TCA loaded for last run as area’s top team
For one more season, Trenton Catholic Academy has a chance to be the best boys basketball team in the area.
The school plans to close down in June because of financial troubles, but that won’t stop the Iron Mikes from producing another strong squad.
It’s only fitting that head coach Fred Falchi is back after two years away from the court for his 20th season. Falchi is largely responsible for the program’s success in the 21st century as he guided TCA to the 2010 Tournament of Champions title and Mercer County Tournament titles in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
TCA also won the county tournaments in 2018 and 2019 under Eric Elliott, who is now an assistant next to Falchi.
There will be no NJSIAA-sanctioned
state tournaments this year because of COVID-19, and with only a six-week season there also won’t be an MCT or Burlington County Scholastic League division titles.
Regardless, the Iron Mikes will be formidable again as they feature experienced guards Freddie Young and Brian Bernard. They added twins Jamaal and Jameel Morris, who transferred from Burlington City after leading the Blue Devils to the Central Jersey Group I sectional title.
Elsewhere in the BCSL, defending Patriot Division champion Bordentown will truly have to play unified at all times as the Scotties lack a go-to scorer this season. But collectively they have speed, size, experience and depth.
Aiden Kennedy is a solid point guard and excellent free-throw shooter. Armaan Gill can shoot the 3, rebound and run the floor.
Logan Saranin plays fast, aggressively and defensively can lock down opposing guards.
“My plan is to play fullcourt pressure all the time, use a lot of kids and have all of them enjoy the season,” coach John Myers said. “I worry about the boys with the virtual learning, lack of social time and not getting outside. My goal is to create an environment where they can enjoy the season — not necessarily the wins and losses.”
Northern Burlington should also be a force in the Burlington scene again coming off a 14-win season.
Drew Wyers, a Division I baseball commit to Stetson University, is the Greyhounds’ top player with his intelligence and ability to score and defend opposing teams’ best players. Marcus Gaffney is a two-year starter who brings court awareness and leadership for the offense.
“We will look to stay healthy by rotating 10 players possibly early since we only had a week to prepare in person with COVID protocols,” coach Gene Darling said. “We look to compete every night. Going to be looking for scorers to step up.”
STEM Civics, a charter school located in Ewing, enters its second year in the BCSL with new head coach Armie Hicks.
The team’s top players are Treymaine Dobb, Em- manuel Washington and Kenneth Munn Jr. Dobb and Munn are good shooters and ball-handlers, while Washington excels with rebounding and has a soft touch inside.
“We’re looking forward to applying pressure on defense running and gunning in hopes of an exciting and fun and great season,” Hicks said. “We need to establish a winning culture.”
BORDENTOWN
Aiden Kennedy 5-9 Sr. G Logan Saranin 5-8 Sr. G
Armaan Gill 6-3 Sr. F
Hunter Parish 6-4 Sr. F
Jaden Blanding 6-0 Sr. F Maurice Ciccia 6-1 Sr. F Anthony Stanton 5-11 Sr. F
Liyan Chen 5-10 Sr. G
Zach Matthews 5-8 Jr. G
Earl Buensalida 5-11 Jr. G
Lucas Harnum 6-2 Jr. F Cameron McDuffie 6-5 Jr. F
Head Coach — John Myers (eighth season).
Assistant Coaches — Steve Perry, Kevin Wright.
Last Season — 17-12 overall, 6-2 BCSL Patriot Division champion, NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II semifinals. Outlook — The Scotties have a nice blend of speed and size. Only time will tell if they can be as potent as last year with several players stepping into bigger roles.
Marcus Gaffney 6-0 Jr. G
Drew Wyers 6-0 Jr. F
Gerald Dougan 6-7 Sr. C
Marco Mannino 6-0 Sr. G
Zander Drummond 5-10 Sr. G CJ Fredricks 6-7 Jr. F
Arthur Musoke 5-9 Jr. G
Logan Gonzalez 6-1 Jr. F
Mark Broach 6-1 Jr. F
Jack Burke 5-9 Sr. G
Head Coach — Gene Darling (13th season).
Assistant Coaches — Steve Malcolm, Kenny Mauss, Zak Westerberg. Last Season — 14-13 overall, 5-3 BCSL Patriot, NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III first round.
Outlook — The Greyhounds will have to be ready to go quickly as they started practicing a week late because of COVID-19 issues. They have intelligent players in the backcourt along with some length in the frontcourt to be a solid team again.
STEM CIVICS
Aaron Brown 6-0 Sr. G
Jameel Brown 5-10 Sr. G Treymaine Dobb 6-7 Sr. G/F Moises Hamilton 6-0 Sr. G
Dale Lovitt 6-1 Sr. G
Steven Moya 6-2 Jr. C/F Kenneth Munn Jr. 5-11 Sr. G Emmanuel Washington 6-5 Sr. C Head Coach — Armie Hicks (first season).
Assistant Coaches — Jacob Phillips, Jeff Weissman.
Last Season — 10-14 overall, 6-4 BCSL Independence, NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I first round.
Outlook — This team has quality athleticism and is talented enough to grow the program if the players buy in and continue to gel.
TCA
Freddie Young 6-3 Sr. G
Dajer Muldrow 6-4 Sr. F
Brian Bernard 6-2 Sr. G Brandon Hendrix 6-5 Sr. F
Shawn Naylor 5-10 Sr. G
Jamin Williams 6-0 Sr. F
Jason Pintella 6-0 Sr. F
Braxton Jones 5-10 Jr. G
Camryn Stewart 6-8 Jr. F
Jamaal Morris 6-1 Jr. G
Jameel Morris 6-1 Jr. G
Cale Maxey 6-3 So. F
Michael Jones 6-0 Fr. F
Thomas Sorber 6-6 Fr. F
Head Coach — Fred Falchi (20th season overall, first since 2017). Assistant Coaches — Eric Elliott, Sean Smith.
Last Season — 15-12 overall, 5-3 BCSL Liberty, Mercer County Tournament champion, NJSIAA South Jersey NonPublic B quarterfinals.
Outlook — The Iron Mikes always play a tough schedule but are primed for another big year with talent up and down the roster. How great they become depends on their cohesion defensively as they acclimate new players into the program.