of state playoff berth
Spotswood boys only local team assured
of state playoff berth
By richard jerome
Staff Writer
The East Brunswick High School boys’ basketball team went into the current campaign with a good many players left over from last season’s 13-13 squad.
And so Coach Bo Henning had some reason for optimism. But events haven’t played out as well as hoped; the Bears entered yesterday’s bout against Piscataway with a 5-8 record.
"That’s been disappointing," said Henning, whose club most recently lost a 60-49 contest to J.P. Stevens of North Edison. "We’re struggling with an experienced group. We just can’t get things going. Every time we start to make progress, someone gets hurt or comes down with an illness."
The Bears have played solid defense all year, but have had problems putting points on the board.
"Our 6-8 senior, Gordon Hurley, has scored 15 points a game and pulled down nine rebounds," adds Henning. "But we’ve been having trouble coming up with a second and third scorer."
The lineup has seen a good bit of shuffling. Danny Miller, a 5-11 senior, starts at point guard, joined in the back court by seniors Mike McAndrew (5-7) and Bob Manetta (5-10).
Sean Coll, a 5-11 senior, is at small forward, while the other forwards are sophomore Aaron Horace and junior Jason Jones, both of whom stand 6-2.
"We’ve played 11 guys, so there are several coming off the bench," Henning says.
Those would be juniors Evan Lubcher (5-8), Andrew Silver (5-10), Jibril Holmes (5-11) and Mark Metry (5-9), along with 6-1 sophomore Dan Fessel.
Henning, who is assisted by Mark Motusesky, leads the Bears against St. Joseph’s of Metuchen tomorrow at home.
The Bears need to get hot quickly, as the deadline to qualify for the state playoffs is rapidly approaching. Teams must be at or above .500 at the end of play on Feb. 8. Beyond yesterday’s game with Piscataway and St. Joseph’s game on Friday, the Bears have three games next week against Cranford (Monday), Old Bridge (Wednesday) and Edison (Friday). East Brunswick needs to win four of the five games to qualify, no easy task considering the quality of the teams they are facing.
Notes… The Bears are not alone in their fight to qualify for the state playoffs. The majority of the local boys’ teams are in a similar position as the deadline approaches, with only Spotswood assured of a postseason appearance.
The Chargers are 11-3 following Tuesday’s 57-36 win over South River, and seem poised to have a solid postseason run in both the state tournament and the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament.
The loss to Spotswood dropped South River to 6-7, with just five games left before the deadline. The Rams face St. Mary’s later today (1-8), Perth Amboy Tech (9-3) tomorrow, and Highland Park (6-6), Bishop Ahr (6-6) and Somerset Vo-Tech next week. South River needs to win three of the five to qualify for states.
The Old Bridge Knights are at 8-6 following Monday’s 54-44 win over J.P. Stevens, and faced South Brunswick last night in a key contest between two teams fighting for their playoff lives. They have just two games remaining before the cutoff, Wednesday at East Brunswick and Friday at Piscataway. A win last night would have clinched a berth, whereas a loss would mean the Knights need a win next week.
Sayreville entered last night’s game against Carteret at 7-5, with four games scheduled before the cutoff. The Bombers face South Plainfield on Friday, Bayonne on Monday, Monroe on Wednesday and Colonia next Friday, needing only two wins before the cutoff to qualify. Sayreville is also in the midst of a battle for the White Division title, entering this week in a tie for first with North Brunswick.
A Feb. 11 meeting between those two teams in Sayreville could very well decide that championship.
— Doug McKenzie contributed to this story