Playoff push begins for hoops, wrestling teams
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Old Bridge’s Brian Suozzo tries to roll Woodbridge’s Gary Griffin during a 125-pound bout on Jan. 19 in Old Bridge.

It’s approaching crunch time for local high school teams looking to qualify for the upcoming state tournaments.

For the high school basketball teams, next Saturday, Feb. 4, is the day by which they need to secure a .500 record or better to lock up a spot.

For wrestling, they have a bit more time, as the cutoff is not until the following weekend, Feb. 11.

But for a lot of local teams, there are only a handful of opportunities left to prove they belong in the postseason, making every matchup over the next week and a half critical.

Boys hoops

Heading into last night’s action, only three of the local boys squads had wrapped up their postseason berths, with another three teams sitting on the bubble.

The Monroe Falcons are cruising along, improving to 13-2 with a 73-41 win over Carteret on Tuesday night. A.J. Rudowitz, who scored 20 in the win, continues to lead a Falcons team looking to win its first-ever GMC title this season. The Falcons entered the week just one game behind both New Brunswick and Colonia, but picked up a game on the Zebras when they fell to Woodbridge on overtime on Tuesday night.

That leaves Colonia atop the division, as the Patriots improved to 12-2 (8-1 in the division) with a win over North Brunswick, the Falcons’ opponent last night.

With Colonia and Monroe splitting their games this season, the Falcons need the Pats to drop a division game at some point the rest of the way to get a shot at that elusive division title.

The South Brunswick Vikings are two games out of their the Red Division race (St. Joseph’s holds the top spot at 8-0), but the Vikings are assured of a playoff berth. The Vikings improved to 11-3 overall with a 68-52 win over Perth Amboy on Tuesday, as Malcolm Soaries led a balanced scoring attack that enabled his squad to overcome an early deficit.

The only other local team that is assured of a postseason berth is the East Brunswick Bears, who are 10-5 overall. East Brunswick suffered a tough 59-58 loss to Edison on Tuesday, which may have ended the Bears’ hopes for a division title. They entered the game just one game behind St. Joseph’s, and were hoping that their Feb. 7 showdown with the Falcons would have meant a shot at the division.

East Brunswick is hoping Edison has another upset up its sleeve tonight when they host St. Joe’s.

As for the local bubble teams, Sayreville’s boys improved to 6-6 with a hard-earned 47-43 win over South Plainfield on Tuesday. Kofi Genfi led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points, while Tom Robinson scored six of his 11 points, and Bryan Champagne six of his 10, in the final quarter, when the Bombers iced the game.

At 6-6, Gus Jaworski’s squad is in the middle of the White Division pack, but has put itself in good position to qualify for the states. Sayreville has four games left before the cutoff and needs to win two of them to get in. Unfortunately, all four games are on the road, starting with New Brunswick tonight, followed by East Brunswick (Monday), Monroe (Wednesday) and Woodbridge (next Friday).

The Spotswood boys are also on the bubble, entering last night’s game with Cardinal McCarrick at 5-6 following a tough loss to Bishop Ahr on Tuesday. The Chargers also have some must-wins on their plate over the next 10 days, starting with tomorrow night’s game at Highland Park. From there, they will take on Monroe on Monday at home, JFK on Tuesday, also at home, and Timothy Christian next Friday at home. The Chargers need to win two of three to clinch a berth.

That leaves the North Brunswick Raiders, who fell to 6-8 with their loss to Colonia on Tuesday. The Raiders are one of the GMC streakiest teams this season, and need to put together another win streak over the next few games to earn a postseason berth. In fact, they need to win four in a row, starting with tonight’s game in Monroe. From there, they will take on Edison on the road on Monday, Woodbridge at home on Wednesday, and New Brunswick on the road next Friday.

Girls hoops

While East Brunswick and South Brunswick’s girls are postseason bound, the verdict is still out for a few other local girls basketball teams.

The Bears and Vikings are in the midst of a three-team dogfight for the Red Division title. Entering the week, the Vikings had the upper hand with a 12-0 mark, and a 6-0 mark in the division.

However, just one game back are the Bears (13-2, 7-1) and the Piscataway Chiefs (10-3, 5-1). This looks to be a division battle that will come down the last week. However, tonight’s game in East Brunswick between the Bears and Vikings will help determine what kind of chances the Bears have to earn another division title.

As for the Vikings, with a win tonight and a win over Piscataway on the final day of the regular season (Feb. 9), the title is theirs.

