Tag: Saivon Pressley

February 23, 2022February 23, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas punches second straight ticket to GMC Tourney finals with win “at” Monroe

Technically, it’s a neutral site. And as the lower seed, Monroe even wore its road purple uniforms.

But even with the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinals being a “home” game for the Falcons, all the love, support and adulation of the home fans was not enough to overcome how good St. Thomas Aquinas is, even if the Trojans did struggle early in the game with Monroe’s defensive looks, and played a bit sloppy.

In the end, top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas did what it’s done all year: wear down and beat its opponents. And on Wednesday night, they beat the fourth-seeded Falcons 62-41 to go to a second straight GMC Tournament Final.

That will be Wednesday night at 8 pm against Colonia, back down at Monroe, after the Patriots knocked off St. Joe’s in the night’s first semifinal game. Both were heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Adam Silas played another good game, even if he “only” had a pedestrian 16 point night, with only eight from the field to go along with an 8-for-8 night at the charity stripe.

Senior guard Samar Abdullah had a big third quarter – eight points, including a pair of treys – which turned out to be decisive; after leading just 25-22 following a low-scoring first-half, Aquinas exploded for a 24-point third quarter, including an 11-0 run that also included key buckets from sophomore Jaden Kelly.

Solid as St. Thomas Aquinas has been the last three seasons – still ranked No. 3 in the statewide rankings that came out today – it will be just their third appearance in a GMC final.

Aquinas won it all in 2020, beating 4-seed South Brunswick 63-52. That was their first title since their only other one, in their only other appearance in the title tilt, in 1992, when – as the top seed – they beat 2-seed St. Joseph 61-47. The legendary John Somogyi was their head coach.

Click below for postgame reaction from St. Thomas Aquinas’ semifinal win over Monroe, as head coach Bob Turco and senior Adam Silas talk with Mike Pavlichko:

February 23, 2022February 23, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Monster game for Pressley propels Patriots to first GMC Tourney final since 2018

Colonia may have won last year’s one-off Karl-Anthony Towns/Jay Williams pod, the top grouping in the GMC, and the de facto title game in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, but winning the full-on tournament title is different.

The Patriots will get the chance Friday night, thanks in large part to a huge game from senior guard Saivon Pressley, who had his biggest offensive night in a Colonia uniform in Wednesday night’s first Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinal at Monroe High School.

Pressley put up 35 points – one off his scholastic career-high of 36 he scored against Calvary Christian while at Wardlaw-Hartridge as a sophomore – including six treys – ten percent of his season total team-leading 58 triples – en route to a 70-58 win for the third-seeded Patriots over second-seed St. Joseph of Metuchen.

Colonia led 4-0 early, then 4-2 and never looked back, even when in the second quarter they had built a seven point lead a number of times. Each time the Falcons cut it to a single possession, the Patriots answered right back.

And when they went on a 17-4 run to start the third quarter, went up by 19, and it looked like they’d blow the doors off the thing, Joe’s cut it to four at 61-57, but Colonia punched back yet again, winning by 12 in the end.

The win puts Colonia – now 21-3 in the GMC Tournament final for the first time in four years, and they’ll seek their first title since they beat St. Joe’s in 2015, with Chris Chiera as head coach. That year, the Patriots beat Chatham to win the North 2, Group 3 title, but were eliminated in the Group 3 semifinals by Bergenfield.

To win the title, they will have to beat St. Thomas Aquinas for the first time in three tries this year. Then again, last year, they lost to the Trojans in the shortened regular season, only to turn the tables in the pod final, and win in North Edison, to boot.

*Colonia senior guard Saivon Pressley talks to CJSR’s MIke Pavlichko after punching the Patriots’ ticket to the 2022 GMC Tournament Final.*

Click below for postgame reaction from Colonia’s win over St. Joseph-Metuchen Wednesday night with senior guard Saivon Pressley and head coach Jose Rodriguez:

January 11, 2022January 10, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Colonia’s Pressley is red-hot heading into clash with unbeaten Trojans

Coming off a COVID-stoppage between Christmas and New Year’s – and already having their opener cancelled for non-COVID-related reasons, who knew what to expect from Colonia in the New Year, despite starting 2-0?

All they did was go 3-1 since resuming play January fourth, with senior guard Saivon Pressley scoring no fewer than 26 points in each game, with back-to-back 30-plus point games coming off the break, scoring 30 at North Brunswick, and 32 against Woodbridge.

He’s now averaging 26.2 points per game for the top-ranked Patriots – oh, and he joined the 1,000-point club Saturday in a loss to Lenape – making him the top scorer in the Greater Middlesex Conference.

Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talked with Pressley on the eve of his team’s big clash with No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas (9-0).

Click here to listen:

January 4, 2022January 4, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Pressley’s monster 3rd quarter, 30 points, powers No. 1 Colonia past North Brunswick

An 11-0 run by senior guard Saivon Pressley alone helped keep a game North Brunswick team at bay on the road, as the No. 1-ranked Patriots came away with a 73-50 GMC White Division win Tuesday night.

In a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, Pressley – who had nine point at halftime – scored the first 11 points of the third quarter by either team, helping to keep some distance from the game Raiders.

Pressley hit a trio of treys in the contest, while Colonia (3-0) also got 16 points from junior forward Billy Anderson, including seven in the fourth quarter.

North Brunswick (0-4) was led by senior forward Ian Morris, who hit four triples on the night, and matched a career high 17 points, which he scored in a season-opening loss against East Orange.

Colonia shook off the rust following more than a week off with the team in COVID protocols, and let its defense fuel the offense.

Patriots head coach Jose Rodriguez earned his 60th win at Colonia with the victory; he’s now 60-16 in three-plus seasons.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from Colonia’s White Division win Tuesday night:

Senior guard Saivon Pressley

Head coach Jose Rodriguez

February 11, 2021March 3, 2021 by Mike Pavlichko

Rodriguez, Pressley talk No. 6 Colonia’s “tale of two halves” win at Edison

No one on the Colonia side was thrilled with their first half against Edison Thursday night.

No disrespect to the Eagles, but it would be safe to say the No. 6 Patriots felt they should have been ahead of Edison by more than one at the half, leading 29-28..

But thanks in part to Saivon Pressley, Colonia came alive after the break. Pressley pumped in 11 of his team-high 17 points in the final two quarters, to power Colonia (5-1) to a 68-53 victory over Edison (3-4) heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, powered by Bellamy & Son Paving.