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 (15-1) — last week No. 1 — The Patriots knocked off divisional rivals St. Joseph and St. Thomas Aquinas and also throttled Columbia to extend their winning streak to 12 games, the last seven all by double digits. Colonia hits the road for divisional matches at Monroe and Old Bridge before hosting Phillipsburg next Saturday.
2. Linden (9-5) — last week No. 2 — The Tigers lost a divisional game to Elizabeth and defeated St. Joseph of Metuchen. Another heinous week in the UCC Watchung awaits Linden with divisional clashes with Plainfield, Westfield and Union Catholic, the latter Sunday at Kean.
3. Piscataway (14-4) — last week No. 3 — The Chiefs edged No. 4 St. Thomas in between a split of non-conferences games, falling to Union City and beating Montclair. Piscataway’s lone divisional game this week is Thursday vs. St. Joseph with non-conference dates with Lincoln of Jersey City and Atlantic Tech.
4. St. Thomas Aquinas (10-5) — last week No. 4 — The Trojans keep plugging away, falling to divisional leaders Colonia and Piscataway and registering non-conference triumphs over Jackson Memorial and Phillipsburg. Monroe is the only divisional foe on this week’s card between non-conference dates with Paul VI and Lawrenceville.
5. Sayreville (14-2) — last week No. 5 — The Bombers have won six in a row, all by double figures, after divisional wins over Woodbridge and Perth Amboy. Sayreville gets another crack at No. 6 East Brunswick, which handed it its lone loss in the division, before traveling to Princeton on Saturday.
6. East Brunswick (9-7) — last week unranked — The Bears have won four in a row after knocking off Perth Amboy, South Plainfield and Edison last week. East Brunswick hits the road this week for games at Monroe of the Red Division and divisional foes Sayreville and North Brunswick.
7. South Plainfield (11-5) — last week No. 6 — The Tigers clawed South Brunswick before back-to-back losses at East Brunswick and Immaculata and have lost four of their last six. South Plainfield faces stiff opposition from within its division against North Brunswick and Woodbridge before taking on Cranford at Kean University on Sunday.
8. Woodbridge (9-6) — last week No. 7 — The Barrons fell to Sayreville and thumped North Plainfield. Woodbridge stays in division for outings with South Brunswick and South Plainfield before taking on Scotch Plains-Fanwood next Sunday at Kean.
9. Rahway (7-7) — last week No. 8 — The Indians defeated New Providence before setbacks to Scotch Plains-Fanwood and a mighty Plainfield squad. Rahway, which is third in its division, stays within the league in trekking to Cranford, second-place Oratory and Summit this week.
10. Timothy Christian (8-3) — last week No. 10 — The Tigers hang on to the tenth spot despite losing to North Brunswick in its only outing last week. Timothy Christian joins Colonia as the only GMC schools still undefeated in divisional play and will take on North Plainfield and Lawrence before traveling to Old Bridge of the Red Division on Saturday.
Others receiving consideration: Metuchen (12-3), Middlesex (11-4), North Brunswick (6-11), Perth Amboy (6-9) Spotswood (9-7).
When Piscataway edged St. Thomas Aquinas by a 76-72 margin on Tuesday, it clinched second-place in the Red Division and, most likely, the No. 2 seed in the upcoming GMC Tournament. Nate Davis powered the Chiefs with 30 points and Donald Nwaigwe, Josh Lima and Landon Pernell joined him in double figures. This year’s sweep of the Trojans snaps a six-game losing streak to the Edison school, which was still known as Bishop Ahr the last time the Chiefs defeated it.
“Everybody’s beating everybody” is how one White Division coach described the mayhem in the league, which was upended when East Brunswick (7-7) mowed down South Plainfield (11-3), 62-55, last Thursday. That followed a 16-point Tiger win over East Brunswick just 16 days earlier. East Brunswick amassed a 33-19 advantage by halftime and held on behind 19-point efforts by three-year starters Matt Mikulka and Cam Vick, both juniors.
You can be sure that Blue Division-leading Timothy Christian’s 54-45 loss Saturday to North Brunswick, currently sixth in the White Division, will be brought up at next week’s GMCT seeding meeting. As will the Tigers’ eight-point verdict over Gold Division-leading Middlesex last week. Tommy Koroma struck for 26 points and Srijay Bandi added 19 for the victorious Raiders.
Metuchen at Middlesex, 5:30 p.m. Monday: The host Blue Jays (4-1) could gain further separation from Metuchen (5-2) atop the Gold Division standings. Middlesex prevailed in their initial meeting, 51-44, behind 20 points from Dom Parenti and 16 from Owen Reynolds. The Blue Jays still have a game to play with Spotswood, which has won four in a row to match Metuchen’s 5-2 record in the division.
Woodbridge at South Plainfield, 7 p.m. Thursday: Anything, apparently, is possible in the White Division race. Woodbridge has won four of five but is still looking for that signature victory. South Plainfield is 2-4 since beating the Barrons, 70-58 on Jan. 11 in a game that was tied going into the fourth quarter. Jordan Jones powered the victory by pouring in 26 points, including a 10-of-15 showing from the foul line.
Dunellen at Piscataway Magnet, 5:30 p.m. Friday: The Destroyers posted a hard-fought 54-51 decision in their last meeting on Jan. 15. The Silver Division title could be at stake with Piscataway Magnet (9-2) holding a precarious lead over Dunellen (8-2), with Perth Amboy Magnet (6-3) trying to join the party. Ryan Hutchins and Jamael Davis led the Destroyers in the last outing and will have to step up again.
Note: Last weekend’s showcase at Kean University was cancelled by the snowfall, but there’s another one scheduled this week with a strong local flavor:
Sunday, Feb. 2
Scotch Plains-Fanwood v Woodbridge, 12 p.m.
Union Catholic v Linden, 1:30 p.m.
South Plainfield v Cranford, 3:30 p.m.
Westfield v Ridge, 5 p.m.
Montgomery v Notre Dame, 6:30 p.m.
![Best performances in Northern California high school basketball [Jan. 20-26]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3650,h_2053,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/high_school/01jjmpf5e1cghxypcg7s.jpg "Best performances in Northern California high school basketball [Jan. 20-26]")
