Boys basketball rankings: Greater Middlesex Conference and area UCC Top 10, through Jan. 6
The holidays are behind us, as is the first week of January, giving us plenty to look back on and even more to look forward to.
Home News Tribune Boys Basketball Top 10
1. Linden (7-2) – preseason No. 1 -- The Tigers’ setbacks have come at the hands of Peninsula Catholic (Va.) and, last week, to arch rival Elizabeth. Linden will only get stronger and longer when a pair of frontcourt transfers become eligible shortly.
2. St. Joseph (6-1) – preseason No. 4 -- The Falcons edged Colonia, 43-42, in a key Red Division triumph before the holidays. The Metuchen school’s only blemish was to Ridge in the championship game of the Whitey Dukiet Tournament.
More: Boys basketball rankings, notebook: Skyland Conference, area UCC, through Jan. 6
3. Monroe (8-1) – preseason unranked -- The Falcons have reeled off eight consecutive triumphs after a season-opening, overtime loss to Old Bridge. Included in that run was a stunning 58-43 decision over St. Thomas Aquinas.
4. St. Thomas Aquinas (9-2) – preseason No. 2 – The new-look Trojans got off to a 7-0 start, then split their past four outings. The first loss came to South Jersey power Middle Township, and the second at Monroe last week.
5. Colonia (6-3) – preseason No. 3 – The Patriots’ three losses have been by a total of six points, to St. Joseph, Hunterdon Central and Westfield. Colonia hosts St. Thomas in a crucial Red Division match on Thursday.
6. South Plainfield (7-3) – preseason No. 8 – The Tigers have taken the lead in the heated White Division race with triumphs over Woodbridge and Sayreville. South Plainfield has also suffered surprising defeats to East Brunswick and Edison, the latter of which could impact the divisional race.
More: Boys basketball: South Plainfield outlasts Sayreville in OT for key GMC White win
7. North Brunswick (7-3) - preseason unranked - The Raiders extended their winning streak to three games with a White Division victory at Sayreville on Saturday. An opening-night loss to South Plainfield is the Raiders only setback to a GMC foe this winter.
8. Old Bridge (5-6) – preseason unranked – On the plus side, the Knights handed Monroe its only loss, thrashed Woodbridge by 26, and fell to St. Thomas and St. Joseph by a combined total of five points. On the negative side are losses to Piscataway and Perth Amboy, and an 18-point defeat to Colonia.
9. Woodbridge (6-3) – preseason No. 5 – The Barrons have split their last six outings after a 3-0 start, which included the nine-point verdict over Sayreville. Woodbridge’s two wins in 2024 have been by a total of 64 points.
10. Sayreville (7-4) – preseason unranked – The Bombers beat Old Bridge and lost to Woodbridge in starting 6-1. Sayreville has scored as many as 103 points and yielded as few as 14 in separate outings.
ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Middlesex (6-3), Piscataway (5-5), Timothy Christian (5-3), Spotswood (5-5).
ON THE MOVE
Perth Amboy Magnet, which won only two games last year (after picking up a couple of independent foes following an 0-18 start), is 5-4 after Friday’s 50-40 win at Dunellen.
The Patriots share the ball willingly, are dangerous in transition, can light it up from distance, and, most of all, appear to extract a great deal of joy from playing the game.
“They’re excited. They obviously had a tough year last season and they just feel good,” first-year coach Felix Romero said. “We had a hard time in the beginning of the season because we had to eliminate a lot of bad habits. We struggled, but I tried to let them know that there’s progress and we’ve been getting better week-by-week. For the most part, they see the big picture and they’re excited. They want to win this division, which is something they would never have felt was possible.”
Carteret (5-4) did not win its fifth game last season until, Jan. 25th. The Ramblers have a win over South Brunswick of the Red Division and handed Middlesex its lone setback in Blue Division play.
