GMC Hoops Blogosphere

Kean Summer League–July 1, 2009

UNION, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops made its first trip up to the 2009 Kean Summer League at Harwood Arena on the main campus of Kean University. There are just ten teams playing in this league, but five of them are from the Greater Middlesex Conference including: Bishop Ahr, Monroe, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, and St. Joseph’s. On this night, the site covered four of the five games played, but got results from all five contests played. See those results as well as the latest standings. The first contest the site took in was between St. Joseph’s and Perth Amboy, which were already in the second half when the site arrived. The next two went on simultaneously as Monroe battled Roselle on Court #1 while Bishop Ahr took on David Brearley of Kenilworth on Court #2. Finally, in the last game of the evening, Sayreville faced off against Union.

Perth Amboy Prevails Over St. Joe’s, 54-43

After being at work until the afternoon, and then taking a nap, GMC Hoops was a bit behind schedule, and didn’t arrive to see this game until there was 13:30 remaining in the contest. By this time, Perth Amboy was already ahead by a 40-27 margin. Soon to be junior, Kevin Mayce tried to get the Falcon flock going with a jumper from about the foul line with 13:11 remaining to trim the gap to 40-27. Slay Sudah, who looks to be in great shape, brought the deficit down to single digits with a baseline floater from the right side to make the score, 40-31 with 12:30 left. Yoelbin Sanchez put Amboy back in business with a layup on the Panthers’ very next possession to make the score, 42-31 with exactly twelve minutes to go.

Thirty seconds after that, Ariel Hilton added a jumper that made the score 44-31 in favor of the Panthers as St. Joseph’s called for a timeout at the 11:10 mark. Following the stoppage, neither team scored for over a minute and a half before Perth Amboy got on the board with a layup at the 9:30 mark for a 46-31 lead. The Falcons would then get a pair of free throws before the Panthers made one of two from the charity stripe for a 47-33 lead with 7:31 left. Amboy then took its biggest lead of the game with a three pointer from the top of the key that made the score, 50-33 with 7:02 to play. Trying to comeback, St. Joe’s put together an 8-0 rally over the next 2:25 that included two free throws by Sudah at the 5:46 mark, and a steal for a score at the 4:37 mark that brought the Falcons within nine again at 50-41.

Unfortunately, the Falcons couldn’t get any closer. Sanchez would put Perth Amboy up by double digits again when he got the ball down low, made a pump fake, and scored for a 52-41 lead with 4:08 to go. Then, the Panthers began to take time off the clock. St. Joseph’s would be held without a point for a span of 3:20 until Sudah dished to a teammate for a layup at the 1:17 mark that made the score, 52-43. Amboy went on to prevail by the final score of 54-43. With the victory, the Panthers improved to 2-0 on the summer while the Falcons dropped to .500 at 1-1.

Monroe Hangs On To Beat Roselle, 51-46

While GMC Hoops was taking in a great deal of the Bishop Ahr contest against David Brearley Regional of Kenilworth, Monroe was battling Roselle over on Court #1. The Falcons didn’t have their full roster on hand, but still had a good turnout with the likes of Ahmid Williams, Danny Brix, Mike Walp, Mike Mahmoud, Ryan Genevive, and Blake Bascom in attendance. The Purple Birds came out flying in a high scoring first half as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first 3:55, and went on to take a 34-22 advantage at halftime. However, in the second half, defense took over, and Roselle fought its way back thanks to some full court pressure. In the end though, Monroe Township would prevail to stay undefeated with a 51-46 victory.

Over the first two minutes of the contest, Monroe jumped out to a 6-0 lead. Roselle didn’t get on the board until the 16:28 mark when it connected on a jumper from the left wing for a 6-2 Monroe advantage. The Rams quickly gave those points back though as the Falcons scored on a layup that made the score 8-2 with 16:05 left in the first half as Roselle called for time. The timeout didn’t seem to be the tonic as Bascom came up with a steal, and handed out an assist on a Mahmoud layup for a 10-2 lead with 15:46 remaining before halftime. The next 2:16 though would see Roselle cut into the deficit with a 4-2 run that made the score, 12-6 at the 13:30 mark. Monroe then scored four of the next seven points including a fast break led by Mahmoud, who passed upcourt to Williams for a layup, and a 16-9 lead with 11:13 to go in the period.

The bucket actually sparked a 10-2 run that helped the lead balloon to thirteen points. Danny Brix added a layup at the 6:59 mark, and then Bascom capped the spurt when he drove into the key, and drew a foul on the shot attempt for a one of two showing at the line to put Monroe ahead, 24-11 with 6:18 to go in the first half. Roselle got three of those points back with a run over the next 2:18 that included a one of two effort at the foul line for a 24-14 lead with four minutes remaining before the intermission. The Rams then brought the deficit down to single digits before Mahmoud kicked out to Bascom on the right wing for a three pointer at the 27-16 lead at the 2:38 mark. Monroe Township closed out the first half with seven of the final eleven points including a short baseline jumper from the right side by Danny Brix for a 34-22 lead at the break.

in the second half, Monroe didn’t get on the board for the first 3:14 while Roselle garnered the first points to cut the deficit down to ten with 17:37 left. Williams pushed the advantage back up to twelve when he was fouled on the drive, and converted that into two free throws for a 36-24 score at the 16:46 mark. Pulling to within single digits again, Roselle scored on a traditional three point play to close the gap to nine at 36-27 with 16:13 to play. The Rams were hoping to get closer, but Bascom helped Monroe keep them at arm’s length with a steal and a breakaway layup for a 38-27 lead at the 14:12 mark. Genevive then added a short jumper after a Roselle score that made it 40-29 with 13:32 to go. The Falcons then went up by thirteen as Walp clicked on two foul shots at the 13:04 mark for a 42-29 score. The Rams were thwarted even further when Danny Brix drew a charge at the 11:48 mark.

However, Roselle didn’t relent as it began to deploy its fullcourt pressure to force Monroe into making some turnovers, and the tactic worked. Over the next 5:06, the Rams outscored the Falcons by a 6-2 margin to pull within nine again at 44-35. Monroe kept the Union County team at bay though with four of the next seven points for a 48-38 lead with 4:05 remaining. Refusing to quit, and playing much more spirited than it did in its opener against Sayreville, Roselle rallied with six straight points to pull within two baskets at 48-44 at the 1:06 mark. Unfortunately, the Rams were unable to get any closer as Bascom came up with a huge conventional three point play with 54 seconds left for a 51-44 lead, and Monroe emerged victorious with a 51-46 win. With the victory, Monroe improved to 2-0 on the summer while Roselle remained winless at 0-2.

Bishop Ahr Surges Past David Brearley, 47-24

With TBSA going to new management, and getting a different name, there was one less summer league for the GMC teams to get into this year. Among those teams searching for a new league this summer was Bishop Ahr, which had been a fixture at the Middlesex County College summer league early on in this decade, and then the HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest in 2005 and 2006 before moving on to TBSA the past two summers. Last summer, BGA advanced to the Championship game at TBSA before losing to J.P. Stevens.

This year, Ahr has its varsity up at Kean while its JV continues to play at Middlesex, where it has been for the past several summers. The Trojans began the season with a loss on opening night to Monroe (54-37). Once again, the Trojans will be formidable despite the losses of Matt Fiorino, Matt Sheehy, and Matt Melnick. BGA has Darius Griffin returning along with Matt Bernocchi and Rob Gomulka to fill in at the guard spots along with soon to be sophomore Roger Kilgore. Meanwhile, the likes of Manny Kroggmann, Justin Peoples, Nick Napurano, and soon to be junior Rashad Kilgore will give Ahr plenty of size again this coming season. So, expect Ahr to be the favorite to win the GMC Blue again with Spotswood giving the Trojans all it can handle for division honors.

Neither team scored for the nearly the first two minutes of the game before the Trojans got going with a nice pass upcourt to Peoples for a layup attempt that drew a foul, and produced one of two free throws at the 18:01 mark. A little more than a minute later, Peoples was back at the line again after being fouled underneath, and he made both foul shots for a 3-0 lead. David Brearley fought back though with a three pointer from the left wing by Nick Kurus that tied the score at 3-3 with 16:08 to go in the first half. Bishop Ahr then went back on top as Griffin grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by Rashad Kilgore, and put it back in for a 5-3 lead at the 14:49 mark. Dominick Vitale then put Brearley ahead with a three pointer for a 6-5 lead at the 12:49 mark. The Trojans quickly took the lead back on its next possession with a field goal at the 12:35 mark.

