GMC Hoops Blogosphere

2010 Middlesex County College Summer League–Team Stats

EDISON, NJ–On Thursday afternoon, GMC Hoops took all of the results from the games played this summer at the MCC Summer League, and put together the team stats for all 14 teams in the league. These stats are sorted by Point Differential, Total Offense, and Total Defense.

2010 Middlesex County College Summer League–Team Stats–Point Differential

2010 Middlesex County College Summer League–Team Stats–Total Offense

2010 Middlesex County College Summer League–Team Stats–Total Defense

2010 Playoff Bracket Update–July 30th

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–With the playoff results in from several different leagues including the Bound Brook and Rahway Summer Leagues, GMC Hoops has just updated the brackets from leagues or events that took place this summer. Rahway is having its Championship Game on Friday night while the Colonia JV Summer League resumes its playoffs on Monday. Below are all the brackets that we have from the leagues we’ve covered:

• Bound Brook Summer League–Playoffs
• Colonia JV Summer League–Playoff Brackets
• Kean Ironman Challenge II–AM Session
• Kean Ironman Challenge II–PM Session
• Middlesex County College Summer League–Playoff Brackets
• Rahway Summer League–Playoff Brackets

GMC Hoops thanks coaches Anthony Melesurgo of Bound Brook, Bernie Buniak of Dunellen, Brian O’Lone of Colonia, Chris Tarver of Middlesex County College, and Tom Wagenblast of Kean for getting us these results.

2010 Middlesex County College Summer League–Analysis

EDISON, NJ–With play completed at the MCC Summer League for almost a week now, GMC Hoops wanted to take some time to look back at what transpired in the league this summer. The site has been covering this league since its initial season back in 2000-01. Out of all the leagues GMC Hoops has covered through the years, the MCC league has been covered the longest. There were 14 teams in the league including ten from the Greater Middlesex Conference if you count the latest addition in Timothy Christian. Eight teams made the playoffs. Four from the GMC, two from the Shore Conference, one from the Skyland Conference, and one from the Union County Conference.

All four non-conference teams qualified for the playoffs, and had a combined record of 29-14. The four GMC schools that qualified ended up with a combined record of 31-12. East Brunswick earned the top seed in the post-season tourney by completing the regular season with an unblemished 9-0 mark. However, the Bears, which were the defending champions, fell to South River, a team it defeated in the finals last summer, in the opening round to finish at 9-1. J.P. Stevens ended the regular season at 6-3 with two of those losses coming in the second week when the varsity squad played at the East Brunswick team camp. The Hawks also lost to South Hunterdon late in the regular season.

However, Stevens put together a solid run through the playoffs with three straight wins including an opening round victory over Perth Amboy Tech, a 50-37 victory over South River in the semifinals, and a 37-32 win over Keyport in the Championship. Winning this league was a positive step for a Hawks team that is going into year two of rebuliding after two seasons where they posted a combined record of 38-15 with the likes of Kenny Bland, Myles Reuben, Nick Pol, and Tahir Swinton. Veterans Mike Reuben and Victor Quan, two reserves on the 2008-09 Hawk squad that went 18-9, lead the team. Reuben earned MVP honors while Quan made several key plays in the victory over Keyport. Marvin Crawford and Brandon Ahmed also play prominently on the squad while Pete Prontinicki will be looking to come back from injury this upcoming winter.

For the second straight year, the South River Rams reached the Final Four of this summer league. The Rams got in as the eighth seed after getting to the Championship game last season. South River was hitting all their shots in the opening round against top seeded East Brunswick, and that propelled them to the semifinals. However, the hot shooting didn’t last as the Rams only went 15 of 45 from the floor including 3 of 21 from three point range against J.P. Stevens. In all fairness to the Rams though, it was the first game of the summer that Nick Boyler, Tim Huff, and Craig Huff all played in after going through the summer baseball season. Xavier Foster and Gavin Campbell struggled though, especially from beyond the arc.