Though only 3-6 Edison posted one of the most surprising victories of the season when it knocked off South Plainfield, 61-49, in the opening round of the Anthony J. Cotoia Holiday Tournament. That victory took on added significance when both schools agreed to count it in the torrid White Division race. The Eagles used a 19-5 fourth-quarter advantage to rally for the victory.
Edison was at it again Saturday, using a 22-11 fourth-quarter edge to overcome a nine-point deficit in defeating East Brunswick, 61-59.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
The most consequential GMC outcome to date was Monroe’s 58-43 dismissal of St. Thomas Aquinas last week, which has opened up the Red Division race. St. Joseph (5-0) now leads the division with St. Thomas (5-1), Monroe (4-1) and Colonia (3-1) in close pursuit. This picture should become a little clearer Thursday when St. Joseph hosts Monroe and St. Thomas hosts Colonia.
South Plainfield (5-1) holds the edge in the White Division due to its head-to-head victories over Woodbridge (5-1) and North Brunswick (4-1), but a loss to Edison (1-5) could cost the Tigers down the road.
Timothy Christian (5-0) is the lone unbeaten squad in the Blue Division after its 78-70 verdict over Spotswood last week, but will be tested again at Middlesex (4-1) on Wednesday.
Calvary Christian (4-0) sits atop the Gold Division with South Amboy (4-1) and surprising Perth Amboy Magnet (3-1) in the mix.
A special shout-out to area teams that won their holiday tournaments: J.P. Stevens (Crusader Holiday Classic), Middlesex (Roselle Park), Monroe (Falcon Classic) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Vikings Invitational).
3 STARS
Two area performers have been lighting up the scoreboard while a third is crashing the boards.
Jeremy Clayville, St. Joseph: The area’s lone D-1 commit (St. Francis, Pa.) torched Piscataway for 43 points on opening night after missing the end of last season due to a high-ankle sprain. The senior guard is averaging 22.3 points and has shown vast improvement getting to the rim while remaining one of the area’s best long-distance marksmen.
Alex Grospe, South River: After doing a stellar job as the Rams’ point guard last year as a sophomore, he returned this year as South River’s “points” guard. Grospe hit for 40 or more three times in his first six games before injuring an ankle in the first-half of a four-point showing against Henry Hudson, which lowered his averaged from 33.5 to 29.3, still tops in the GMC. He has not played since.
Keithan Shuler, Sayreville: While the Bombers have a slew of offensive weapons, the 6-foot-4 junior provides an inside presence this team was sorely lacking. Shuler claimed 19 boards in a win over South River, and showed his ability to battle in the paint against South Plainfield’s tandem of bigs. Sayreville has shown it can win without its leading scorers, but Shuler’s presence will be required for this team to continue to flourish.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
North Brunswick at Woodbridge, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday: Both teams enter with three-game winning streaks and just one loss in the White Division. North Brunswick won both meetings by double digits last year and it’s not too early to consider that head-to-head records will serve as tiebreakers at the GMC Tournament seeding meeting.
Monroe at St. Joseph, 5:30 p.m. Thursday: The top four teams in the Red Division all meet on Thursday so take your pick. Monroe gets an opportunity to reaffirm its legitimacy against the lone unbeaten club in the division.
St. Thomas Aquinas at Colonia, 5:30, Thursday: Both of these perennial powers are trying to avoid a second loss within the division. Colonia has won four of its last five, squandering a 21-point lead to Westfield in the loss. St. Thomas Aquinas required overtime to edge the Patriots by a point in their last meeting in February.
Also: There’s is a terrific lineup of local teams in Sunday’s (Jan. 14) five-game showcase at Kean University: Westfield vs. South Plainfield, 12 p.m.; Linden vs. Union Catholic, 1:30 p.m.; Elizabeth vs. Colonia, 3 p.m.; New Providence vs. Woodbridge, 5 p.m.; Scotch Plains-Fanwood vs. Montgomery, 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Boys basketball rankings: Greater Middlesex Conf.and UCC Top 10
