Tag: Andrew Kretkowski

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Joseph’s Aidan Carter helped lead Falcons to the top of the heap, named GMC boys’ basketball Player of the Year

There are a lot of good boys’ basketball players in Middlesex County. Some, you’ll see at the end of this article.

But one in particular got all the hype in the preseason, and it turns out none of it was hot air.

Injuries hobbled Aidan Carter last year at St. Thomas Aquinas, which had some of its own upheaval going on around the basketball program after the departure of Bob Turco, who moved on to Piscataway and took the Chiefs right to the county finals. He managed to play 13 games, and averaged 12.8 per contest, hitting nine treys on the season.

But he was perhaps the biggest prize Mark Taylor picked up upon his return to St. Joseph-Metuchen during the off-season. Sure, Joel Patrick from Union made a splash, and Andrew Kretkowski – who came from Rutgers Prep – asserted himself as a leader early on.

And with Carter having to sit the first 30 days due to NJSIAA transfer rules, the Falcons were still 7-0 before he could step foot on the floor. Minus an opener against Wesley College (Australia), the St. Joe’s was winning games, but with Carter, they began to dominate.

Wins by ten and 20 points turned into wins by 20, 30 or more. They had height, and would fly all over the court.

But a 6′ 7″ junior guard who could do it all? He turned out to be perhaps the most valuable piece for St. Joseph, and he’s the Central Jersey Sports Radio GMC boys’ basketball Player of the Year.

Carter upped his game, not having to be bothered by an injury. He played in 24 games, only sitting out what he was required to, and finished with an 18.2 point per game average, nine boards per contest, and 23 triples on the year, to go along with 188 assists, 40 blocks and 63 steals.

Click below to hear from St. Joseph-Metuchen’s Aidan Carter, the GMC Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year:

GMC Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year Honorable Mentions:

  • Andrew Kretkowski, St. Joseph-Metuchen: A transfer in who started his first two seasons at Rutgers Prep, Kretkowski was the second-leading scorer for the Falcons at 17.5 points per game, with 8.2 rebounds. Like Carter, he has in infectious energy that helped rejuvenate his teammates in a huge bounce-back year for St. Joe’s
  • Jayce Rodriguez, Colonia: Along with Dylan Chiera, Jayce was one of two returning starters for a Patriot program that lost major pieces in the off-season, including Aiden Derkack and R.J. Wortman. But his steady demeaner – along with his 20/2 points per game and 79 treys – helped lead Colonia to a fifth straight North 2, Group 3 title, and to its first state championship game in school history.
  • Sam Jones, Sayreville: Scoring a personal best 617 points this season (22.1 ppg) with 66 treys, Jones will graduate as the all-time leader in scoring – boys or girls – at Sayreville, first passing 1970s standout Steve Makwinski’s boys’ record, then Rhonda Rompola’s school record, set in 1978. He finished his career 1ith 1,853 points and 233 triples.
  • Donald Nwaigwe, Piscataway: A thousand-point scorer in four varsity seasons for the Chiefs (who only scored three points in nine games his freshman year, making it even more impressive) Nwaigwe is an energetic ballplayer who averaged 15.7 points per game this season and 8.2 rebounds, leading Piscataway in both categories.
  • Matt Mikulka, East Brunswick: The Bears had their best season since the Bo Henning era, winning 21 games, with Mikulka a big reason why. The senior point guard averaged 20.7 points per game this season, and connected on 83 triples.
  • Yandel Susana, Perth Amboy: Susana was the most prolific scorer the Panthers have had in a single season since Josh Cabezudo scored 544 in 2017-18. He scored 484 points for a 17.2 point per game average as Amboy won its first division title since 1993.
  • Cameron Hayes-Durina: Averaging 16.3 points a game for the Bulldogs (he’s also a solid football player) helped Metuchen to a 24-5 season, 7-0 in the GMC’s White National to win the division, its first title since winning the GMC Blue in 2006, a year the Bulldogs went all the way to the GMC Tournament title game, ultimately falling to Colonia.

by Mike Pavlichko

From 6-16 to GMC Tournament champs, rejuvenated St. Joseph-Metuchen named CJSR Boys’ Basketball Team of the Year

A year ago, St. Joseph boys’ basketball was a mess. Karl Towns, Sr. – the father of Falcon great Karl-Anthony Towns, who brought the Metuchen school a Tournament of Champions title in 2014 – was on his way out after a disastrous 6-16 season, where he barely coached the team, and seemed to spend more time watching his famous son play at Madison Square Garden after being traded from Minnesota to the Knicks.

Oh, how things changed quickly.

St. Joseph went with a known commodity: Mark Taylor, a 1983 graduate who later coached Jay Williams and Andrew Bynum and won two GMC titles in his first go-round, then later coached at Ridge and St. Benedict’s Prep.

He brought in key transfers, including Aidan Carter from nearby St. Thomas Aquinas, Andrew Kretkowski from Rutgers Prep, and Joel Patrick from Union, among others. The last two played right away, but Carter had to sit 30 days due to NJSIAA transfer rules.

A beautifully-voiced singer once told us it’s “never as good as the first time,” but this one proved the exception to the rule.

The Falcons won their first 16 games before taking a loss, a 55-54 defeat on the road at South Plainfield. It prompted a nearly 45-minute postgame meeting in the visiting lockerroom, but Taylor later called it the best thing that could have happened to his team.

It must have been, because they won their next 13 games, too – blitzing through the GMC Tournament to win the championship, making it all the way to Jackson for the Non-Public South A finals, where they eventually lost to St. Peter’s Prep, a juggernaut that beat five different Central Jersey Sports Radio-area squads this year.

And while they may not have finished the year No. 1 – that went to Gill St. Bernard’s, which won its division, county tournament, state sectional and first-ever state championship – the Falcons’ turnaround and league title earns Team of the Year honors from Central Jersey Sports Radio.

By the way, the Falcons aren’t done yet. Who knows what Taylor has up his sleeve for next year, with Alijah Muprhy the biggest senior graduation, as the core of Kretkowksi, Carter and Patrick will return.

Click below to hear from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Boys’ Basketball Team of the Year, including juniors Aidan Carter and Andrew Kretkowski, along with head coach Mark Taylor:

by Mike Pavlichko

Shots stop falling for No. 4 Piscataway, and No. 5 St. Joseph-Metuchen takes down Chiefs in OT

There were a couple of ways this one could have gone at halftime, when No. 4 Piscataway took an 18-point lead into the home locker room at halftime over visiting No. 5 St. Joseph-Metuchen on Saturday afternoon.

It wasn’t likely to stay that way. It felt like had the Chiefs kept the momentum going they’d come out with a huge home win, pulling further away. Or, the Falcons would make a game of it.

Switching to a 1-3-1 zone after playing most of the first half man-to-man – something Piscataway head coach Bob Turco figured they’d do at some point, if not from the tip, St. Joe’s beat the Chiefs at their own game.

In the first half, a stifling defense forced at least a dozen turnovers, as Piscataway built a 35-17 halftime lead.

But after the break, the tables were turned. The Chiefs scored three points in the third quarter – all from the foul line – and had only one field goal in the fourth – a trey from Josh Lima. And still, they never trailed, going to OT tied at 49-49.

But St. Joe’s would take its first lead in OT, and pull away for a 64-53 win heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Senior guard Alijah Murphy and junior forward Andrew Kretkwoski each had game-highs of 18 points. Kretkowski – a transfer in from Rutgers Prep – was in-and-out, in foul trouble a good part of the game, but had a couple of monstrous dunks – on in the second quarter, and another in overtime that signalled the game was over, even with time still remaining on the clock.

Piscataway wasn’t just not hitting shots, they took very few, unable to get good looks, and were dominated down low by 6′ 10″ sophomore center Joel Patrick, swatting away layups and grabbing rebounds with authority.

In a battle of unbeatens, the Falcons improved to 6-0, while the Chiefs fall to 9-1, their first loss of the season, just two days after knocking off state 12th-ranked Teaneck in the BWB Resolution Bumble at FDU-Madison on New Year’s Day.

Click below for postgame reaction from St. Joseph’s Andrew Kretkowski, Alijah Murphy and head coach Mark Taylor, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 3 Rutgers Prep puts pedal to the metal from the tip, tops Franklin at home, 86-33

Franklin head coach Kashiff Foster said this week his team would need to play “out of their minds” to beat Rutgers Prep in their Skyland Conference Delaware Division game Thursday night.

The only problem? The third-ranked Argonauts played even more out of their minds.

Their defense fueled their transition play the entire first half, allowing for easy buckets – like five dunks – and good looks a thees, which they hit plenty of – six in the first half alone.

Prep ran out to a 24-8 first half lead, then took a 52-16 advantage into halftime, leading to a running clock in the second half.

Sophomore Andrew Kretkowski finished with a game-high 19 for Rutgers Prep, four shy of a season-high, while fellow soph Jacob Canton scored 15, hitting twice from downtown. Senior Myles Parker had 13 points, including three triples.

Click below for postgame reaction from Rutgers Prep sophomore Andrew Kretkowski and Jacon Canton, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep boys win another thriller, hanging on to beat Montgomery for 2nd straight SCT crown

How’d they do it?

It wasn’t mirrors, and it wasn’t magic.

In the end, it was defense.

The Rutgers Prep boys’ basketball team won its second straight Somerset County Tournament title Saturday, the top-seeded Argonauts (19-6) beating second-seed Montgomery (21-3) on the Cougars’ home floor, 64-61, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Rutgers Prep led most of the way, and an eight point halftime lead balooned to 14 in the third with Logan Franz hitting a pair of back-to-back threes and Rocco Loomis adding another.

But Montgomery – behind a raucous “home” crowd – chipped away, chipped away, and chipped away some more, eventually taking a lead in the fourth quarter by four, its first lead since the opening quarter.

Boghdan Bieketov was hitting shots, and even had a three in the fourth quarter. But he was in foul trouble most of the game, and fouled out with 25 seconds left.

The game was decided in other ways, but in the end game, with 19 seconds to go, Myles Parker drove to the hole, made the shot, but it was waved off on a charge. A technical foul was called on Josh Moore, and confusion ensued, but Jacob Canton hit two free throws to give his team a 62-61 lead it would not relinquish.

A pair of John Kelly free throws gave Rutgers Prep a three point lead, with Montgomery still having a shot down three with nine seconds to go. But the Cougars couldn’t get a good look at the basket, and a forced shot was deflected at the buzzer, if it even got off on time.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

Rutgers Prep freshman Andrew Kretkowski and head coach Matt Bloom
Rutgers Prep senior John Kelly