By Jimmy Allinder
Spotswood High School boys basketball coach Steve Mate doesn’t believe the NJSIAA power point system is 100 percent accurate when it comes to state tournament seeds.
With the Central Jersey, Group II sectional underway, his team hopes to prove that point.
Despite a 21-5 overall record, including a Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Blue Division championship, the Chargers were seeded eighth and hosted ninth-seeded Delran High School (17-8) in the first round March 1. Beating the Burlington County team likely meant a March 3 game at top-seeded Bordentown Regional High School if the Scotties got by 16th-seeded New Providence High School.
“There are questions in my mind about how teams end up seeded where they are,” Mate said as he prepared his team to play in one of the state’s most competitive sectionals. “That may be so, but I’m only concerned about getting our team ready to play. If we stick to our up-tempo transition game, I think we can ‘upset’ some teams [based on our seed].”
The Chargers were exciting to watch during the regular season by out-hustling opponents and playing tough-nosed defense. It will be those same fundamentals that Spotswood employs in the state tournament which Mate hopes leads to upsets against higher-seeded teams.
“I won’t use the word, ‘overachieved,’ ” Mate said when asked about his team’s regular-season record. “Our performance wasn’t surprising to us, but we certainly had a successful season and hope that carries over to the state tournament.”
The East Brunswick High School boys (17-8) are also looking to generate a run in Central Jersey, Group IV, where the Bears are seeded sixth and hosted 11th-seeded Middletown High School North in the first round March 1.
East Brunswick certainly had incentive to get past the Lions because its next opponent could have been third-seeded South Brunswick High School, which knocked off the Bears in the GMC Tournament semifinals Feb. 23.
South River High School (17-10) received the second seed in Central Jersey, Group I and defeated 16th-seeded Academy Charter High School, 57-48, in the first round. The Rams hosted Henry Hudson Regional High School March 2 in the next round.