Jordan Barnes led all scorers with 20 points, and Leah Kearney was named tournament MVP, as the top-seeded St. Thomas of Aquinas Trojans won their seventh straight GMC Tournament title, beating second-seed East Brunswick 62-41in the 40th girls’ GMC Championship game.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the play-by-play from Monroe Township High School on February 20, 2026.
Andrew Kretkowski had a career-high 32 points, had ten rebounds, and was named tournament MVP as top-seed St. Joseph of Metuchen beat second-seed East Brunswick, 91-61, to win their record 13th GMC Tournament championship, and first since 2019.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the play-by-play from Monroe Township High School on February 20, 2026.
It never gets old for St. Thomas Aquinas.
Having won six straight GMC Tournament titles coming in to Friday night’s 40th championship game, second-seed East Brunswick hung around for a while. The Bears were down just six after one, and even had a chance to cut it to nine before the half, but missed a three and ended up down 12.
But the third quarter was the difference. Things opened up – for both teams – but the last thing anyone wants to do is get into a track meet with St. Thomas. They did, and STA extended its lead to 49-29 at the end of three, and by that time, it was well in hand.
In the end, it ended up as a 62-41 win for the top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas (22-5) over second-seed East Brunswick (21-5), as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. It was the Trojans’ seventh straight title, extending their GMC-record streak, the longest for either the boys or girls in the 40-year history of the event.
Senior Jordan Barnes was the game’s high scorer, finishing with 20 points. She was MVP as a sophomore, and probably anyone could have been, but it went to Leah Kearney, well-deserved with a 12-point night, averaging 10 per game in the four tournament games.
The win wa also the 80th straight over GMC opponents – regular season and postseason – with their last loss coming in January of 2022, here against Monroe.
That means the senior fore of Barnes, Trista Whitney – who had nine in the final – and Kayla Navarro never lost a single game against a GMC opponent.
Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with junior and GMC Tournament MVP Leah Kearney, senior Trista Whitney, head coach Tim Corrigan, and senior Jordan Barnes, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Aidan Carter scored a game-high 24 points while Joel Patrick grabbed 14 rebounds to send No. 1 seed St. Joseph-Metuchen to the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title game for the first time since 2019, with a 63-51 win in the semifinal round over fifth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau call all the play-by-play from Monroe Township High School on February 18, 2026.
Donald Nwaigwe scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Izayah Brown added 16 and went 10-of-11 from the charity stripe in a 64-61 win for second-seed Piscataway over third-seed Colonia, sending the Chiefs back to the GMC Tournament title game for the second straight year.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau call all the play-by-play from Monroe Township High School on February 18, 2026.
Mark Taylor has won two GMC Tournament titles, Bob Turco three. Friday night, both will look to end title droughts for their boys’ basketball teams, droughts of varying degrees.
The Piscataway program – with Turco in his second year as head coach after winning three straight GMC titles for St. Thomas Aquinas in 2020, 2022 and 2023 – hasn’t won a title since 2009, when Guy Jensen’s top-seeded squad beat third-seed St. Joseph of Metuchen, which proceeded to win nine of the next ten championships.
The last of those came in 2019, the second year under head coach Mike Thompson after Dave Turco – who’d won five in a row, seven of eight, and each of his last two appearances – before he was replaced. After all that, six years without a title – or even an appearance in the finals, after having made a dozen in a row – is a long stretch.
For one of them, the drought will end Friday night.
You can hear the GMC Tournament championship doubleheader exclusively on Central Jersey Sports Radio Friday, starting with the 6 pm girls’ opener between six-time defending champ and top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas and second-seed East Brunswick, seeking its first title since 2016. The boys’ championship tips at 8:00. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the action, with pregame starting around 7:45. Click here to listen.
Both coaches have been game changers for their respective programs, but both will tell you it’s about the players, not the coaches. That was the case Wednesday evening in the semifinals, where Piscataway found itself trailing Colonia 28-22 at halftime, and the locker room speech essentially boiled down to “We gave you the game plan, now just go execute.” The did in the second half, and here they are.
Turco came to Piscataway and breathed new life into the program, playing them in as many summer league games as they could get into, and learning defensive fundamentals that have paid off big-time: this will be their second straight trip to a county final, and Turco’s sixth. And in large part, it’s due to homegrown talent like seniors Donald Nwaigwe (team-bests 16.3 oints per game, 8.5 rebounds and 27 blocks), Isaiah Fowler (14.2 ppg), Josh Lima (12.8 ppg) and the like.
Mark Taylor did it a different way, being at a parochial school. If Turco left Aquinas to get out of that game, Mark Taylor at St. Joseph is playing it. He brought in three highly-touted transfers this year, and it’s paid immediate dividends.
Junior Imaad Johnson came in from Union and is averaging 11.3 points per game, with a team-best 33 treys. Junior Andrew Kretkowski, who made an impact as a freshman two years ago at Rutgers Prep and was key as a sophomore last year, came in from the Easton Ave. school and is scoring 17 points a game, hitting from down low, nailing jumpers, and connecting from beyond the arc 23 times already.
Neither had to sit like perhaps the biggest piece Taylor brought in: 6’7″ junior Aidan Carter, a lengthy guard who is leading the team with 18.9 points per game, 9.8 boards, 155 assists and 58 steals, while also hitting 21 treys.
MORE ON THE GMC TOURNAMENT BOYS’ FINAL:
(1) St. Joseph-Metuchen (25-1) vs. (2) Piscataway (20-6)
When: Friday, 8 pm
Where: Monroe Township High School
Broadcast Team: Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe (LISTEN HERE)
COACHES:
St. Joseph: Mark Taylor, 1st season, second stint (624-178 overall, including 172-69 in first run at St. Joe’s, as well as Ridge and St. Benedict’s Prep)
Piscataway: Bob Turco, 2nd season (417-133 overall, including St. Thomas Aquinas, Notre Dame, and Monroe)
PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
St. Joseph: The first two games were a cruise for the Falcons, who got past 17th-seed Monroe in the first round, 86-49, then picked up an 85-30 win at nine-seed Metuchen. The semifinals were a different story. Though they held fifth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas off the board for nearly the first six minutes of the game Wednesday night, the Trojans were within six about midway through the fourth quarter, but that was about as close as they would get, as St. Joseph won 63-51.
Piscataway: After the round of 16, one might say the Chiefs have been a bit more tested. Following a 95-40 win over 18th-seed North Plainfield in the round of 16, they beat seventh-seed Sayreville 80-66. And in the semifinals, they erased a six-point halftime deficit against third-seed Colonia, and pulled out a 64-61 victory Wednesday night to get back down to Monroe Friday for a chance at the title.
TOP SCORERS:
St. Joseph: Aidan Carter (junior, 18.2 ppg, 21 treys), Andrew Kretkowski (junior, 17 ppg, 23 treys), Imaad Johnson (junior, 11.3 ppg, team-best 33 treys)
Piscataway: Donald Nwaigwe (senior, 16.3 ppg, 11 treys), Isaiah Fowler (senior, 14.2 ppg, 38 treys), Josh Lima (senior, 12.8 ppg, 38 treys), Landon Pernell (junior, 12.8 ppg, team-best 46 treys)
TOP REBOUNDERS:
St. Joseph: Aidan Carter (9.8), Joel Patrick (8.9), Andrew Kretkowski (7.8)
Piscataway: Donald Nwaigwe (8.5), Isaiah Fowler (4.1)
MISCELLANEOUS:
St. Joseph: Aidan Carter (155 assists, 58 steals), Joel Patrick (79 blocks)
Piscataway: Landon Pernell (114 assists, 83 steals), Donald Nwaigwe (27 blocks)
RECENT MEETINGS: St. Joseph has won eight of the last ten meetings, but they’ve split the last four. Piscataway won both matchups last year, 73-49 and 84-69, but the Falcons won both this year, by similar scores: 64-53 in overtime on January 3rd at home – a game win which the Chiefs were held to just one second half and one overtime field goal – and 64-57 on the road just 12 days later.
GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
St. Joseph (12-9):
*coached by Mark Taylor
Piscataway (7-5):
OTHER NOTES:
Championship Coaches: Of the four coaches in this year’s semifinals, three have won GMC titles, but those are the only three. That’s right, only three current Greater Middlesex boys’ coaches have ever won the event. Jose Rodriguez of Colonia – this year’s GMC Coach of the Year – won the last two with the Patriots. Before that, Bob Turco won three straight when he was at St. Thomas Aquinas, in 2020, 2022, and 2023. And Mark Taylor won two titles in his first run at St. Joseph, in 1998 and 1999.
Championship Coaches, Part Two: When Piscataway made the finals last season, Bob Turco became the first coach in GMC history to bring three different schools to the championship game. Until this year, he was one of three to bring two different schools to the GMC title game, and two share the same last name. Ken Pace brought JFK in 1990 and won it over top-seed Perth Amboy, then he took Colonia several times in the 90s, winning in 2001 over top-seed St. Joseph. Speaking of the Falcons, Bob’s brother Dave brought Carteret to two finals, winning in 2002 over a Pace-coached Colonia club. Then, of course, he went to – and won – a slew of titles with St. Joseph. Bob has been to the GMCT’s ultimate game as the head coach of Monroe – losing his only trip there in 2010 to his brother Dave and the Falcons – then and went to four straight as head coach at St. Thomas Aquinas, winning the first three.
Piscataway Doubles: The Chiefs have won seven titles, and every coach who’s won it has brought back multiple trophies. Windy McGriff’s P’way teams won back-to-back MCT titles in 1976 and 1977. Paul Schoeb – who later became the school’s athletic director, is now retired, but took in the semifinals this week at Monroe – won three in a span of five years, taking the GMC crown in 1991, as well as 1994 and 1995. Guy Jensen then won championships in 2007 and 2009. Turco is looking to be the fourth coach in Piscataway history to win the county title, gunning for his first when the play St. Joe’s Friday night. Should the Chiefs win Friday night, he’ll get a chance to go for two next season.
Repeat, Repeat: With Colonia out in the semifinals, Friday night’s winner may very well begin a streak. In fact, the Patriots were the last one-off champion, back in 2015. That snapped a string of five straight titles by the Falcons, who won nine of ten in a stretch from 2010 through 2019. They won the next four after that loss. Following that, St. Thomas Aquinas won three straight titles from 2020 through 2023, then Colonia’s two-year streak, which officially was snapped Wednesday night when they got knocked out in the semifinals.
How have the seeds fared? There have been 59 MCT/GMCT championship games, and the top seed has won 28 times. The second seed has won 16 times. When it’s the No. 1 vs. the No. 2, The top seed is just 16-11 overall, and 10-6 in the GMC era. Overall, the top seed is 28-16 in the championship game.
No Double Vision, Again: Colonia’s win over St. Thomas Aquinas two years ago snapped a two-season run of clean sweeps by the Trojans on the girls’ and boys’ side. There have been eight double champions in the GMC era – there were three in the MCT – but it didn’t happen last year and won’t again this year, with the St. Thomas Aquinas and East Brunswick girls in the final, along with St. Joe’s and the Piscataway boys. That’s good for attendance, since there will four sets of fans attending, rather than just two.
1-2, 1-2: Since the dawn of the GMC in 1986, this is the ninth time both the girls’ and boys’ title games have featured the 1 vs. the 2 seeds. And this will be the second straight year. Last year, top-seed Colonia beat second-seed Piscataway for the boys’ title, while top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas beat second-seed Monroe for the girls’ championship. The last time it happened before that was in 2016, when the top-seeded St. Joe’s boys beat South Brunswick, and the 2nd-seeded East Brunswick girls beat Monroe. It also happened the year before, in 2015, when the second-seeded Colonia boys beat St. Joseph, and top-seed Piscataway topped Monroe on the girls’ side. Other double 1 vs. 2 years include 2010, 1998, 1994, 1992 and 1989.
