Tag: Mark Taylor

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 Nick Hart

St. Peter’s Prep outlasts St. Joseph-Metuchen, captures Non-Public South A championship

When two of the top non-public teams in the state face off, fans anticipate an exhilarating game, and that is exactly what transpired. St. Peter’s Prep defeated St. Joseph-Metuchen 59-46 despite early offensive struggles.  

With a first-quarter score more fit for a baseball game, 7-5 in favor of the Falcons (29-2), it seemed as though offense would be at a premium in this one.  Aiden Carter, five points, and Andrew Kretkowski, two points, were the only two St Joe’s players to record points in the first quarter, while Oscar Martinez knocked down a triple, along with a bucket from Caden Post, accounted for all of the Marauders’ scoring in the first eight minutes. 

As the second quarter progressed, both teams struggled to get the scoring started, as the Falcons could not find production from players other than Kretkowski and Carter, who combined for the 10 points in the quarter. Carter finished the first half with an impressive 11 of his team’s 17 points.  

Conversely, St. Peter’s Prep saw five different players tally a basket, with Richie Rosa leading the way with four points in the second stanza. St. Joe’s has a chance to take the lead with the last possession of the half, but missed three straight open threes as the final seconds ticked away. With two vastly different quarters, things were all knotted up at 17 when the horn sounded at the end of the first half. 

Coming out of the break, both teams continued to trade shots back and forth, yet defense was still the leading factor. At points, the Marauders looked to be pulling away, but defensive stops turned into offensive chances, allowing the Falcons to keep the game within one possession for most of the quarter. The defensive effort for St. Joes was punctuated by 6-foot-10 center Joel Patrick, who pinned a layup attempt against the glass to keep it a one-score game entering the fourth as St. Peter’s led 33-31 with eight minutes left to decide a champion.

Up to this point, it had been anybody’s game, with either side coming through in big moments. But ultimately, it was one aspect of the game where the Marauders outshone the Falcons, and that was shooting from long range. 

St Peter’s knocked down six triples in the second half, compared to just two by St. Joes which ended up being the difference on the scoreboard. While the scoreboard told one story after the made baskets, the Falcons’ players and fans told a different story. With each three that fell it seemed as though the energy of St. Joe’s did as well.  Mason Santiago and Martinez led the three-point barrage in the second half, pouring in all six made by the Marauders. 

When the clock struck triple zero, it was St Peter’s who emerged with a 13-point victory and a trip to the Non-Public A championship.

For the Falcons, the end goal was not achieved, but there is a lot of success to build on from head coach Mark Taylor’s first season at the helm. Without a senior in its starting rotation, St Joe’s could very well run back the same rotation next season.

“We’re gonna be back.. and we are going to come back with a vengeance next year”

Despite not achieving the goal he and his team set out for at the beginning of the season, Taylor had one message for his squad.

Click below for post game reaction from St. Joseph head coach Mark Taylor with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart:

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Thomas Aquinas had opportunities, but St. Joseph-Metuchen prevails, 63-51, in GMC Tournament semis, as Taylor leads alma mater back to finals

Mark Taylor won two GMC Tournament championships in his first go-round as the head coach at his alma mater. But right now he’s a win away from what may be his masterpiece.

St. Joseph-Metuchen hasn’t been to the league’s championship game since 2019 the last of a ten-year stretch in which they appeared every year, and won nine of ten titles, the first eight under Dave Turco, the second eight under Mike Thompson, a teammate of Taylor’s with the Falcons in their playing days.

But now, they are back, in Taylor’s first year in his second stint at the Metuchen school, after a 63-51 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in the GMC Tournament semifinals, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

It wasn’t the most convincing win, but considering they’ve been knocked off once this year, 55-54 by South Plainfield on January 27th, Taylor will take it.

The turning point of the game might actually have been the first six minutes of the ball game. If not, it was certainly the most consequential moment. While top-seeded St. Joe’s built an eleven-point lead, they held the Trojans off the ball until the 2:08 mark of the first. Had they hit just a couple of buckets, the second half – and the final result – might have been different.

Joe’s (25-1) led by 13 at the half, 38-25. But fifth-seed Aquinas (11-14) got it to nine with six minutes left in the third, and 43-25 with 3:25 to go. But the Falcons went on a 10-1 run and led again by 13 heading into the fourth.

And still, St. Thomas was back for more. And and-one opportunity with a missed free-throw by Albion Ahmetaj cut it to eight with 4:38 left in the game. But with Dan Jennings and his brother, Jared, in foul trouble, that was as close as they would get.