There would be a lull in the scoring activity for a bit more than two minutes before Ahr got a steal for a breakaway layup at the 10:26 mark for a 9-6 lead. The Bears, which have been a fixture in the Group I State Tournament for the past several seasons after being mired deep in mediocrity early on this decade, then scored four of the next six points including a drive from the left wing for a layup to pull within one at 11-10 with 7:54 to go. Ahr would then get a score to go up by three before Vitale drove baseline for a layup, and a 13-12 Trojan advantage at the 6:28 mark. Those would be the final points for the Bears in the first half as BGA closed out the first half with a 10-0 run that included two free throws at the 6:04 mark, two more foul shots by Griffin at the 5:15 mark, a rebound and outlet pass upcourt by Peoples to Rashad Kilgore for a layup at the 3:41 mark for a 19-12 lead. The elder Kilgore then added a layup at the three minute mark for a 21-12 lead, and another one with under a minute to go after Peoples came up with a block and a rebound at the other end.

In the second half, Kilgore and Bishop Ahr picked up right where it left off as Griffin skied for an offensive rebound, and dished to the big man for a layup, and a 25-12 lead with 19:21 to play in the game. David Brearley again fought back though with eight of the next ten points including a three pointer by Vitale, and one of two from the foul line at the 16:53 mark to slice into the Ahr lead, which had dropped to 27-20. Kurus then added a field goal twenty-six seconds left to make it a five point game at 27-22 with 16:27 to play. Nick Napurano then began to make his presence felt when he kicked out a pass to the right wing for a three pointer, and a 5-0 run for a 32-22 lead. Gomulka then swiped a steal, and drew a foul that produced one of two from the line for a 33-22 lead with 12:58 left. Napurano then put in a score underneath after BGA attacked the boards for three offensive rebounds to take a 35-24 lead at the 11:56 mark. Gomulka added two more free throws after that for a 37-24 advantage with 11:10 remaining.

Roger Kilgore then got into the act with a fast break layup off a steal that put the Trojans up by 15 as Brearley was forced to call for time at the 8:55 mark. Napurano then helped BGA close out the game with a 13-0 run as he picked up a steal, and handed out an assist on a layup by Gomulka for a 41-24 lead as Ahr went on to win, 47-24. With the victory, Bishop Ahr evens its record at 1-1 this summer while David Brearley falls to 0-2.

Strong First Half Lifts Union Over Sayreville, 38-27

In the final game of the evening, Sayreville, a team that wasn’t originally in this league, was taking on Union in a battle of two Group IV teams. The Farmers had another solid campaign, but it ended up on a disappointing note as they lost to Watchung Conference rival, Linden in the opening round of the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament on a shot at the buzzer by Tevin Calhoun. Similarly, Sayreville’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion as it lost to West Windsor-Plainsboro South in overtime in the semifinals of the Central Jersey Group IV Tournament after winning in the opening round over Steinert, and in the Quarterfinals at East Brunswick. On this night, the Bombers were going to have to do without Dave Milewski, but still had Mark Keir and Darryl Stephenson leading the charge.

Union opened the game with a layin for a 2-0 lead before Sayreville tied things up at 2-2 with 19:17 to go in the first half. The Bombers then went ahead with a field goal before Union struck back with a three pointer from the left wing. The Farmers perimeter game proved to be one of the big differences in this contest. Union then added an offensive rebound and putback at the 12:54 mark for a 7-4 lead before there would be a lull in the scoring ended by a pair of Sayreville free throws that made the score, 7-6 at the 11:07 mark. The Farmers would get those two points back with a couple foul shots of their own at the 10:18 mark, and then added another three pointer from the right wing for a 12-6 edge with 9:45 to go before the intermission. Sayreville, which played quite well at the East Brunswick Team Camp thanks to its physical play, and scoring from Milewski, tried to hang around with a pair of free throws, but Union began to take control of the contest with a three pointer that sparked a 6-0 run for an 18-8 lead with 5:57 to go in the half.

