By Warren Rappleyea
South Brunswick High School’s boys’ bowling team has won three straight following the holiday break to extend its winning streak to six matches.
The Vikings bested Monroe Township High School, 3-1, Jan. 6, as Tyler Kohutanycz rolled a 620 series and Noah Li tallied a 619 and South Brunswick raised its record to 8-2-2 on the season. Kohutanycz led his team with a 704 series, including a 267-pin game, the previous day in a 4-0 success against Piscataway Township High School. Li, Chan Woo Ang, Nick Delacruz and Anthony Fama all surpassed the 600-mark in the win.
Earlier in the season, South Brunswick fell to Monroe and forged a tie with Piscataway. Kohutanycz, Delacruz, Fama and Li also had 600-pin series in a 4-0 triumph over John P. Stevens High School Jan. 3.
The Lady Vikings also had a successful week on the lanes, although it ended Jan. 6 with a 3-1 loss to Monroe despite a 634 series by Emily Alvarez. Kirsten Thorne rolled a 563 series for South Brunswick.
Coach Tara Burniston’s team downed Piscataway, 4-0, Jan. 5, as Alvarez led the way with a 526 series. Thorne added 435 pins and sophomores Rachel Guido and Khalya Maharaj posted identical scores of 432 pins.
Alvaraz was outstanding in her team’s first game after the break, a 4-0 victory over J.P. Stevens Jan. 3. The senior opened the new year with a perfect game en route to a season-high 750-pin series. South Brunswick’s girls are now 9-3 overall.
North Brunswick Township High School’s girls, meanwhile, fell to 6-4 after defeats to East Brunswick High School and New Brunswick High School. Trinity Gray posted a 568 series and Carly Lodise rolled a 488 in the latter match. The Raiders had won four in a row to close out 2016.
The Raiders’ boys opened 2017 with a 4-0 victory over New Brunswick, as David Burrows ran up a 536 series, including a 225-pin game. North Brunswick is now 3-7-2 after dropping successive matches to Saint Joseph High School of Metuchen and Edison High School, respectively. Gavin Lugo had a 560 series in the Edison match and Alexander Bursac ended up with a 559.
Basketball
On the hardwood, Michael Ugarte poured in 25 points, including eight from the free-throw line as South Brunswick’s boys bounced back from their first loss with a 59-46 win against East Brunswick Jan. 5. Tavian Alford pitched in with 10 points and Greg Lee added eight points for the winners, who now stand at 6-1 this winter. Ugarte scored 20 points in his team’s Jan. 3 loss to Piscataway. Lee added nine points and Kunal Thakral scored eight points.
North Brunswick’s boys have three straight wins after downing Edison, 60-47, Jan. 5. The Raiders led 28-15 at halftime and kept the Eagles at bay the rest of the way. Maneet Batra led the offense with 18 points, while Adryan Salazar and Jordan Salisbury scored 10 points apiece.
Salazar and Batra has 15 points each to pace a 63-47 victory over New Brunswick Jan. 3. North Brunswick (4-3) ended 2016 with a 47-44 success against East Brunswick.
South Brunswick’s girls team lost a heartbreaker to Bishop George Ahr High School Jan. 7, as the visiting Trojans outscored the home team 14-6 in the final quarter to take a 47-45 decision. Alexis Adams led the Lady Vikings with 19 points.
Amber Brown scored 30 points Jan. 5 to lead South Brunswick past East Brunswick, 56-34. Adams added 10 points and as many rebounds. The Lady Vikings opened the new year with a 58-43 loss to Piscataway in a game that saw Brown sink 10 free throws and score 23 points. South Brunswick, which opened the campaign with five successive wins, is now 6-2.
Cynthia Williams’s 18 points keyed North Brunswick’s girls as the Raiders returned from the holiday break with a 46-27 win against New Brunswick Jan. 3. Khayla Flemmings contributed 12 points to the successful effort. On Jan. 5, Piscataway’s 34-19 edge at halftime proved too much to overcome as the Raiders fell, 50-40. Williams again had 18 points, while Flemmings had nine points.