The South River girls are officially on the bubble following a 53-42 loss to Spotswood on Tuesday. The loss dropped the Lady Rams to 8-8 on the year with just a couple of games left before next Friday’s cutoff. They will take on Cardinal McCarrick on Tuesday in South Amboy before hosting Highland Park next Thursday. One win, and they’re in.

As for the Lady Chargers, their win over the rival Rams improved them to 4-5 on the year, keeping alive their hopes for a postseason berth. They hoped to help their chances even more last night when they traveled to South Amboy to take on Cardinal McCarrick, and will host Highland Park tomorrow and Monroe on Monday. That leaves Tuesday’s game at JFK, and a home-and-home series with Mother Seton on Thursday and Saturday of next week before the cutoff.

Spotswood needs to go 4-2 over that stretch.

The Sayreville Bombers have an outside chance of earning a state playoff berth, but they need to play their best basketball of the year over the next few days. At 4-8 entering tonight’s game against Edison, the Bombers need to win their next four to get in. That will be tough, considering they get South Brunswick on Wednesday in South Brunswick. They will also face Carteret on Monday and J.P. Stevens next Friday.

As for the GMC Tournament, teams have a bit more time to assure themselves of a good seed, as that tournament will not be seeded until Feb. 11. The preliminary round will start Feb. 14, with the finals set for Feb. 23.

Wrestling

High school wrestling teams have an added week to ensure their berths in the state tournament, but by the looks of things, it’s going to come down to the wire for several of the local squads.

While Old Bridge is virtually assured of a return to the Central Jersey Group IV tournament, several other local teams are hovering around the .500 mark at this point.

The Knights (like everyone else in the GMC) were humbled a bit by South Plainfield on Saturday, dropping a 55-9 match to the state’s No. 1-ranked team. However, Old Bridge entered last night’s match at East Brunswick with an 8-2 mark, and was fifth in power points in CJ Group IV entering the week. This is a loaded section this season, with four teams (Jackson, Howell, Brick Memorial and Hunterdon Central) among the top 20 teams in the state.

The Sayreville Bombers are another team looking to earn a spot in the CJ Group IV tournament, and at 7-4 following a tough 31-24 loss to Red Division-leading Perth Amboy last week, they appear to be heading in the right direction under first-year coach John Denuto. Sayreville is currently the sixth-ranked team in the GMC, and is a program on the rise with a number of young grapplers earning their places among the conference’s elite.

As for the Bears, they entered last night’s battle with Old Bridge at 3-4, and in need of some wins over the next couple of weeks.

The same can be said for both the South River Rams and the Monroe Falcons. South River fell to 7-7 with a 38-19 loss to a solid Freehold Borough team on Tuesday, while the Falcons scored a big 35-28 win over East Brunswick on Saturday to improve to 7-7 on the year.

The Spotswood Chargers are quietly showing improvement this year, boasting a 7-5 record following a 39-31 win over Hopewell Valley on Monday. The Chargers have come a long way since last year’s 3-14 season, however, they too need to wrestle well over the next couple of weeks to assure themselves of a spot in the CJ Group I tournament.

South Brunswick’s depleted team suffered a loss to JFK on Saturday after beating Piscataway. The day’s action left the Vikings at 3-5 on the year. Across town, the North Brunswick Raiders posted their first GMC win of the year by beating Carteret last Wednesday. The Raiders are 2-3 on the year, but are showing improvement under head coach Bobby Januska after suffering through an 0-17 season last winter.

Sayreville is currently the sixth-ranked team in the GMC, and is a program on the rise with a number of young grapplers earning their places among the conference’s elite.

As for the Bears, they entered last night’s battle with Old Bridge at 3-4, and in need of some wins over the next couple of weeks.

The same can be said for both the South River Rams and the Monroe Falcons. South River fell to 7-7 with a 38-19 loss to a solid Freehold Borough team on Tuesday, while the Falcons scored a big 35-28 win over East Brunswick on Saturday to improve to 7-7 on the year.

The Spotswood Chargers are quietly showing improvement this year, boasting a 7-5 record following a 39-31 win over Hopewell Valley on Monday. The Chargers have come a long way since last year’s 3-14 season, however, they too need to wrestle well over the next couple of weeks to assure themselves of a spot in the CJ Group I tournament.

South Brunswick’s depleted team suffered a loss to JFK on Saturday after beating Piscataway. The day’s action left the Vikings at 3-5 on the year. Across town, the North Brunswick Raiders posted their first GMC win of the year by beating Carteret last Wednesday. The Raiders are 2-3 on the year, but are showing improvement under head coach Bobby Januska after suffering through an 0-17 season last winter.