Over the next 1:27, Sayreville cut into the Union lead by scoring two of the next three points before calling a timeout at the 4:30 mark with the Farmers leading 19-10. Twenty-four seconds later, Union connected on a three pointer from the right corner to make the score, 22-12 with 4:06 to go in the half. Stephenson got the Bombers back to within ten at 22-12 by making two free throws at the 3:39 mark, but Union would go into the locker room with a 23-12 lead as it grabbed two offensive rebounds, and drew a foul on the follow to produce one of two from the line at the 1:11 mark to close out the opening half scoring. In the second half, the Bombers came out much more spirited as it outscored the Farmers by an 11-5 margin over the first 13:09 of the period to pull within five at 28-23 with 6:51 to play. However, the GMC White school couldn’t get any closer.

The Bombers had their chances though. With 5:49 left, Sayreville had a big scoring chance, but couldn’t convert as Tarif Jackson first missed a shot. Stephenson tried to put back in the follow twice, but couldn’t score. Union then got the ball, but the Bombers stole it back only to have Jackson miss again. A little more than a minute and a half later, the Bombers had another opportunity, but failed to score as a putback attempt by Stephenson just missed at the 4:12 mark. Dodging these couple bullets, Union then closed out the game with an 8-0 run sparked by another three pointer from the left wing at the 3:36 mark, and then capped by one of two free throws and a putback with 1:26 left for a 36-23 lead. Sayreville scored four of the final six points to make the game closer as the Farmers came away with the 38-27 win. With the victory, Union tied Perth Amboy and Monroe for first place in the league at 2-0 while Sayreville fell to 1-1.

GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Kean next week for more action.

2009 GMC Hoops Summer League Itinerary So Far

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–With the completion of play on Thursday night, GMC Hoops completed another busy week with 14 more games this past week. After seeing 26 games in four days two weeks ago, the site has continued a very hectic pace by seeing another 28 over the past two weeks for a total of 86 since the off-season began in April with the Rebounds Spring League. In addition, the site has already covered action in seven different summer leagues, and two team camps. Below is the list of events covered so far:

• Rebounds Spring League
• Raritan Bay Summer League
• Middlesex County College Summer League
• Bound Brook Summer League
• Colonia JV Summer League
• Kean Summer League
• Linden Summer League
• East Brunswick Team Camp
• Linden Team Camp

GMC Hoops plans to be out at several more events and leagues next week.

2009 Linden Summer League–Results–July 2nd

LINDEN, NJ–On Thursday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to Linden High School to take in action from a couple of games in the Tuesday/Thursday Division of the 2009 Linden Summer League including a matchup involving St. Joseph’s. Here are the results from the games listed below.

Tuesday/Thursday Division Results–July 2, 2009

• Paterson Kennedy 63–Immaculata 54
• St. Joseph’s 48–Susan Wagner (S.I.) 38

GMC Hoops plans to be out for more action next. A schedule and teams for both divisions in this league will be posted as soon as we get it from the Linden boys basketball staff.

No Star-Ledger College Summer League This Year

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–On Thursday, GMC Hoops learned from Jay Gomes of NJ Hoops that there will be no Star-Ledger College Summer League this year. No reason was given for why the league is not happening this summer. The league had been going on at the Rutgers Barn on College Avenue for the past three summers, and showcased a good deal of GMC talent including: Jean Georges, Sean Baptiste, A.J. Rudowitz, Nick Smith, Darren Smith, Marquis Jones, Kevin Edmonds, Kofi Genfi, Dan Stonkus, Ian Robinson, Devon Young, Mike Burwell, and Richie Jean-Jacques.

2009 Bound Brook Summer League–Updated Standings–July 3rd

BOUND BROOK, NJ–On Friday morning, GMC Hoops received the latest standings from the 2009 Bound Brook Summer League as of the end of play on Thursday night, July 2nd. Several teams in this 13 team league had byes and did not play on Thursday night including: Hunterdon Central, Immaculata, and Middlesex. Below are the latest standings:

Latest Standings

• Somerville (4-0)
• Union Catholic (3-0)
• Bound Brook (3-1)
• Immaculata (2-1)
• Rutgers Prep (2-1)
• New Brunswick (1-1)
• J.F. Kennedy (1-2)
• Bernards (1-2)
• Piscataway (1-2)
• Pingry (1-2)
• Hunterdon Central (0-2)
• Middlesex (0-2)
• Manville (0-3)

GMC Hoops plans to travel out to Bound Brook High School on Tuesday to take in the fifth night of action from the league.

