Purdue basketball freshman Gicarri Harris talks road win at Rutgers
Gicarri Harris made a big 3 and played solid defense Thursday at Rutgers. Hear what he said after the victory.
Another round of key results and standout performances throughout the area last week:
Home News Tribune Boys Basketball Top 10
(records in parenthesis, through Saturday)
1. Colonia (12-1) — last week No. 1 — The Patriots extended their winning streak to nine games with a second, double-digit win over No. 3 Piscataway and a non-conference rout of Hightstown. Colonia hosts divisional heavyweights St. Joseph and St. Thomas before a non-conference tilt against Columbia.
2. Linden (8-4) — last week No. 2 — The Tigers lost at Roselle Catholic, then defeated Union in league play. Linden hosts arch rival Elizabeth on Thursday, then meets St. Joseph on Saturday at A.L. Johnson in Clark.
3. Piscataway (12-3) — last week No. 3 — The Chiefs lost to No. 1 Colonia for the second time this season, then responded with one-sided decisions over Carteret and Old Bridge. Piscataway hosts St. Thomas Aquinas between non-conference fixtures against Union City and Montclair.
4. St. Thomas Aquinas (8-3) — last week No. 4 — The Trojans have won four in a row, despite ongoing turmoil regarding its coaching situation, with verdicts over Old Bridge, Saddle River Day and St. Joseph. St. Thomas travels to No. 1 Colonia and No. 3 Piscataway in huge divisional outings this week.
5. Sayreville (12-2) — last week No. 6 — The Bombers have won four in a row, including last week’s 17-point takedown of South Plainfield. Sayreville has a non-divisional skirmish against Carteret, followed by a pair of contests against ranked divisional foes in Woodbridge and Perth Amboy.
6. South Plainfield (10-3) — last week No. 5 — The Tigers incurred back-to-back divisional losses to Perth Amboy and Sayreville before posting a 17-point non-conference victory at Bernards. South Plainfield faces divisional foes South Brunswick and East Brunswick before a non-conference meeting with Immaculata.
7. Woodbridge (8-5) — last week No. 9 — The Barrons recorded divisional wins over North Brunswick, East Brunswick and Perth Amboy — the latter in triple overtime. Woodbridge hosts No. 5 Sayreville in a pivotal divisional match, followed by another league outing with North Plainfield.
8. Rahway (6-5) — last week No. 7 — The Indians squandered a double-digit lead in falling to Hillside in their only action last week. The schedule is a little busier this week with divisional dates with New Providence and Scotch Plains-Fanwood before taking on conference powerhouse Plainfield.
9. Perth Amboy (6-6) — last week No. 10 — The Panthers began the week by handing South Plainfield its first loss in the White Division and followed that with a win over North Brunswick and a triple-overtime setback to Woodbridge. Perth Amboy has a 9:30 a.m. date Monday against South River, followed by divisional road tests at East Brunswick and Sayreville and a non-conference journey to Hunterdon Central.
10. Timothy Christian (8-2) — last week unranked — The Tigers have won four in a row and have yet to lose to a GMC foe after Saturday’s riveting 73-65 trimming of Middlesex. Timothy Christian was slated to play an excellent Montgomery squad Monday, followed by easier contests with JP Stevens and North Brunswick.
Others receiving consideration: East Brunswick (6-7), Metuchen (10-2), Middlesex (10-4), Old Bridge 5-8).
There likely hasn’t been a bigger media turnout in the town of Dunellen since Olympian Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was in town as the Destroyers edged Piscataway Magnet 54-51 to take over first place in the GMC Silver Division on Wednesday. Jamael Davis deposited all 16 of his points in the second half after getting into foul trouble in the first, while Ryan Hutchins led the way with 19 points. These teams meet again on Jan. 31 in Piscataway.
What was expected to be a taut matchup for the White Division lead was upended when Sayreville outscored South Plainfield by a 44-17 margin over the middle two periods and cruised to 73-56 victory in South Plainfield. Chidi Chukwurah dropped in 23 points, and Sam Jones added 22 for the Bombers, who are also receiving strong play from starters Keithan Shuler, Joe Santamaria and Christian Torres. Sayreville hosts the rematch on Feb. 4.
A frenetic atmosphere awaited former Blue Division-rivals Timothy Christian and Middlesex when they met in a non-divisional clash on Saturday in which Timothy prevailed by a 72-65 margin. The Blue Jays trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter but managed to assume the lead, albeit briefly, before the hosts pulled away down the stretch. Chukwudi Raphael Mamah led the way with 23 points and 15 rebounds while Jalen Fleming added 19 to a game that could affect the GMC Tournament seedings.
St. Thomas Aquinas at Piscataway, 5:45 p.m. Tuesday: Second-place in the Red Division and the likely No. 2 seed in the GMCT will be at stake when these teams meet for the second time. Piscataway won the first meeting, 62-46, and both teams are 5-2 in divisional play. Piscataway coach Bob Turco coached St. Thomas last year and remains as the school’s vice principal.
Elizabeth at Linden, 7 p.m. Thursday: One of the state’s fiercest rivalries has its second installment of the campaign after Elizabeth prevailed in the first encounter, 71-58, last month. Elizabeth coach Phil Colicchio used to coach at Linden, adding another layer of drama.
Metuchen at Dunellen, 12:30 p.m. Saturday: With the GMCT seeding meeting less than three weeks away, this result could have major repercussions since head-to-head results are critical when comparing teams from different divisions. Dunellen begins play this week riding a seven-game winning streak, and Faber School will no doubt be rocking for this one. Metuchen, of the Gold Division, scored a big victory last week when it picked off Edison of the Blue. Now it faces a must-win again the Silver Division leaders.
