Tag: Ryan Murphy

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick girls fall behind early, but come back strong to beat Old Bridge on Senior Night

Unless St. Thomas Aquinas is involved, nearly every girls’ basketball game in the GMC Red Division this season has been competitive.

The first time Old Bridge and South Brunswick met down on Route 516, the Knights came back from a ten-point deficit after three quarters to win 46-43.

So, the fact that South Brunswick again led by ten at the end of three “wasn’t lost” on the Vikings, according to head coach Ryan Murphy. Trailing 11-4 early, they put together a great run in the second and took a 22-16 lead at the half they would never relinquish, en route to a 51-34 Senior Night win heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

While the comeback and rally spanned the second and third quarters, after halftime was where South Brunswick really stepped on the gas, getting to the basket with ease as they had better ball movement on offense, opening up lands to drive to the hoop.

The three senior starters all were in double-figures for the Vikings (10-9, 8-5 GMC Red). Alexis Lease-Springer had 17 to lead all scorers, while Avery Jenne added 15 and Madison Rorie had 12.

It was Lease-Springer’s three to end the third, though, that was a real backbreaker. When the ball popped out of bounds of Old Bridge underneath the basket with 2.9 seconds to go, South Brunswick ran a play to get the ball to Alexis, who hit nothing but twine with a wide-open look.

Old Bridge (9-9, 4-9 GMC Red) was led by senior Adriana Misciagna with 14.

Click below for postgame reaction with South Brunswick senior Alexis Lease-Springer and head coach Ryan Murphy, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick and Old Bridge to duel after Knights rallied late to win first meeting

The first time South Brunswick and Old Bridge played this year, it didn’t look good for the Knights, who were held to single digits in both the first and second quarters.

But like many other girls’ basketball games in the Red Division this year, in the end, it was highly competitive.

Old Bridge settled in at halftime, talked about their game plan, and how they hadn’t quite executed it, weren’t getting shots to fall. When they did, they got back into the game, and ultimately came out with a three-point win, 56-53, hitting key shots down the stretch, while getting key stops on the other end of the floor.

Tuesday night, the two meet again. Both are 9-9, with Old Bridge sixth in the Red at 4-8, tied with North Plainfield; the Vikings sit in fourth at 7-5, tied for third with East Brunswick. Which means Tuesday’s game most definitely has implications for GMC Tournament seeding, which happens Friday.

You can hear the South Brunswick-Old Bridge game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko on the call. Tip-off is at 5:30, pregame starts at 5:15. Click here to listen.

South Brunswick is a veteran group, led by three seniors. Alexis Lease-Springer is tops in nearly every offensive category, including scoring at a 15.3 point per game clip, and averaging nearly nine rebounds a game. She also leads in threes made (25), assists (55) and steals (60). Avery Jenne has 18 treys and is averaging 10.1 points per game, while Kendall Dixon is scoring 9.7 per game.

For Old Bridge, it’s senior Adrianna Miscigana (rhymes with “lasagna”) leading the Knights with 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Marilyn Togun – a sophomore – also has been a key presence for the squad.

Click below to hear pregame interviews with both head coaches:

South Brunswick head coach Ryan Murphy
Old Bridge head coach Alec Alspach
by Mike Pavlichko

Dixon’s 14 fuels South Brunswick girls as Vikings grab upset win at No. 5 Piscataway

Kendall Dixon scored 14 points – including three treys – as three Vikings went for double figures, and South Brunswick knocked off No. 5 Piscataway in a GMC Red Division game Saturday afternoon at Piscataway.

The game was back and forth for most of the first three quarters, with eight ties and six lead changes. But once South Brunswick got the lead back in the third, they never relinquished in in the fourth, and built to as much as a ten point lead at 49-39 late in the game.

Dixon’s third and final three with 2:25 left was essentially the final dagger for the Chiefs, who fall to 3-3, 2-2 in the GMC Red.

South Brunswick is also now 3-3, and got its first division win of the season, alongside two losses.

Sophomore Sarae Croley-Battled led all scorers with 18 for Piscataway.

Click below for postgame reaction with South Brunswick senior Kendall Dixon and head coach Ryan Murphy, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Veteran, balanced South Brunswick looks to avenge last year’s semifinal loss in CJ4 quarters

Last season, the South Brunswick girls’ basketball team beat Long Branch in the Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals before falling to Monroe in the semis, ending the Vikings’ season.

