Unbeaten Montgomery runs past Piscataway

MONTGOMERY — For years, Montgomery High School boys basketball succeeded by grinding down foes with defense and making the most of deliberate half-court possessions.

This Cougar team is different. This one can light you up from end to end, as Piscataway learned on Monday. With senior Greg Tarca’s 23 points leading the way, Montgomery throttled the Chiefs 72-53 in the final game of the Cougar Holiday Classic.

“Everyone’s gears were going today — shots were falling, guys feeding off each other’s energy,” Tarca said. “It just shows what we’re capable of.”

Montgomery improved to 4-0, with quality wins over Sayreville and Bridgewater-Raritan under its belt, and looks like a contender for big prizes come February and March.

“We’ve got a good group of guys who know each other and share the ball well,” Tarca said.

Senior standout Justin Kovacevich tallied 16 points and seven rebounds, drawing much of the defensive attention so his teammates could do damage. Guard Alex Miller scored 14 points off the bench, connecting on all four of his 3-pointers, junior forward Darron Wallace netted 10 points and senior guard Tim Youraneff scored seven.

“Everyone knows how much of a threat Justin is. It does open up shots for other people,” Tarca said. “As you saw today with me and Miller, everyone can hit shots here.”

Piscataway (2-2) was paced by seniors Joe Hines (13 points), Rachid Shimou (12 points), Najee Lucky (8 points) and Maranus Tavernier (7 points). The Chiefs fell behind 27-16 after one quarter and never recovered.

“We’re 2-2 and we’re not even in a bad spot, but I don’t want to get into a bad spot,” Piscataway coach Antoine Allen said. “Our biggest thing is working on basketball IQ. I’ve said to the kids, ‘Piscataway needs basketball players, not a player in basketball.’ That’s a constant for us every day — teaching these kids how to play. You see it in flashes.”

Allen has the pedigree to make it work; he rebuilt New Brunswick into a contender before taking over the Chiefs last winter.

“We’re all in the microwave age here and you want things done right now,” Allen said. “It took three years to get New Brunswick fixed, but I want to get Piscataway rolling in the right direction now, not next year after these kids graduate.”

Montgomery is clearly rolling in the right direction. It took some reflection for head coach Kris Grundy to embrace pushing the ball, but like any smart skipper, he adjusted his system to fit his personnel.

“It’s something I had to become comfortable with,” he said. “I told my coaches, ‘We like to keep (opposing) teams around 40 (points),’ and they were like, ‘Kris, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t speed up the game and push the ball in transition and also keep teams to 40 points because there are too many possessions.’ I had to become used to letting the reins go because of who had we from a skill standpoint.”

So far everyone is enjoying the ride.