Boys basketball looks impressive vs. Chiefs

By: Redd E. Patrick
   Okay, maybe the foul shooting could have been better.
   When the South Brunswick High School boys’ basketball team dismantled Piscataway, 64-51, on Monday night to raise its record to 11-1, it was hard to find a flaw.
   The Vikings bolted to a 20-9 lead after one quarter, then stretched to a 42-19 halftime lead in a perfect 16 minutes of basketball on the road against a team which came into the game with a 9-3 record.
   Ten different players took part in the first-half assault with eight of them scoring. Sophomore guard Martin Soaries ignited the Vikings by coming off the bench to score 14 of his 18 points. Sophomore Davon Young also came off the bench to nail six of his 11 points. The Vikings, who shot 58 percent in the opening half, turned the ball over just five times during that span (10 for the game).
   "I couldn’t find too many things wrong in that first half," said South Brunswick coach Dave Turco, whose team was coming off an 80-37 victory over rival North Brunswick on Saturday. "And the best thing is that we had eight or nine guys involved."
   The Vikings scored just seven points in the third quarter, but the closest Piscataway could draw was 17 points. And when the fourth quarter began with a 5-0 South Brunswick run, the rout was on. Both teams entered the contest unbeaten within the Red Division of the Greater Middlesex Conference.
   Danny Stonkus, the club’s 6-9 center, played his usual steady game with eight points, 12 rebounds, six blocked shots and countless altered shots. Point guard Tommy Hill registered seven points and six assists.
   The Vikings held Piscataway to a season-low in points as players such as Coron Short, Mike Zwiren, Paul Taeffner, Joe Clancy, Nick Fazio and Brent Hunt all dug in to make it happen.
   "Everyone hustles on defense," said Soaries, the team’s top scorer at 13.5 points per game. "We run our plays, coach Turco has us prepared for every situation and every player we have contributes in some way. I think we’re the best team in Middlesex County."
   Two days before the clash with Piscataway, the Vikings crushed North Brunswick by 43. Once again, it was a team effort as 13 different Vikings scored, including 12 from Soaries, 11 from Hill and 10 from Fazio.
   "Before North Brunswick, we had three games where we had a chance to bury the other team, but wound up winning each game by about 10," said Turco, whose team shot 6-for-16 from the foul line. "So we stressed to the kids about coming out strong, putting pressure on the other team and keeping it up. We’ve done that two games in a row now."
   So now all the Vikings have to do in work on those foul shots.