NEPTUNE, NJ–For the second straight day, GMC Hoops traveled down to Rebounds in Neptune to take in action from the 2007 Rebounds Team Camp. Once again, St. Joseph’s and Cardinal McCarrick were in action, and at alternate times so that we could some more of both teams in competition. Both squads came up with solid efforts as they each won both their games. With the two victories McCarrick catapulted to the top of the standings along with fellow unbeaten team, Freehold Township of the Shore Conference while St. Joe’s moved up to 3-1. On this day, the Eagles battled Point Pleasant Boro at 5:00 PM, and then took on Keansburg at 7:20 PM while St. Joseph’s squared off against Plainfield at 6:10 PM, and then closed out its night with a contest versus Lakewood at 8:30 PM.
Results From Earlier Action
In earlier action, the Eagles of Cardinal McCarrick faced off against the Panthers from Point Pleasant Boro in a 5:00 PM game that kicked off the second day of competition. Cardy Mac had some struggles in this one against a Point Boro squad that fought hard to try and get its first win of the camp. The Eagles managed to scratch and claw themselves to a 42-39 victory, and stay undefeated at 3-0 while the Panthers dropped to 0-3. Meanwhile, in the other 5:00 PM games, Neptune rolled past Keansburg to move up to 3-1 on the camp while Freehold Township defeated a Manasquan team still looking for a win despite three tough losses by a combined total of 13 points. The Patriots, which reached the Central Jersey Group IV Sectional Final before losing to South Brunswick in 2007, remained undefeated at 3-0 while Manasquan dropped to 0-3.
Strong First Half Propels Falcons Past Cardinals, 73-61
After sitting out the first day of action at the 2007 Rebounds Team Camp, the Cardinals of Plainfield got into the fray with three games on their schedule this Tuesday night. The first game for the team from the Queen City was against St. Joseph’s, which was looking to rebound after a tough loss to Cardinal McCarrick in a thrilling game to wrap up day one, 69-64. The Falcons made sure this game as well as their second game with Lakewood, weren’t close with strong first half performances in each game to come away with two victories on the day. While there were a total of 47 points in the first half, St. Joseph’s got the lion’s share by almost outscoring Plainfield two to one for a 31-16 halftime lead. In the second half, the Cardinals woke up an outscored the Falcons by three, 45-42 in a furiously pace period with a combined total of 87 points. Not bad for a game with a running clock. However, the Cards were unable to dig out of their first half hole, and the Falcons came away with the 73-61 win.
St. Joseph’s began the game with an 8-0 run over the first 9:34 of the contest, and had a 25-4 lead with 5:56 to go in the half as Plainfield could only manage to score on just two field goals during the opening 14:04 of the game. The Cardinals were so frustrated by the stifling defense from the Falcons that the first Plainfield field goal that came at the 9:38 mark was on a huge dunk that expressed the frustration much like the infamous New Brunswick dunk that shattered the backboard at South Plainfield to put a halt to a 21-2 start by the Tigers in a game prior to the state cutoff back in the 1994-95 season. Neither team scored over the first 5:05 of the game before Steve Rennard got the Falcons going with a steal and pass upcourt to Nikko Vastola, who was then fouled on the layup attempt for one of two free throws and a 1-0 lead at the 14:55 mark. On the next Plainfield possession, Gerard Lewis grabbed a rebound of a missed Cardinal shot, and gave an outlet pass to Paul Konopacki for a layup that made the score, 3-0 at the 14:37 mark. Rennard then made one of two at the line for a 4-0 lead at the 14:09 mark, and the Falcons could have had more in that sequence as Vastola got the offensive rebound, but he couldn’t convert. Neither team scored over nearly a minute and a half before Plainfield called timeout at the 12:42 mark with St. Joe’s still leading, 4-0.
