Tag: Jonathan Toczynski

by Mike Pavlichko

Eason’s big game earns Woodbridge split with No. 8 South Plainfield; GMC White still up for grabs

With a chance to wrap up the GMC White Division title Tuesday night, No. 8 South Plainfield was behind by a dozen before they could blink.

But before Woodbridge could to the same, they were back in it.

The two teams settled in, and it went back and forth with six second quarter lead changes, South Plainfield led for most of the third, but that’s when Eason and teammate Bryan Anderson took over. 

Eason had eight fourth quarter points, and Anderson nine, to power the Barrons to a 70-62 win over the Tigers. It puts Woodbridge at 9-2 in the White, and South Plainfield at 10-2. And so the division title is still in the balance.

South Plainfield (12-5) won the first meeting by 12, Woodbridge (11-5) won this one by eight, and that might be one factor to break the tie come the GMC seeding meeting a week from Friday, on February second. 

The Tigers have division games left against New Brunswick and North Plainfield, while the Barrons still have New Brunswick, Edison and North Brunswick. If each wins out, they’ll be co-champs, and it will come down to the committee to break the tie. A loss could open the door for the other to win the division outright.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Vin Ebenau, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Woodbridge senior guard Micah Eason, head coach Jonathan Toczynski
by Mike Pavlichko

Woodbridge seeks share of first place in GMC White when Barrons visit South Plainfield

by Vin Ebenau

Tuesday night, the Woodbridge girls’ basketball team picked up a signature win, knocking off fourth-ranked North Plainfield on the road.

Thursday night, the Barrons boys’ basketball team will travel to South Plainfield, looking for even more.

To begin with, it’s a battle of the top two teams in the Greater Middlesex Conference White Division, and whoever takes that crown will be first on the board out of the White when the GMC Tournament seeding meeting is held.

But for Woodbridge (10-5, 8-2 GMC White), it would also be an affirmation of the Barrons’ climb up the standings this season in year three under head coach John Toczynski, with continued development and improvement up and down the roster.

“They can definitely shoot it,” Toczynski said of South Plainfield (12-4, 10-1). “With their defense, they’re able to mix and match which can cause problems.”

South Plainfield won their first meeting on December 21st, 76-64. But that was just a week into the season. Now, there are just two weeks left in the regular season.

A Tigers’ win clinches the division, while a Woodbridge win earns them at least a share, with the tie potentially being broken by the GMCT seeding committee.

On the other side of the court it’s players such as Jordan Williams-Byron, Nadino Joseph, and leading scorer Micah Eason.

“It starts with him (Eason), the ball is in his hands a lot, he’s a really great playmaker and an even better leader off of the court,” Tocyznski said.

You can hear Thursday night’s game on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with tip-off from South Plainfield at 7 pm. Pregame starts at 6:45 with Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau; click here to listen.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Vin Ebenau talk with Woodbridge head coach Jonathan Toczynski:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 7 South Plainfield overcomes slow start to win at Woodbridge, inch closer to GMC White crown

The first quarter may not have been they best they’d played all year.

South Plainfield and Woodbridge were tied 7-7 after one, but the Tigers were able to pull way after that.

The Tigers slowly grew the lead, then got a spark at the end of the half from senior guard Brandon Dean, who swished a pair of shots from downtown back-to-back, to close the half with South Plainfield ahead 28-13.

It would get as close as nine in the second half, as the Barrons made a bit of a run in the final eight minutes, but no closer. Final score: 54-38 Tigers.

Dean finished with those two triples and 15 points, but game high honors went to Tareak Williams, a fellow senior guard who has picked up the slack while Dean has been dealing with an injury to his shooting hand that’s been enough to slow him down, but not enough to keep him off the court.

For the Barrons, no one cracked double figures, as senior Kendall Pala and junior Nardino Joseph each finished with eight points. The trouble was the South Plainfield D did a number on Micah Eason, the team’s leading scorer. Coming in averaging nearly 15 points a game, he was held scoreless until the third quarter, and finished with just four points on a field goal and 2-of-3 shooting at the line.

The win puts South Plainfield at 11-1 in the GMC White with two games left, 15-2 overall. Woodbridge drops to 9-8, 7-5 in the White.

Follow Sportsplex at Metuchen on Instagram for the latest on open gym sessions on their courts and turf!

Click below for postgame reaction brought to you by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:

South Painfield senior guard Tareak Williams
South Plainfield’s Tareak Williams (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
South Plainfield head coach John Greco
by Mike Pavlichko

Barrons looking to play more than spoiler Thursday in White Division clash with South Plainfield

Sure, 7th-ranked South Plainfield is looking to finish the season strong and close out its third straight divisional championship in the GMC.

But that doesn’t mean Woodbridge is looking to play spoiler tonight when the Barrons (9-7, 7-4 GMC White) entertain the Tigers (14-2, 10-1) on senior night, in a game that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio

Woodbridge is trying to finish the year strong, too, after a 2021-22 campaign that saw many players get baptized by the GMC White fire, which last year included Colonia and St. Thomas Aquinas, now departed for the Red Division.

They started the year strong with three straight wins, but have had their share of heartbreaking, buzzer-beating defeats. Those include losses to rival Perth Amboy, Edison, and the Tigers themselves, in the first meeting, when senior Brandon Dean hit a runner as time expired for the victory in South Plainfield.

Follow Sportsplex at Metuchen on Instagram for the latest on open gym sessions on their courts and turf!

Tonight’s game can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio beginning with pregame at 5:15 and tip-off at 5:30 pm. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action. Click here to listen.

The Barrons are led by Micah Eason, a junior averaging nearly 15 points a game, and otherwise have balances scoring with senior Kendall Pala and sophomore Derrick Anderson averaging just over 8 ppg.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Woodbridge head coach Jonathan Toczynski:

by Mike Pavlichko

Woodbridge off to hot start, 2-0 for first time in five seasons

Second-year Barrons boys’ basketball head coach Jonathan Toczynski says it was all about the little things and attention to detail.

With his Woodbridge squad focused on that during a trial-by-fire first season in 2021-22 that saw five players lost to graduation, transfer or injury, they took their lumps in 2021-22, going 8-14. But there was reason to be optimistic.

For one, Toczynski knew he would have a good core coming back. And that they would be getting key experience. That paid off in the home stretch of the year, when they won five of their last seven games, including a GMC Tournament play-in victory over Perth Amboy Tech.

Follow Sportsplex at Metuchen on Instagram for open gym availability on their turf and courts!

This year, led by top returning scorer Micah Eason, a junior who averaged 12.5 points per game and was a second-team All-GMC White Division honoree as a sophomore last season, the Barrons are off to a 2-0 start, something hey haven’t done since the 2017-18 campaign, when they finished 12-12.

Eason has scored 33 points and has 16 rebounds in the first two games, a 49-47 road win at Perth Amboy, and a 51-44 home victory over Edison.

And for his part, Toczynski – a JFK alum – is new, too, still learning in the second year of his first head coaching job, following a four-year run as an assistant at Bergen Catholic.

Want to find even more of the bright side? Woodbridge remains in the GMC White Division this year, but the group’s two best teams the last several years – Colonia and St. Thomas Aquinas are now up in the Red Division.

After two road games this week at Sayreville and South Plainfield, Woodbridge will face what Toczynski calls its toughest stretch of the year: three games in the Eric LeGrand Tournament against Union City, Colonia and Westfield.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Woodbridge head coach Jonathan Toczynski about the Barrons’ development, their 2-0 start, and their prospects this season: