North Brunswick, Metuchen girls pull upsets in GMC Tournament’s preliminary round, as six of eight higher seeds advance; Gutierrez drops 50 for North Plainfield

There were two upsets in the GMC Tournament preliminary round Monday night, as the North Brunswick and Metuchen girls’ basketball teams advanced along with six other higher seeds.

Here’s a rundown of Monday’s eight games, followed by the schedule and matchups for Wednesday’s first round, the round of 16, where the top eight seeds begin play after receiving double-byes in the tournament.

(18) North Brunswick 46, (15) Carteret 31: Shiloh Connage scored a career high 22 points – including two of three at the line – en route to the Raiders (5-18) pulling off the upset. It was Connage’s second 20-plus point game this season. North Brunswick led much of the game, finishing the first quarter with a 13-8 lead, then locked it down in the final eight minutes, winning the period 12-3 to pull away. But that second half took a little longer than usual. Korbid Thompson of the King James Radio Network was broadcasting the game live, and tells Central Jersey Sports Radio there was an incident between fans that forced police to clear the gym, including his broadcast. It happened late in the third quarter. After the a long delay, the gym was cleared, and play continued with no spectators or media. The win also avenged a 50-43 loss to Carteret on January 30th.

(19) Metuchen 47, (14) South Brunswick 41: The Bulldogs (10-10) built a 27-14 halftime lead, but had to survive a late run by South Brunswick to advance to the GMC Tournament’s first round. After three, Metuchen was up 42-25, but the Vikings mounted a furious comeback, outscoring Metuchen 16-5, just falling short by six.

(16) Sayreville 49, (17) Perth Amboy 46: The Bombers (17-4) led 24-17 at the half, but had to survive a late run to escape the Panthers, surviving and advancing with a three-point win. Weronika Glazewski was the game’s high scorer, with 25 points, and finished with a double-double, grabbing 14 rebounds. She also went 5-of-6 from the line. Her twin sister Natalia also logged a double-double, with 12 points and 16 boards. It was their third straight win over Perth Amboy, all coming this year, along with two regular season meetings.

(9) Old Bridge 47, (25) South Amboy 12: The Knights (9-12) cruised in this one, holding the Governors to single digits in the first and fourth quarters – with five points apiece – and just two in the second quarter before shutting out South Amboy in the third. Marilyn Togun led Old Bridge in a balanced attack, finishing two rebounds shy of a double-double with 10 points and eight boards. Amira Farag added nine points and five rebounds for the Knights.

(12) South Plainfield 49, (21) South River 36: Jiselle Lennon scored 16 points, hit two treys and went 8-of-9 nine at the foul line in a well-rounded effort, as the Tigers (8-16) overcame a 25-23 halftime deficit to win going away. The tables turned quickly in the third quarter; South Plainfield outscored the Rams 14-6 to take a six-point lead, then pulled away in the fourth. Samantha Moench added 12 points and four treys in the victory.

(13) JP Stevens 63, (20) Highland Park 55: Aliyah Manley logged a double-double of 26 points and ten rebounds, going 11-of-16 from the foul line, and hitting three from downtown in helping the Hawks (9-11) advance to the round of 16. It was her tenth-game this season scoring at least 20 points. Aniya Maniar added 13 and a trey, while Siddhangana Nelluri added 11 and a trey. In an odd schedule quirk, it was the second win for Stevens over Highland Park in as many games, as they met back on Thursday, with the Hawks winning 59-38 before the Owls advanced out of the play-in round Saturday with a 56-25 win over East Brunswick Magnet.

(11) Edison 60, (22) JFK 26: The Eagles (7-15) cruised past the Mustangs behind 17 points from Kayley Smith, while Tahjanae James added ten, and Susan Oshinski scored nine, all on a trio of three-pointers.

(10) North Plainfield 79, (26) New Brunswick 38: Layla Gutierrez dropped a career high 50 points for the Canucks (5-15), as they built an early 23-8 lead after one and never looked back against the Zebras. Gutierrez knocked down eight treys for almost half her 50 points and had 12 two-point field goals, also going 2-of-3 at the line, and dishing out eight assists. Click here to read our separate story and hear our exclusive interview with Layla Gutierrez!

FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE – WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11

• (16) Sayreville at (1) St. Thomas Aquinas
• (9) Old Bridge at (8) Middlesex
• (12) South Plainfield at (5) Spotswood
• (13) JP Stevens at (4) Colonia
• (19) Metuchen at (3) Piscataway
• (11) Edison at (6) Woodbridge
• (10) North Plainfield at (7) Monroe
• (18) North Brunswick at (2) East Brunswick