Tag: Wardlaw-Hartridge

February 8, 2022February 8, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Playoff update: Girls’ Basketball Non-Public Sections

Central Jersey Sports Radio continues its breakdown of playoff sections with Saturday’s NJSIAA cutoff fast approaching. Here’s a section-by-section look based on official standings available on NJ.com as of 11 pm Monday:

Non-Public South B: This could come down to the wire, as Rutgers Prep (15-1) sits in first with 417 points, just eight ahead of Wildwood Catholic (16-4, 409 points.) But those are the only two teams in the same realm of power points, as St. Rose of Belmar in third has only 315 points, trailing by 94. This one could come down to residuals for the Argonauts, and Sunday’s game against statewide No. 1 St. John Vianney won’t count – it’s after the Saturday NJSIAA cutoff. Calvary Christian (12-2) out of the GMC Gold is fifth at 269, with Timothy Christian (6-7, 164) in 10th.

Non-Public South A: It’s St. John Vianney leading the pack here by a wide margin, 19-0 with a whopping 501 power points, 99 ahead of Paul VI (15-3, 402). Red Bank Catholic (18-3, 392) is next, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas (14-3, 366). It’s unlikely they could make up enough ground, which sets up a potential matchup with SJV in the sectional semis. It’s no better for fifth=-place Immaculata (11-7, 334), as the winner of that potential 5/4 quarterfinal game would get the Lady Lancers in the semis. Mount St. Mary (10-5, 301) would get them in the quarters if they hold in eighth place. Mother Seton (2-5, 72) brings up the rear.

Non-Public North B: The only real threat here is Gill St. Bernard’s, which is 11-3 with 289 points and sitting in 5th. Even though two of their 13 games are losses, even a couple of wins probably aren’t enough to propel them into third (currently held by Montclair Immaculate at 13-4, 345 points) and away from top-seed Saddle River Day (16-1, 486 points) until the sectional finals. Also in this section: Wardlaw-Hartridge (1-12, 89) in 12th.

Non-Public North A: The only area team here is Pingry, which is 6-10 with 209 points, and sitting ninth in the standings. The Big Blue could edge up into the top eight and even the top seven if they play their cards right. Top seven would avert an early matchup with top-seed Immaculate Heart (16-4, 399 points).

February 8, 2022February 7, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Playoff Update: Boys’ Basketball Non-Public Sections

All this week, Central Jersey Sports Radio will take a look at playoff projections for Greater Middlesex Conference and Somerset County teams. Here’s a look at the Non-Public sections on the boys’ side, using the NJSIAA’s official standings available on NJ.com as of 11 pm Monday:

Non-Public South A: It’s not going out on a limb to say all the non-public sections are tough, but this one is a bear even for the local teams at the top. It says something when St. Augustine – the only undefeated team left in New Jersey – is only sixth in the section. Red Bank Catholic (17-3) leads the section with 475 points, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas (20-1), with 457 points. Can the Trojans get a top seed? It would be difficult. The NJSIAA this year counts the best 13 games on a team’s schedule for power points. Right now their lowest power point value is 25, which means they would have to earn more than 25 points in a game between now and Saturday. Sayreville Tuesday is a 25 point game, and won’t move the needle much. But a win over Gill St. Bernard’s might. They’re a Group 1, so a win would get them 7, and their residuals would get them likely 35 points for a total of 42. Add 17 to their total and you get 472. But if Gill sneaks another game onto the schedule somewhere, they could hit 475. Ah, intrigue! Rutgers Prep is third, right behind the Trojans, at 16-1 with 424 points. St. Joseph-Metuchen (14-4) is in fifth, 15 behind Christian Brothers, and 4 points ahead of St. Augustine. They could make a move into the top four, for sure. Immaculata (7-11, 253 points) is 11th, while Pingry (7-5, 186) is in 13th.

Non-Public North B: This is where the third-ranked team in the state sits fourth in the standings. That’s how tough a section this is. Gill St. Bernard’s (11-5) is that fourth place team, with 365 points. They certainly could gain when you consider the “top 13” rule. Since they’ve only won 11 games, any win would likely boost their power points by a significant amount, because their power points include 11 wins and 2 losses as their best 13 games. On the schedule: Hillsborough on Wednesday at Aquinas – with its 20 wins – Saturday night at 7:45 on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Even a win over Hillsborough should make up the four points they would need to pass third-place Morris Catholic (15-2, 368), and they may even have a longshot at second, which is held by Saddle River Day (14-2, 402). Moving to second or third avoids seeing top team Roselle Catholic until a potential North B Final, which would be at their place. The Rams are 17-2 with 473 points, uncatchable at this point. Also in this section, GMC Gold leader Timothy Christian (12-4, 256) is 7th, with Wardlaw-Hartridge (9-4, 213) in 9th.

Non-Public South B: The only area team in this section is GMC Gold Division team Calvary Christian of Old Bridge, which is 11-4 with 213 points, good for eighth out of 14 teams. They are just four points behind Wildwood Catholic (8-9, 217), and moving up just one spot would keep them away from likely top-seed Trenton Catholic (11-4, 363).

March 2, 2021March 3, 2021 by Mike Pavlichko

Wardlaw-Hartridge putting together another solid year under Wagner, earns top seed in its GMC pod

You can only talk about St. Joe’s and South Brunswick and St. Thomas Aquinas and Colonia for so long.

There were two teams that went unbeaten in Greater Middlesex Conference play this year. One was Aquinas, who finished 5-0 against the league.

The other? Wardlaw-Hartridge.

Brendan Wagner, who won a GMC Tournament title in 2006 as the seventh man playing for Ken Pace (and later for Justin Chiera) at Colonia, is in his second season at the private school in Edison. After an 18-7 season in his debut campaign where the Rams went 14-2 against the GMC, they’re now a combined 29-9 over nearly two full seasons, and 25-2 against the league.

Wagner spoke with Central Jersey Sports Radio this week about his team’s run, and their top-seed in the “Taylor Family Pod” in this week’s GMC postseason, where they’ll host 4th-seed Monroe tomorrow night.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko’s interview with Wardlaw-Hartridge Head Coach Brendan Wagner:

February 28, 2021March 3, 2021 by Mike Pavlichko

Boys’ regular season wrap-up: Bound Brook heads into Skyland Tourney as lone unbeaten area team, and other notes of interest

What a year the Bound Brook Crusaders have had.

Lucky enough to have no COVID pauses, Anthony Melesurgo’s squad has persevered, and reaped the rewards of their sacrifice to stay safe and stay on the court.

Bound Brook has finished the regular season with an 11-0 mark, entering the postseason as the only undefeated team out of the 54 calling either the GMC or Skyland Conference home.

All but one of Bound Brook’s games came against league competition, with their lone out of conference game coming against a Linden team whose 1-11 record is deceptive, by virtue of playing in the Union County Conference’s stacked Watchung Division – which includes Roselle Catholic, Elizabeth and Union – as well as Paterson Eastside and Montgomery.

Bound Brook won all four of its games this week: Monday at Linden 68-61, Tuesday at North Plainfield 56-41, Thursday at home against Bernards 73-61 (on Central Jersey Sports Radio), and Saturday afternoon against Voorhees 78-55.

LISTEN: Harrell, McLarty, Melesurgo talk No. 9 Bound Brook’s gut-check win over Bernards

The Crusaders are the top-seed in the “Gold Division” bracket of the Skyland Conference Tournament, which will include three ‘pods” this year, and for the first time ever put teams in Somerset, Hunterdon, Warren and Sussex Counties in the same field.

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