Tag: boys’ basketball

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 1 Colonia rides defense, 31 from Derkack to top No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas and clinch GMC Red Division title

Stellar defense – particularly in their full court press after taking a double-digit lead – and 31 points from Aiden Derkack helped No. 1 Colonia to a 69-53 home win over St. Thomas Aquinas Thursday night, in a GMC Red Division game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Derkack scored 29 of those points in the final three quarters, while Zach Smith – the team’s lone senior – added 14 on Senior Night, with junior R.J. Wortman adding 12.

The victory clinched the GMC Red outright for the Patriots, who are 8-0 in divisional play, virtually assuring them the top seed in the county tournament, which will be seeded in two weeks.

It was their first outright division title since Colonia was in the GMC White, and won it in 2019. The Patriots improved to 14-1 overall, and have now won eleven straight.

St. Thomas Aquinas (9-5, 5-4 in the Red) took the early lead, and ended the first eight minutes up 15-10. But Colonia went on a 20-7 run in the second quarter, taking a lead they would never relinquish, going into the break with a 30-22 lead.

Sophomores Dan Jennings and Albion Ahmetaj led St. Thomas with ten points apiece.

The win was also the 140th for seventh-year Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez, who is now 140-40 with the Patriots.

Click below for postgame reaction from Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez and junior Aiden Derkack, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Top Ten matchup on tap Thursday night as No. 1 Colonia hosts No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas

The first game was a double-overtime thriller that saw Colonia double up St. Thomas Aquinas in the decisive second overtime.

What will the next one bring?

There have been some great games in the last half-decade plus between the Patriots and Trojans, and much of the same is likely Thursday night when No. 1 Colonia (13-1, 7-0 GMC Red, 1st place) hosts No. 7 St. Thomas Aquinas (9-4, 5-3 GMC Red, 6th place) in a huge, later-season game which can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

It tips off at 7 pm, with pregame starting at 6:45 with Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau. Click here to listen.

The Patriots will be the top seed in the GMC Tournament this winter, clinching it if they can beat Aquinas Thursday night, having already beaten second place Piscataway – both their division losses – twice this season. They’ve won ten in a row since suffering their only loss of the season, 53-47 to Westfield in the opener of their own LeGrand Holiday Jubilee round-robin tournament.

Junior Aiden Derkack – the only double-figure scorer returning – is doing his thing, leading the team in scoring at 24 points per game, along with rebounds (7.8 per game), blocks (13) and steals (34).

But new threats have emerged as well after the graduation of key players. Junior RJ Wortman is at 11.9 points per game, while freshman Jayce Rodriguez gives the Pats a three-point threat; he’s hit 25 triples to lead Colonia.

St. Thomas Aquinas has successfully tuned out the noise and distractions surrounding the eight-game NJSIAA suspension served by Austin Whitehurst for improper contact with a player from another school. Whitehurst remains sidelined while the school works out other issues with the NJSIAA, but believes he could return later this year.

With assistant Victor Verdecia, the Trojans have done well, winning five straight before a 76-72 setback Tuesday at Piscataway, whose coach Bob Turco left Aquinas after last season. Returning senior Aiden Ur leads the charge with 15.3 points per game, second on the team with triples with 14. Junior Dan Jennings – a transfer in the off-season from St. Joseph-Metuchen, who didn’t have to sit because it was his first transfer – is averaging a hair under 10 points per game, with a team-best 17 treys.

Click below to hear previews of Thursday’s game with both head coaches:

Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez with Vin Ebenau
St. Thomas Aquinas assistant coach Victor Verdecia with Mike Pavlichko

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

No. 3 Rutgers Prep faces Franklin Tuesday as Argonauts look to go on a run

The time is now for the Rutgers Prep boys’ basketball team.

With a record of 6-6, and still the No. 3 ranking in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, the Argonauts are looking to make some noise over the next couple of weeks, jockeying for position in both the county and state tournaments, with the SCT seeding looming first, on January 27th.

Tuesday night will be one of those key games, as Prep (3-1, second place in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division) takes on Franklin (5-6, 2-2) in a game that could be a turning point for both seasons.

Prep will hope to use it as a springboard to a solid run toward the postseason. Franklin would land a signature win if the Warriors can take the victory. Game time is 7 pm, and it can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame at 6:45. Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel will call all the action; click here to listen.

