After first loss of season, Colonia bounces back
Hall's 27 leads the way against St. Joe's
BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer
After suffering its first defeat of the season in an upset loss to division rival Woodbridge, the Colonia High School boys basketball teamrespondedwith an impressive 47-41 road win over St. Joe's over the weekend.

"I thought our guys rebounded nicely," Colonia head coach Chris Chiera said. "We didn't play well Thursday night against Woodbridge, butWoodbridge certainly did a good job. Their fans made it a tough atmosphere to play in, and the Woodbridge kids stepped up to the challenge in a big rivalry game."

Some timely free-throw shooting down the stretch preserved the win for Woodbridge, which earned just its second win of the season. TheBarons hit nine three-pointers in the contest and adequately held Colonia's top scorers J.J. D'Amico and Brandon Hall in check.

"Woodbridge coach Scott Sienkiewicz did a nice job with his defensive game plan," Chiera said. "Our kids didn't respond."

Against St Joe's,Colonia fell behind early when the Falcons took command of the game in the second quarter.

"St. Joe's really picked up its defensive effort and started setting the tempo in the second quarter," Chiera said. "At one point, we went down 11, and then Brandon Hall took control of the game."

Hall's performance in the second halfwas the stuff of legends. He pumped in 19 of his career-high 27 points and had a hand in all but two of his team's second-half offensive production through either assist or bucket.

D'Amico, the Patriots' leading scorer this season, was held to just five points by the Falcons. Senior JeffMentzel stepped up his offensive game to replace some of the firepower absent fromD'Amico's game.Mentzel finished with nine points and eight rebounds. In the pivotal fourth quarter, Mentzel scored seven and snatched four boards.

"Teams are really starting to key in on J.J. as his scoring has really picked up," Chiera said. "Although his scoring was down, his defensive effortwas key for us.He was given a big defensive assignment in guarding St. Joe's point guard Steve Rennard. Rennard is one of the better point guards in the county, and J.J. did a really nice job defensively."

With thewin,Colonia improved to 8-1 on the season and will resume play this week with Sayreville,Monroe andKennedy on the schedule.After opening with Sayreville, another area teamwith just one loss, earlier in the week, the Patriots will welcomeMonroe for a 7 p.m. tip-off Jan. 10.

"Monroe is currently in first place in our division, so this will be a very important game for us,"Chiera said. "They are the only undefeated teamin the division."

Colonia will finish the week on the road Saturday at Kennedy. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.