Sayreville boys need to right the ship fast
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff Old Bridge’s Cathy Rutter tries to get around J.P. Stevens’ Brittany Mullings during a recent game in Edison.

With just one game remaining before the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament (Friday’s home encounter with Woodbridge), Sayreville War Memorial High School basketball coach Gus Jaworski is looking to get his team back on the right track.

The Bombers, 11-7 on the year, have struggled of late, suffering losses on Tuesday to 8-11 North Brunswick, 57-51, and Colonia, 52-58. Prior to its last four games, Sayreville had been averaging more than 60 points per game.

"It’s been a tough stretch, and right now the guys have to recommit themselves to doing the things in the games that we practice," Jaworski said. "We’re not defending or rebounding well and because of that, we can’t run our fast break. That’s costing us 12-14 points a game."

Against North Brunswick, the Bombers found themselves down early and just could not recover. In the Colonia game, Sayreville trailed by 11 early in the fourth quarter before staging a furious rally that fell just short.

"We just have to get back to playing our game. I know that sounds simple, but it hasn’t been happening," the coach said. "So much of our game comes from our defense, and we just have not been clicking."

One of the keys for Sayreville is senior forward Pat Ryan, who averages 12 points to lead the team while also pulling down 10 rebounds. Ryan has been a stalwart all season at both ends of the floor.

Sophomore point guard Shaune Thomas, who averages 10 points and six assists, has been another bright spot.

Brian Mikalewski, a streak-shooting junior, averages 8.5 points and is coming off a 19-point performance against North Brunswick. Junior center Waclow Dziadosz has generally been a strong defensive presence in the middle where he averages 8.5 rebounds.

Jaworski also noted that his team has received good efforts from guard Sean Reeves, a junior who averages six points, and senior forward Shaun Johnson and junior guard Kevin Ryan, who come off the bench. The coach said that both Johnson and Ryan are so attentive on the bench that they can make an immediate impact when they enter a game.

After Woodbridge, a team Sayreville defeated handily earlier in the campaign, the Bombers will likely play a preliminary GMC tourney game on Tuesday. The Bombers have also qualified for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV playoffs, which start later this month.

Notes… The Bombers are one of only three local teams to qualify for the state tournament. Joining Sayreville as teams that had records of at least .500 or better as of Saturday are Spotswood, at 13-6, and South River, at 9-7

The Rams will likely get a rather low seed in the CJ Group II bracket, which will also feature Spotswood and New Brunswick (12-3).

Meanwhile, there are three local girls teams headed for the state playoffs, starting with the Old Bridge Knights, who at 11-5 will enter the very difficult Central Jersey Group IV bracket. They will be joined there by an East Brunswick team that qualified at the last minute by knocking off Edison on Friday, 42-38, to improve to 9-9 on the year.

South River is in the CJ Group II bracket after posting a 9-9 mark at the cutoff date.

The Spotswood Chargers missed out by a game after dropping a 36-30 contest to Dunellen on Friday to fall to 8-9 on the season.