Win a couple of championships, and people start talking about a dynasty. Win six in a row, and it’s a pretty good bet that’s what you’ve got.
Win seven?
That’s what the St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ basketball program will try and do Friday night down at Monroe Twp. High School when they play in the 40th Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship game.
As the top-seeded Trojans seek their ninth GMC title, and 10th county trophy overall, East Brunswick will be looking for its sixth GMC – and seventh overall as the second-seeded Bears return to the title game for the first time since 2016.
That year, the Bears beat Monroe for the title with Keith Lane at the helm, but the team they beat in the semifinals was Bishop Ahr, which now is St. Thomas (again – that was the school’s name originally). That’s also the last time they beat Ahr/Aquinas, with 14 losses in between.
You can hear Friday’s GMC Tournament championship doubleheader exclusively on Central Jersey Sports Radio Friday night, starting with the 6 pm girls’ opener, followed by the boys’ championship at 8:00 between top-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen and second-seed Piscataway. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the action, with pregame starting at 5:45 for the girls’ game. Click here to listen.
Until Colonia’s 20-point loss to St. Thomas on Tuesday in the semifinals, East Brunswick had gotten the closest to STA in almost three years back on January 17th, within 21 points in a 76-54 loss. It was their narrowest margin of victory against a GMC opponent since the Patriots got within seven in a 49-42 loss to Aquinas in the 2023 GMC Tournament title game.
MORE ON THE GMC TOURNAMENT GIRLS’ FINAL:
(1) St. Thomas Aquinas (21-5) vs. (2) East Brunswick (21-4)
When: Friday, 6 pm
Where: Monroe Township High School
Broadcast Team: Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe (LISTEN HERE)
COACHES:
St. Thomas Aquinas: Tim Corrigan, 3rd season (66-20)
East Brunswick: Travis Retzlaff. 7th season (102-62)
PREVIEW INTERVIEWS:
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
St. Thomas Aquinas: The difference between the Trojans last year and this year in divisional play – the GMC’s top division, the Red American – is negligible; they won their ten games against East Brunswick, Piscataway, Monroe and North Plainfeld by an average 40.4 points per game. That’s down slightly from an even 45 last season, their highest in the last six seasons where they’ve won the GMC Tournament title. And in their first two games, they were not really tested. Not in an 83-39 win over 16-seed Sayreville in the round of 16, nor in a 79-41 win over 8-seed Middlesex in the quarterfinals. But in the semis, Colonia had some chances, but couldn’t get closer than 17 points in the second half after Aquinas built a sizeable lead, and Aquinas won by 20. That’s the closest anyone has gotten to STA in the GMC since the 2003 final, when the beat Colonia 49-42.
East Brunswick: The Bears cruised in their opening two games as well, 68-30 over 18th-seed North Brunswick in the first round, and 59-31 over seven-seed Monroe at home in the quarterfinals. The semis were a bit closer, but East Brunswick was able to control most of the way en route to a 52-38 win Wednesday night.
TOP SCORERS:
St. Thomas Aquinas: Jordan Barnes (senior, 16.9 ppg, 5 treys), Trista Whitney (senior, 11.8 ppg, 21 treys), Lauryn Downing (junior, 11.7 ppg, team-best 37 treys), Leah Kearney (junior, 10.8 ppg, 4 treys)
East Brunswick: Ava Catanho (sophomore, 18.1 ppg, team-best 50 treys), Zoey Alexio (junior, 10.1 ppg, 46 treys), Julianna DelosSantos-Branson (senior, 9.6 ppg, 15 treys)
TOP REBOUNDERS:
St. Thomas Aquinas: Leah Kearney (9.8), Jordan Barnes (5.5)
East Brunswick: Julianna DelosSantos-Branson (8.4), Sophia Tannura (junior, 4.4)
MISCELLANEOUS:
St. Thomas Aquinas: Lauryn Downing (143 assists), Leah Kearney (37 blocks), Trista Whitney (79 steals)
East Brunswick: Ava Krzywdzinski (133 assists, 59 steals), Ava Catancho (20 blocks)
RECENT MEETINGS: Aquinas has won 14 straight in the series, dating back to 2019 when they were still called Bishop Ahr, winning the first in that stretch under that moniker. Until the last few years, St. Thomas had been in the White Division, so the two didn’t play all that frequently. In fact, they only played four times – three times in the GMC Tournament – from 2014 to 2019. East Brunswick’s last win came in 2016, when they beat Ahr in the GMC Tournament semifinals, 44-0, en route to the title, which they won over Monroe. That was the Bears’ last trip to the title game.
GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
St. Thomas Aquinas (also previously known as Bishop Ahr) (9-5):
East Brunswick (5-7):
OTHER NOTES:
Postseason Awards: The GMC coaches unveiled their All-Conference and All-Division picks Tuesday, and two St. Thomas players made the list of ten all-GMC picks: seniors Jordan Barnes and Trista Whitney. Barnes committed to Rider back in July, while Trista Whitney will be heading to Maryland-Eastern Shore. Ava Catanho of East Brunswick was named All-GMC, and she’s just a sophomore. The only other 10th grader to make the list was Alyssa Iduh of Piscataway. Head coach Travis Retzlaff of East Brunswick was named Coach of the Year. As for All-Division, besides Barnes and Whitney, juniors Lauryn Downing and Leah Kearney were honored from St. Thomas, and senior Julianna DelosSantos-Branson also was named from East Brunswick.
Athletic Lineage: Speaking of Catanho, if that name sounds familiar, it is. The young East Brunswick star is the daughter of Kara Motusesky, an assistant under head coach Travis Retzlaff, and former Rutgers football standout and Elizabeth native Alcides Catanho. Motusesky’s brother, Mark, is the boys’ coach at East Brunswick, having succeeded longtime head coach Bo Henning, and she herself was a standout for he Bears (a 1993 alum), scoring 1,614 points in her career. She held the girls’ scoring record until Jess Olszewski topped it in the 1999-2000 season, finishing 42 points ahead with 1,656. The Motuseskys are also cousins of longtime Spotswood baseball coach Glenny Fredricks.
Injuries? Not a problem: Not much to speak of here. Lauryn Downing missed a handful of games heading into the GMC Tournament – including a big clash up at Gill St. Bernard’s, which they lost 67-62 as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio – with a slight ankle sprain. She probably could have played, but even a big game like that isn’t as important as having her healthy for the GMC Tournament run. Downing looked in fine form Tuesday night down in Monroe in the semifinal win over Colonia, draining a career-high six threes.
The names may change… The last four St. Thomas/Bishop Ahr girls’ coaches have all won championships for the Trojans. Current mentor Tim Corrigan has won the last two in his first two seasons as coach, following two titles under Joe Whalen. Before that, Britney Griffin won a pair of titles – in 2020 as Aquinas, and 2019 as Bishop Ahr. Her predecessor, longtime coach Kevin Harper – one of the winningest girls’ coaches in New Jersey history, with 722 victories at Piscataway Tech, Ahr and Middlesex – took them to four finals, winning in 1994 and 2001.
Second Win: Tim Corrigan is one of a dozen GMC girls’ coaches who have won multiple titles (also counting the MCT from 1975 through 1985), including two from his school – Kevin Harper and Brittney Griffin. The others are Reggie Carney of East Brunswick, who has the most titles at seven, followed by Ernie Vajda of now-defunct St. Peter’s-New Brunswick with five. Piscataway’s Pat Mayo won five in the 2000s at Piscataway. Andy Eng of JP Stevens and Bev Hall of Piscataway each won three times, while George Hosea (South Brunswick), Corey Floyd (Piscataway), Pat Daly (New Brunswick) and Paul Kumlin (Piscataway) all have won two. Four different Piscataway coaches have won multiple titles over the years.