2009 Bound Brook Summer League–Results–Day Four–July 2nd

BOUND BROOK, NJ–On Thursday night, the 2009 Bound Brook Summer League held its fourth night of games, and GMC Hoops saw the final contest of the evening, which was an interesting contest between J.F. Kennedy and Bernards. A summary will be forthcoming. In the meantime, the site was able to get the rest of the results from Bound Brook head coach, Anthony Melesurgo was still nice enough to provide the results via the Bound Brook Basketball web site. Here are the scores:

Results–Day Four–July 2nd

• Rutgers Prep 41–Piscataway 26
• Bound Brook 35–Manville 28
• Somerville 48–Pingry 34
• Union Catholic 39–New Brunswick 32
• J.F. Kennedy 50–Bernards 46

GMC Hoops plans to travel out to Bound Brook High School next week to see more action from this league.

Bound Brook Summer League–June 30, 2009

BOUND BROOK, NJ–On Thursday night, GMC Hoops headed over to Bound Brook High School to take in two games from the second night of action from the 2009 Bound Brook Summer League. This is the third straight summer that the web site is covering this league, which has provided great competition as well as a glimpse of teams from many different conferences in the Central Jersey area.

GMC Hoops headed over for the final games of the Tuesday quintupleheader after being at the Raritan Bay Summer League and the Middlesex County College Summer League, and saw Bound Brook and Immaculata in the nightcap. See all the results from Tuesday’s action as well as the latest up to date standings.

Bound Brook Wins Thriller On Three At Buzzer, 51-50

The last time these two teams met was in the 2009 East Brunswick Team Camp with the Spartans winning by a 53-39 margin on June 17th. This time, the game between the two former Mountain Valley Conference rivals was much closer. If you were to tell people coming to the game that this was just a summer league contest, think again, especially if you’re from Bound Brook. The Crusaders played with urgency in the final seconds, which may have been a bit controversial. However, a well executed full court play to set up a three pointer from the left wing as time expired for a thrilling 51-50 win.

Bound Brook’s late heroics overshadowed a fine comeback by Immaculata, which trailed 42-36 with 5:58 to go in the contest. Led by junior forward, Matt Dudzinski, who scored a game high 24 points, outscored The Brook by a 12-6 margin over a span of 5:02 to knot the game up at 48-48 with 56 seconds left. The run started with a basket and a foul at the 5:15 mark. Despite missing the free throw, Immaculata only trailed, 42-38. Almost twenty seconds later, Immaculata drew within one with a three pointer from the left corner for a 42-41 lead with 4:56 left. Bound Brook then got a field goal on its next possession to go up by three with 4:38 left. However, Immaculata rallied with four straight points including a field goal at the 4:18 mark, and then an offensive rebound and follow attempt that drew a foul, and produced two free throws for a 45-44 lead with 3:08 to go.

Forty-seconds after that, Al Perkins gave Bound Brook the lead back with an offensive rebound and follow off of a missed three by Denzel Sanders (22 points) miss for a 46-45 score with 2:28 to go. Immaculata tried to take the lead back, but Sanders came up with a huge block, and the Crusaders tied up the Spartans on the ensuing loose ball to get the ball back on the possession arrow with 1:54 to play. The Crusaders came up with a field goal for more breathing room and a 48-45 lead with 1:43 left, but after the Spartans tied up Sanders at the 1:15 mark, and called a timeout with 1:03 to go, the Somerville based school tied the contest up at 48-48 with just under a minute remaining in regulation. Bound Brook and Immaculata scrapped over the final 56 seconds until Immaculata drew a foul on the floor, and called for time with three seconds left.

The Spartans then inbounded the ball to Dudzinski, who put the ball in for a layup from the right low block for a 50-48 lead. However, there was some controversy since only one second was taken off the clock when the score occurred and Bound Brook called for its own timeout. Following the stoppage, the Crusaders got the ball under their own basket. Mike Schieferstein inbounded the ball to Sanders, who then pivoted near the sideline at midcourt for a pass upcourt, and a three pointer from the left wing that was good as time expired for the 51-50 win. With the victory, Bound Brook improves to 2-1 overall while Immaculata drops to 2-1.

