Vikings set to face Colonia in GMCT semifinals
Three local high
school hoops teams
prepare for state tourney
VERONICA YANKOWSKI South Brunswick’s Dan Stonkus goes up to block the shot of Old Bridge’s Shawn Williams during the Vikings’ 61-47 win in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament on Saturday.
And then there was one. Four local high school basketball teams entered the Greater Middlesex Conference Basketball Tournament with high ambitions, but only the South Brunswick boys remain standing, heading into the semifinal round.
The Vikings, the top seed in the boys’ bracket, continue to play like the conference’s best team, despite a scare from their cross-town rivals in their second-round game.
The North Brunswick boys, seeded 17th in the 29-team field, got past Perth Amboy, 51-49, to earn their shot at the Vikings in the Round of 16. The game was expected to be the next showcase for the Vikings, but Coach Haywood Vereen’s squad came out looking like anything but a top seed.
A missed three-point shot at the buzzer prevented the Raiders (9-13) from knocking off the 18-1 Vikings and advancing to the next round.
South Brunswick had jumped out to an early 14-8 lead after the first quarter, but watched the Raiders climb their way back into the game, outscoring their hosts 17-12 in the second quarter. At the half, the Vikings held a slight 26-25 lead, and realized that they were in for a tough game.
In the third, the Vikings, led by Drew Biri’s game-high 20 points and Mike Kneis’ 15 points, extended that lead to 40-36 entering the final stanza.
In the fourth, the Raiders began to believe in themselves and had a two-point lead with just 19 seconds left in the game. But the Vikings’ Kneis made a pair of foul shots to force overtime, and then opened the extra session with a three-pointer to give the Vikings a lead they would never relinquish.
The Raiders drew within a point when Rashone Myers made a pair of foul shots, but when the Vikings’ Joe Heiser made one of two from the charity stripe, the Raiders found themselves down two with just 8.2 left on the clock. A desperation three at the buzzer bounced off the rim, and the Vikings had survived the upset bid.
From there, the Vikes took on a dangerous Old Bridge squad in the quarterfinals and came away with a more convincing 61-47 win.
The Vikings opened the third quarter with a 12-0 run, then made 14 foul shots in the fourth quarter to knock off the Knights. Once again, Biri led the way, netting 22 points and six rebounds, while Kneis scored 13 points, helping the Vikings get past the ninth-seeded Knights and into the semifinal round.
The Vikings will face fifth-seeded Colonia tonight at Middlesex County College for the right to get to Sunday’s final at South Brunswick. Colonia got to the semis via wins over Metuchen (96-33), South Plainfield (76-51) and fourth-seeded Piscataway (65-60). In the Piscataway game, the Patriots trailed by 15 points at the half, but came back behind the strong play of Justin Chiera, Royce Morgan and Derek DuBois to take the lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
Game time is 8 p.m.
While the South Brunswick boys were defeating their cross-town rivals, the South Brunswick girls were not as fortunate against their North Brunswick counterparts.
After getting by 20th-seeded Perth Amboy in their opening round game, the 13th-seeded Lady Vikings squared off with No. 4 North Brunswick last Thursday in their second-round game.
The game was tight after one quarter, with the Raiders gaining an 18-17 edge. But in the second, the Raiders (15-7) padded their lead, outscoring the Vikes 16-9 to take a 34-26 edge into the break. In the third, the teams traded hoops with each team scoring 19 points, but a 10-2 run late in the quarter sealed the win for the Raiders.
Lorene Brown led the way for North Brunswick, scoring 28 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, while Meghan Jeffries (17 points) and Heather Domotor (13 points) led the way for the Vikings (12-9).
With the win over the Vikings, North Brunswick earned a shot at fifth-seeded Sayreville in the quarterfinal round, but fell to the Lady Bombers, 50-34. Sayreville jumped out to a 16-5 lead after one on Sunday, and never looked back.
North Brunswick cut the lead to 24-22 at the half, and trailed only 35-30 after three, but saw the Bombers go on a 17-4 run in the fourth to seal the win. Sayreville (14-5) used a 1-3-1 zone defense to neutralize Brown on the inside, holding her to just 13 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Bombers used a team effort on offense to earn the win and a shot at top-ranked East Brunswick in tonight’s semifinal round.
While only the South Brunswick boys remain alive in GMCT play, three of the local high school teams have qualified for state tournament play, which is set to get under way on Monday.
The South Brunswick boys received the No. 1 seed in the CJ Group IV bracket, and will host the winner of Monday’s Hillsborough/Bridgewater-Raritan game on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Among the teams expected to challenge the Vikings for the sectional title are second-seeded Carteret, a team the Vikings are familiar with, and No. 3 seed Manasquan, who plays CBA in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals tonight in Red Bank.
Other teams that will compete for the title include Middletown North (No. 4), fifth-seeded Monroe and sixth-seeded Sayreville.
As for the South Brunswick girls, they received the No. 15 seed in the CJ Group IV bracket, and will travel to No. 2 Hillsborough on Monday for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Meanwhile, the North Brunswick girls, the No. 13 seed in CJ Group IV, will travel to East Brunswick to take on the fourth-seeded Bears. The Bears are the top team in the GMC and the favorite to win the GMCT this weekend. But even the Bears are a long shot to take home the state sectional, with the state’s top-ranked team from Marlboro in the bracket as the No. 1 seed.