Sports Shorts

Monroe Township’s 9-year-old boys travel basketball team surprised some 10-year-old teams this weekend in the IHM tournament by gaining a split in their tournament play. They lost to Readington’s 10s (30-20) and then bounced back to upset St. Helen’s 10s (33-22). Matt Siemons, Dominick Morelli, Zach Gorham, Nick Wolfson and Kevin Brix made it into the scoring column against Readington, while the team’s defense was lead by Zach Pace, Justin Fleites, Aaron Potter and Kyle Crothers. In their upset victory over St. Helen’s, the team’s offense was lead by Brix, Gorham, Siemons, Wolfson, Morelli, Fleites and Crothers, while the defense was directed by Potter, Pace, Andy Dooley, Cameron Warech and Hector Marquez. This victory improved their season record to 15-4.

Monroe Township’s 10-year-old boys travel basketball team lost to Howell (48-45) in their bid to reach the finals of the Monmouth Youth Basketball League. Ryan Genevieve (six 3-pointers) and Danny Brix (two assists) combined for a 32-point performance, while Victor Sorrento and Ryan Germano (four rebounds) combined for 13 points in the setback. Monroe did bounce back quickly with a victory over Milltown (45-20) in Central Jersey League play. This victory earned them a first-place division finish and the top seed in the upcoming league playoffs. Game highlights included Sorrento, Brix and Genevieve combining for a 30-point, eight-steal performance, while Tyler Cushman, Germano, Ahmid Williams, Chris Viani, Chris Laino, Brian Nale and Peter Gulick combined for 15 points, 10 steals and 15 rebounds. The 10s improved their season record to 25-5.

With a thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 victory, the U10 Monroe Raptors clinched the MCCC Indoor Soccer title for a second consecutive year. Posting an undefeated season in 2004 (7-0-3), the Raptors repeated as division champions in 2005 by posting a 9-0-1 record, while allowing a division-low seven goals. Forwards Zachary Andren, Andrew Hruszanyk, Fletcher Markulin and Aaron Potter generated offensive pressure throughout the entire season, while midfielders/fullbacks Kevin Brix, Sean Doyle and Domenic Polidoro showed a commitment to defense and provided additional offensive support. Goaltender Nick Wolfson notched four shutouts, improving upon his three from 2004. The Raptors will be looking to capitalize on their momentum as their spring campaign begins March 20.

The East Brunswick Hurricanes U10 boys basketball team beat the East Brunswick Eagles, 36-34. Leading scores for the ’Canes were Anthony “Nooch” Giusit and Tyler Flood with eight points a piece, Bob Fullem and Zack Lublin with six points a piece, and Mike Fraass chipped in with five points. The ’Canes have finished up 6-4 in their regular season games in the Central Jersey League. The first round of playoffs are this weekend against the East Brunswick Timberwolves at the St. Mary’s gym in South River.