 points for the Barrons (12-9), who doubled up the Bears (13-11) in overtime to come out on top. Derek Anderson added 19m, while Bryan Anderson chipped in 10. The Bears got 51 of their 68 points from the duo of Matt Mikulka (30) and Cam Vick (21) in what was a tight game wire to wire. It was tied 15-15 after one, Woodbridge led 35-34 at half, East Brunswick 52-51 after three, and – of course – tied after regulation. The Barrons will take on top-seed and defending champion Colonia Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinals at Piscataway.
(5) Old Bridge def. (21) North Plainfield, 73-45: The Knights used a monster 24-7 second quarter to take a 36-17 halftime lead, and they didn’t look back. Four players scored in double figures for Old Bridge (14-9), led by Brandon Medel with 15, while Krish Patel chipped in 13. Cayden Prince led all scorers with 18 for the Canucks (12-12). The Knights will face four-seed St. Thomas Aquinas Saturday in the quarterfinals at Piscataway.
(4) St. Thomas Aquinas def. (13) Perth Amboy, 73-61: Aiden Carter scored 18 for the Trojans (14-9), tying for game high honors with Lavion Balthazar of the Panthers (12-11). Balthazar finished with a double-double, adding 11 rebounds. Aquinas led 21-11 after one and 36-23 at the half. Aquinas will take on five-seed Old Bridge in Saturday’s quarterfinals at Piscataway
(3) Sayreville def. (14) Metuchen, 64-55 (OT): The Bulldogs (17-7) had a 24-16 lead at the half, but saw it erased on a big final eight minutes of regulation by Sayreville (19-3), which outscored Metuchen 22-12, then 15-6 in overtime. The White Division champs were led by Chidi Chukwurah’s double-double of 22 points and ten rebounds. The Bombers will face the GMC White runner up, South Plainfield, Saturday in the quarterfinals at Piscataway.
(6) South Plainfield def. (11) Middlesex, 70-53: The Tigers (16-7) turned a three-point lead after one into a 27-21 lead at the half, then grew it by ten more in the third en route to the win over the Blue Jays (16-7).
(2) Piscataway def. (15) North Brunswick, 86-42: Nate Davis led the Chiefs (20-4) with 17 points, while Vaugh Turner added 16 and Josh Lima chipped in 14. Piscataway led by four after one but 39-28 at the break and continued to pull away from the Raiders (9-15) in the second half. The victory also gave Piscataway its first 20-win season since going 23-4 in 2017-18 under current head coach Bob Turco’s predecessor, Darius Griffin. Next up, Piscataway gets Timothy Christian at “home” in the quarterfinals Saturday.

Here’s the schedule of games for Saturday’s quarterfinals at Piscataway High School, followed by the girls quarters at Spotswood. Note the typical bracket times have been altered for the boys so that the same schools aren’t playing at the same time Saturday.