South River played well in a number of games at MCC. First, they opened the season by defeating Timothy Christian in the final seconds. Then, they only lost by one to South Hunterdon (40-39) late in the season on July 6th. They also lost to playoff contenders J.P. Stevens, Keyport, and Roselle Park. Coupled with the play at the Hoop Group Headquarters Spring League, the Rams are off to a good start en route to their first season in the GMC Gold. With a good nucleus returning such as Foster, Campbell, Boyler, Larry Smith, Tyler Harris, Tim and Craig Huff, the Rams are solid contenders for GMC Gold Honors. One of the teams that they will be competing against will be Perth Amboy Tech.

The Patriots had a good summer with a 7-2 mark in the regular season to earn the fourth seed in the playoffs. However, Amboy Tech stumbled in the first round to eventual champion, J.P. Stevens. The Pats have perhaps the best two players in the GMC Gold with Rashad Adams and Malcolm Batts, but they will need to have a solid supporting cast to contribute if they are to overtake South River. The Pats three losses in the league were to teams (East Brunswick, Keyport, and J.P. Stevens) that had a combined record of 28-6. The Pats did beat Gold Division rivals: East Brunswick Tech, South Amboy, Timothy Christian as well as playoff teams such as Keansburg and Roselle Park.

The other six GMC teams that competed at MCC did not make the playoffs including: Monroe, Bishop Ahr, East Brunswick Tech, Sayreville, South Amboy, and Timothy Christian. The squads from Monroe, Bishop Ahr, and Sayreville were mostly JV although occasionally some varsity players did compete such as the case when Monroe and Roselle Park went at it in a very close game that was played on June 29th. That leaves us with East Brunswick Tech, South Amboy, and Timothy Christian. All of these teams will be in the revamped GMC Gold in 2010-11. The Tigers were only 2-7 on the summer, but have some good players returning including Rob Brown, Mike Hardy, Quincy Ross, and Dequan Calimese. They played competitively against the likes of playoff teams such as Amboy Tech (lost 51-39) and Keansburg (lost 21-14). Expect the Tigers to be chasing the likes of South River, Amboy Tech, and Dunellen though.

South Amboy went 1-8 with a victory over Timothy Christian late in the summer. The Guvs lost standout Joe Charmello to graduation, and the likes of role players such as Christian Geant, Dan O’Connor, Luke O’Connor, Tim Simko, and Matt Reagan. But have Dustin DeVoe, Michael Zammit as well as some good youngsters coming in. South Amboy is also working hard to build a solid foundation at the lower levels with teams in each of the three divisions over at the Raritan Bay Summer League. The Guvs are looking to Zammit to fill the void left behind by Charmello. South Amboy may go through some short term pain, but the future does look bright. Timothy Christian’s first year in the Gold will be an interesting one.

The Tigers always had a good turnout of players when they played at MCC. Timothy Christian will be a newcomer to the GMC along with fellow former Patriot Conference member, Wardlaw. TCS has done well against the GMC, particularly the Gold Division in recent years. However, at MCC this summer, the Tigers struggled with a 1-8 mark including tough close losses to South River (42-40), South Amboy (36-34), and Sayreville (42-39). However, if it had won those three games, Timothy Christian may have been able to qualify for the playoffs. So, the Tigers will still not be an easy out in the GMC Gold

Middlesex County College Summer League–July 22, 2010

J.P. Stevens Defeats Keyport In The Championship Game

EDISON, NJ–On Thursday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to Middlesex County College to take in the Championship Game of the 2010 Middlesex County College Summer League at the Physical Education Center on the main campus of MCC. This contest involved a team from the Greater Middlesex Conference as J.P. Stevens took on Keyport on the main court. This was the fourth year in a row that Keyport had a team in at least the Final Four of this summer league. The last time the Red Raiders played for a championship, they lost to North Brunswick by a score of 51-45 in 2008. It was the first time that J.P. Stevens had played at MCC since 2002.