Middlesex County College Summer League–June 30, 2009

EDISON, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to the Physical Education Center on the Edison Campus of Middlesex County College to take in the fifth night of games at the 2009 Middlesex County College Summer League. For ten straight summers, the web site has been covering this league through its ups and downs. There were eight games on the docket on Tuesday night including several contests that involved GMC teams. Take a look at all of the results from the third night of action as well as current standings.

There were three games that the site covered. All of them involved teams from the GMC. Over on Court #1, South Amboy was taking on Perth Amboy Tech while on Court #2, East Brunswick Tech was battling with Roselle Park in a non-conference game. Finally, on Court #3, East Brunswick was taking on Bishop Ahr.

South Amboy Prevails Over Perth Amboy Tech, 42-33

In a game that you normally see during the regular season, two teams from the GMC Gold went at it as South Amboy took on Perth Amboy Tech at MCC. The Guvs, which improved to 2-3 on the summer with their second win in the past three games, had a 39-31 lead with 1:47 remaining when GMC Hoops arrived. South Amboy tried to close the game out by taking time off the clock, and lucked out when it threw an errant pass that the Patriots touched before it went out of bounds. Matt Reagan then sank one of two from the line for a 40-31 edge at the 1:25 mark. Amboy Tech scored on a layin at the 1:12 mark for a 40-33 lead. South Amboy then closed out the win with a layup while being fouled, and despite the missed free throw, took a 42-33 lead with 57 seconds left. Reagan then did a solid job running the clock down for the Guvs. Perth Amboy Tech fell to 1-3 on the summer with the loss.

Roselle Park Downs East Brunswick Tech, 41-29

After starting out the summer at 0-3, the Panthers of Roselle Park have nicely recovered after playing two teams for the GMC Gold Division. Following a one point victory over Perth Amboy Tech on Thursday, June 25th, the Panthers won its second straight by defeating the Tigers of East Brunswick Tech, 41-29. When the site arrived to watch the remaining minutes of the final three games on tap Tuesday night, there was 1:27 remaining in the game, and Roselle Park was leading 37-27. The Panthers then added two free throws at the 55 second mark for a 39-27 lead, and after the Tigers got a field goal with 20 seconds left, Roselle Park closed out the win with two more free throws at the three second mark to round out the final 41-29 score. With the victory, Roselle Park improved to 2-3 while E.B. Tech fell to 1-2.

East Brunswick Rolls Past Bishop Ahr, 41-17

While South Amboy was defeating Perth Amboy Tech on Court #1, and Roselle Park was downing East Brunswick Tech on Court #2, the Junior Bears of East Brunswick were taking on the Junior Trojans of Bishop Ahr in a battle of two JV squads on Court #3. For the fourth time this summer, GMC Hoops was taking in East Brunswick while for the second time it saw Bishop Ahr. While the site seems to bring good luck to the Bears, who are 3-1 in games covered by the site, it seems to bring back luck to the Trojans, which are not only 0-2, but have also been outscored by a margin of 92-36.

The latest defeat was a 41-17 romp by the Junior Bears, which were already well out in front by the time GMC Hoops arrived from its game over at Raritan Bay. With 3:09 to play in the contest, East Brunswick was leading handily by a 37-17 margin. The Bears then made one of two from the line at the 2:57 mark for a 38-17 lead. With exactly two minutes to go in the contest, the Junior Bears netted two free throws for a 40-17 lead. East Brunswick then had a chance to expand on its lead even more, but after getting an offensive rebound for a follow attempt that drew a foul at the 1:29 mark, EB failed to convert either one of the two free throws. The Bears closed out the game with one of two from the line with 38 seconds for the 41-17 final score. With the victory, East Brunswick improved to 3-2 on the summer while BGA dropped to 1-4.

GMC Hoops will return next week for more action from the MCC Summer League.

Raritan Bay Summer League–June 30, 2009

SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops headed over to South Amboy Middle/High School to take in a game from the nineteenth night of action at the 2009 Raritan Bay Summer League. This is the sixth straight summer that the web site is covering this league, which has provided great competition as well as a glimpse of future stars in the Greater Middlesex Conference.

GMC Hoops headed over for the final games of the Tuesday tripleheader after work, and before heading over to Middlesex County College and Bound Brook for action in the summer leagues there. The site learned about the latest trials and tribulations of Gary Lange’s beloved hot dog machine, which almost had to go on life support last week, and saw Monroe take on the Franklin Heat in a contest from the very competitive 5th and 6th Grade Division. See all the results from Thursday night’s action.

Monroe Downs Franklin In 5th and 6th Grade Action, 32-20

The Monroe Township 5th and 6th Grade Traveling Boys Basketball team came up with a very solid win by defeating the Franklin Heat by the score of 32-20 on Tuesday night. The Purple Birds, who were led by Adam Darwish and Ryan Turco, pulled away with a 22-13 showing over the game’s final 20 minutes for the win. Despite a very enthusiastic crowd in support of Franklin, the Falcons were able to improve to 4-2 overall on the summer, and pull into a first place tie with the Jersey Shoreshots in the 5th and 6th Grade Division. Monroe jumped out to a 10-7 halftime lead thanks to four field goals and 2 of 4 free throws while limiting Franklin to just three field goals and one of two from the line.

Over the first 5:35, neither team scored when GMC Hoops arrived with 14:25 left in the opening half. The scoring drought continued for about another minute until Monroe connected on a field goal for a 2-0 lead. Franklin would tie things up though with a foul line jumper at the 12:50 mark that made the score, 2-2. The Heat then went ahead by a 4-2 score on a field goal at the 12:13 mark. The Falcons responded though with a 4-0 run over the next 1:15 including two offensive rebounds and putback attempts that produced a layup for a 6-4 lead at the 10:58 mark. Forty-five seconds later, Franklin intercepted a pass on the near sideline at about midcourt, and drove in for the layup, and a 6-6 tie with 10:13 remaining in the half. Following a Franklin timeout at the 9:40 mark, Monroe outscored the Heat by a 4-1 margin as the Somerset County team went without a point over the final 6:21 while the Falcons went into halftime with a 10-7 lead.

Neither team scored for approximately 3:19 after Franklin called its timeout. The Heat made one of two at the line for a 7-6 lead, but almost a minute after that, Monroe took the lead for good on an offensive rebound and putback at the 5:25 mark for an 8-7 edge. The Falcons then got two free throws at the 4:25 mark to end the first half scoring with a 10-7 advantage. In the second half, Monroe started out with a 6-1 run over the first 9:17 for a 16-8 lead. The Falcons got on the board first to open up the second half scoring with a field goal at the 15:34 mark for a 12-7 lead. Darwish then got a layup as he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 14-7 lead with 14:05 left. Franklin, meanwhile, continued to struggle as it had been without a field goal for 18:13 as it made one of two from the line at the twelve minute mark to trim the deficit to six at 14-8.

Following a thirty second timeout at the 10:50 mark, Turco found Darwish, who then made a nice up and under move for a layup, and a 16-8 lead. The Purple Birds then scored six of the next ten points including a 4-0 run for a 22-12 lead at the 7:08 mark. Turco then put the icing on the cake with a three pointer from the right corner at the 3:05 mark for a 27-16 lead. From there, the Falcons outscored the Heat by a 5-4 margin for the 32-20 victory. As mentioned earlier, Monroe moved into a first place tie with the Jersey Shoreshots at 4-2 while Franklin dropped to 2-3.

GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Raritan Bay next week for more action.

Colonia JV Summer League–June 29, 2009

COLONIA, NJ–On Monday night, June 29th, GMC Hoops traveled over to Colonia Middle School to catch action from opening night at the 2009 Colonia JV League for the first time this summer. The site took in the 8:00 PM contest between Perth Amboy and Dunellen, but managed to get the rest of the results from Colonia varsity assistant and JV boys basketball coach, Brian O’Lone. See all of the scores from Monday and Wednesday night along with latest standings.

Perth Amboy Cruises Past Dunellen For Opening Night Win, 32-11

GMC Hoops managed to see all but the first 2:16 of this contest after being at work. Unfortunately, the game wasn’t really that close. Perth Amboy, which brought 11 kids along to play at CHS on Monday night, was just too big, too athletic, and two quick for Dunellen, which only had 7 kids in attendance for the contest. In the first half, the Junior Panthers had many second and third chance opportunities while the Junior Destroyers were just one and done. However, Amboy shot itself in the foot often, and didn’t take advantage of all the opportunities it had. Consequently, Dunellen managed to hang around in this contest for quite a while. As a matter of fact, the Junior Destroyers were only down by 13 with just about ten and a half minutes to play. Simply put, this game could have been a lot worse than the final score indicated.