Meanwhile, Aquinas transfer Aidan Carter had another monster game with 22 points, going 11-of-13 from the foul line. He led all scorers in the game, as he did at the half when he had 17 points. Big man Andrew Kretkwoski, the transfer in from Rutgers Prep, scored 18.

St. Thomas was led by Dan Jennings’ 15, including two triples, the first of which got Aquinas on the board late in the first quarter.

St. Joseph will go for its 13th GMC title Friday night at 8 pm when the Falcons take on second-seed Piscataway, which is back in the final for a second year in a row after a 64-59 win over third-seed Colonia Wednesday night. That will follow the girls’ final at 6 pm at Monroe Twp. High School, which features top-seed and six-time defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas taking on second-seed East Brunswick. Central Jersey Sports Radio will have live coverage of both games.

Click below for postgame reaction with St. Joseph of Metuchen junior Aidan Carter and head coach Mark Taylor, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Nearly-perfect St. Joseph-Metuchen seeks first trip back to GMCT finals since 2010s run as Falcons face rejuvenated St. Thomas Aquinas in all-parochial semifinal Wednesday

The St. Joseph-Metuchen boys’ basketball program hit its peak in the 2010s, making every GMC Tournament final in that decade, and wining nine of them, with just one loss – to Colonia in 2015.

Wednesday night down at Monroe Township High School, the top-seeded Falcons (24-1) will seek to get back to that game for the first time since 2019 when they take on fifth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas (11-3) in an all parochial school semifinal, immediately following an all-public matchup between Piscataway and two-time defending champion Colonia.

You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with tip-off at 7 pm and pregame at 6:45 as Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau call the action, immediately following the Chiefs and Patriots in their 5 pm opener. Click here to listen.

Both teams are intriguing stories this year. In the off-season, St. Joseph parted ways with Karl Towns, Sr., the father of Karl-Anthony Towns of the NBA’s Knicks. That reunion lasted one season, as Towns frequently missed Falcons’ games to watch his son play.

Enter Mark Taylor: a St. Joe’s alum, who later coached them and future NBA players like Jay Williams and Andrew Bynum. Following stops at Ridge and St. Benedict’s, he’s back in Metuchen, and with an influx of transfer talent like Aidan Carter (from St. Thomas Aquinas) and Andrew Kretkowski (from Rutgers Prep), the Falcons have had a nearly-perfect season. Their lone loss came to South Plainfield in a road stunner, 55-54. Still, they were the GMC Red American Division champions, going 8-0 in divisional play.

On the other side, Tom Weiler is the first-year head coach of the Trojans, and worked briefly as an assistant under Bob Turco during the COVID-season, when STA lost to Colonia in the league’s top postseason pod – there was no full GMC Tournament that year. Turco left for Piscataway after the 2023-24 season, and Weiler came on board following an awkward season where Austin Whitehurst was let go mid-year due to off-the-court issues, and Victor Verdecia finished out the year.

Weiler’s first job was changing the culture around the program, and it’s been a grind this year, to be sure. They’re two games below .500 and finished 2-6 in the Red American Division – fourth place out of five – with their divisional wins coming over Old Bridge.

They also have a transfer from the other school, Dan Jennings, who headed south down Plainfield Avenue last season. He and Albion Ahmetaj are the team’s top two scorers, at 14.1 and 14.2 points per game, respectively. Ahmetaj is a big with 53 blocks, and is thee team’s top rebounder at 10.7 per game. Then, there’s Zymere Weaver, a sophomore who’s also the starting quarterback on the football team, and has a team-best 70 assists and 33 steals.

St. Joe’s is led by Carter, the STA transfer, who had to sit out the first 30 days of the season. That’s one reason the Falcons opened the season as early as they could – and earlier than everyone else – with a 103-36 blowout of Wesley College from Australia, to start that 30-day clock as soon as possible. Once he stepped on the floor, the winning margins (minus that season-opening blowout) got larger and larger. Carter is averaging a double-double – 17.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game – while Kretkowski is scoring 17 a game and has 22 treys. Junior Imaad Johnson has 33 to lead the Falcons, who are scoring about 12 more points per game on the whole than Aquinas.

Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:

St. Joseph-Metuchen head coach Mark Taylor with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Vin Ebenau
St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tom Weiler with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko
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

Early January battle of unbeatens – No. 5 St. Joseph at No. 4 Piscataway Saturday – has big implications in GMC Tournament race

While the Greater Middlesex Conference doesn’t seed its tournament until early February, Saturday’s matinee between fourth-ranked Piscataway and fifth-ranked St. Joseph-Metuchen could have a lot to say in deciding the top part of the bracket.

