Monroe makes late run at playoffs
Four local hoops teams on the bubble this week
BY RICHARD JEROME
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Above, Monroe’s Shamil Graham out jumps a Spotswood defender for a rebound during the Falcons’ win on Monday. At left, the Chargers’ John Dubovick tries to drive past a Monroe defender.

It’s been a bit of a seesaw campaign for the Monroe High School boys basketball team, which evened out its record at 8-8 with Monday night’s 63-39 victory over Spotswood.

That left an all-important match with Sayreville last night, which would determine whether the Falcons make this season’s state tournament.

“We got off to a good start, going 6-1,” said veteran coach Pete Lopresti. “We snuck up on some people early, then lost four straight. But I think we’re coming around again.

“Our strongest point is our defense,” he adds. “We’ve been doing some good things out there.”

Offensively, the main man is A.J. Rudowitz, who has averaged 17 points a game, along with 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Against the Chargers Monday, Rudowitz characteristically led the scoring with 21 tallies, adding nine boards and four steals.

“He’s our mainstay, our best all-around player,” Lopresti said. “We’ve also been getting some good nights out of Scott Basarab.”

One of them was Monday, when Basarab chipped in 18 points in the victory over Spotswood. Other key contributors include guards Kyle Sorensen and Dominick Rawle.

“When our guards do well, we do well,” Lopresti said. “When they struggle, we struggle.”

Notes... The Monroe boys were not the only local hoops team on the bubble in this, the last week before the state playoff deadline.

Teams must have a .500 record or better by the end of play Saturday to qualify, and a total of four local squads entered the week in need of some wins.

The East Brunswick Bears had their state playoff hopes take a big hit on Monday with a 48-46 loss to rival Sayreville. John Byrne netted 18 for the Bears, but it was not enough to hold off a Sayreville team (5-11) anxious to break a seven-game losing streak.

Shaune Thomas led the Bombers with 18, while Herbie Nieves scored the game-winning layup with just under 15 ticks left on the clock.

With the loss, the Bears fell to 7-8 with just two games left before Saturday — last night at Piscataway and Friday at Perth Amboy.

While the Chiefs, at 10-7, entered last night’s game playing with less desperation, after assuring themselves of a playoff spot with an upset of third-ranked South Brunswick (16-2) on Saturday, they promised to be a tough foe for the Bears as they are looking to regain the form that saw them race out to a 6-1 start before slipping a bit.

And as for Perth Amboy, the Panthers knocked off Piscataway Tech on Monday to get to 7-8 and may also be

playing for a state playoff berth on Friday.

Getting two wins over two quality teams will certainly be a chore for head coach Bo Henning’s Bears. If they get into the state tournament, they’ll have earned it.

The Old Bridge Knights have been stepping it up recently, but dropped a 69-52 contest to a new-look St. Joseph’s team on Monday. The loss dropped the Knights to 7-6 on the year, meaning they needed one more win to secure a berth.

Like East Brunswick, they have their work cut out for them. Rocky Knowles’ squad faced Perth Amboy last night, and will host South Brunswick on Friday. They were hoping to wrap up their spot last night, as needing to beat a superb Viking team still smarting from their loss to Piscataway is not the ideal opponent in a must-win situation.

That leaves the South River girls as the fourth local hoops team still seeking its playoff spot.

The Rams entered the week at 6-7 with three games on the slate — Cardinal McCarrick, Highland Park and Spotswood. First-year coach Steffanie Shoop’s Rams need to win two-of-three to get in, and were hoping to avoid a must-win situation against the 10-6 Chargers tomorrow.

Among the teams assured of state playoff berths are the South River boys (10-4), the East Brunswick girls (12-7) and the Spotswood girls.

A pair of milestones... Spotswood’s Jill Dickinson and Monroe’s Ali Baumlin both had reason to celebrate following the Chargers’ 58-46 win over the Falcons on Monday.

Both players eclipsed the 1,000-point scoring plateau during the game, further cementing their status as two of the top players in their respective programs’ histories.

Dickinson scored the first 10 points of the game and finished with a career-high 30 points, and now has 1,008 points for her career. Her 1,000th point came on a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter.

Baumlin finished with 11 points for the game, also giving her 1,008 for her career, and got her 1,000th point on a foul shot midway through the second quarter.