By DAVE O’SULLIVAN

Staff Writer

On X @GDsullysays

sullyglorydays@gmail.com

The Gloucester Catholic High boys basketball team has been playing better of late, going 3-3 in the Rams’ last six games after a stretch where they lost 5-of-6. Part of the reason for a bit of a rebound before the state playoffs is a lineup tweak that has seen coach Brandon Dougherty insert 5-foot-6 freshman Gary Connelly into the starting lineup as the team’s point guard.

That’s given Dougherty the ability to go with more of a three-guard look and shifted senior Carlos Mendez over to a wing guard position, allowing him to get open for shots more. Jack Pund, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, has also been able to worry more about scoring and rebounding rather than ball handling with Connelly at the controls. Pund had nine points in a recent overtime loss against Pitman, and had seven rebounds in last weekend’s win over Gloucester.

“He does not panic at all. He’s unfazed. We’ve been playing him in every game and he started four games when Carlos went down with a shoulder injury. He was our backup point guard, but we made a change (in early February) because we wanted to have more ball handlers on the floor and now we feel like we have enough guys who can make the extra pass,” Dougherty said. “We were putting other guys in positions where they weren’t necessarily comfortable. Jack Pund is in his first year playing the No. 2 guard and it was a little tough for him to handle the ball as much and that put a lot of pressure on Carlos. Having Gary in there kind of relieves that. Plus, in the right matchup, he can be a pest defensively.”

Mendez has increased his scoring in each of the last three games, scoring eight against Pitman, nine against Gloucester and 15 in Tuesday night’s loss against Salem. He’s also added 13 assists in the last three games.

Connelly isn’t going to score much this season, as he’s had just one game in double figures and has only scored more than four points in two of Gloucester Catholic’s 22 games, but he’s in there to handle the ball and run the offense — which usually means getting the ball to senior star Jack Mustaro, the school’s all-time leading scorer and a player who has more than 500 points this season. Connelly, to his credit, has 72 assists and 23 steals, and can occasionally hit a 3-pointer, as he has eight so far this season.

He also brings some levity to what can be the grind of a long winter season of basketball.

“I always like to see whenever he makes a nice play, he gives himself a little clap. Whether it’s a good pass or a steal, he’s always so high energy. He has a big personality. At a recent team dinner before a game, you’d think it would be the seniors holding court but it was him in the middle making jokes,” Dougherty said. “Our JV coach was coaching and Gary tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘hey, Jalen Carter is out of the Super Bowl.’ My JV coach didn’t know what happened for the next couple of possessions, and I was like, ‘no, Gary’s just messing with you.’ He keeps everything light, but he also brings the intensity.”

NOTES: Gloucester Catholic has two more home games this week, vs. Leap Academy and Clearview, before facing Clearview again next week in the quarterfinals of the Tri-County Conference Tournament.