By Warren Rappleyea
South Brunswick High School’s boys’ basketball team remained dominant on the hardwood over the holiday break, taking all three games in the annual round robin Brunswick Classic in comfortable fashion.
The Vikings, who were set to resume the regular season Jan. 3 at home against Piscataway Township High School, have been outstanding in the early going. Coach Joe Hoehman’s team has outplayed its opponents and had only one fairly close call.
In the season opener against Old Bridge High School, the Vikings poured it on late in the final quarter, outscoring the Knights, 23-14, for the session to post a 62-53 win. In the Brunswick Classic, Hoehman’s team followed a familiar script, running out to an early lead and not looking back.
In the finale against New Brunswick High School Dec. 29, the Vikings led, 15-6, after one quarter and were 39-11 at the break. The veteran coach made extensive use of his bench in the second half as South Brunswick rolled to the finish line.
A year ago, the Vikings went 22-5, reaching the finals of the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Tournament and the semifinals of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group IV tournament. However, three key starters — Eric Savage, Jaier Garrett and Danesh Thirukumarin — were lost to graduation.
“We still have a lot of talented players, and several of them played important roles last season,” Hoehman said. “This year, we’re just going to be doing things a little differently. We had holes to fill, but we have the players to fill them.”
One of those players is Michael Ugarte. The senior guard is averaging nearly 18 points, which is 5.5 points more than a year ago, and has nine 3-pointers to his credit. He’s twice reached the 20-point mark this winter, including his season-high of 26 points in a win over Monroe Township High School.
Ryan Moran leads the team with 12 3-pointers and is averaging 10.4 points, which is more than five points higher than last winter when he nailed 34 treys. Guards Anthony Blakey Chris James, Tavian Alford and Kunal Thakral, who scored 20 points in the New Brunswick game, are all averaging more than five points. Senior Greg Lee mans the point along with Blakey.
While South Brunswick is clearly a guard-oriented outfit, the Vikings are looking for senior center Victor Huetz to provide a presence — and rebounds — under the rim. They will be looking to work some newcomers into the lineup to help in the forecourt as the season progresses.
“Having some players back who know what it takes to get the GMC final is a big plus,” the coach said. “They know how hard we have to work. We play in a tough [Red Division], and there are a lot of good teams in the conference. We have to be ready for every game.”