The stoppage didn’t seem to be the tonic for the Cardinals as neither team scored for nearly 1:45, and then the Falcons made it a 6-0 lead when Rennard passed to Lewis, who then made a nice spin move for a jumper at the 10:58 mark. A little more than a half minute later, St. Joe’s was on the board again as Konopacki made a nice bounce pass to Vastola for a left handed scoop shot to cap an 8-0 run at the 10:26 mark. Plainfield finally got on the board with a thunderous dunk, but undaunted, St. Joseph’s went back to work as Vastola returned the favor with a bounce pass to a cutting Konopacki for a layup that made the score, 10-2 at the 9:38 mark. Vastola, who had five points, two assists, and two offensive rebounds in the first 11:09 of the contest, added to the lead with two free throws at the 9:10 mark for a 12-2 lead. Lewis then made it a 14-2 lead when he scored on an offensive rebound and putback off of a missed layup on the fast break by Vastola with 8:51 left in the half. Lewis then handed out his second assist of the half when he grabbed a rebound, and gave a nice outlet pass to Rennard for a reverse layup that made the score, 16-2 at the 8:36 mark. Twenty-two seconds later, the Falcons were on the board again as Rennard got an assist on a Konopacki layup that made the score, 18-2 as the Cardinals called for time at the 8:14 mark.
The game continued to turn into a clinic as St. Joseph’s reeled off seven of the next nine points over a span of 2:18 to take a commanding 25-4 lead. Despite the fact that Plainfield was pressing, the Falcons were breaking it with regularity after some initial struggles. The Cards did finally get going with a 12-6 spurt to close out the first half to only trail by 15 at the intermission, 31-16. In the second half, the contest turned into a track meet as Plainfield took the momentum it created in the latter portion of the first half, and tried to make a game of it. The Cards got the first points of the second half to close the gap to 31-18 with 15:45 to go in the game. Then, after a St. Joe’s score, Plainfield crept to within a dozen on a trifecta from the right wing that made the score, 33-21 with 14:15 to play. The Falcons then scored five of the next seven points including a layup by Rennard off an assist from Konopacki that made the score, 38-23 with 13:39 left. After St. Joe’s got another score to go back up by 17, Plainfield reeled off the next five points for a 40-28 Falcon lead before Lewis made a nice kick out to Rennard for a jumper from the left wing that made it 42-28 at the 12:26 mark.
The Rennard jumper ignited a 6-0 run over a span of about a minute that gave St. Joseph’s a 46-28 advantage with 11:40 remaining in the contest. Plainfield did its best to make things interesting by closing the game with a 33-27 showing that included a highlight reel dunk, but the Falcons came away with the victory, 73-61. St. Joe’s improved its record on the camp to 2-1 while Plainfield dropped to 0-1. The Falcons were back in action later in the evening when they faced Lakewood over on the Celtics court at 8:30 PM while Plainfield played two more games against Manasquan at 7:20 PM and then against Monmouth Academy at 8:30 PM.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph’s (2-1) | 31 | 42 | 73 |
| Plainfield (0-1) | 16 | 45 | 61 |
Cardinal McCarrick Rolls Past Keansburg, 63-36
Cardinal McCarrick was looking to finish its second night at the 2007 Rebounds Team Camp with two victories while Keansburg was still searching for its first win as the two squads met in a contest held on the Celtics court at 7:20 PM. The Eagles entered the night with two victories on its first day over Monmouth Academy and St. Joseph’s in a game that was a classic. Then, earlier on this second day of action, McCarrick had to scrape and claw to get a three point win over Point Pleasant Boro. This one would be no contest as the Eagles nearly doubled the first half output of the Titans for a 41-22 lead at the intermission, and then cruised in the second half by outscoring the Shore Conference school by a 22-14 margin for a 63-36 rout. The Eagles jumped out to a 20-6 lead over the first ten minutes of the half, and then built up a 21 point, 35-14 lead with 4:34 left before halftime. Keansburg then closed things out with an 8-6 run for the nineteen point McCarrick advantage at the intermission.
The Titans actually drew first blood with one of two foul shots at the 15:27 mark for a 1-0 lead. However, Burwell got the Eagles going with a rebound that set up a fast break opportunity led by the soon to be senior forward, and then he dished to Julio Rosario for a reverse layup that gave McCarrick a lead it would never relinquish at 2-1 with 15:22 to go in the first half. Burwell then followed that up with a three pointer at the 14:45 mark for a 5-1 lead. Mike Brennan then got into the act with an offensive rebound and follow for a 7-4 lead at the 13:58 mark after Keansburg crept to within one on a trey from the left wing. Burwell, who factored in seven of the first nine Eagle points in this game as well as scored 14 of the first 24 by McCarrick, took a pass from Rosario for a layup that made the score, 9-4 at the 13:40 mark. Cardy Mac then got another score on a floater for an 11-4 lead. Beginning to pull away, the Eagles then ran off five of the next seven points including an inbounds pass by Rosario to Burwell for a three pointer from the left side for a 16-6 lead with 10:58 remaining before halftime.
