MSU basketball beats Rutgers: Video analysis of MSU’s win in New York
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press beat writer Chris Solari analyze MSU’s win over Rutgers in New York.
The county tournaments are in full swing, most of the conference races are wrapped up, and the state-tournament cutoff looms.
(records in parenthesis, through Saturday)
1. Colonia (18-4) — last week No. 1 — The Patriots snapped a rare, two-game losing streak by defeating Newark Collegiate Academy and knocked off national power La Lumiere (IN) before losing to Camden. Colonia will commence its defense of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title on Thursday against the winner of Tuesday’s game between South Brunswick and Monroe.
2. Piscataway (19-4) — last week No. 2 — The Chiefs extended their winning streak to seven games by beating Monroe and Franklin, before handing A.L. Johnson its first defeat. Piscataway will host the winner of Tuesday’s Edison at North Brunswick GMCT clash on Thursday, and, should it prevail, hosts the entire quarterfinal round on Saturday.
3. Linden (11-9) — last week No. 3 — The Tigers fell to Union Catholic and Roselle Catholic, then posted road wins at Union and Rahway last week. The No. 6 seed in the Union County Tournament , Linden will host the winner of Tuesday’s game between Hillside and Cranford on Thursday, with the winner taking on No. 3 Union Catholic in the quarterfinals.
4. Sayreville (18-2) — last week No. 4 — The area’s hottest team made it 10 wins in a row following victories over South Plainfield and Ferris. Sayreville will face the winner of Tuesday’s county tournament contest between Piscataway Magnet and Metuchen, with the possibility of meeting South Plainfield for a third time in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
5. St. Thomas Aquinas (13-7) — last week No. 5 — The Trojans lost to Arts, followed by triumphs over Point Pleasant Boro and College Achieve-Asbury Park. St. Thomas hosts the winner of Tuesday’s match between Spotswood and Perth Amboy on Thursday.
6. South Plainfield (15-6) — last week No. 6 — The Tigers defeated Cranford, lost to Sayreville for the second time, then edged Blue Division champ Timothy Christian. South Plainfield will meet the winner of South River vs. Middlesex on Thursday in GMCT action, with the possibility of a third encounter with Sayreville on Saturday.
7. Old Bridge (12-9) — last week unranked — The Knights continued to build on the momentum from last month’s upset of Colonia by defeating Perth Amboy, Woodbridge and Middletown South, and have won six games in a row. Old Bridge will host the winner of Tuesday’s game between North Plainfield and Dunellen in the GMCT third round Thursday.
8. Rahway (10-10) — last week No. 8 — The Indians avenged last month’s loss to Hillside in between setbacks to Irvington and Linden. Rahway hosts New Providence in the UCT on Monday and would confront the winner of Scotch Plainfield-Fanwood vs. Governor Livingston, should it prevail.
9. Woodbridge (11-9) — last week No. 7 — The Barrons lost to Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Old Bridge before edging Hunterdon Central. Woodbridge will host the winner of Tuesday’s game between J.F. Kennedy and East Brunswick on Thursday.
10. Timothy Christian (12-7) — last week unranked — The Tigers posted one-sided wins over Carteret, New Brunswick and Edison to claim the Blue Division crown before suffering a five-point loss to South Plainfield. Timothy Christian hosts Perth Amboy Magnet on Tuesday in the GMCT.
Others receiving consideration: East Brunswick (12-10), Middlesex (15-6), North Brunswick (8-14), Perth Amboy (11-10), Spotswood (14-8)
Middlesex snapped Spotswood’s eight-game winning streak to capture the Gold Division title on the Chargers’ home court with a taut 62-59 triumph on Thursday. Julian Samuels (18 points), Owen Reynolds (17) and Dom Parenti (16) provided most of the offense for the Blue Jays, who held on after taking an 11-point lead into the final quarter. The loss dropped Spotswood from the likely 11th-seed in the GMCT down to 20th.
Timothy Christian clinched the Blue Division crown with a 71-37 thrashing of Edison Thursday for its third divisional victory of the week. Jalen Fleming dropped 24 points in that one and followed that by torching South Plainfield for 43 points in a five-point setback. Chukwudi Raphael Mamah once again dominated inside against Edison with 13 points and 15 boards.
Colonia announced its presence on the national stage with a 51-50 decision over a loaded La Lumiere squad from Indiana. Aiden Derkack poured in 33 points and deposited the game-winning 3-pointer against a squad with two McDonald’s All-Americans and seven Division 1 players.
High school basketball can often be dispiriting, with adults, at times, belittling children for shooting an air ball or chastising the referees on every whistle. Then there is the feel-good story that developed Friday night in North Plainfield when Canucks coach Derrick Canada inserted seldom-used sophomore guard Misael Martinez into a one-sided win over New Brunswick.
Martinez’s entrance into the contest thrilled the crowd, which began chanting his name. With his teammates encouraging him to shoot, Martinez missed his first six shots, before Austin Potts gathered in a miss and handed it to the bespectacled sophomore. New Brunswick’s Radames Rosado practically set a screen to ensure that none of his teammates would try and block the shot. When Martinez banked in a layup for his first varsity points, the crowd erupted, while Potts, who scored 27 points, displayed his wildest smile of the evening.
Here are the matchups for Tuesday’s GMC Tournament play-in games, with seedings in parentheses.
17-South Brunswick at 16-Monroe: The former Red Division rivals meet for the dubious honor of facing defending champion and top-seeded Colonia. South Brunswick prevailed, 45-35, when they met in Monroe’s holiday tournament in December.
25-J.F. Kennedy at 9-East Brunswick: J.F. Kennedy is riding its first three-game winning streak in five years, while East Brunswick has a 26-point triumph over third-seeded Sayreville on its résumé.
21-North Plainfield at 12-Dunellen: North Plainfield will take the short ride down Route 22 to take on the Silver Division champs. Though both teams competed in Dunellen’s holiday tournament, they did not meet.
20-Spotswood at 13-Perth Amboy: Two teams that are trending upward, as Spotswood has won nine of its last 10 outings, while the Panthers have prevailed in five of their last six.
19-Piscataway Magnet at 14-Metuchen: Piscataway Magnet has won 11-of-13 outings, with both setbacks to division champion Dunellen. Metuchen, which has defeated Old Bridge, recently had a baffling three-game slide and defeated the Raiders, 52-41, in December.
22-South River at 11-Middlesex: The Gold Division rivals will be meeting for the third time this season. South River prevailed in December, 64-63, and the Blue Jays answered with an 88-54 thrashing last month. South River senior Alex Grospe enters Monday’s game against Matawan needing 70 points to reach 2,000 for his career, so that could be in play as well.
26-Perth Amboy Magnet at 10-Timothy Christian: Perth Amboy Magnet has won three of its last four, including Saturday’s play-in victory at Carteret. The Tigers have also won three of four after Saturday’s five-point loss to South Plainfield.
18-Edison at 15-North Brunswick: Both teams play at warp speed, so this should be an entertaining, uptempo match. North Brunswick prevailed 67-44 when they met in January.
REGULAR SEASON
East Brunswick Magnet (0-20) at Brearley (0-16), 5:30 p.m. Tuesday: One of these teams will secure its first victory of the season. The hosts from Kenilworth went 0-10 in football as well.
