GMC Hoops Blogosphere

GMC Hoops–Play By Play–East Brunswick vs. New Brunswick @ Brunswick Classic

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–On Wednesday, GMC Hoops traveled over to the still brand new New Brunswick High School for the opening round of play from the 2010 Brunswick Classic. Here is the play by play from the second game between New Brunswick and East Brunswick.

First quarter

6:44–Gary Reeder knocks ball away from Joe Ross out bounds after Ross swiped a steal.

6:38–EB–Rob Ukawuba–basket interference.

6:16–NB–Reeder to Milton Pittman for layup on right side….2-0 lead.

6:00–EB–Ukawuba puts back missed three by Anthony Guisti for 2-2 tie.

5:51–NB–Calls 30 second timeout.

5:42–NB–Fuquan Rogers bounce pass to Jaquan Cook for a layup and a foul.  Makes bonus free throw for 5-2 lead.

4:30–NB–Rogers to Deeon Perry for three pointer from left wing for 8-2 lead.

4:19–NB–Cook scores layup off a steal by Pittman for 10-2 lead.

4:09–NB–Deon Perry draws charge.

3:07–NB–Cook follows in missed layup by Nyeem  Coleman for 12-2 lead.

2:47–NB–Cook forces a steal that he ultimately converts with a one handed slam for a  14-2 lead.  EB calls 30 second timeout.

2:17–EB–Sclafani hits pull-up jumper from the left wing…ends 12-0 NB run for a 14-4 NB lead.

1:27–NB–#11–Tyree draws charge on Sclafani.

1:15–NB–Pittman drives and kicks to Ja’Tear Gardner for jumper and 16-4 lead.

23.1–EB–Sclafani hits three pointer from right wing off kick by Amir Bell for 16-7 NB lead.

New Brunswick leads 16-7 after one quarter.  EB ends period with a 5-2 run.

Second quarter

7:29–After Pittman committed a turnover at the 7:33 mark, he redeemed himself by blocking a John Genco layup attempt.

6:53–EB–Bell hits on a jumper from the right wing for a 16-9 NB lead.

6:15–NB–Perry draws his second charge in the game on Ukawuba.   Zebras third charge of the game.

6:13–EB–Bestawros travels after Bears get a steal.

5:52–EB–Bell hits jumper from right wing off the dribble…16-11 NB.

5:31–NB–calls a 30 second timeout after EB score, 16-13 Zebras lead.

5:23–NB–Now in bonus–Rogers misses front end of one and one, but Pittman is there for the follow…18-13 lead.

4:45–EB–Ross hits a pull-up foul-line jumper…18-15 NB.

4:12–EB–Guisti rebounds to Ross, who passes ahead to Summerer for a layup, and an 18-17 NB lead.

3:41–NB turnover.

3:26–EB–Bell dishes to Summerer for layup, and a 19-18 lead.  EB on a 15-2 tear.

3:01–NB–Cook misses front end of bonus.

2:49–EB–now on an 18-2 tear after a three from the right side by Sclafani for a 22-18 lead.

2:22–NB–Pittman steal to Perry back to Pittman, who is stopped by EB defense…Zebras ball out of bounds.

2:17–NB–Pittman misses foul shot in bonus…goes out of bounds to EB.

1:50–EB–Guisti blocks Perry shot at one end, and scores a layup at the other end for a 20-2 run, and a 24-18 lead.

1:28–NB–turnover.

1:11–EB–turnover.

1:09–EB–Fullem steals inbounds and scores layup for a 22-2 surge and a 26-18 lead.

2.6–NB–Cook one of two from the foul line for a 26-19 EB lead.

0.0–EB–Ross hits a half court shot from near the scorers table for three, and a 29-19 lead at the half.  EB ends the half with a 25-3 surge.

Third quarter

7:49–EB–Bestawros travels.

6:53–NB–Pittman rebounds and passes up court to Rogers for layup, and a 29-21 EB lead.

5:54–EB–Guisti scores on a floater for a 33-21 lead after bank shot earlier by Ross.

4:59–NB–timeout–EB follows layup by Ukawuba for a 35-21 lead.  31-5 surge by the Bears.

4:40–NB–Cook gets a three from the top of the key to rattle in.

4:27–NB–Reeder scores off the steal.

4:07–NB–Rogers scores a layup in transition…7-0 NB run for a 35-28 EB lead.

3:57–NB–Zebras force jump ball, and get possession.

3:40–EB–Sclafani passes to Bell for three from right corner, and a 38-28 lead.

3:05–NB–Guisti tips in miss by Summerer for a 40-28 lead.

2:50–NB–Rogers swipes a steal, drives to the basket, and draws a foul.   He makes one of two…Cook gets offensive board, but his follow attempt rims out.

2:30–EB–Bell hits another jumper from the right wing.  Bears lead 42-29.

