MIDDLESEX COLLEGE MENS AND WOMENS BASKETBALL TEAMS GAIN HOME PLAYOFF GAMES
The Middlesex College Men's and Women's Basketball Teams have qualified for the NJCAA Region XIX Playoffs and each will be hosting a home playoff game on Saturday, February 24.
The Women's team gained the #8 seed in the region and will kick things off when they host # 9 Sussex Community College at 12:00pm. The Men's team garnered the #7 seed and will follow with a 2:00pm game against #10 Ocean County College.
Coached by Michel Powell, the Women's team recovered from a slow start to the season which saw them lose eight of their first nine games. However, to their credit, the Colts kept working hard and stuck together and won 8 of their final 10 games to qualify for the playoffs with a 13-15 overall record.
The Women's team was led by Carla Seyfarth (Freshman/South Brunswick, NJ), who averaged a double-double for the season. Seyfarth led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.5 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per game.
Just behind her in both categories was Vanessa Rivas (Freshman/Perth Amboy, NJ), who also averaged a double-double for the season. Rivas averaged 11.8 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game.
Franchesca Derilus (Sophomore/Port St. Lucie, FL) was second on the team in points per game, averaging 12.1 and Courtney Hansen (Freshman/Carteret, NJ) led the team with 3.9 assists per game.
Middlesex faced off against Sussex County College twice in the regular season, dropping a 46-44 game at Sussex in December before avenging that loss at home with a 65-51 win over the Skylanders at home.
The winner of the first-round matchup between Middlesex and Sussex will face top-seeded RCSJ Gloucester on February 28.
The Middlesex College Men's Basketball team used a six-game mid-season winning streak to boost themselves into playoff contention and then had crucial late-season wins over Salem, Ocean and Atlantic Cape to clinch a spot in the Region XIX Playoffs.
Led by first-year Head Coach Winston Smith, the Colts finished with a regular season record of 14-15 with a Region XIX record of 13-12.
The Colts were led by Savion Pressley (Freshman/Woodbridge, NJ) who topped the team with a 17.7 average while starting all 29 games this season.
David Silva (Sophomore/Keasbey, NJ) was the only other player who started all 29 games and his 6.4 rebounds per game was the highest average among players who competed in both the Fall and Spring semesters for the Colts.
Middlesex was bolstered by the return of Vishal Patel (Sophomore/Edison, NJ), who was eligible to compete starting in January. Patel played in 15 games for Middlesex and averaged 13.3 points and 6.5 rebounds.
Emanuel Davila (Sophomore/Edison, NJ) led the team with 5.3 assists per game and Pressley paced the Colts with 2.8 steals per game. Pressley was one of just seven players in the country on the NJCAA Division III level to record at least 80 steals this season.
Middlesex has faced Ocean County College twice this season, beating the Vikings both times. They won an 83-71 home contest in December and then traveled to Ocean where they recorded a 68-59 win less than two weeks ago.
The winner of the first-round matchup between Middlesex and Ocean will advance to take on #2 Brookdale on February 28.