This season, Monroe beat Long Branch in the opening round ahead of Monday’s CJ4 quarterfinal matchup with South Brunswick.

That might not be a guarantee the Vikings will win this time around, but South Brunswick does feel confident after winning the most recent battle between the two.

Now, they’ll play for a third time Monday evening at 5:00 in Monroe, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, starting with pregame at 4:45 pm, and with Mike Pavlichko calling all the action live. Click here to listen.

The road team has won each of the last three games between these teams, but even that may mean nothing. The difference in the two meetings this year was the scoring.

The Vikings – who’ve had a lower offensive output, averaging 51.2 ppg this year, compared to 59.5 a year ago – were held to just 36 points by Monroe in the opener. That was their third lowest output this season, with Meher Vig’s 12 points the only double-figure scoring. That was also a long time ago, more than two months ago, on December 14th.

In the rematch? South Brunswick scored 62, with three players in double figures, led by Vig’s 19 (and four treys), 16 from Leilani Pinder and 11 from Alexis Lease-Springer.

That’s the core returning trio from this year that forms the nucleus of a veteran group, with seniors Vig and Pinder now fourth-year varsity players, and Lease-Springer a third-year varsity player as a junior. And that’s the core that will need to have success for South Brunswick to keep its season going.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko preview the Monroe game with South Brunswick head coach Ryan Murphy:

by Mike Pavlichko

Pinder, Vig, Lease-Springer trio break out offensively to push No. 5 South Brunswick past No. 8 Colonia

Mya Patino’s preseason injury last year was a big blow to Colonia.

Her return has helped the 8th-ranked Patriots get off to a 3-0 start. And Thursday night, in a GMC Red Division game against No. 5 South Brunswick, she gave her team an early 2-0 lead on a pair of free throws.

But that was the last lead Colonia had all night.

Senior Leilani Pinder scored 12 points in the first quarter, getting the Vikings out to a 13-point lead after one quarter, 21-8. And though she was in foul trouble by the second quarter, she finished with a 19-point night – a game high – in a 62-44 win over the Patriots.

Senior Meher Vig chipped in 14, while junior Alexis Lease-Springer added 9 points for South Brunswick, which is now 2-2 overall and in the GMC Red.

Senior Taylor Derkack led Colonia (3-1, 2-1 GMC Red) with 12, while Patino added another 10 points.

South Brunswick led by 20 in the second and third quarters, and saw its lead swell to 25 before Colonia got it to 15 with under two minutes to go, but that was as close as their comeback try would get, falling by 18.

Click below for postgame reaction with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Dylan Allen, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

South Brunswick senior Leilani Pinder
South Brunswick head coach Ryan Murphy
by Dylan Allen

No. 6 South Brunswick looks to get back in win column vs No. 8 Colonia Thursday night

After going 19-8 last year, losing then-Head Coach Jeffrey Johnson, and graduating senior guard Katie Rausch, it has been a tough start to the new season for South Brunswick under new Head Coach Ryan Murphy. The Vikings are 1-2 – all in GMC Red Division play – with both losses coming by double digits, including a 70-51 loss to No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas Tuesday night.

Without Rausch, senior guard Meher Vig has had to step up, and so far she’s answered the call. Leading the team in points-per-game with 13.0, three-point field goals with five, and steals with nine. Vig scored 18 points and registered three steals against St. Thomas Aquinas on Tuesday.

Colonia is no easy test. The 8th-ranked Patriots are 3-0 on the year (1-0 in the GMC Red) including a 75-25 win over Camden and a 64-25 win over North Brunswick. Led by senior forward Taylor Derkack, who leads the team with 17.3 points-per-game, 8.7 rebounds-per-game, and 9.3 steals-per-game. Yes, you’re reading that correctly: 9.3 steals per game. She should also become the school’s all-time leading girls’ scorer sometime early in 2024.

Despite the successful 19-8 season last year for South Brunswick, two of those eight losses came against Colonia, including a 49-31 loss in the GMC semifinals. But there is some good news for the Vikings. Their lone win this year came in its only road game thus far, a 37-31 victory against Piscataway, and the Vikings will hit the road yet again to face Colonia on Thursday night.

It’s a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen calling all the action. Pregame starts at 5:30 pm, with tip-off at 5:45. Click here to listen.

Click here to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Dylan Allen talk with South Brunswick head coach Ryan Murphy ahead of their matchup vs Colonia: