Tag: Jeff Johnson

by Mike Pavlichko

Experienced group leads South Brunswick girls against Colonia in ’22 GMCT semifinals rematch, critical GMC Red contest

For South Brunswick – with three of its standouts being two sophomores and a freshman – it was the win that put the Lady Vikings on the map.

Colonia was the third seed, and one of the favorites to win the tournament. South Brunswick was the No. 7 seed, and – to be quite honest – wasn’t.

That is, unless you were in the South Brunswick locker room. Head coach Jeff Johnson says despite their youth, their mentality is they always want to compete for and win a championship, whatever the level.

And while they didn’t ultimately bring home a championship banner – losing to St. Thomas Aquinas in the final – the Vikings did finish the season 19-8, a very successful campaign, and are looking to build on it this year.

They will do so returning 45 points a game, mainly from four key players: senior Katie Rausch, juniors Meher Vig and Leilani Pinder, and sophomore Alexis Lease-Springer.

Thursday night’s game between No. 4 South Brunswick (2-1, 2-1 GMC Red) and No. 5 Colonia (1-2, 1-0 GMC Red heading into a Wednesday game against 2-1 Woodbridge) can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko calling all the action. Pregame starts at 5:45, with tip-off at 6:00. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear CJSR’s Mike Pavlichko talk with South Brunswick head coach Jeff Johnson:

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick seniors have made great strides, now Lady Vikings look to cap it with a GMCT crown

Their freshman year, Carla Seyfarth and Zoe Zamir only won four basketball games in 19 tries.

2021-22 is a long way from 2018-19 for them.

After going 8-16 their sophomore years, 8-6 last year during the strange COVID season, the South Brunswick girls’ basketball team has turned things around to go 18-6 this year, and looking to cap it tonight with a win in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship game.

The 7th-seeded Vikings, however, will have to beat a team it has lost to twice already this season by 17 and 14 points – top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas (20-3) – when they square off at 6 pm tonight down at Monroe High School.

You can hear the game on Central Jersey Sports Radio beginning with the pregame show at 5:45 as Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the action. Click here to listen.

And though those seniors have stuck with the program and been key contributors, it’s a few young players who have stepped up and make the difference for South Brunswick.

Sophomore Meher Vig is the team’s leading scorer at 12.4 points a game heading into the final. But in the semis it was 18 points from freshman Alexis Lease-Springer who helped South Brunswick knock off third-seed Colonia, handing the Patriots their first loss of the season against a GMC opponent.

Click below for a preview of tonight’s GMCT final with South Brunswick’s 9th year head coach Jeff Johnson:

by Dom Savino

Cinderella South Brunswick continues its run as Vikings knock off Colonia, head to GMC title game

Ask any coach, and they’ll tell you their team needs to play its best basketball when it matters most.

Well, that’s exactly what South Brunswick is doing.

The 7th-seeded Vikings (17-6) pulled off their second straight upset win Tuesday night, downing 3rd-seed Colonia 57-49 in the semifinals of the Greater Middlesex Conference Girls’ Basketball Tournament. South Brunswick will carry a seven-game winning streak into its first GMC Finals appearance since 2017, and try to win its first title since 2012.

You can hear that game Friday against top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas – a winner in the nightcap over East Brunswick – on Central Jersey Sports Radio as we broadcast the girls’ and boys’ championship doubleheader starting with the girls’ title tilt at 6 pm. Click here to listen to Mike Pavlichko call all the action.

READ MORE: Perez, Crosby guide top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas into yet another GMC Tournament Final

Vikings’ freshman Alexis Lease-Springer led the way with 18 points, including nine of her team’s 19 first-half points as Colonia led for the entirety of the opening half.

MORE COVERAGE: South Brunswick girls pull off big upset in GMCT quarterfinals, knocking off Monroe

The Patriots — who entered the night on a 14-game winning streak, but fall to 22-3 — capitalized on South Brunswick’s poor shooting start, growing a first-half lead as large as nine points. Colonia’s Taylor Derkack scored 13 of her game-high 21 points in the opening half.

But South Brunswick mounted a 12-2 run that bridged halftime, claiming its first lead with five minutes left in the third quarter.

It was the first of nine lead changes as the teams traded basket for basket for much of the second half. But South Brunswick closed the game on a 15-6 run over the final 3:30, most of which came at the free-throw line.

The Vikings were perfect on all 12 of their free throws over the game’s final 100 seconds, staving off a late Colonia run. South Brunswick junior Katie Rausch scored all 14 of her points in second half, six of which came as part of the Vikings’ free-throw spree.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Dom Savino with postgame reaction from South Brunswick’s win

Freshman guard Alexis Lease-Springer
Head coach Jeff Johnson

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick girls pull off big upset in GMCT quarterfinals, knocking off Monroe

Second-seed Monroe was a favorite to win the GMC Tournament.

But a year after upsetting St. Thomas Aquinas to win the league’s top-pod in a COVID-abbreviated season, they won’t get the chance.

Seventh-seed South Brunswick avenged two regular season losses to Monroe, and knocked off the defending de facto GMC champion Falcons 58-56 Saturday afternoon at Middlesex County College in Edison. The Vikings now will face third-seed Colonia in the first semifinal Tuesday evening at 5 pm at Monroe High School.

The Vikings trailed 23-18 after one quarter, and 33-31 at the half, but took the lead by four over Monroe (15-5) going into the fourth quarter on the strength of a 12-6 third period, and hung on to win by two.

Katie Rausch led a balanced scoring attack for South Brunswick (17-6) with 16 points, including four treys, while Carla Seyfarth added 14 and Meher Viig had 10.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with South Brunswick head coach Jeff Johnson:

In the opening game at MCC, third-seed Colonia topped 6-seed Middlesex 56-34 to improve to 22-2. As has been the case all season long, it was Mattison Chiera and Taylor Derkack leading the scoring, with 21 and 19 points, respectively.

The Patriots (22-2) have won 14 straight games since a January 12th loss to Westfield, and have not lost to a GMC opponent since last year, when they finished with a March 1st loss at Middlesex, 57-51.

The Blue Jays fell to 19-3.