GMC Hoops Blogosphere

2011-12 GMC Hoops College Basketball Schedule–Updated

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops put updated the schedule for the rest of the 2011-12 college basketball season. This year, the site plans to share the wealth a bit by seeing games involving JUCO, Division III, Division II, and Division I teams. Wednesday night was the seventh college hoops game that the site has covered this year as FDU-Florham hosted DeSales University. Below is the updated schedule for the rest of the season:

2011-12 GMC Hoops College Basketball Schedule–Updated

• December 1st–Siena @ St. Peter’s
• December 6th–Essex CC @ Raritan Valley CC
• December 7th–FDU-Florham @ Drew
• December 8th–Eastern @ TCNJ
• December 13th–Bergen CC @ Middlesex County College
• December 30th–Stonehill @ Philly U.

Note: This schedule is subject to change.

College Hoops Coverage–Results–November 30, 2011

MADISON, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops traveled out to the outskirts of Morristown to catch its first Division III college hoops game of the year. The site saw FDU-Florham in action against Freedom Conference rival, DeSales University. Both Bishop Ahr’s Mike Williamson and North Brunswick’s Mark Gibson saw playing time in the contest for FDU. Below is the result from the game.

College Hoops Coverage–Results–November 30, 2011

• FDU-Florham 68–DeSales University 51

GMC Hoops just posted an article on the game and plans to post video highlights of the contest soon.

College Hoops Summary–November 30, 2011–DeSales @ FDU-Florham

Former Ahr Standout Williamson Scores 16 Off Bench To Help FDU-Florham Down Conference Rival, 68-51

MADISON, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops continued its 2011 college hoops tour with a trip up Interstate 287 North to the Morristown area to see FDU-Florham in action against DeSales University in a Freedom Conference battle.   This was the conference opener for both teams with the FDU Devils coming in at 0-3 while the DeSales Bulldogs were 2-2.  Both teams lost their most recent games with FDU-Florham falling to William Paterson on Saturday (67-54) while DeSales lost to Moravian (72-63) last week.

There are two GMC players on the roster for the Devils.  Former standout, Mike Williamson (16 points on 6 FGs including 4 of 6 from three) of Bishop Ahr is a junior at FDU while North Brunswick’s Mark Gibson is a sophomore.  Other local area players competing in this contest are Alex Rosario (Bound Brook), Will Green (Cranford), and Brian Kerwin (Immaculata).  Rosario and Green (20 points and 17 rebounds) play for FDU while Kerwin plays for DeSales.  Green leads the Devils with 12.7 points per game while grabbing 7.7 rebounds per contest.

Prior to the start of this contest, both schools had their women’s teams square off as the first half of a doubleheader.  GMC Hoops arrived at about the start of the second half of the women’s game, which was quite a competitive one.  DeSales led by eight points at 44-36 just a little more than midway through the second half.  Over the next two and a half minutes, the visitors from Pennsylvania scored the only three points in the stretch including a putback following a nice block by FDU for a 47-36 lead as the Lady Devils called for time with 7:16 left.

Trailing 47-37 with 5:15 left, the Lady Devils tried to make a run with a basket at the 5:11 mark, and then two free throws at the 4:54 mark to close the gap to 47-41, but couldn’t get any closer.  DeSales closed the game with a 13-5 spurt including a key three point play at the 4:18 mark to finish off the 60-46 victory.  Returning to the men’s game, FDU-Florham was getting use to life without standout player Ricky Fetske, who graduated this past spring.  Helping to lead the way for FDU is Adam Katz (11 points and 4 assists), who on November 15th against Brooklyn, became the 28th player in school history to score 1,000 points.

The Devils got off to a quick start by scoring six of the first eight points.  FDU-Florham hit two of its first three shots from the floor while DeSales committed three turnovers, and didn’t get on the board until the 17:11 mark of the opening half.  Green, Ardell Roberts (4 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists), and Andrew Stress (4 points and 2 assists) accounted for the FDU scoring.   The Bulldogs would bounce back though with five straight points including the first of three treys for a 7-6 lead at the 16 minute mark.  The pendulum then swung back in FDU’s favor as the Devils scored the next four points including a jumper by Roberts for a 10-7 advantage.

DeSales took the lead back again with two three pointers for a 13-10 lead, but Williamson netted a trey from the left corner midway through the half to even things up at 13-13.  At the 9:17 mark, FDU took a 15-13 lead, and held the edge for the next 5:10 thanks to a 10-3 spurt.  Derek Hall (7 points and 2 rebounds) contributed with a basket as he was fouled at the 7:16 mark, and then Stress made two free throws at the 5:14 mark before Hall scored underneath with 5:05 to go in the half.  The Devils had a chance to go up further, but the Bulldogs drew a charge on a driving Katz.

FDU-Florham finished the half with a 6-4 run to take a 29-20 lead at the intermission.  Williamson connected on another jumper during the run to end up with 5 points in the half.  DeSales added another trey to end up with four n the first half.  The Bulldogs outscored the Devils by a 12-3 margin from beyond the arc.  There were four lead changes and a tie in the first 20 minutes while FDU-Florham held the biggest lead at 9 points.  The Devils closed the half with a 19-7 tear.

After the Bulldogs opened the half with a score in the key, Katz got his first points of the game when he drained an off-balanced three at the 19:13 mark for a 32-22 FDU-Florham lead.  DeSales charged back with the next five points including three foul shots at the 16:47 mark for a 32-27 Devils lead before Green converted a three point play at the 16:32 mark for an eight point advantage.  Following an FDU timeout, DeSales got back within six when it scored in the paint off a nice entry pass at the 15:14 mark.  A little more than a minute later, Katz answered with a trey from the right wing for a 38-29 advantage at the 14 minute mark.

