The season is not even a week old yet, but many teams have already played two or three games, and some are off to better starts than others.
Sure, division play hasn’t really kicked in yet for some, and the schedule will get more difficult for many, but many teams won their opening games and some are 2-0 already.
JP Stevens grabs a couple wins early…
Three Greater Middlesex Conference White American Division schools already are off to 2-0 starts. One of them, JP Stevens, already is a single win away from equalling last year’s win total under third-year head coach Nick Sardone.
The Hawks were 8-14 his first season, in 2023-24, then dipped to just 3-19 last year, having not won a game until the very last day of January.
This year’s team loses top-scoring center Kerem Ozdemir to graduation, but freshman Nameer Burch (8.3 ppg) is back, and already is averaging 21.5 through the first two games. Their first win came at home on Saturday over a Bernards team that won 16 games last year, 61-60 in overtime. Then, they jumped out to a 24-9 lead after the first eight minutes against North Brunswick in a 68-51 home win Tuesday night.
JP Stevens – which is 2-0 for the first time since a 13-11 campaign in 2021-22 – is back in action Saturday when South Brunswick comes to town.
Perth Amboy also is off to a 2-0 start, with wins over Tottenville (NY) at Carteret Saturday in the Outerbridge Crossing Challenge and Timothy Christian on Tuesday, 54-21. South Brunswick beat West Windsor-Plainsboro South Saturday, 57-32, then was a 60-50 winner Tuesday over Edison.
Carteret is rebounding….
The Ramblers have some good senior talent back, and Jeremiah Arrington has been crashing the boards in a big way. He’s got 29 points through two games, but 34 rebounds – a 17 board-per-game average!
He had 23 against College of Staten Island (NY) Saturday in the Outerbridge Crossing Challenge, a 66-39 victory. The Ramblers also topped JFK, 67-56, in a GMC White National game.
Senior Qorey Carter had 37 points through two games, and sophomore Jerry Moon is averaging 16. The Ramblers visit Spotswood (1-0) Thursday night.
Meanwhile, Metuchen – which won 20 games last year – also is off to a 2-0 start, with wins over Middlesex on Monday, 56-36, and Kennedy Wednesday, 64-40.
Three wins for the Governors…
South Amboy is off to a 3-0 start, the first team in the GMC to do so. They hosted the Friends of South Amboy Charity Games this past weekend, and beat East Brunswick Magnet 76-59. They also picked up a win Monday over New Brunswick, 57-52, and topped Dunellen Wednesday night, 64-29.
Sophomore Darion Joubert is averaging a double-double in the early going: 16.7 points a game, and 11.7 rebounds.
More early GMC success…
Sayreville and East Brunswick in the Red National also are off to 2-0 starts. The Tigers – a 23-5 team and a GMCT semifinalist a year ago – topped Oratory Prep, 75-64, Saturday in the Friends of South Amboy Charity Games, then beat St. John Vianney Tuesday night, 54-42. The Bears beat New Dorp (NY) 54-36 Saturday in the Outerbridge Crossing Challenge, then dropped Monroe, 63-35 Tuesday evening.
Piscataway is 2-0 as well, with Chiefs’ head coach Bob Turco joining the “400 Win Club” Wednesday night in a 94-73 win over West Orange on their brand-new home court. They host St. Thomas Aquinas Thursday and Old Bridge Saturday before a rematch of last year’s GMC Tournament final at Colonia at 6 pm Monday, a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Highland Park and Piscataway Magnet are both 2-0 on the year out of the Blue American Division, while Perth Amboy Magnet in the Blue National also is 2-0.
In Somerset County, it’s some of the usual suspects…
The three teams many consider to be the favorites to win the Somerset County Tournament this year are a combined 5-1, with Montgomery and Gill St. Bernard’s both 2-0, and Rutgers Prep 1-1.
Montgomery had a huge win over Don Bosco Prep Saturday night, 66-47, in the NJBCA Tip-Off Classic on their home floor. Two sophomores were huge: Mike Simborski, with a team-best 25 points, and Connor Benedict with 21, all on threes. They came back Tuesday and handled Watchung Hills, 81-55, and host Immaculata (1-0) Thursday night with Penn commit Ethan Lin’s 29 points leading the way.
Gill topped Madison Saturday, 60-47, down at Montgomery in the NJBCA Tip-Off Classic, then edged Montgomery Tuesday night, 51-49, up in Peapack. They travel to Phillipsburg (0-1) Thursday afternoon. Senior Prosper Highlander is averaging 18 points a game through the first two, with eight rebounds, while long-distance shooting specialist Connor Junker has hit four of the team’s dozen triples so far.
Rutgers Prep, meanwhile, dropped a tough one in the Tip-Off Classic, 70-61 to Linden on Saturday, then came back and beat Phillipsburg Tuesday at home, 64-51. Will Brunson scored 19 against the Tigers and had nine rebounds – one shy of a double-double – while going 7-of-11 from the foul line. Against the Stateliners, Rocco Loomis led the way with 33, going 8-of-8 from the line, and hitting seven treys.
Rivals off to good starts…
Manville and Bound Brook – which played on Cutoff Weekend in football for a division title – are looking good in the early going, with the Mustangs 2-0, and the Crusaders 2-1, their only loss coming to Manville Tuesday night.
Manville routed Kononia Saturday in its opener, 66-34, then beat Bound Brook 50-43 behind 18 points and eight boards from Josh D’Ambrosio. Dorian Roundtree led the way for The Brook with 23 points and nine rebounds, as well as four treys. It should set up a nice rematch in Manville on January 16th, a game we’ll broadcast live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
The Crusaders’ first two wins came last Tuesday, 83-29 over Great Oaks Charter, and Monday against Newark Vocational, a 65-33 victory.
Panthers putting it together…
Bridgewater-Rartitan, meanwhile, is off to its best start since they won three straight to begin the 2017-18 campaign. Tonight, they’ll look to go 4-0 for the first time in over a decade (2014) when they host Hunterdon Central (0-1).
The Panthers opened last Thursday with an 83-39 “tune-up” win over Central Jersey College Charter, and followed up with a 73-40 win over Newark Central. Tuesday, they didn’t start so well, but put together a big fourth-quarter and beat then 2-0 Franklin on the road, 70-63, erasing a one-point deficit at the end of three.
Richie Gardner scored 23 points and connected three times from beyond the arc, as did Joseph Chien and Brandon Ur.
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