The Chiefs and Colonia were last year’s finalists. The Patriots lost a ton of talent for various reasons, and while they should improve by the stretch run, they’ve struggled early. St. Joseph hired alum and former coach Mark Taylor, who brought in a slew of transfer talent to go with some solid pieces already in place, and East Brunswick is off and running to its best start since the days of Bo Henning manning the sidelines and players like Amir Bell and Rob Ukuwuba in the early 2010s.

All that said, while it’s still just the first of two meetings between the two, St. Joe’s visit to Piscataway Saturday has all the trappings of a conference tourney game from the round of eight on.

OF course, you can hear tomorrow’s game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with tip-off tentatively set for about 11:45 – shortly after the 10 am JV game ends. Pregame starts 15 minutes prior; Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the action. Click here to listen.

The Falcons will, for sure, have the height advantage, with Rutgers Prep transfer Andrew Kretkowski now with the Falcons. The 6′ 7″ junior already has asserted himself in a leadership role, and is scoring just under 20 points per game. Senior guard Alijah Murphy is one of the key returnees, and big Ryan Hilongos will get time, too.

Piscataway coach Bob Turco may say “Attitude and Effort” is the team’s mantra, but it might as well be “An ugly win is as good as a pretty one.” That’s not because they play poorly; quite the opposite. They play a stifling defense, dive all over, and get a ton of steals. In fact, of their top eight rotation players who have made 69 total game appearances, 62 have earned at least one steal in a game.

That means it’s not just one or two guys breaking up passes and forcing turnovers. Everyone in the lineup is doing it, night in and night out.

Both teams might need oxygen tanks by the time this one’s through.

Click below to hear pregame interviews with both head coaches:

Piscataway head coach Bob Turco with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko
St. Joseph-Metuchen head coach Mark Taylor with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe

by Mike Pavlichko

New coach, new players at St. Joseph-Metuchen could upend top of GMC boys’ hoops

The warning shot came back in April.

That’s when Mark Taylor, a 1983 alum and later head coach of the basketball program was brought back to lead the Falcons.

Then, the transfers started rolling in. Andrew Kretkowski from Rutgers Prep, with two more years to play. Chase Pettiford, also an incoming junior, makes his way down from the now-closed Immaculate Conception in Montclair. Marcel Carra, who saw minimal action as a freshman last year playing for Taylor at St. Benedict’s. And sophomore Joel (pronounced “joe-el”) Patrick, who is from Ghana, also has joined the team.

Put them alongside last year’s top scorer – guard Alijah Murphy, who scored 12.2 points per game and had a team-best 28 treys – and swing Ryan Hilongos, who averaged 8.8 points in seven games after missing much of the season with a wrist injury, and Taylor has made quite the splash before a single game is even played.

That changes Monday night, when St. Joseph will be one of the few area teams opening the season on the first possible day, when they welcome Wesley College High School of Australia into the Maglio Gymnasium for Game One of the 2025-26 season.

For Taylor, he’s come home, to the place where he was a student, played and coached. In between his eleven-year run coaching at St. Joe’s – where he won two GMC Tournaments in six trips to the finals, as well as two NJSIAA sectional crowns and seven division championships – Taylor spent five seasons at Ridge, then another 14 with the Bees up in Newark, mentoring hundreds of Division 1 players all along the way.

At those two stops, he rebuilt, and that’s the task at hand at St. Joseph. With a proven track record, there’s little doubt he’ll do it again. The only question is, how quickly can he do it? Will it take time for this year’s group to jell, or will they come out hot, right out of the box?

We’ll know a lot more before the calendar flips to 2026.

Click below to hear “new” St. Joseph-Metuchen basketball coach Mark Taylor preview the season with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

St. Joseph-Metuchen will appear on Central Jersey Sports Radio on Saturday, January 3, when the Falcons visit Piscataway for an 11:30 am tip-off.

by Mike Pavlichko

Back in Town: St. Joseph alum, Hall of Famer Mark Taylor to lead Falcons’ Basketball

With nearly well over career wins and the revival of three different basketball programs under his belt, Mark Taylor is coming back home, returning to his alma mater – St. Joseph of Metuchen – as the Falcons’ new basketball coach.

Having spent the last 14 seasons at powerhouse St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, winning over 400 games with the Gray Bees while coaching numerous future Division I standouts, Taylor is coming back to Metuchen where he played in the early 1980s and coached future stars Jay Williams – who was National College Player of the Year at Duke and second overall pick by the NBA’s Bulls in 2002 – and Andrew Bynum, who was drafted right out of St. Joe’s by the Lakers. Both also were McDonald’s All-Americans.