Streaking: St. Thomas is third on the list of consecutive finals appearances, making their sixth in a row this year, winning all previous five. They also have won more consecutive games in the GMC Tournament than any other school in history, 27 and counting, four each in the past six tournaments, and three this year.
How the seeds fare: In 48 championship games, the top seed has won 31 times, while the second seed has won nine times. When it’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the title game, which has happened only 24 times, the top-seed is 19-5. When the top seed is in the final, it has won seven straight. The last team to knock off a No. 1 seed? East Brunswick in 2016.
1-2, 1-2: Since the dawn of the GMC in 1986, this is the ninth time both the girls’ and boys’ title games have featured the 1 vs. the 2 seeds. It happened last year, with both No. 1 seeds winning: the St. Thomas Aquinas girls and the Colonia boys. They last time both games had the top two seeds before that? Again, 2016 keeps popping up. , when the top-seeded St. Joe’s boys beat South Brunswick, and the 2nd-seeded East Brunswick girls beat top-seed Monroe. It also happened the year before, in 2015, when the second-seeded Colonia boys beat St. Joseph, and top-seed Piscataway topped Monroe on the girls’ side. Other double 1 vs. 2 years include 2010, 1998, 1994, 1992 and 1989.
An hour or so before Wednesday night’s GMC Tournament semifinal, Piscataway came into the gym as a walking MASH unit.
Senior Josh Lima was about 80-percent due to a tight quad, head coach Bob Turco said before the game. Tyler West had a tricky knee and didn’t get to play much, in the end, And Landon Pernell, the football team quarterback just starting to get his basketball legs, also has been bothered by a calf injury
But the second-seeded Chiefs – though they were down 28-22 at the half – persevered, and had others step up, in coming out with a 64-61 win over third-seed Colonia, sending Piscataway back to the GMC’s championship game for a second year in a row.
The Chiefs (20-6) made it there last year in a big turnaround under first-year head coach Bob Turco, who raised eyebrows when he left St. Thomas Aquinas, where he had won GMC titles in 2020, 2022 and 2023. He got bested last year by his former ballplayer at Carteret and protege Jose Rodriguez and Colonia in the final, but not this time.
Turco told his team at halftime they just needed to execute. They had the game plan. Just go out and do it. And do it they did.
After Izayah Brown kept the team in the game early with eight first half points off the bench to lead the Chiefs, the starters took the ball and ran with it, literally, in the second half.
It was a tight game throughout. No one led by more than seven. Piscataway came out hot to start the second half and finally – after chipping away – got their first lead of the game at the 4:01 mark of the third period on a three by Landon Pernell. Another shortly after extended their lead, and while there were a couple of ties after that, the Chiefs never gave the lead back.
Pernell finished with 14, Brown with 16, and senior Donald Nwaigwe finished with 17, including a monster dunk late with the game still in the balance.
Dylan Chiera led Colonia (16-9) – which had gone 14-2 since a tough 2-6 start – with 14 points, while Jayce Rodriguez added 13, but the team’s leading three-point shooter – who had 66 on the year coming in – was held to just one make from beyond the arc.
Piscataway will face the winner of the second Wednesday night semifinal between top-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen and fifth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas. The final will be back here at Monroe Twp. High School at 8 pm, following the girls’ title game between St. Thomas Aquinas and East Brunswick at 6 pm. Both games can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Click below for postgame reaction from Piscataway senior Donald Nwaigwe and head coach Bob Turco, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Junior Lauryn Downing scored 22 points – including six triples – to lead top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas to a 76-56 win over fourth-seed Colonia in the GMC Tournament semifinals, bringing the Trojans back to the title game for a chance to win their seventh straight championship.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen call all the play-by-play from Monroe Township High School on February 17, 2026.
Sophomore Ava Catanho scored 13 points while junior Mia Figueroa added another 11 second-seed East Brunswick clinched its first GMC Tournament finals berth in a decade with a 52-38 win over third-seed Piscataway.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen call all the play-by-play from Monroe Township High School on February 17, 2026.