Boys basketball: Ingram leads St. Joseph into GMCT semis; 3 more also advance

EDISON — The highly anticipated duel between St. Joseph High School’s Josh Ingram and South Plainfield’s Brandon Dean never materialized in Sunday’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Middlesex County College.

As far as St. Joseph was concerned, it didn’t have to.

Dean may have won the battle between two of Middlesex County’s leading scorers, outscoring the St. Joseph forward by a 28-12 margin. But Ingram and the Falcons won the war, posting a 60-42 victory that propelled them into Wednesday’s semifinal against top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas.

Ingram entered the game having scored 32 points or more in three of the Falcons’ last four contests, with sharp-shooting Jeremy Clayville sidelined for his eighth game since suffering a high ankle sprain. But with South Plainfield tilting their defense in his direction, the smooth operator trusted his teammates.

Ingram did not attempt a shot in the first quarter, but did deliver assists on three of St. Joseph’s first six baskets.

Anthony Williams, who also recently returned from an ankle injury, was the recipient of those passes, as he scored St. Joseph’s first 10 points, notching 12 in the first quarter, which ended with the teams deadlocked at 14-14.

Ingram attempted two shots in the second quarter and failed to score, but the Falcons still enjoyed a 27-24 edge at the break. St. Joseph got a huge lift from junior Jeremy DeCaro, who has seen his minutes increase since Clayville’s injury and contributed five points, three rebounds and two assists in the second quarter.

Dean, on the other hand, scored 15 before the break, including 15 of his team’s final 20 in the half.

Ingram didn’t score until the second minute of the third quarter and didn’t sink a field goal until two minutes later, yet St. Joseph extended its lead to 41-32 entering the final period.

Ingram did, eventually, have his signature moment, scoring seven consecutive points to provide St. Joseph’s first 20-point lead at 58-38, as the Falcons closed out the contest by outscoring the Tigers, 21-10, in the final stanza.

It was then that the Falcons could turn their attention northward up Plainfield Avenue and begin thinking of St. Thomas, entertaining visions of a close encounter for the third time.

WHAT IT MEANS

St. Joseph advances to Wednesday’s semifinal round of the GMCT at Monroe.

KEY PLAY

With St. Joseph clinging to a 32-28 lead early in the third quarter Ingram found David Caruso open for one of his four 3-pointers. After a stop, Ingram attacked the rim for his first bucket to up the margin to 37-28, and South Plainfield never got back within five points thereafter.

BY THE NUMBERS

Williams topped St. Joseph with 22 points, adding 12 boards and two blocks. Caruso’s dozen points all came from beyond the arc, while DeCaro chipped in 10 points and five caroms. Ingram had six assists and three blocks.

Only four players scored for South Plainfield, with Tareak Williams’ nine second to Dean.

GAME BALL

St. Joseph coach Jan Cocozziello calls Williams “the heart and soul of our team,” and the senior forward showed why from his early barrage until he left the contest after producing four points, three rebounds, a block and an assist in the decisive fourth quarter. His energy lifted his entire squad.

THEY SAID IT

“My mentality going into the game was to play my hardest and to do whatever I could to help the team,” Williams said, before noting the Falcons’ 71-57 victory over South Plainfield earlier in the season. “The big difference this time is that it is a quarterfinal, we had to come out ready to play. We’ve been ready for this game since the season started. I think what really made me play my hardest were my teammates, they’re always motivating me in practice and off the court, that’s really what motivates me to bring the best I can.”

“It’s helped me get more experience on the floor,” DeCaro said of Clayville’s injury. “I didn’t play much last year and I’m getting more chemistry with the guys. We’re hoping Jeremy can come back for a State run but, if not, we know how to play together. We just have to play well together. I felt good. I played in games like this during football, you don’t worry about what people think, just play the game and focus on your team, and that’s what we did. We came, we played together and we got the win.”

“I just think he saw four black shirts and it gets a little tough,” St. Joseph coach Jan Cocozziello said of Ingram’s offensive mindset. “I always tell him, ‘it’s not easy being king.’” On the contributions from Williams and DeCaro: “Anthony has always had it, he’s just the type of kid who knows his role and gets what he has to do. He makes us go. When his level is high, every one else is high. With DeCaro, it doesn’t matter if he’s starting or coming off the bench, he‘s our sixth man, he takes on any role. Guard the best player, guard a guy bigger than him. Pass the ball, shoot the ball, bring the ball up. He’s just a kid who wants to win. When you have guys like that in the locker room, it’s contagious.” On St. Thomas: “They’re big, they’re physical, they have two guys that already have full rides in Division 2. Deuce Jones could arguably be player of the year, he’s a good passer, he can shoot it, post up. (Jalen) Pichardo’s a load inside. They have good kids that come off the bench that are versatile. It’s going to be a tall task, Jeremy’s going to be out, but we’ll do what we gotta do and let the chips fall where they fall.”

WHAT’S NEXT

St. Joseph will take on top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas in the second semifinal Wednesday at Monroe at 7 p.m. The two have met twice this year, with St. Thomas prevailing by a mere total of seven points. South River will face South Brunswick in the first game at 5. South Plainfield awaits the release of its bracket for the state tournament Monday.

ELSEWHERE

South River 80, North Brunswick 58: Third-seeded South River (23-2) jumped out to a 13-0 lead and built an insurmountable 24-2 advantage after the opening quarter. Sixth-seeded North Brunswick (20-4) narrowed the deficit to single digits once, at 53-45 late in the third period, but the Rams gradually built their lead back up in the fourth. Laz Rodriguez powered South River with 18 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots, Roman Santos contributed 18 points and nine boards, Alex Grospe delivered 14 points and four assists and his brother, Jeremy, drained four 3s in scoring 12 points. Alani Ajigbotosho was North Brunswick’s lone double-digit scorer with 22 points and eight boards. Frankie Garbolino contributed seven rebounds and five assists as the Raiders had an eight-game winning streak snapped.

South Brunswick 63, Colonia 43: After suffering two close defeats to third-seeded (19-8) Colonia in the regular season the sixth-seeded Vikings amassed a 12-point advantage in the first quarter and gradually broke the game open from there. The Patriots last led at 5-2 nearly two minutes into the contest before South Brunswick ran off 10 consecutive points and closed the quarter with a 16-1 spree for an 18-6 cushion. Kalani Antoine’s 20 points topped the Vikings while center Hamehar Chhabra showcased his versatility with 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Colonia was led by Jaeden Jones’ 14 points and eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks from Noah Taylor.

St. Thomas Aquinas 62, Piscataway 47: Hard to believe that the closest contest of the day was the one between the top-seeded Trojans (22-3) and eighth seed Piscataway (11-15). Deuce Jones delivered all 13 of his points in the first half as St. Thomas took a 38-29 lead, with help from 15 Chiefs turnovers. Jaden Kelly drained three 3s in scoring 11 points for the Trojans, Jalen Pichardo claimed seven boards and Kamal Lee distributed four assists. Khalid Brown’s 14 points paced Piscataway.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Boys basketball: Ingram leadsSJM into GMCT semis; 3 more advance