With the help of a 2-2-1 full court press, the Junior Panthers were able to force numerous turnovers in the second half. Even when Perth Amboy couldn’t press anymore, they were still able to create opportunities by forcing Dunellen miscues, which were converted into easy breakway layups at the other end. Over the final 20 minutes, PAHS forced 18 turnovers, and converted them into 12 points as it outscored DHS by a 19-6 margin to wrap up the 32-11 victory. Although Dunellen did a much better job keeping Perth Amboy off the boards by limiting the Junior Panthers to just five offensive rebounds, the Junior Destroyers just couldn’t get into a rhythm offensively. The first half, Perth Amboy limited Dunellen to just a field goal on a bank shot at the 10:40 mark, and then a three pointer at the 7:45 mark while tabulating its 13 points on five field goals, and 3 of 6 from the foul line.

After GMC Hoops arrived at the 17:44 mark with the score tied at 0-0, the action began to pick up a bit as Perth Amboy got on the board first with a layup at the 16:45 mark. The Junior Panthers then scored again on a layup at the 15:41 mark for a 4-0 lead. Nearly two minutes later, Amboy drew a foul on a layup attempt that produced a one of two showing from the foul line for a 5-0 lead. Meanwhile, Dunellen didn’t get on the board until 9:20 into the contest when a player connected on a bank shot from inside the key for a 5-2 Perth Amboy lead. A little more than a minute later, Amboy missed a one and one attempt from the free throw line, but would later go up by five again thanks to a nice baseline drive along the left side and dish for a layup that made the score 7-2 at the 8:01 mark. On its very next offensive series, Dunellen pulled within two on a three pointer at the 7:45 mark that made the score 7-5 in favor of the Junior Panthers.

Unfortunately, Dunellen couldn’t pull any closer as it was outscored by a 25-6 margin the rest of the way including a 6-0 Amboy burst to end the half. After neither team scored for over four and a half minutes, the Junior Panthers took advantage of the offensive rebounding edge it had by grabbing three offensive boards, and drawing a foul on the follow for one of two from the charity stripe, and an 8-5 lead with 3:13 to go before the intermission. Nearly a minute later, Amboy was on the board again with a steal at halfcourt, and a drive in for a left hand layup, and a 10-5 advantage at the 2:24 mark. PAHS then forced antoher Dunellen miscue, and converted that into a field goal for a 12-5 edge at the 1:45 mark. The Junior Panthers then closed out the opening half with a free throw for a 13-5 lead at the break. Things didn’t get much better in the second half for the Junior Destroyers, who were coached by DHS 2008 graduate, Matt Cianfrone.

After a positive start that consisted of a Dunellen steal for a reverse layup at the 18:41 mark, things went south for the Junior Destroyers. Perth Amboy was starting to force turnovers with its pressure, and eventually started to take advantage of them. With 15:56 to go in the game, the Junior Panthers got an offensive rebound, and kickout for a trey from the right wing, and a 16-7 advantage. Neither team would score for the next 3:16 until Amboy again took advantage of three offensive rebounds for a putback, and an 18-7 lead at the 12:40 mark. Following a missed front end of a one and one by Dunellen at the 12:12 mark, Perth Amboy put together a nice play on a fine upcourt pass for a layup, and a 20-7 lead with 10:27 left. Almost two minutes after that, the Junior Panthers swiped a steal, and passed the ball upcourt again for a breakaway layup, and a 22-7 lead at the 8:38 mark.

After a Dunellen timeout at the 8:27 mark, the Junior Destroyers finally got on the board with their first field goal in 10:30 to trim the deficit to 22-9 with 8:11 remaining. DHS couldn’t get any closer though as Amboy outscored the Junior Destroyers by a 10-2 margin the rest of the way for the 32-11 win. With the victory, Perth Amboy starts the summer at 1-0 while Dunellen begins at 0-1.

GMC Hoops will try to get out to Colonia for more JV action next week.