BASKETBALL

Boys Basketball: Woodbridge's Gigliello hits milestone, Top 10

Lauren Knego
Courier News and Home News Tribune

When Woodbridge High School boys basketball coach Matt Gigliello took over the program six years ago, reaching 100 career wins wasn't even on the radar. 

He wasn't even aware he was getting close until one of his assistant coaches told him about it. Regardless, the Barrons helped Gigliello to his 100th career victory on Jan. 20 with a 55-44 victory over Donovan Catholic. 

"It’s a nice accomplishment, it’s just attributed to the staff I’ve had over the years and having good kids," Gigliello said. "When I took this job I never thought I would get to 100 wins this soon, it never crossed my mind. I’ve had some really good teams over the last six years and I’ve had a lot of good players so it’s been a real pleasure to be able to coach here at Woodbridge."

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The past two seasons the Barrons have advanced to the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinals, but this season the team has struggled and is currently 7-6. 

"We’re a little up and down right now, we’re young and a little inexperienced," Gigliello said. "We’re doing a lot of good things in every game and hopefully at the end of the year we’ll start peaking and make a run in the county tournament."

Woodbridge saw four players return from last year's team, and senior Curtis Nesbit has been leading the way with 17.8 points per game. Junior Kesean Glover (10.2 ppg.) and senior Kemari Persol (13.3 ppg.) have also been catalysts this season. 

Gigliello isn't worried about his team because of the parity in the GMC this season. The Barrons have the experience and come tournament time, it could be anyone's game.

"Coming into the season we didn’t know what to expect, but seeing all the scores it’s very wide open. A lot of teams are beating each other, especially in the divisions, every night there seems to be different teams winning games that may not have won them in the past," Gigliello said. "It’s pretty wide open and it’s going to be pretty interesting to see how everything shakes out come tournament time."

TOP 10 

1. Linden (11-3): Linden had a two-game win streak snapped with a loss to Roselle Catholic on Tuesday. The Tigers have won six of their last eight games and looked to bounce back against St. Mary (Eliz.) on Thursday night. 

2. St. Joseph (12-3): St. Joseph has taken over the top spot in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division as its only division loss this season was against Piscataway back on Dec. 19. The Falcons defeated Piscataway in the second meeting of the season on Jan. 18, and have won five of their last six games. St. Joseph faced J.P. Stevens on Thursday night and will play Perth Amboy on Monday in Red Division games. 

3. Piscataway (12-3): Piscataway had a seven-game win streak snapped with a loss to St. Joseph on Jan. 18. The Chiefs rebounded with a win over Monroe, but fell to Old Bridge on Thursday for their second Red Division loss of the season. Piscataway looked to get back on track against South Brunswick on Thursday.

4. Bishop Ahr (12-2): Bishop Ahr lost its second game of the season on Wednesday, a 62-58 loss to Spotswood, snapping an 11-game win streak. The Trojans have a tough test on Friday as they face Carteret, a team they defeated in overtime by two points back on Dec. 22. 

5. Carteret (13-3): Carteret has won nine in a row and is currently challenging Bishop Ahr for the top spot in the GMC Blue Division. The Ramblers are averaging 66 points a game in the last nine games, and will look to take down Bishop Ahr on Friday and Mater Dei Prep on Saturday.

6. Old Bridge (11-4): Old Bridge has won four in a row since falling to St. Joseph on Jan. 13 and will look to keep the win streak going against East Brunswick on Thursday. 

7. Rahway (13-0): Rahway still remains undefeated, with wins over Sayreville, North Plainfield and Cranford in its last three games. The Indians are comfortably atop the Union County Conference Valley Division at 7-0, with games against Hillside on Thursday and Governor Livingston on Saturday.

8. Sayreville (12-4): Sayreville had a five-game win streak snapped with a loss to Carteret on Jan. 14, and since then has gone 2-2 in its last four games. The Bombers won two in a row against North Brunswick and J.F. Kennedy, but have lost their last two against Rahway and Colonia. Sayreville looked to snap its skid against Edison on Thursday and J.P. Stevens on Saturday.

9. East Brunswick (7-7): East Brunswick had a three-game win streak snapped with a loss to Perth Amboy on Tuesday. The Bears had a tough test against Old Bridge on Thursday and will play Union on Saturday.

10. J.P. Stevens (7-7): J.P. Stevens has been battling in the GMC White Division this season, and has gone 1-2 in its last three games, with a win over South Brunswick on Tuesday but losses to East Brunswick and Old Bridge. The Hawks' schedule doesn't get any easier as they faced St. Joseph on Thursday, will host Sayreville on Saturday and play Old Bridge on Feb. 1. 

Records through Wednesday. Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego