Colonia High School Boys basketball team advanced to the Greater Middlesex Conference tournament semi-finals on Sunday, February 23rd, when they beat the 4thseeded, North Brunswick, 53-46 in an upset at Middlesex County College.
The boys were given the fifth seed in the tournament out of 31 teams thanks to a 14-4 record this season. Junior guard, Chris Silletti said, “The team worked hard all season and deserved the high seed.”
On Sunday, the boys beat the North Brunswick Raiders thanks to a late game comeback. The boys outscored the Raiders 26-13 in the fourth quarter to bring them back from a 7 point deficit after three quarters. Two 3 pointers by junior guard, Brandon Haines, late in the game helped spark the comeback. The win could be accredited to 18 points from sophomore guard, Chase Barneys.
The game was played at Middlesex County College which was a neutral court for the two teams. The neutral environment “gave no team an advantage” according to Junior forward, Chris Handville.
The team did not do anything special to prepare for the game, they just, “watched film and treated it like any other game,” according to Silletti. Treating it like just another game has been what the team has done all season in preparation for their games.
The boys now will take on St. Joseph’s High School on Tuesday, February 25th, at South Brunswick High School. Colonia lost the two previous times they played St. Joseph’s by scores of 38-63 and 56-78. The players are optimistic this time though with Handville said, “They’re a very good team, but it is a winnable game for us if we work hard enough.”
St. Joseph’s was 23-2 this season and landed the #1 seed in the tournament. They are the favorites to win it all.
Making it all the way to the semi-finals of the tournament was a big step up for the team that took until the state tournament to get their 10th win last season. It’s “exciting and feels great to be in the semi-finals” according to Handville.
The team expects to go as far as possible in the tournament and is not satisfied with just making it to the semi-finals and hopes to go further. Silletti said, “We are going to play the best we can and even if we aren’t expected to win, will try our best and work hard.”
After the GMC tournament, the boys will have the state tournament that begins on Monday, March 3rd with a home game.