1:45–EB–Sclafani drives and dishes to Ukawuba for a layup, and the foul…misses free throw.

1:36–EB scores again on an Ukawuba layup off an NB turnover.

1:26–NB–Rogers goes one of two at the line for a 46-30 EB lead.

51.1–NB–Pittman puts back miss by Gardner for a 46-32 EB lead.

39.5–EB–Ukawuba–goes one of two at the line for a 47-32 lead.

EB leads 47-32 after three…outscores NB by an 18-13 margin.

Fourth quarter

7:47–Pittman misses front end of one and one.

7:26–EB–Summerer and Gudzak block shot attempt by Rogers.

7:16–NB–scores on layin.

7:00–EB–timeout–follows steal and save by #11 to Cook for a short jumper, and a 47-36 EB lead.

6:29–NB–Cook gets rebound, and is fouled at mid court…makes both ends of bonus–47-38 EB.

6:19–EB–Summerer feeds Bell for layup, and a 49-38 lead.

6:09–NB–Pittman gets offensive board off miss by #11, and draws foul…he makes one of two…but after offensive rebounds by Cook, Pittman, and Gardner, Gardner scores on follow at the 5:49 mark for a 49-41 EB lead.

5:31–EB–Guisti–misses front end of one and one.

4:50–NB–Cook draws foul on a push off down low.  Bell called for foul…apparently his fifth, but there was a discrepancy at the scorer’s table…Cook makes one of two for 49-42 EB.

4:41–EB–Bell is fouled on a back door cut, but misses front end of bonus.

4:34–NB–Cook drives baseline, and draws foul on right side.  Makes both ends of bonus for a 49-44 EB lead.

4:29–EB–Calls a 30 second timeout.

4:27–EB–Guisti fouled, and misses front end of bonus.

4:17–NB–Pittman scores inside…49-46 EB.

4:01–EB–scores for a 51-46 lead.

3:30–Bears draw a charge.

3:24–EB–Sclafani misses  both ends of bonus, but gets steal at the other end.

3:07–Bears get ball after great block by Cook on Sclafani shot.

2:51–EB–Ukawuba–picks up loose ball for scoop shot layup, and a 53-46 lead.

2:33–NB–timeout.

2:16–NB–Pittman scores on a shot hook–53-48 lead.

2:12–NB–Rogers forces turnover.

1:47–NB–Rogers can’t score…EB gets ball.  Summerer fouled…makes one of wo for a 54-48 lead.

1:29–NB–Perry misses a three attempt…Bestawros gets the rebound for EB, and dis fouled…Makes first free throw.  NB timeout.  Bestawros makes the second for a 56-48 lead.

1:09–EB–Ross gets the steal at the 1:19 mark, and is fouled by Nyeem Coleman.  Makes both ends of bonus for a 58-48 lead.

50.9–EB–Summerer fouled.  Misses both ends of double bonus.

10.3–EB–Ukawuba slams one home from right side…60-48 EB wins.  

Shello/Santy Tournament Update

Holiday Tourney Moved Back One More Day

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Tuesday afternoon, at the Anthony J. Cotoia Holiday Tournament, GMC Hoops learned from Middlesex head coach, Brian Feath, that the opening round of the Shello/Santy Tournament has been pushed back another day. The tournament will begin play at The Faber in Dunellen on Wednesday and finish up on Thursday. All the games will be played at the same times as originally scheduled. All teams are still competing in the event. The tournament was originally slated to begin on Monday night, but the recent holiday blizzard had other ideas. Likely still in the process of cleaning up in the wake of the storm, the schools decided to move things back another day.

South Amboy Tournament Update

Tournament To Begin On Wednesday With Only Three Teams

SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Tuesday afternoon, GMC Hoops learned from South Amboy Athletic Director, Sean Dunphy that the South Amboy Tournament will begin play on Wednesday, and finish up on Thursday. The tourney was originally slated to start on Tuesday, but due to the Blizzard over the holiday weekend, the parking lot at South Amboy Middle/High School was still in the process of being cleared.

In addition, one team has pulled out. Henry Hudson Regional of Highlands in Monmouth County withdrew from the tournament due to the inclement weather. So, South Amboy, the host school, will get a bye into the Championship Game to face the winner of Wednesday’s South River/Keansburg game on Thursday. The Guvs already played South River, and lost on opening night (70-42).

One Wild And Crazy Day

Returning Back To Normal After Holiday Blizzard Proves To Be Quite Challenging

A little more than 24 hours after the final flakes fell across Central Jersey, many tried to get back into the swing of things on Tuesday. Whether it was getting back to work, or getting back on the basketball beat like I was, we were all trying to return to normalcy following a terrible storm that left the Garden State as well as much of the Northeast paralyzed.