Last year’s Rutgers Prep squad was on the young side and inexperienced. Many of those key parts are back, including senior Myles Parker, who leads the way with 15.6 points per game and a squad-best 34 treys. Sophomore Jacob Canton adds 14.6 per game and has dished out a team-best 58 assists through 12 games, while another second-year player, Andrew Kretkowski, also is averaging 14.6 per game, along with a team-leading 6.4 rebounds.

They do a lot well – play defense, rebound, shoot from the perimeter, get up and down the floor – and just watching for a few minutes, it’s evident this group has a bond and meshes well. Bloom will have the core of Canton, Kretkowski, and also sophomore Rocco Loomis (9.3 ppg) for a few years.

To say Prep has struggled to its 6-6 mark would be inaccurate. Would they love to have more wins? Sure. But losses have come to the likes of Gill St. Bernard’s, Don Bosco Prep and Manasquan, among others. But those three have come by a combined 12 points

The run, though – they hope – starts now.

Click below to hear Rutgers Prep boys’ basketball coach Matt Bloom talk about the Argonauts with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Border rivalry takes center stage Monday as Monroe visits Spotswood in boys’ hoops

One of the great things about high school sports is when two rivals get together.

Of course, Spotswood is big rivals with South River, since students from the first of those used to attend high school in the second, up until 1976.

But a close second is the Chargers’ rivalry with the Monroe Falcons. The communities not only border each other, but many play youth sports with and against each other, and even have families in both communities.

Monday night, the two boys’ basketball teams face off in a Greater Middlesex Conference crossover game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame at 6:15 and tipoff at 6:30. Mike Pavlichko has the call; click here to listen.

The two appear to come in on opposite sides of the spectrum, at least on paper. Monroe has struggled to a 2-7 record through nine games, 0-5 in the GMC Red Division. They’re scoring just under 40 points a game, while Spotswood is averaging over 60 through eleven.

And while the Chargers struggled early, dropping their first three, and five of their first six, they have now won five straight since returning to GMC play and find themselves 5-6, 2-2 in the GMC Gold.

Spotswood has four players scoring in double figures, and head coach Steve Mate says it can be a different guy every night. Friday, in an 85-51 road win at North Plainfield, Joseph Nardino scored a career high 33, including four treys, while the team hit eleven. They also nailed ten in a win over South Hunterdon in their opener at the West Windsor-Plainsboro Holiday Tournament.

Monroe’s top scorer is Logan Fotiadis, an outstanding football player for the Falcons, averaging eight per game, with a team-high five blocks. Braeden Hoiberg has connected on a team-best 20 triples to provide a threat from beyond the arc.

Click below to hear audio previews of Monday night’s game from both head coaches:

Spotswood head coach Steve Mate
Monroe head coach Jeff Warner

by Mike Pavlichko

Colonia’s OT win over Aquinas, 3-0 week help keep Patriots atop Bellamy & Son Paving Top 10

There was no change at the top of the Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 5, but the teams below them all moved around based on last week’s action, while Immaculata makes its debut in the rankings at No. 10.

But first, Colonia (10-1), which beat St. Thomas Aquinas on the road Tuesday, 70-62 in overtime, then picked up two more wins: a 69-57 victory at home against Old Bridge Thursday, and an 89-52 win over St. Joseph in a rescheduled game in Metuchen from earlier this season.

Jumping up to No. 2 is Gill St. Bernard’s (7-4), which beat then-No. 2 Rutgers Prep Thursday, 78-73. That followed a Tuesday win over Hillsborough, 55-46. But Gill would drop its next two games to non-conference opponents by a combined three points, the first coming Saturday, a 50-48 setback to St. Rose in the Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase at Georgian Court University in Lakewood. Sunday, they lost 43-42 at Roselle Catholic.

Falling to third is Rutgers Prep (6-6). The Argonauts were Tuesday winners over Watchung Hills, 77-54, before falling to Gill Thursday in an all-out battle, 78-73. They rebounded with a Saturday win over St. Joseph-Montvlae in the Mel Henderson memorial Showcase at Hackensack High School, before falling Sunday, 80-63, to St. Peter’s Prep up at Caldwell University.

In fourth is Montgomery (8-1). The Cougars dropped as Gill St. Bernard’s jumped to the two-spot, but took care of business in the past week, going 2-0 with a 69-48 win over Hunterdon Central Thursday, and a 68-21 win over Mount Olive Saturday.

Also down one spot due to Gill’s move is Ridge (10-1), the first ten-win team in Somerset County, checking in at fifth. The Red Devils swept three games this week, 43-42 over Pingry Tuesday, 65-62 over Immaculata in Somerville Thursday, and 65-51 Saturday at Oratory Prep.

Holding at No. 6 is Piscataway (10-2), by virtue of a logjam at the top. The Chiefs were 3-0 this past week, winning 51-27 at Monroe Tuesday, 84-69 Thursday at St. Joseph-Metuchen, and Saturday at Tottenville (NY), 74-46. With the win over the Falcons, and a victory two Saturdays ago at St. Thomas, Piscataway is the first public school from the Greater Middlesex Conference to beat both Joe’s and Aquinas in the regular season in the same year since JP Stevens did it in the 2018-2019 campaign.

In seventh is St. Thomas Aquinas, which had a difficult week. After falling to Colonia in overtime Tuesday, they rebounded with a 64-45 win over Monroe Thursday that should have been the eighth and final game sat out by Austin Whitehurst, who was hired as head coach in the spring, but was suspended eight games by the NJSIAA in late November for a recruiting violation. Friday, he – along with the entire football coaching staff – were let go by St. Thomas Aquinas. Assistant Victor Verdecia – who filled in as head coach for those first eight games – is expected to remain in charge, at least for the time being. Aquinas officials – including Athletic Director Jerry Smith and principal Harry Ziegler – have not returned calls for comment.

South Plainfield (9-1) used a 3-0 week to go from tenth to eighth. The Tigers were 63-47 winners over East Brunswick on Tuesday, beat North Brunswick 49-44 on Thursday, then won at Woodbridge, 70-58, on Saturday.

Holding at No. 9 is Sayreville (9-2). the Bombers sandwiched a 69-53 win Monday at Perth Amboy and a 53-34 win at Monroe on Saturday around a Thursday loss at East Brunswick, 79-53.

And making its season debut at No. 10 is Immaculata (7-3). The Spartans won at Hunterdon Central Tuesday, 58-47, then fell to then-No. 4 Ridge, 65-52 on Thursday, before beating Hamilton West at home on Saturday, 83-52.

Previously-No. 8 Hillsborough dropped out after an 0-3 week that saw them lose a trio of road games, at Gill St. Bernard’s Tuesday, at Franklin Thursday, and at Cranford on Saturday. All were single-digit losses.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 5:

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Boys’ Basketball: Somerville 40, Bound Brook 30

Closing the game with a 15-1 run, and getting 22 points from senior Brady Scheier – including 13-of-16 from the foul line – Somerville won a big rivalry game over Bound Brook, 40-30, in Skyland Conference Valley Division play.

Click below to listen to the full game broadcast as heard on January 11, 2025 from Bound Brook High School on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Justin Sontupe and Mike Pavlichko on the call:

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerville’s big fourth quarter, LaCanna’s dagger three, powers Pioneers to victory at Bound Brook

For about 85 percent of the game, Bound Brook was in the lead. The Crusaders stormed out of the gate to an 8-0 lead before Brady Scheier got Somerville on the board with a triple.

From that point, no one led by more than five until the fourth quarter, when the Pioneers started to pull away, first with a dagger triple by Tim LaCanna, then after a flop warning issued on Bound Brook that led to a long discussion, then a technical on Brook coach Anthony Melesurgo, and another quick one on an assistant.

That let to four Brady Scheier foul shots – and he made all four – fuleing a 15-1 run to close the game, bringing Somerville from down 29-25 with over two minutes to go, to win 40-30 in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The ‘Ville’s zone defense frustrated Bound Brook all afternoon, limiting senior Jackson Morrison – who came in averaging 24.9 points per game – to just five points on one three-point field goal and 2-of-4 at the foul line.

Then again, the Crusaders had seven players in the scoring column at the half, at which point the game was tied at 17-all, while the Pioneers had just two players score. But Scheier had 12, and LaCanna had five points at the break.

Scheier finished the day with 22 points, 13-of-16 from the charity stripe, while LaCanna finished with 15, 3-of-3 from the line, and with two triples. He had ten of his 15 points in the fourth quarter run.

Somerville improves to 7-2 with the win, 3-0 in the Skyland Conference Valley Division. Bound Brook drops to 6-4, 0-3 in the Valley.

Click below fro live postgame reaction – presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen – with Somerville’s Tim LaCanna and head coach Chris Nevolo:

by Mike Pavlichko

Bound Brook off to good start, but Melesurgo and Crusaders are aiming higher when rival Somerville visits for Saturday afternoon tilt

To start a season 6-3 isn’t by any means terrible. But when one considers the success Bound Brook has had under head coach Anthony Melesurgo, their standards are set a bit higher.