Balanced Attack Propels Stevens To Title, 32-27

After enduring a very difficult season in 2010-11, the J.P. Stevens Hawks, which had come off two very successful years prior with the likes of Kenny Bland, Myles Reuben, Nick Pol, and Tahir Swinton, are looking to build a new foundation for winning under soon to be second year head coach, Bob Jones. Jones had previously served as an assistant coach to Charlie Mohr over at Edison, and guided the 2005 Edison Boys Freshmen team to the quarterfinals of that year’s Perth Amboy Freshmen Tournament as the fourth seed before bowing out against divisional rival and Cinderella story that season, South Brunswick (12th seed). Before coaching at Edison, Jones was on the staff at South Plainfield when the Tigers won their first ever GMCT Championship in 2004.

Jones has a lot of young players including Marvin Crawford and Brandon Ahmed, but there are also a couple of holdovers from the two year run by the Hawks in 2008 and 2009. Mike Reuben, the younger brother of Myles Reuben, and Victor Quan, were reserves on the 2008-09 team. Both Reuben and Quan played key roles in Stevens run through the playoffs at MCC. Reuben earned MVP honors while Quan came up with some key steals in the second half of the Hawks win over Keyport for the Championship. Stevens trailed 15-14 at the half as they only converted one of eight Red Raider turnovers.

However, in the second half, Quan helped spark a pivotal 10-2 spurt that the Hawks used to pull away from a 21-21 tie to earn the title with a 32-27 victory. Quan factored in eight of those points with a baseline jumper from Reuben at the 12:20 mark, and three steals that set up the other three scores for the 31-23 lead late in the game. Both Quan and Rueben shared team high in scoring with 8 points, but got them in different ways. Quan had a better shooting day going 4 of 9 from the floor while collecting 5 steeals, 4 rebounds, an assist, and a charge. Reuben only made two shots from the field, but netted all three of his free throws while picking up three rebounds, three steals, two assists, and a block.

Crawford and Ahmed also had a hand in the victory. Crawford scored all seven of his points in the first half while collecting 6 steals, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and a rebound. Ahmed added 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Kenny Arias (2 points, 2 steals, 2 rebounds, and an assist) and Rojing Rajkinarkar (2 of 2 FTs for 2 points and a rebound) rounded out the scoring for the Hawks. For the game, J.P. Stevens as a team shot only 12 of 37 from the floor for 32 percent, but limited Keyport to just 10 of 27 shooting for 37 percent while forcing 23 Red Raider turnovers. The Hawks converted those miscues into 15 points including thirteen in the decisive second half. Keyport, which advanced to the finals with victories over Roselle Park in the first round and South Hunterdon in the second round, also shot better from the perimeter by making 2 of 8 from three while Stevens was only one of five.

At the foul line, JPS was 7 of 14 from the charity stripe while Keyport was 5 of 8. In other statistical departments, Stevens won the turnover battle (10-23), points off turnovers (15-2), but Keyport won the battle overall on the boards (23-14) and in second chance points (4-2) while offensive rebounds were even (6-6). The Hawks did have more assists (9-6), steals (16-3), blocks (4-0), and charges (1-0). J.P. Stevens outscored Keyport by an 18-12 margin in the second half to secure the win. Following a theme that was prevalent throughout the first half, the Hawks had some early opportunities, but couldn’t cash them in. After he had given Stevens an early lead with an offensive rebound and follow, Quan drew a foul after getting an offensive rebound, and then trying to put in the follow, but couldn’t connected on two foul shots. The score remained tied at 2-2 with 18:50 to go in the opening half.

Crawford put Stevens back in front with a jumper from Ahmed before Keyport pulled within one on one of two from the foul line at the 17:09 mark. The Red Raiders then went ahead 6-4 with a three pointer from the right side at the 15:35 mark, but the Hawks tied the game at 6-6 just under a minute and a half later as Crawford swiped a steal that led to an Ahmed field goal at the 14:08 mark. Crawford, who shot 3 of 5 from the floor in the first half, scored a basket while being fouled for a three point play that put JPS ahead again at 9-6 with 13:10 to go in the half. Keyport rallied back with four straight points including two free throws at the 10:56 mark for a 10-9 lead. The Red Raiders then added a layin off a nice pass for a 6-0 run, and a 12-9 lead at the 8:38 mark before Reuben got the only three of the game for Stevens with a jumper from the right wing to tie things up again at 12-12 with 7:46 to go in the half.

Crawford then got the final Hawk points of the half with a drive through the left side of the key for a layin that put JPS in front at 14-12 with 6:45 to go before halftime. The Hawks went cold after that, but so did Keyport as the Red Raiders made a three from the left wing at the 6:20 mark, and didn’t score for the balance of the half after that. Not to say that both teams didn’t have their chances. After a Quan steal, Ahmed drew a foul, but missed both free throws at the 4:48 mark. Keyport had its chance in the waning moments of the half. After calling a timeout with eight seconds to go, the Red Raiders set up for a final shot, but it was blocked by Reuben as time expired. Both teams had gone scoreless over the final 6:20 of the half, and only had one field goal each over the final 6:45 of the period. Stevens was 6 of 19 from the field including one of two from three while Keyport was 5 of 12 including two of four from long distance. There were five lead changes and three ties in the half while neither team had a lead bigger than three points.

The second half started out positively for J.P. Stevens as Quan forced a steal that got into the hands of Ahmed for a layup, and a 16-15 lead with 19:05 to go. Reuben then drew a foul on a three point attempt, and made all three foul shots for a 19-15 lead at the 17:25 mark. Keyport rallied though with a steal for a layup at the 15:23 mark, and then a layup off a nice cut to the basket at the 14:09 mark to tie things up again at 19-19. Rajkinarkar then got his only points of the contest on two free throws to put the Hawks back in front at 21-19 with 13:21 remaining. Keyport then tied things up again at 21-21 with a jumper from the left wing at the 12:38 mark. The Hawks then took over the game for good. On its very next possession, Reuben passed to Quan for a baseline jumper, and a 23-21 lead with 12:20 to go. The score remained that way through the 9:34 mark when Keyport misfired on two foul shots that would have tied the game again.

Quan then forced another steal that resulted in an Ahmed layup, and got another theft that produced a layup of his own from Arias as he was fouled for a 6-0 run, and a 27-21 lead at the 6:45 mark. Two minutes and fifteen seconds later, Quan was at it yet again with another steal that led to a layup by Reuben off a dish from Crawford for a 29-23 lead with 4:30 to go. Following a Hawks timeout at the 4:03 mark, Stevens capped its run when Reuben made a nice skip pass to Arias, who was all alone on the right low block for a layup, and a 31-23 lead at the 3:36 mark. Keyport did make things interesting with a layup at about the 40 second mark, and an offensive rebound and follow at the eight second mark. JPS also made things a bit difficult for itself as it missed some free throws, but Ahmed helped seal the 32-27 victory with a one of two showing from the line with one second left.

With the victory, J.P. Stevens, which also played at the East Brunswick Team Camp, and has a JV team playing in the Colonia JV Summer League, finished the summer at MCC with a 9-3 record while Keyport closed out its summer at 10-2.

GMC Hoops thanks Chris Tarver, and the staff at Middlesex for their assistance and hospitality this summer.

Middlesex County College Summer League–July 20, 2010

J.P. Stevens Advances To Face Keyport In The Championship Game

EDISON, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to Middlesex County College after work to take in both semifinal games from the playoff round of action at the 2010 Middlesex County College Summer League at the Physical Education Center on the main campus of MCC. One of the semifinal contests involved teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference as J.P. Stevens took on South River on Court #1 at 8:00 PM. Prior to that game, Keyport battled South Hunterdon on Court #1 in a battle of two 9-1 teams. View all the playoff results and brackets from Tuesday night.

Late Tear Propels Keyport Into Championship Game, 47-42

After gaining first round wins, both third seeded South Hunterdon and second seeded Keyport were not only looking to reach the Championship Game of the MCC Summer League playoffs, but also gain an inside track to winning it all after top seeded and defending champion, East Brunswick, was knocked off by eighth seeded South River in the opening round. The Rams were taking on fifth seeded J.P. Stevens in the other semifinal after the Hawks upended fourth seeded Amboy Tech in the first round. South Hunterdon, which defeated sixth seeded Keansburg in round one earlier in the day traded blows with Keyport in a back and forth first half that saw the Eagles take a 24-22 lead.

However, in the second half, Keyport used four traditional three point plays early on, and a 10-0 run late to outscore South Hunterdon by a 25-18 margin to gain the berth in the finals with a 47-42 victory. The Eagles had taken a 33-32 lead with 6:54 to go thanks to a 7-0 run, but the Red Raiders got a kind bounce on a three point play at the 6:34 mark, and another traditional trifecta at the 5:54 mark to spark the decisive 10-0 run for a 42-33 lead. Keyport, which defeated seventh seeded Roselle Park in the opening round, went to work right away with a three point play for a 25-24 lead with 18:47 to play in the game. The Raiders then prevented a score with a blocked shot at the 17:45 mark, and got a fortuitous bounced on a three point play at the 16:41 mark for a 28-24 lead.

South Hunterdon finally broke a scoring drought of 4:22 with a layin underneath that closed the gap to 28-26 with 15:38 to go. There would be a lull in the scoring for a little more than a minute and a half before Keyport connected on a field goal for a 30-26 edge. The Red Raiders added another score for a 32-26 lead with 12:58 remaining as South Hunterdon called for time. The Eagles, which made its deepest run at MCC in the three summers that they’ve played there, then scored the next seven points over a span of 6:04 to take a one point lead. The Lambertville based school got a field goal and then an offensive rebound and putback at the 9:33 mark to pull within two at 32-30. The Eagles then scored on a spin move for a layup underneath for a 6-0 run that tied the score at 32-32 with 8:26 left.

South Hunterdon then briefly took the lead when it drew a foul and made one of two at the line to cap the 7-0 run for a 33-32 edge with 6:54 to play. However, Keyport took the lead for good with a three point play thanks to another kind bounce at the 6:34 mark. The Red Raiders got another three point play at the 5:54 mark for a 38-33 lead. The Eagles had a chance to close within three, but misfired on two free throws at the 4:20 mark. South Hunterdon did come up with a big defensive play in the form of a charge at the 3:56 mark to prevent Keyport from going up further, but it was only temporary. The Red Raiders picked up a steal off an errant Eagle pass, and converted it into a layup for a 40-33 lead. Keyport then added two free throws at the 1:29 mark that capped the 10-0 run for a 42-33 advantage.

South Hunterdon didn’t give up though. To their credit, the Eagles rallied to make things interesting in the final minute with three treys to pull within three at 45-42, but the Red Raiders netted two free throws with 4.1 seconds left for the 47-42 win. With the victory, Keyport improved to 10-1 on the summer, and advanced to the Championship game to play J.P. Stevens, a winner over South River in the other semifinal on Thursday. South Hunterdon, which has qualified for the state tournament in each of the past two seasons after not making the tourney for 20 years, and reached the CJ Group I final in 2010, finished its summer at 9-2.

Reuben Helps Hawks Down South River For Finals Berth, 50-37

Both of these teams pulled off upsets in the first round as South River shot well in its victory over top seeded East Brunswick while J.P. Stevens downed fourth seeded Amboy Tech. These two teams had played earlier in the summer with the Hawks coming away with the easy victory. This time though, South River provided a more formidable challenge. With the likes of Nick Boyler, Tim Huff, and Craig Huff returning to the lineup after playing baseball for much of the summer, South River was looking for another upset. Unfortunately, the Rams struggled from the floor, and J.P. Stevens took advantage of its offensive rebounds to come up with the 50-37 victory to advance to the Championship Game against Keyport.

For the game, South River shot only 15 of 45 from the floor including 3 of 21 from three point range for 14 percent. The Rams also struggled at the foul line by going only 4 of 11 for 36 percent. Meanwhile, J.P. Stevens shot 20 of 37 from the floor for 54 percent including 2 of 6 from three point range. The Hawks also went 8 of 13 from the charity stripe for 62 percent. In other statistical departments, South River had more offensive rebounds (10-9), but JPS had more total rebounds (25-19), second chance points (14-8), and blocks (2-1). The Hawks committed more turnovers, but did a better job taking advantage of miscues. South River held the edge in turnovers (10-13), but only edged Stevens in points off of turnovers (11-10). The Hawks had more assists (8-6), but the Rams had more steals (8-7).

Mike Reuben, one of the last remnants of the success Stevens enjoyed when his older brother Myles and teammates Kenny Bland, Nick Pol, and Tahir Swinton roamed the hallways of the school a little more than a year ago, helped lead the charge for the Hawks with 9 points on 4 of 7 shooting including one of two from three point range. Reuben also picked up four rebounds, a steal, and a block. The rest of the Hawks also contributed including Marvin Crawford, Brandon Ahmed, Victor Quan, and Kenny Arias. Meanwhile, for the Rams, Xavier Foster led the way with a team high 9 points, but he struggled shooting from the floor. Foster was only 3 of 12 from the field including 0 of 4 from beyond the arc. He made three of four from the foul line while collecting three steals, two assists, and two rebounds.

Larry Smith and Gavin Campbell chipped in with 8 points each, but also struggled from the field. Smith was the better of the two with 3 of 7 shooting from the floor including 2 of 4 from three point range while Campbell was 4 of 13 including an 0 of 8 effort from beyond the arc. Campbell did pick up some other numbers though as he collected 6 rebounds, 3 steals, an assist, and a block while Smith only had an offensive rebound. Tyler Harris contributed for the Rams with 3 of 5 shooting from the floor for 6 points along with 5 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Boyler helped round out the South River scoring with 3 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal. Both teams had 10 players available for this contest, but Stevens talent and athletic ability gave it the slight edge.

The first half saw J.P. Stevens garner a 20-15 lead as it shot 8 of 20 from the floor including one of four from three point range. The Hawks made all three of their foul shots while committing seven turnovers. On the other side of the ledger, South River was 6 of 16 from the field including 2 of 9 from three point range. The Rams were only one of four from the foul line as well. SRHS only had five turnovers, but Stevens converted three of them for six points. The Rams only converted two of the seven Hawk turnovers for four points while JPS had eight second chance points. Reuben paced the balanced Hawk attack with five points along with three rebounds, a steal, and a block while Smith led South River with six points and a rebound and Campbell chipped in with four points and two steals.

The scoring was few and far between over the first 3:24 of the contest. Smith’s three pointer off an assist from Harris accounted for the only scoring, but then things began to pick up a bit as Campbell swiped a steal for a layin and a 5-0 lead at the 16:15 mark. The Rams had a chance to go up further, but Harris missed two foul shots with 12:45 to go in the first half. The Hawks woke up after that with six straight points over the next minute including a layin setup by a steal off a deflection by Reuben for a 6-5 lead with 11:45 left in the period. Victor Quan then added two free throws at the 10:37 mark for an 8-5 lead. Boyler then got his only field goal of the game with a layup, but JPS came back down for a score of its own as Crawford put in a follow off an offensive board at the 8:16 mark for a 10-7 lead.

Stevens then went up by six as Quan found Crawford with a nice pass from the right high post for a layup off a back door cut while being fouled that resulted in a three point play, and a 13-7 lead with seven minutes remaining in the half. Foster made one of two from the line to trim the deficit to 13-8, and the Rams were still in the game despite only shooting 3 of 10 from the floor. The Hawks were keeping South River in the game by not hitting their shots (5 of 15 FG at the 6:09 mark of the half). Reuben helped the Hawks stay in control though with an offensive rebound and follow at the 3:02 mark for a 15-8 lead, and then a three pointer from the right wing at the 1:32 mark for an 18-8 lead. The Rams responded with a 7-2 run the rest of the way including a three pointer by Smith for a 20-13 Hawks lead, and a steal off the inbounds for a layup by Campbell as time expired in the half for a 20-15 JPS lead.

The Rams picked up right where the left off in the first half as Harris scored on an offensive rebound and follow off a miss by Campbell at the 19:30 mark for a 20-17 Hawks lead. South River continued its 13-6 run as Foster swiped a steal, and drew a foul on a floater attempt that produced two free throws for a 24-21 Stevens lead with 14:49 to play. The Hawks kept the Rams at arm’s length though with a three pointer at the 13:24 mark for a 27-21 lead. Boyler had a chance to get South River closer after getting fouled on a follow attempt, but missed both free throws. Campbell picked up his teammate though with an offensive rebound and follow of his own for a 27-23 Hawk lead at the 12:26 mark. Ahmed then got a basket for Stevens that put the Hawks ahead again by six at 29-23 with 12:26 left.

The Rams then closed the gap to one with a 9-4 run over the next 3:57. First South River broke the JPS pressure for a layup by Campbell at the 12:18 mark for a 29-25 lead. The Rams then got a three pointer to pull within one at 33-32 before the Hawks got the next four points for a 37-32 lead with under eight and a half minutes to go. Quan then got an offensive rebound and follow for a 39-32 lead before Foster was shaken up prompting an injury timeout at the 6:58 mark. Foster was able to eventually walk off on his own power and return minutes later. Boyler made one of two from the line for a 39-33 score, but J.P. Stevens got four more points on buckets by Crawford and Ahmed that made it a 10-3 run for a 43-35 lead. The Hawks then finished the game with a 7-2 spurt for a 17-5 game closing surge for the 50-37 victory. With the win, Stevens improved to 8-3 overall while South River finished the summer at 6-5.

GMC Hoops was back out at Middlesex County College on Thursday for the Championship Game, and will have a full summary posted on the game soon.

J.P. Stevens Wins Middlesex County College Summer League

Fifth Seeded Hawks Defeat Second Seeded Keyport In Final, 32-27

EDISON, NJ–After going through a very difficult 1-21 campaign this past season, the Hawks of J.P. Stevens were looking to make some positive steps this summer. With a 32-27 victory over Keyport in the Championship Game of the 2010 Middlesex County College Summer League Playoffs, the Hawks have made a positive step toward respectability. JPS trailed by a point at halftime, 15-14, but then outscored the Red Raiders by an 18-12 margin in the final 20 minutes for the five point victory.

Led by league MVP, Mike Reuben, the Hawks had a balanced attack. Reuben along with Victor Quan, scored 8 points to tie for team high. Reuben also collected 3 steals, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block while Quan added four rebounds, five steals, an assist, and a charge. Soon to be junior, Marvin Crawford scored all seven of his points in the first half while picking up six steals, three assists, and three blocks. Brandon Ahmed also chipped in with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Rojing Rajkinarkar (2 points and a rebound) and Kenny Arias (2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist) rounded out the Hawks scoring.

For the game, the Hawks shot only 12 of 37 from the floor including one of five from beyond the arc while making 7 of 14 from the line. However, Stevens limited Keyport to just 10 of 27 shooting including two of eight from long distance. The Red Raiders made 5 of 8 from the line. The Hawks also forced 23 Keyport turnovers, which they converted into 15 points. In the second half, 13 of the 18 JPS points came off of 15 Keyport miscues. Trailing by one at the intermission, J.P. Stevens got a steal by Quan that was converted into a layup by Ahmed at the 19:05 mark for a 16-15 lead. Reuben then drew a foul on a three pointer, and made all three free throws for a 19-15 lead.

Keyport would rally to tie things up at 19-19 with a steal for a layup at the 15:23 mark, and a layup off a nice cut to the basket with 14:09 remaining. Rajkinarkar made two foul shots for a 21-19 lead, but the Raiders tied things up again with a jumper from the left wing at the 12:38 mark. Stevens would take the lead for good though with a decisive 10-2 spurt over the next 9:02 for a 31-23 lead. The run was sparked by a baseline jumper from Quan off a Reuben pass for a 23-21 lead with 12:20 to go. Quan then forced a steal that fell into the hands of Arias, who dished back to Quan for the layup while being fouled. Quan got another steal that led to an Ahmed layup for a 27-21 lead with 6:45 to play.

Quan got his third steal of the span that Crawford got his hands on, and dished to Reuben for a layup to answer an earlier Keyport score for a 29-23 lead with 4:30 left. Following a Hawks timeout at the 4:03 mark, Stevens capped the run with a skip pass by Reuben to Arias for a layup, and a 31-23 lead. Keyport made things interesting by scoring the next four points, and forcing JPS to the line, where it struggled down the stretch, but the Red Raiders were unable to get any closer as Stevens got the 32-27 victory, and ended the summer with a 9-3 record overall while Keyport finished up at 10-2. A more detailed summary on this game will be posted soon.

2010 Middlesex County College Summer League–Playoff Results–July 22nd

EDISON, NJ–On Thursday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to the Physical Education Center on the main campus of Middlesex County College, and took in the Championship Game from the MCC Summer League. For the second straight year, the GMC claimed the crown as J.P. Stevens defeated Keyport in the Championship.

Middlesex County College Summer League–Playoffs–Results–Championship–July 22, 2010

• J.P. Stevens 32–Keyport 27

GMC Hoops will have a summaries on the Championship Game as well as the semifinal games posted soon. The site thanks Chris Tarver and the staff at Middlesex for their hospitality.

Middlesex vs. Monmouth H.S. Showcase At M.C.C. In January, 2011

EDISON, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops learned from Middlesex County College assistant men’s basketball coach, Chris Tarver, that there will be a High School Showcase between schools from Middlesex and Monmouth Counties prior to the game between Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College on January 21, 2011 at MCC. There will be three games involving three teams from Middlesex County and three squads from Monmouth County. The six teams competing are: Cardinal McCarrick, East Brunswick, and Monroe from Middlesex and Marlboro, St. John Vianney, and Red Bank Catholic from Monmouth. The site will post more information when it gets updated.

2010 Middlesex County College Summer League–Playoff Results–July 20th

EDISON, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to the Physical Education Center on the main campus of Middlesex County College, and took in the final two games of the semifinal round of playoffs at the 2010 Middlesex County College Summer League. The site also put together the results from the opening round of action.

Middlesex County College Summer League–Playoffs–Results–Opening Round–July 20, 2010

• Keyport over Roselle Park
• South Hunterdon over Keansburg
• South River over East Brunswick
• J.P. Stevens over Perth Amboy Tech

Middlesex County College Summer League–Playoffs–Results–Semifinals–July 20, 2010

• Keyport 47–South Hunterdon 42
• J.P. Stevens 50–South River 37

GMC Hoops will have a summary on the semifinal games posted soon. The site also plans to be back out at MCC for the Championship Game between J.P. Stevens and Keyport on Thursday evening.

2010 Middlesex County College Summer League–Playoff Seeds And Brackets

EDISON, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops learned the playoff seeds and brackets for the playoffs in the 2010 Middlesex County College Summer League. This summer, there are eight teams playing in the playoffs. The opening round and semifinal games were played on Tuesday night. Below are the seeds for this year’s tournament.

2010 Middlesex County College Summer League–Playoff Seeds

1. East Brunswick (9-0)
2. Keyport (8-1)
3. South Hunterdon (8-1)
4. Perth Amboy Tech (7-2)
5. J.P. Stevens (6-3)
6. Keansburg (5-4)
7. Roselle Park (5-4)
8. South River (5-4)

You can also view the complete bracket with all the playoff matchups at bracketmaker.com.