Sometimes though, returning to normal takes a couple steps backward before you can move forward again. Such was the case for me yesterday. Many holiday tournaments were still trying to get fired up again. Meanwhile, others were holding back another day so that the roads and parking lots at several of the area schools could get better cleared out. I found that out when I traveled over to Edison High School for the opening round of the Gene Haley Tournament and South Amboy Middle/High School for the opening round of the South Amboy Tournament.

Major cleanup operations were taking place at both schools. The parking lots at each school were still in the process of being cleared of all the snow that fell there. I was able to confirm that the South Amboy Tournament was going to take place on Wednesday and Thursday. However, one team, Henry Hudson Regional of Highlands in Monmouth County withdrew from the tournament. I didn’t hear anything concerning the Gene Haley Tournament, but I’m pretty sure that the tournament will take place starting on Wednesday.

So, I decided to go back home, and get ready to see the lone semifinal game of the second annual Anthony J. Cotoia Tournament at South Plainfield High School. I walked over to the school, and got there with no problems. Kudos to the folks at SPHS for having the parking lot and sidewalks outside the gym cleared for the game. They did a great job of clearing out all of the snow. The parking lot was pretty much all black top. Unfortunately, the Tigers lost to Perth Amboy by a final score of 62-34. The Panthers depth, pressure, and up-tempo game was too much for South Plainfield.

After returning home, I decided to see if I could get out to two more games. First, I was going to travel over to Hillside to see St. Joe’s take on Lincoln of Jersey City in the opening round of the Joe Silver Holiday Tournament. Then, after that, I had planned to head down Route 22 West over to Bound Brook to see what was left of the game between the Crusaders and Spotswood. Well, things didn’t quite work out that way. First, on my way to Route 22, I got stuck in traffic on Terrill Road in Fanwood. So, I decided to take a detour.

The detour was County Road 610 in Union County, which took me a ways out of my way. So, I turned down a side street, and embarked on an odyssey that for sure got me more lost than a bargained for, not to mention behind schedule. Nevertheless, I kept forging ahead, and somehow, I ended up getting on Route 22 East in Scotch Plains. Things went well for a while, and I was hopeful that I would still make it to the gym on time, but then there was the traffic in Union. The Parkway, Route 82, and Route 22 were backed up significantly.

It wasn’t until 5:40 PM that I arrived at Hillside High School. However, I got the biggest surprise of all when I stepped into the gym, and found out that Lincoln of Jersey City hadn’t shown up yet for its game against the Falcons. Fans ended up waiting until about 7:00 PM for the game to start. In the meantime, we were entertained by the St. Joe’s scorekeeper, who hit a number of halfcourt shots, and Brandon Dolan, who hit a number of shots from his spot on the bench. St. Joe’s ended up winning its game against Lincoln by the score of 58-39. A decisive 18-4 second quarter in which Quenton DeCosey struck for 10 of his game high 22 points including 3 of 5 from three point range, proved to be the difference.

Due to the late start, I wasn’t able to get over to Bound Brook. Instead I went home, and eventually went to sleep a little bit after 10:00 PM. With all the trouble I went through, I only saw two games. It was a long day, but it was nice to get back on the beat. Even if it meant taking a couple steps back.

Brunswick Classic Holiday Tournament Update

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–On Tuesday morning, GMC Hoops received word from New Brunswick boys basketball head coach, Antoine Allen that there has been a schedule change for the 2010 Brunswick Classic. The tourney, which was supposed to start today, has been pushed back a day. So, the opening round will take place on Wednesday at New Brunswick High School. We’ll have more information on this tournament when we get it.

South Plainfield Statistics–Through First Two Games

Mensah And Rosario Lead The Tigers In Scoring

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–Our South Plainfield volunteer has been kind enough to get us information on the team’s performance through the first two games. So far this season, Denzel Mensah leads the team in scoring with a 18 points per game average while Bryant Rosario has chipped in with 16.5 points per contest. Mensah has made 12 of 23 shots from the floor, and 12 of 19 from the line while Rosario has made 11 of 28 shots including 4 of 8 from three point range, and connected on 7 of 13 from the foul line.

As a team, the Tigers have made 44 of 111 shots from the field for 40 percent including 6 of 21 from long distance for 29 percent. South Plainfield has also made 32 of 60 free throws for 53 percent. The team is averaging 63 points per game through its first two contests. Mensah also leads the Tigers in rebounding with a 7.5 rebounds per game average while Rosario is close behind with 5.0 rebounds per contest. As a team, SPHS has 68 total rebounds including 21 on the offensive end for an average of 34 per game.

The Tigers also have 13 steals, 49 turnovers, and 40 fouls through the first two games. South Plainfield is 1-1 including an upset over Sayreville on opening night, and a loss at home to Cardinal McCarrick last week. The Tigers resume play today with a game against Perth Amboy in the opening round of the Anthony J. Cotoia Tournament at SPHS.

Updated Holiday Tournament Schedule For Tuesday

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–The Holiday Blizzard of 2010 thew a monkey wrench into the schedule for many of the boys basketball tournaments around the state. Many involved teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference. The Star-Ledger has the updated schedule of holiday tournament games on Tuesday. The following tournaments involving GMC teams are scheduled to start on Tuesday.

• Anthony J. Cotoia Tournament
• Buc Classic
• Crusader Classic
• Gene Haley Tournament
• Hillsborough Hoops Classic
• Pepe/Levee Memorial Tournament
• Joe Silver Holiday Tournament
• Lion Festival
• Monsignor Kelly Tournament
• RC-Kowal Tournament
• Shello/Santy Tournament
• South Amboy Tournament
• Vaughn Stapleton Classic

GMC Hoops will have further updates on the holiday tournament situation as it gets more information.

Another Scheduling Change For McCarrick Holiday Tournament

Tuesday Games Have Been Postponed. Cancelled Games Will Be Made Up On Friday

SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Tuesday morning, GMC Hoops learned from Cardinal McCarrick freshman coach, Mike O’Hara, that the games scheduled for today in the Cardinal McCarrick JV and Freshmen tournaments have been cancelled. The tournament is now a three day tournament with the games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday remaining unchanged. The big change to the tourney is for Friday with a full slate of games to round out the new year. Below is the schedule for Friday:

Cardinal McCarrick JV and Freshmen Tournaments–December 31, 2010

• 9:00 AM–Colonia vs McCarrick (Freshman)
• 10:15 AM–Colonia vs McCarrick (JV)
• 11:45 AM–J.P. Stevens vs Edison (Freshman)
• 1:00 PM–J.P. Stevens vs Edison (JV)
• 2:30 PM–Old Bridge vs JFK (Freshman)
• 3:45 PM–Old Bridge vs JFK (JV)

If there are any more updates, we’ll let you know.

South Plainfield Starts Season With Upset Of Sayreville

Rosario Fires In 21 Points To Lead Tigers To Opening Day Victory In OT, 70-64

SAYREVILLE, NJ–Last year, the South Plainfield Tigers, which went 4-18 overall, only won one GMC White Division game. On opening night, the Tigers made notice that they’re going to be better this upcoming season. Senior guard, Bryant Rosario scored a game high 21 points on seven field goals including a three pointer along with six foul shots to propel SPHS to an opening night upset of Sayreville, 70-64 in overtime at the Bomb Shelter.

Senior forward, Denzel Mensah chipped in with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist for the winners. Rosario also pulled down 7 boards as the team collected 40 rebounds on the game. Football standout, Brendan Wilson contributed with 8 points on two field goals including a three pointer, and three free throws while also picking up two rebounds and two steals. Junior guard, Ryan Marcoux added 7 points on two field goals and three foul shots while also collecting five rebounds and a steal. Colin Wilson also pitched in with six points on two field goals and two foul shots while also pulling down four rebounds.

The Tigers had ten different players break into the scoring column while Sayreville only had 8. The Bombers were led by sophomore guard, Joe Saitta, who scored a team high 18 points on seven field goals including four three pointers. Fellow sophomore guard, Danny Wojcik added 11 points on four field goals including three from beyond the arc while senior big man, Daryl Stephenson chipped in with 10 points on four field goals and two free throws. For the game, the Tigers made 24 field goals including three treys while also making 19 foul shots. Meanwhile, the Bombers made 22 field goals including 11 threes while netting nine from the charity stripe.

The Bombers, ranked fifth in the GMC Hoops Pre-Season Top Ten, jumped out to an 17-9 first quarter lead only to be outscored by a margin of 37-23 in the middle to periods to trail by six at 46-40 entering the fourth. Sayreville responded with an 18-12 showing in the final period of regulation to force the extra session tied at 58-58. However, the Tigers pulled out the victory with a 12-6 showing in the overtime to win by six. Sayreville outscored South Plainfield by a margin of 33-9 from beyond the arc, but the Tigers got the edge at the foul line by 10. SPHS also had seven team steals in the contest.

Note: Sorry for the delay on this. Didn’t get a chance to get around to it until now. Still worth mentioning this great win for the Tigers. Special thanks to Bob Conway, the head coach of SPHS, for providing this information.

2010 Crusader Classic–Update

BOUND BROOK, NJ–On Tuesday morning, GMC Hoops received the latest information on the holiday tournament going on at Bound Brook High School involving Spotswood. Due to the recent blizzard, the tournament schedule has been shifted back a day. The opening round of both the JV and the Varsity Tournaments will be taking place today with the consolation and championship rounds taking place tomorrow. For the full schedule, check out the Holiday Tournament link at the Bound Brook Basketball web site.