Some losses have been tight, including Thursday night’s, a buzzer-beating one-point loss to Bernards, always a tough out.

But Melesurgo makes no excuses. And when rival Somerville comes to town Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 Skyland Conference Valley Division game – which you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio – he has an expectation: to win.

Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the action. Tune in at 12:45 for pregame; click here to listen.

The big difference between the two teams right now, with Somerville 6-2 – a similar record – is that the Pioneers are 2-0 in the Valley Division, and the Crusaders are 0-2, looking for that first win.

The Brook returns Jackson Morrison, who cracked the 1,000-point milestone last year and is the team’s leading active scorer at 1,237 points, averaging over 26 per game and nearly eight boards per contest. New this year is junior forward Dorian Roundtree, averaging just under 17 a game and more than eight rebounds per.

One of the issues for the Crusaders has been taking care of the basketball, an issue that will need to be corrected Saturday against a good Pioneer club led by some ball-hawk football standouts from their Central Jersey Group 3 championship team this fall, including Brady Scheier – the team’s leading scorer – as well as Brendan Pacheco and Josh Rodriguez.

Click below to hear Bound Brook head coach Anthony Melesurgo talk about the Crusaders with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

After top three, Piscataway upset win at Aquinas shuffles Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Top Ten

The Week Four Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten finds the top three holding steady, but the rest shuffling around, thanks in large part to Piscataway’s big win Saturday at St. Thomas Aquinas.

Remaining at No. 1 is Colonia (7-2). The Patriots went 3-0 in the past week, starting with the finale in their own LeGrand Holiday Jubliee, 81-54 over Franklin. They beat Monroe Thursday, 57-27, then handed then-No. 5 Ridge its first loss of the season, 68-52, in the Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase at Montgomery on Saturday.

Rutgers Prep (4-4) holds in second, with the Argonauts splitting a pair this week. They beat Montclair Immaculata on January first in the New Year’s Jump-Off at Paterson Kennedy, 74-56, then fell Sunday to Bergen Catholic in the Big Jersey Bash Showcase II at Caldwell, 71-49. All four Prep losses have come out of the area.

Montgomery (6-1) holds steady in third, on the heels of a 2-0 week. They topped Bridgewater-Raritan in their own Cougar Holiday Classic on Monday, 63-44, then beat Westfield, 50-43, in their own Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase on Saturday.

Up one spot to fourth this week is Ridge (7-1), despite splitting a pair this week. They lost at the Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase at Montgomery, 68-52 to No. 1 Colonia, after beating Chatham during the week on Thursday, 59-53.

Gill St. Bernard’s (5-2) rose one place, despite an 0-2 week, with both against out-of-area competition. They fell to Don Bosco Prep Wednesday ion the New Year’s Jump-Off at Paterson Kennedy, 52-43, then lost to St. Peter’s Prep at the Big Jersey Bash Showcase II at Caldwell Sunday, 45-38.

Piscataway pulled up two spots to sixth, after a 3-1 week with an upset win. They lost at Hillside in the Comets’ own Joe Silver Holiday Tournament final on Monday, 60-48, then reeled off three straight wins. They beat Old Bridge Thursday, 80-54, before winning at then-No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas Saturday, 62-46. Sunday, they beat a good Snyder team from Jersey City in the New Year’s Jump-Off at Newark Collegiate.

Falling three places to seventh is St. Thomas Aquinas (4-2). They won in overtime Thursday at St. Joseph-Metuchen, 68-62, then came back and lost to Piscataway at home, 62-46, on Saturday.

Hillsborough (6-1) is down one spot to eighth, having made room for Piscataway. The Raiders won their only game in the past week, beating Sparta at home, 57-40, on Saturday.

The last two teams flip-flopped, as Sayreville (7-1) took the No. 9 spot on a 3-0 week. First, they finished off their won Battle at the Bomb Shelter with a 53-51 win over Union, they won at North Brunswick Thursday, 58-43, before beating Woodbridge, 58-54, Saturday back at home.

Down to tenth is South Plainfield (6-1), which took its first loss of the season Thursday, 54-51 at Morris Knolls, surrounded by a pair of wins: Monday over Edison to win their own Anthony J. Cotoia Tournament, 51-3, and Saturday at South Brunswick, 74-54.

Below is the complete Week 4 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten: