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Kean Summer League–July 8, 2009

UNION, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops made its second 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 Morris Hills and Perth Amboy, which were already well into the second half when the site arrived. The next one went on simultaneously while Amboy and Morris Hills played as New Hope Baptist took on Roselle. The final two also went on simultaneously as Monroe battled Roselle on Court #1 while Sayreville took on David Brearley.

Perth Amboy Pulls Away Late To Prevail Over Morris Hills, 46-34

Once again, GMC Hoops arrived at the gym in the second half of Perth Amboy’s game. The site had been over to Linden on Wednesday night to see Colonia take on Watchung Hills after being at Elizabeth earlier in the day. Arriving with 4:37 to go in the contest, the site saw that Amboy was leading by a six point margin over Morris Hills, 38-32. Following a Panther timeout at the 3:51 mark, both teams went scoreless for a span of 2:10 before soon to be junior guard, Kearny Canela, fired in a three pointer from the left wing for a 41-32 lead with 1:41 to play. Amboy then went up by double digits thanks to a three on two fast break that was converted by Ariel Hilton at the 1:05 mark for a 43-32 lead. The Panthers then gave up a score before finishing off the win with a penetrate, and kick to the right wing for a trey that made the final score, 46-34. With the win, Amboy improves to 3-1 while Morris Hills slipped to 1-3.

New Hope Baptist Holds Off Late Challenge By Roselle, 50-47

For a while, it appeared that Roselle was going to get blown out of its game with New Hope Baptist. The team from South Orange/Maplewood took a 46-32 lead with 8:30 to go, and had the momentum and emotion on its side. New Hope Baptist then solidified its position with another score at the seven minute mark for a 48-32 lead. However, Roselle fought back with a 7-0 run over the next 2:21 to pull within nine at 48-39 with 4:49 to go. New Hope Baptist then got a field goal on its next possession to go up, 50-39, but Roselle answered with four straight points to close the gap to seven at 50-43 with two minutes to go. The Running Rams then made one of two from the line on a couple trips, and netted two on a third trip to the charity strip, but couldn’t get any closer as New Hope Baptist managed to escape with a 50-47 victory. With the win, New Hope Baptist improved to 2-2 overall while Roselle dropped to a winless 0-4.

Bishop Ahr Hangs On To Beat Undermanned St. Joe’s, 52-48

With some of St. Joseph’s more talented players down at the Hoop Group Elite Team Camp in Reading, Pennsylvania, the Falcons were forced to go with a more younger squad, but led by coach Eric Lemberakis, and the shooting of Brandon Dolan, St. Joe’s was able to give Bishop Ahr’s varsity squad all it could handle. The Falcons were also able to outhustle Ahr, particularly on the offensive boards despite having a size disadvantage. Nevertheless, despite all of that on top of nine first half turnovers, the Trojans were able to pull out a hard fought, 52-48 win to stay on pace with Monroe in the standings. For the game, the Trojans shot 17 of 33 from the floor overall for 51.5 percent overall including 4 of 6 from three point range. In addition, Ahr shot 15 of 20 from the line for 75 percent. Meanwhile, St. Joseph’s shot 17 of 40 from the field for 42.5 percent including 7 of 22 for 31.8 percent from long distance while making 7 of 10 from the foul line.

In other statistical areas, Bishop Ahr only outrebounded St. Joe’s by a 25-21 margin overall while the Falcons outdid the Trojans in offensive rebounding, 10-8. St. Joseph’s had more assists, 12-10, and fewer turnovers (8-14). BGA collected more steals (7-6) and blocks (4-3). Both halves were close in the end with Ahr getting two point edges in each for the four point victory. Bishop Ahr never held a lead bigger than nine points as there were seven lead changes and two ties throughout. The opening 2:33 of the contest was frenetic as Bishop Ahr jumped out to a 7-4 advantage as both teams combined for four lead changes. Darius Griffin (15 points on 5 of 11 shooting from the floor, and 4 of 5 from the line, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists) scored five of the seven points for Ahr including a three pointer and a field goal while Justin Peoples (10 points on 5 of 7 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal) got the other two with an offensive rebound and putback. The Trojans then added a free throw before Dolan struck for a pull-up jumper from the left wing for an 8-6 Ahr lead at the 13:56 mark.

Over the next 1:06, Bishop Ahr got the next four points including a lob pass by Peoples to Griffin for a one handed bank shot as he was fouled for a traditional three point play, and a 12-6 lead with 12:50 to go in the half. However, Dolan struck again for a three pointer from the right wing to close the gap to 12-9 at the 11:21 mark. Rob Gomulka (14 points on 3 of 4 shooting including a three, and 7 of 8 from the line along with 3 assists), a former St. Joseph’s student, then made two free throws for a 14-9 lead at the 10:05 mark, and a little more than a minute after that, Rashad Kilgore went to the line to make one of two for a 15-9 lead with 8:53 remaining before the intermission. The Trojans made a subsequent three pointer to go ahead by nine, but St. Joseph’s got a basket inside while drawing the foul. Despite missing the bonus free throw, the Falcons trailed by only seven, 18-11 with 6:23 to go in the period.

Over the next 4:19, St. Joe’s would outscore BGA by an 8-3 margin including three offensive rebounds by the Falcons on one possession that led to a jumper from the left wing, and a 21-16 BGA edge at the 2:14 mark. The Falcons, which had six offensive boards in the final 2:14 of the opening half, ended the period with a 10-5 run for the 23-21 Trojan lead at the break. In the second half, Bishop Ahr couldn’t pull away from St. Joseph’s as the Falcons actually took the lead once, and tied the game on a couple of occasions. Griffin opened the scoring with an offensive rebound and follow before Dolan responded with a three pointer for a 25-24 Ahr lead at the 18:27 mark. Dolan then sank another jumper for a 26-25 lead before Peoples helped Ahr take the lead back with a bucket that made the score, 27-26. St. Joe’s then tied the contest up at 27-27 with 14:26 to play on one of two from the foul line.

Beginning to notice the fierce challenge from the younger Falcons, Bishop Ahr finally got some sense of urgency, and reeled off seven straight points including a three pointer by soon to be sophomore, Roger Kilgore, a score by Griffin, and a breakaway layup by the younger Kilgore for a 34-27 lead with 12:11 to go. Over the next 1:19, St. Joseph’s fought back with four straight points including two free throws, and an offensive rebound and follow at the 9:52 mark for a 34-31 BGA edge. On Ahr’s next possession, Griffin handed out an assist when he found Gomulka on the left wing for a three pointer, and a 37-31 lead with 9:21 left. The Falcons answered though with four more points to close the gap to two before Griffin netted two free throws at the 6:45 mark for a 39-35 lead. St. Joe’s then got four more points including a baseline floater at the 5:33 mark to tie things up again at 39-39.

Bishop Ahr got the four points back including a layup off a drive from the left wing by Gomulka at the 5:09 mark that made the score 43-39 before Dolan struck for a three pointer to pull the Falcons back to within one at 43-42 with 3:49 left as St. Joe’s called for time. Following the timeout, Peoples put the Trojans back up by three with a layup as he was fouled, and then after missing the bonus free throw the soon to be senior forward got another score on a layup off an assist by Gomulka to put Ahr ahead by five before St. Joseph’s got another three pointer from the top of the key at the 1:25 mark that made the score, 47-45. Matt Bernocchi helped out with a pair of free throws to put Ahr back up by four with 57.1 seconds left, but after Gomulka made one of two at the line for a five point lead, Dolan connected again from three on the left side to draw the Falcons within two at the 9.2 second mark. Unfortunately, St. Joe’s couldn’t get any closer as Gomulka sealed the BGA victory with a pair of free throws at the 4.0 second mark as the Trojans won, 52-48.

With the victory, Bishop Ahr improves to 3-1 while St. Joe’s drops to .500 at 2-2.

Sayreville Dismantles David Brearley, 66-12

This contest wound up being the ugliest game of the evening a Group IV school, Sayreville took on Group I school, David Brearley of Kenilworth on Court #1 while Bishop Ahr and St. Joseph’s were going at it in the 8:00 PM hour on Court #2. The Bombers got off to a fast start, and continued to pull further away from Brearley, which was well back in the rear view mirror when the contest was over. In the first two minutes, Sayreville jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Then, over the next 1:41, the Bombers scored another four points including a breakaway layup by Mark Keir at the 16:19 mark for an 8-0 lead. Over the next 1:43, Sayreville put in another five points for a 13-0 lead. The Bears didn’t get their first points of the game until the 11:10 mark of the first half as Sayreville led, 18-2.

The Bombers would lead by as much as 27-2 before Brearley got a three pointer, and then scored the final 14 points of the half for a 41-5 lead. In the second half, Sayreville scored 8 of the first 11 points over the opening 4:14 of the period for a 49-8 lead with 15:46 to go. From there, Sayreville outscored David Brearley by a 17-4 margin the rest of the way for the 66-12 final score. With the victory, the Bombers moved back up to .500 at 2-2 while the Bears remained winless at 0-4.

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

2009 Kean Summer League–Updated Standings–July 16th

UNION, NJ–Here are the updated standings in the 2009 Kean University Summer League following play on the fifth night of action on July 15th. This summer, there are a total of 10 teams playing in this league. Below are the latest standings in the league.

Kean Summer League Standings

• Monroe (4-0)
• Bishop Ahr (4-1)
• Perth Amboy (4-1)
• Union (4-1)
• Sayreville (3-2)
• New Hope Baptist (2-3)
• St. Joseph’s (2-3)
• Morris Hills (1-5)
• David Brearley (0-5)
• Roselle (0-5)

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

2009 Kean Summer League–Results–Day Five–July 15th

UNION, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops was not able to get out to Kean University to see the fifth night of action from the 2009 Kean University Summer League. However, thanks goes to Kean assistant coach, Tom Wagenblast, the site was able to obtain the results from all the action.

Day Five Results–July 15, 2009

• Perth Amboy 53–Roselle 50
• Sayreville 64–New Hope Baptist 44
• Bishop Ahr 48–Morris Hills 46
• Monroe 49–David Brearley 9
• Union 38–St. Joseph’s 36

GMC Hoops plans to be out for more action next week, and also looks to be out at Kean this weekend for the 2nd annual Ironman Challenge.

2009 Kean Summer League–Updated Standings–July 9th

UNION, NJ–Here are the updated standings in the 2009 Kean University Summer League following play on the fourth night of action on July 8th. This summer, there are a total of 10 teams playing in this league. Below are the latest standings in the league.

Kean Summer League Standings

• Monroe (3-0)
• Bishop Ahr (3-1)
• Perth Amboy (3-1)
• Union (3-1)
• New Hope Baptist (2-2)
• Sayreville (2-2)
• St. Joseph’s (2-2)
• Morris Hills (1-4)
• David Brearley (0-4)
• Roselle (0-4)

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

2009 Kean Summer League–Day Four–Results–July 8th

UNION, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops was able to get out to Kean University to see the fourth night of action from the 2009 Kean University Summer League. The site plans to be out at Kean next week to capture more action from this league. Special thanks goes to Kean assistant coach, Tom Wagenblast for providing us the results.

Day Three Results–July 8, 2009

• Perth Amboy 46–Morris Hills 34
• New Hope Baptist 50–Roselle 47
• Bishop Ahr 52–St. Joseph’s 48
• Sayreville 66–David Brearley 12
• Union 57–Morris Hills 51

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

2009 Kean Summer League–Updated Standings–July 8th

UNION, NJ–Here are the updated standings in the 2009 Kean University Summer League following play on the third night of action on July 6th. This summer, there are a total of 10 teams playing in this league. Below are the latest standings in the league.

Kean Summer League Standings

• Monroe (3-0)
• Bishop Ahr (2-1)
• Perth Amboy (2-1)
• St. Joseph’s (2-1)
• Union (2-1)
• Morris Hills (1-2)
• New Hope Baptist (1-2)
• Sayreville (1-2)
• David Brearley (0-3)
• Roselle (0-3)

GMC Hoops plans to be out at Kean University for more action on Wednesday night.

2009 Kean Summer League–Day Three–Results–July 6th

UNION, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops was not able to get out to Kean University to see the third night of action from the 2009 Kean University Summer League. The site plans to be out at Kean on Wednesday night to capture action from the fourth night of games. Special thanks goes to Kean assistant coach, Tom Wagenblast for providing us the results.

Day Three Results–July 6, 2009

• Bishop Ahr 38–Union 26
• Monroe 51–Morris Hills 29
• Sayreville 38–Perth Amboy 34
• St. Joseph’s 56–Roselle 42
• New Hope Baptist 64–David Brearley 28

GMC Hoops plans to be out for more action on Wednesday night.

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 Kean Summer League–Updated Standings–July 1st

UNION, NJ–Here are the updated standings in the 2009 Kean University Summer League following play on the second night of action on July 1st. This summer, there are a total of 10 teams playing in this league. Below are the latest standings in the league.

Kean Summer League Standings

• Monroe (2-0)
• Perth Amboy (2-0)
• Union (2-0)
• Bishop Ahr (1-1)
• Morris Hills (1-1)
• Sayreville (1-1)
• St. Joseph’s (1-1)
• David Brearley (0-2)
• New Hope Baptist (0-2)
• Roselle (0-2)

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

2009 Kean Summer League–Results–Day Two–July 1st

UNION, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops was able to get out to Kean University to see the second night of action from the 2009 Kean University Summer League. The site plans to be out at Kean next Wednesday night to capture action from the fourth night of games. Special thanks goes to Kean assistant coach, Tom Wagenblast for providing us the results.

Day Two Results–July 1, 2009

• Morris Hills 46–New Hope Baptist 42
• Perth Amboy 54–St. Joseph’s 43
• Monroe 51–Roselle 46
• Bishop Ahr 47–David Brearley 24
• Union 38–Sayreville 27

GMC Hoops plans to be out some action at next week.