A little more than a half minute later, the Eagles got on the board again as Wil Snider found Julio Rosario for a layup along the left baseline that put McCarrick ahead by twelve at 18-6 with 10:23 remaining in the period. Cardy Mac continued to pour it on as the Eagles got another score a little more than twenty seconds later as Rosario got a steal, and made a skip pass upcourt to Burwell for a layup that made the score, 20-6 midway through the first half. The Eagle lead grew some more as the South Amboy school reeled off another four points including a Burwell layup off the inbounds for a 24-6 lead at the 9:01 mark. Keansburg finally put an end to the 10-0 Eagle spurt with a score, but McCarrick came right back as Tom Costello grabbed and offensive rebound, and scored on the follow for a 26-8 advantage with 7:47 left in the opening period. The Titans then reeled off the next four points to pull within fourteen at 26-12, but Burwell then found Rosario in the right corner for a three that put the Eagles back ahead by seventeen at 29-12 with 6:20 to play in the half. After Keansburg got a basket to nearly cut the deficit in half at 29-14, Cardinal McCarrick scored six straight points including a windmill jam by Burwell off an assist by Rosario for a 35-14 lead with 4:34 to go in the half.
Keansburg then closed the half with an 8-6 showing to make it a 41-22 McCarrick lead at halftime. In the second half, the Eagles opened things up even more with a 9-2 spurt over the first 7:21 for a 50-24 lead at the 12:39 mark. On a subsequent possession, Rosario netted two free throws for a 52-24 advantage at the 12:16 mark. A half minute or so after that, Rosario was back at it again as he took a pass from Alvin Baptiste-Ousley, and went in on a one on two situation, faked, and turned toward the foul line for a jumper that made the score, 52-24 with 11:44 remaining. Costello then made a layup at the 5:38 mark to put McCarrick ahead 58-27, and then Branten Widgeon got into the act with a layup off of a steal for a 60-27 lead with 5:20 to play. Baptiste-Ousley then capped the victory with an offensive rebound off his own miss, and scored on the follow as he was fouled for a three point play that made the score, 63-33 with 1:03 left. The Titans then closed out the contest with the final three points for the 63-36 final score. With the win, Cardinal McCarrick improved to 4-0 on the camp while Keansburg dropped to 0-4.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal McCarrick (4-0) | 41 | 22 | 63 |
| Keansburg (0-4) | 22 | 14 | 36 |
St. Joe’s Victorious Again Thanks To Another Solid First Half, 51-37
The Falcons of St. Joseph’s were looking to go 2-0 on the night for a 3-1 start on the week at the 2007 Rebounds Camp when it faced off against Lakewood of Ocean County in the nightcap round of games held at 8:30 PM. Like its first game of the evening against Plainfield, St. Joseph’s got off to a fast start in the first half, and that proved to be the difference. The Falcons jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first 8:45, and went on to lead by fourteen at the half, 26-12 before Lakewood tried to make things respectable with a 21-16 run over the first 14:40 of the second half to close to within nine at 42-33. However, like the Cardinals earlier in the evening, Lakewood dug itself too deep a hole to dig out of, and the Falcons came away with the victory, 51-37. St. Joseph’s managed to close the game with eight of the last twelve points to even things out at 25-25 in the second half to preserve the win.
Lakewood was held scoreless for the first several minutes of the first half as St. Joe’s took a 10-0 advantage. Rennard made one of two free throws after an earlier foul shot by the Falcons for a 2-0 lead at the 14:28 mark. Rennard stepped back up to the line for another two free throws that made the score, 4-0 with 14:07 left in the half. A little more than forty seconds after that, St. Joe’s was on the board again with a field goal that made the score, 6-0 at the 13:26 mark. Thirty-four seconds later, Paul Konopacki got on the board with a layup at the 12:52 mark for an 8-0 lead, and then the Falcons got one more basket for a 10-0 lead before Lakewood got a jumper from the right corner for its first field goal and points of the contest at the 11:30 mark. On the very next Falcon possession though, Nikko Vastola passed to Rennard on the right wing for a three pointer that gave St. Joseph’s a 13-2 lead with 11:15 remaining in the half. Over the next three minutes, Lakewood scored six of the next ten points to pull within ten at 18-8 before Rennard, who shot 5 of 10 from the line in half number one as well as scored 12 of his team’s first 21 points, made one of two at the line for a 19-8 advantage with 8:15 to play in the half.
Lakewood would get a score to bring the deficit back down to single digits, but Rennard came back with a running bank shot from the left side at the 5:30 mark to put St. Joe’s back up by eleven at 21-10. The soon to be sophomore guard had an opportunity to give the Falcons their biggest lead of the contest a little less than a minute and a half later, but failed to make any of his two attempts at the line so the score stood at 21-10 at the 4:10 mark. About a minute and fifteen seconds later, Lakewood scored off the fast break to close within nine again at 21-12 with 2:55 to go in the first half. Five seconds later, the Falcons called a timeout, and then after the stoppage, closed the half with the final five points to take a 26-12 lead into the brief intermission. Dhaliwal Gaganjot was a catalyst during the late mini-run with a nice entry pass to a cutting Vastola for a layup at the 1:50 mark, and then a dribble and kick out from the left side up top to Steve Brandenberg for a jumper with 3.5 seconds remaining in the half.
In the second half, St. Joseph’s got started quickly with six of the first eight points in a span of just 2:51. Both teams exchanged scores in the first 1:23 for a 28-14 Falcon lead at the 14:37 mark. Thirty-five seconds later, Rennard faked a pass, and drove down the right side for a scoop shot layup to put the Falcons ahead by 16, 30-14 with 14:02 to play. Rennard then followed that up with an assist on a pass to Lewis for a score for the largest St. Joe’s lead of the game at 32-14 with 13:09 remaining. Lakewood would get on the board with a field goal to bring the deficit back down to sixteen at 32-16, but Rennard went back to the line for one of two again to make the score, 33-16 at the 12:20 mark. Twenty seconds later, the Ocean County school connected on a baseline jumper to close within fifteen at 33-18 with twelve minutes to play. The basket continued what would be an 8-1 run over a span of just 2:03 to pull within eleven at 33-22 with 11:06 left. Capping the run was a steal by a Lakewood player off Rennard that was eventually converted into a layup.
Neither team scored for over a minute until Lewis made a pass from the corner to underneath the basket, where a cutting Konopacki took the ball, and layed it in for a 35-22 lead with 9:40 to play in the contest. Over the next 3:35, Lakewood scored eight of the next thirteen points to close to within ten at 40-30 before Rennard, who ended up going 7 of 8 from the charity stripe in the second half for a 12 of 18 showing on the game (66.7 percent), put a halt to the run with two free throws that made the score, 42-30 with 6:05 remaining. Lewis then followed that up with a nice block on the ensuing Lakewood possession, but the Shore Conference team kept battling, and scored a three point play to trim the deficit down to single digits at 42-33 with 5:20 left. However, Lakewood was unable to get any closer as St. Joseph’s closed the game with a 9-4 run. Rennard was a key figure in the game closing spurt with two pairs of free throws at the 2:38 and 1:13 marks respectively, and an assist on a three pointer from the right corner by Gaganjot at the 2:04 mark for a 49-35 lead. St. Joe’s went on to win by fourteen to go 3-1 over the first two days at the camp while Lakewood dropped to 1-3.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph’s (3-1) | 26 | 25 | 51 |
| Lakewood (1-3) | 12 | 25 | 37 |
Standings After Day Two
Below are the standings after day two. Cardinal McCarrick led the way with a 4-0 record while St. Joseph’s was 3-1. Neptune continued to play well with two more wins while Holmdel dropped both of its games, but by a combined total of just nine points. Plainfield got into the action with three games including victories over Manasquan and Monmouth Academy, and a loss in one of our featured games to St. Joseph’s. Manasquan and Monmouth Academy both won their first games of the camp while Point Boro and Keansburg were still looking for their first wins.
- Cardinal McCarrick (4-0)
- Freehold Township (4-0)
- Neptune (4-1)
- St. Joseph’s (3-1)
- Plainfield (2-1)
- Holmdel (3-2)
- Bridgewater (1-1)
- Lakewood (1-3)
- Monmouth Academy (1-3)
- Manasquan (1-4)
- Point Pleasant Boro (0-4)
- Keansburg (0-4)