Taylor is a 1983 graduate of the school, and as a player, went twice to the Middlesex County Tournament finals, then played in College at Fordham. He also in the St. Joseph Athletics Hall of Fame.

He came back to coach at St. Joe’s for eleven seasons, breathing new life into the program, winning two GMCT crowns in six trips to the finals, as well as two state sectional titles and seven division championships.

After that, he went to Ridge, and revived that program as well, winning 94 games in five seasons from 2006 to 2011, more than any other Somerset County public school in that time frame, winning the Somerset County Tournament title in 2010, their first such trophy since 1977.

Taylor then moved to St. Benedict’s, and in 14 seasons, went 333-60, bringing his overall record – compiled from various sources – to 599-171 in 30 seasons overall at the scholastic and prep levels. Current UConn coach Danny Hurley had spent nine years there – with a down year in between – before Taylor arrived and rejuvenated the program.

Overall, he’s produced eight NBA draft picks and over a hundred Division I NCAA players.

“Mark Taylor’s success in the New Jersey high school basketball landscape has been second to none over the past 28 years,” Saint Joseph Director of Athletics Bill Tracy said in a press release.

“We are excited to welcome yet another hall of fame caliber coach to the Saint Joseph Athletics Department. More importantly, I am confident that Coach Taylor’s focus on forming successful young men will have a positive impact on the student-athlete experience at Saint Joseph High School. We welcome him back with open arms and now set our sights on bringing trophies back to Maglio Gymnasium,” said Tracy.

What’s unique about Taylor is he’s not involved in basketball at any other level, whether it’s owning a training or involved in AAU basketball. He calls himself an “entrepreneur,” and has a history of building successful businesses across many industries. He holds a business degree in finance management from Fordham University and a masters certificate in Christian Ministries from Liberty University.

When he was first at St. Joe’s, he started a warehouse distribution and packaging company from his garage and sold it in 2012. He also has been involved in home construction and now is involved with an internet venture called Taylored Digital Assets.

Click below to hear Mark Taylor talk about returning home to St. Joseph-Metuchen with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Mergin Sina, Mark Taylor among those to be honored at The Basketball Reunion next month

Now in its second year, The Basketball Reunion – an event created to bring together players and coaches from high school and college teams throughout various eras – will induct two high school coaches with local ties into its Hall of Honor.

Gill St. Bernard’s boys’ basketball coach Mergin Sina, and St. Benedict’s boys; basketball coach Mark Taylor – who also previously coached at Ridge and St. Joseph-Metuchen – will be honored on April third at the second annual event at the Prudential Center in Newark.

Sina played his college ball in New Jersey at Seton Hall, and after a 12-year professional playing career overseas that saw him inducted into the Portuguese Basketball Federation Hall of Fame, took over the girls’ program at Gill, going 105-49 in six seasons and winning the program’s first two Somerset County Tournament titles in 2009 and 2010. He then took over the boys’ program, where he just wrapped up his 13th season, is 273-71, and has won seven of the last eight SCT championships, including five straight from 2015 to 2019.

Taylor has been at St. Benedict’s in Newark for 12 years and has racked up more than 300 wins, in addition to the 255 victories he had combined at Ridge at St. Joseph of Metuchen. With the Falcons – where he also played his high school ball and is in the Athletics Hall of Fame – Taylor coached two future NBA players in Andrew Bynum and Jay Williams, who was the second pick in the 2002 NBA Draft out of Duke.

Sina and Taylor will be inducted in the “Special Recognition” category.

The Basketball Reunion will be held on the floor of the Prudential Center the night of April 3rd, with a “steakhouse” dining experience, capped off by a watch party of the NCAA Tournament’s men’s basketball national championship game. The event will be emceed by award-winning sports anchor Bruce Beck of WNBC-TV, Channel 4, in New York for the second straight year.

Among those also being inducted in various categories: former Seton Hall stars Terry Dehere and Shaheen Holloway; the 1982 Rutgers women’s basketball AIAW National Championship team; , Dana O’Neil, senior writer for the Athletic; referees Tim Higgins, Ed Corbett and Tom Lopes, all of whom have New Jersey ties; and Mike Fratello and Brian Hill in the NBA Coaching Legends category.

For more information on the event, visit www.thebasketballreunion.com. The event is open to the public. Proceeds benefit the Team Hill Foundation and its “programs to assist disadvantaged youngsters on the path to success in life.”