Colonia hoops teams knock off rival JFK
BY MIKE McDONALD
Staff Writer

Above,Colonia’s Alex Adler takes a shot over a JFK defender during their game in Iselin on Saturday, while at left, Kennedy’s Jessica Lopes looks for an open teammate.

The Colonia High School boys basketball team beat rival John F. Kennedy this past Saturday by the score of 68-43 — an outcome that highlights the direction of both teams’ seasons thus far.

With the win, Colonia jumped to six wins on the season, while Kennedy still awaits its first victory of the year.

Colonia was led by Jeff Totin, who scored 19 points. Totin was helped by his counterpart Chineme Usuwa, who scored 14 points and ripped down 11 rebounds. Nick Allen also contributed to the victory by scoring 15 points.

Colonia, which began the year with a 1-2 record, has now won five straight and is beginning to resemble the balanced squad head coach Ken Pace expected to see from the start.

“This year’s team is extremely deep at guard and will be competitive,” Pace said.

The team chemistry that Pace has been looking for seems to be rounding into form

PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff

“Team chemistry is a tough thing to build. The only way to perfect team chemistry is by playing together as a team,” the coach said. “It takes a while for players to understand each other’s game and to be able to feel where his teammates are on the court.”

Girls game produces

similar result

This past Saturday’s matchup of two Woodbridge Township girls basketball teams featured a pair of squads undergoing very different seasons.

The Colonia High School team stood at 6-2 going into the meeting, while the John F. Kennedy team stood at 1-6. The crosstown matchup went as most would expect, with Colonia earning a 68-30 victory.

Although Kennedy kept the game close through one quarter, the rest of the game was all Colonia. Kennedy trailed by only three (13-10) after one quarter but eventually prove to be overmatched by the Patriots.

Part of the problem for Kennedy was the team’s poor shooting. Kennedy shot just five-of-30 from the field — a low field-goal percentage that can be attributed both to Colonia’s fine defense and Kennedy’s inability to execute plays.

Colonia’s offense was in full swing during the last three quarters, scoring 18 points in the second quarter, 20 in the third, and 18 in the fourth. Tiffany McDaniel scored 24 points in the victory — the sixth time this year she has notched 24 points in a game.

Colonia was coming off a 53-39 win against Woodbridge High School in a game in which McDaniel scored an impressive 29 points and grabbed rebounds. Kennedy on the other hand, was coming off a 51-47 defeat to Mother Seton High School.

Much more important for Colonia, the win continued the team’s recent success, now having won five of the last six games.