One feature of the site is to have players create profiles for themselves online so they can post such things as highlight videos and photos for college coaches. Linking Athletes will help players and their parents get the right information and be leaders in the recruiting process. It also provides other information such as camp and clinic dates, forums, featured athlete profiles, blogs, and stay connected with AAU teammates. The site is scheduled to be officially launched this week.

• Steve Rennard–St. Joseph’s–Penn
• Nate Smith–Highland Park–Temple University
• Blake Bascom–Monroe–Wagner University
• Timmy Brix–Monroe–Centenary College
• Kenny Pace–Monroe–Kean University
• Xavier Fuller–Carteret–Kean University
• Mike Burton–South Plainfield–Kean University
• Craig Thomas–Cardinal McCarrick–Wilkes University
• Joe Charmello–South Amboy–Coastal Carolina

GMC Hoops will be posting detailed articles on all these players in the coming days and weeks. If anyone knows of a player that has made a commitment to a college or university, please e-mail us at gmachos@gmchoops.com.

Despite getting a late start on its trip, the site managed to get to the gym right before the opening tip. There are a number of players on the Montclair State squad that have their roots in the Greater Middlesex Conference. Middlesex County College transfers Rodney Freeney (Piscataway) and Sean Ogunnoiki (Edison) as well as senior John Byrne (East Brunswick) and freshman Robert Jackson (Carteret). Rutgers Prep graduate and freshman forward, David McDaniel, played JV ball on St. Joseph’s.

Coming into the contest, Montclair had won 5 of its first 8 games including two of their first three in NJAC competition. The Red Hawks soundly defeated Kean (66-44) after knocking off Rutgers-Newark on the road (71-67). MSU also almost came back to stun Ramapo. The Roadrunners had a 20 point lead with about 15 minutes to play before the Red Hawks rallied to only lose by three, 75-72.

CSI, meanwhile, have been up and down for the most part, going 3-4 overall including a 1-1 mark in the CUNY league. The Dolphins entered the contest coming off a solid 81-66 victory at home over Drew University. Montclair State also has talent from other parts of the Central Jersey area including Tom Bonard (Westfield), Sean Young (Scotch Plains), and Tyler McKinnon (Howell). The Red Hawks are coached by Ted Fiore, who coached at the Division I level at St. Peter’s College, and led the Peacocks to NCAA berths in 1991 and 1995, has compiled a 171-104 record at MSU including a 92-73 mark in the NJAC.

Montclair State controlled the game for the most part, but couldn’t really put CSI away until the second half when the Red Hawks built up a 53-40 lead. Even then, the Dolphins wouldn’t go away. The Staten Island school, which has only one player from New Jersey, Jordan Young of Wall Township, trailed 66-55 with about two minutes remaining, but got five straight points in less than 30 seconds, and closed the gap to 66-60 at the 1:41 mark before Paul Siljee (game high 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal) got two free throws, and Daniel McRae (a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds) came up with a block on the defensive end, and finished up at the offensive end with a dunk that put the game out of reach at 70-60 with 1:09 to go.

The first half was mostly low scoring with Monclair gaining a 28-27 advantage at halftime. MSU had a couple leads of six points, and one seven point lead, but the Dolphins rallied with an 8-2 run to close out the first half. There were five lead changes and a tie in just the first 3:57 of the contest, but from there, the Red Hawks were in control. Siljee led Montclair State with 8 first half points while East Orange’s Ali Mix (17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal) chipped in with 7 points including a three pointer at the 17:09 mark for a 6-5 lead. McDaniel got a short jumper in the paint and Byrne got a layup to account for the GMC scoring in the first half.

In the second half, there was a great deal more scoring with a combined 93 points, but the Red Hawks got the lion’s share with a 50-43 edge that preserved the victory. Jackson started the second half for Montclair, but the Carteret native, known for getting a ton of double-doubles during his high school career, came out a bit overanxious, and missed a couple layups while picking up three quick fouls. Leading the way for CSI was Michael Ledbetter, a 6′7″ junior from Susan Wagner, who compiled a monster double-double of a team high 22 points and 15 rebounds. He posed a significant problem for the likes of Jackson, McDaniel, and McRae as well as Young.

Out of all the GMC players on the MSU roster, Byrne played the best with 10 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist in 19 minutes of playing time. The former East Brunswick standout, connected on 8 of 10 from the foul line along with a field goal. Siljee chipped in with 10 of 12 from the charity stripe as the Red Hawks went 27 of 41 overall for 66 percent while the College of Staten Island went only 9 of 20. McDaniel ended up with only 7 points, but grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. Montclair went 23 of 57 from the floor including 5 of 14 from long distance while CSI went 27 of 62 including 7 of 25 from downtown. The officials also didn’t take too kindly with the CSI bench assessing a technical foul at the 10:23 mark that led to two Byrne free throws. McRae followed that up with a steal, and then dribbled through traffic upcourt for the layup and the Red Hawks biggest lead of the game.

Those two sequences capped a 19-7 run that turned a slim 34-33 lead into a 53-40 advantage for the Red Hawks. McRae also had a layup at the 14:28 mark while Mix added one of his own at the 12:31 mark for a 42-35 lead. After a score by Ledbetter, McDaniel drained his only three of the game on a jumper from the right side at the 11:43 mark to make the score, 45-37. Following a Dolphin three, Siljee added a jumper and Byrne made two foul shots for a 49-40 lead with 10:36 remaining. With the victory, Montclair improved to 6-3 overall while CSI dropped to 3-5. More details will be forthcoming in an game summary. In the meantime, view the box score as well as the recap on the game courtesy of Montclair State Athletics.

GMC Players On The Montclair State University Roster

• John Byrne (East Brunswick)–Played 19 minutes and scored 10 points including 8 of 10 from the foul line.
• David McDaniel (Rutgers Prep)–OK this may be stretching it a bit, but McDaniel was in the St. Joseph’s program at one time before transferring to play for the Argonauts. He played 31 minutes and scored 7 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking 3 shots.
• Robert “Double-Double” Jackson (Carteret)–Played 5 minutes. Started the second half. Scored two points and grabbed a rebound before picking up three quick fouls.
• Rodney Freeney (Piscataway)–Did Not Play.
• Sean Ogunnoiki (Edison)–Did Not Play.

GMC Hoops plans to have some more college hoops coverage later in the season.

The Red Hawks, which entered the game with a 5-3 mark overall, broke away from a 28-27 halftime lead with a 50-43 showing in the second half for a 78-70 victory. A key stretch in the game was a 19-7 spurt over a span of 6:30 that turned a 34-33 edge into a 53-40 advantage with 9:36 to play. During the stretch, former East Brunswick standout, John Byrne, who made 8 of 10 from the line, and scored 10 points overall, netted two free throws at the 10:36 mark, and two technical foul shots at the 10:23 mark. Orange native and Newark Tech hoops standout, Daniel McRae, swiped a steal, dribbled thru traffic, and scored a layup to cap the run.

Staten Island didn’t give up though. After former Rutgers Prep standout, David McDaniel, who also played JV ball at St. Joseph’s, made two blocks to force a jump ball at the 6:03 mark, and then connected on two free throws for a 62-49 lead with 5:10 left, the Dolphins rallied with an 11-4 run that closed the gap to 66-60 with under two minutes to play. However, Paul Siljee of Wayne, New Jersey and Wayne Valley High School, who had a game high 23 points including a 10 of 12 effort from the free throw stripe, made two free throws at the 1:41 mark, and McRae made another big play on the defensive end that he cashed in on at the offensive end when he blocked a shot, and scored on a dunk at the other end with 1:09 to play for a 70-60 lead.

With the victory, Montclair State University, which entered the game at 5-3 overall including a 2-1 mark in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, and coming off a tough 75-72 loss to Ramapo that saw the Red Hawks almost overcome a 20 point deficit, moved up to 6-3 overall while CSI, which got a team high 22 points and 15 rebounds from big man Michael Ledbetter, dropped to 3-5. More details on this game later.

GMC Hoops–College Coverage–Results–December 11, 2009

• Montclair State University 78–College of Staten Island 70

GMC Players At Other JUCOs

• John Stockton (Middlesex)–Raritan Valley Community College
• Billy Lester (Middlesex)–Raritan Valley Community College
• C.J. Brathwaite (North Brunswick)–Burlington County College
• Anthony Graham (Woodbridge)–Union County College
• Teryl Dunlap (J.P. Stevens)–Union County College
• Kevin Powell (East Brunswick Tech)–Union County College
• Julio Rosario (Cardinal McCarrick)–Cowley County Community College (Kansas)

If there are players that we have left out, please feel free to send me an e-mail at gmachos@gmchoops.com.

MCC entered the contest with a 3-2 record overall including a recent victory over Union County College earlier this week (67-64). Northampton entered the contest below .500, but lost a number of close games including to a recent Middlesex opponent in Union County College (88-86) in overtime. The Spartans defeated another MCC opponent in Sussex County Community College (86-77) on December 3rd. This game would be another close one for the Spartans, which held the lead for much of the second half only to falter down the stretch in a 68-66 defeat. Northampton came out strong in both the first and second halves by starting the game with a 10-3 lead, and then coming out of the locker room at halftime with a 14-4 spurt that turned a 37-31 deficit into a 45-41 lead.

The Spartans actually held a 56-49 lead with about 10:30 to play before the Colts rallied with a 19-10 surge to prevail. Arman Wilson looked sharp after suffering an injury against Sussex last week. After starting the game 2 of 6 from the floor, the sophomore from South Brunswick made 7 of 11 shots including a three pointer while also going 6 of 9 from the line to end up with 25 points. He also added 7 rebounds, 2 charges, and an assist. Shamai Santiago also chipped in for Middlesex. The former South Plainfield standout made his first five shots from the floor, and ended up going 7 of 12 overall including two threes along with a 3 of 4 effort from the line for 19 points. Santiago also handed out 5 assists, swiped 3 steals, and grabbed a rebound.

North Brunswick native, Jeff Ashamole started the second half comeback with a three point play at the 10:13 mark. He also added several huge blocks and a charge along the way. Yusuf Leary, an Oregon native now residing in Plainfield, came up with the game winning shot at the 10 second mark while Santiago helped seal the win with one of two from the line with 2.5 seconds left. Ashamole then deflected and stole the ensuing inbounds to close things out. Northampton had the ball with a 66-65 lead with 21 seconds to play, but threw the ball away on an inbounds play. The Spartans also did themselves in with poor foul shooting.

After Northampton took the early 10-3 lead in the first half, Middlesex responded with a 10-0 run that included a floater by Santiago, a field goal and a three point play by Wilson, and a three pointer by Colonia’s J.J. D’Amico to take a 13-10 lead. The Spartans then responded by scoring seven straight points for a 17-13 lead before an injury timeout at the 9:08 mark. MCC then fought back with a 19-10 run including an 10-2 spurt over a 1:50 span that included eight points from Wilson and two by Santiago for a 32-27 lead. Wilson ended up with 15 points in the opening half on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor, and a 3 of 3 showing from the line while Santiago added 11 points on 4 of 4 shooting including a three, and 2 of 2 from the line.

Perth Amboy’s Edwin Guerra added two free throws at the 1:53 mark for a 34-31 lead, and then Santiago closed out the first half with a trey for a 37-31 advantage at the intermission as the Colts ended the opening period with a 34-21 surge. Once again, the Colts flirted with danger in this one. They got a stiff challenge for the third straight game. The defense has tightened up as the Colts have limited their opponents to an average of 65 points in their last two games. The problem has been that MCC has only averaged about 67.5 in those same two contests. Santiago continues to help lead the Colts while Wilson played his best game of the three covered by GMC Hoops.