The Bulldogs climbed to within four at 38-34 before FDU went on an 11-3 spurt that included eight points from Williamson.  The Piscataway native, who had a steal for a layup, also connected on two treys including one at the 9:34 mark for a 49-34 lead while Katz added one of his own.   Williamson, who was feeling it, then connected on another trey at the 8:46 mark for a 52-34 lead as the crowd roared its approval.  The Devils added a putback to make it a 16-0 surge, and a 54-34 lead.  

From there, FDU-Florham led by as many as 24 en route to a 68-51 victory.  Williamson ended up with 16 points on six field goals including four threes.  The former Ahr standout scored 11 points in the second half. Read the article on this game as well as the box score and play-by-play courtesy of the FDU-Florham athletic department web site.

College Hoops Coverage–Results–November 29, 2011

EDISON, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops traveled out to the Physical Education Center on the main campus of Middlesex County College to see the Colts in action against one of the top JUCO teams in the country this year in Hostos Community College out of the Bronx in New York. MCC came up short in this one to even its record at 4-4. The Colts also lost their first game of the season covered by GMC Hoops. Below is the result from the game.

College Hoops Coverage–Results–November 29, 2011

• Hostos Community College 71–Middlesex County College 46

GMC Hoops just posted an article on the game and plans to post video highlights of the contest soon.

College Hoops Summary–Hostos Community College (NY) @ Middlesex County College–November 29, 2011

Colts Fall To New York Foe, 71-46

On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to the Physical Education Centere on the main campus of Middlesex County College to take in the JUCO matchup between the Blue Colts of MCC and Hostos Community College.  Hostos, from New York is currently in the NJCAA Top 25.  Middlesex was entering the contest at 4-3.  The Colts are 3-0 in games covered by the site so far this season.

The site joined the action with Hostos leading by the score of 13-8 with under 14 minutes to go in the first half.  Over the next six minutes or so, Hostos went on a 10-6 run including 8 of 10 points over a span of just two minutes for a 23-14 lead.  Jeremy Cruz helped MCC try to hang in with a short jumper in the paint to close the gap to 19-14 with 8:30 to go in the first half.  Hostos was forcing turnovers and converting transition opportunities to increase its lead to nine.

A little while later, Hostos forced another steal that led to a fast break chance that drew a foul, and produced two free throws at the 7:05 mark.  On the ensuing MCC possession, Hostos forced another turnover that was converted at the other end with a breakaway one handed slam for a 27-14 lead at the 6:45 mark.  The visitors from New York forced another steal, but MCC was able to get a stop on defense.  Middlesex couldn’t take advantage though as the Colts missed a jumper from the right wing, and Hostos took advantage with another transition score.

Hostos capped the run when Myles Reuben missed a layup that was rebounded by the visitors and converted at the other end with a layin for a 31-14 lead at the 5:34 mark as MCC called for time.   Middlesex, which only had two field goals over the final 8:30 of the first half, ultimately fell behind by a margin of 42-17 late in the first half before closing with an 8-0 run including six points on 4 of 6 FTs and a layup at the buzzer by Reuben.  Over a ten minute stretch of the first half, Hostos outscored MCC by a margin of 27-5.  

The transition play and rebounding by Hostos played a huge role, but MCC contributed by not moving the ball around more on offense, committing turnovers, and taking poor shots rather than putting together good possessions that would have made Hostos work harder on defense, and life more difficult for the visitors from New York to get out on the break for easy scores.  The second half began with the Colts deploying a 2-3 zone, and it did work by making Hostos take shots that it wasn’t comfortable with.

However, the New York squad still managed to score the first eight points of the second half on more transition baskets and putbacks to take a 50-25 lead before Middlesex scored a layup prior to calling timeout with 16:37 remaining in the game.  Following the timeout, Hostos got another transition score to take a 52-27 lead with 16 minutes left.  Over the next eight plus minutes, Middlesex played better.  The Colts continued to play well on defense even after switching to man.  The home team was able to force turnovers, but was unable to convert thanks to several missed layups.

The only scoring that Hostos could manage outside of an occasional layup or putback was at the foul line.  The Colts were able to outscore the visitors by a margin of 13-9 over a span of nine plus minutes to narrow the deficit to 61-40 with 6:47 to play.  Hostos was able to get on the board with a basket for a 63-40 lead, and then called time with just under six minutes to go.  From there, the New York school went on to win by the final score of 71-46.  With the loss, Middlesex drops to 4-4 on the season.

MCC Notes:  Upon arriving at the gym, GMC Hoops bumped into former South River hoops standout, Shawn Fenton, who was at the game to see the Colts in action.  Fenton played for MCC last year, and was a key contributor before going down with a knee injury late in the season.  Fenton is looking to play at Division II Lesley College of the New England Collegiate Conference.

GMC Gridiron Highlights–November 20, 2009–Woodbridge @ Ridge–N2 Group IV Semis

Here are video highlights from an NJSIAA Football Game from 2009 between Woodbridge and Ridge. After starting the season at 0-4, the Barrons rallied to not only get a state playoff berth, but upset top seeded Union in the opening round to get to this semifinal game. The game wound up being a microcosm of Woodbridge’s season with the Barrons falling behind 21-0 in the first quarter before rallying to pull within a touchdown in the third quarter. Unfortunately, Ridge behind Nick Cefalo didn’t let the Barrons get any closer to earn a finals berth with a 34-21 win.

GMC Hoops Highlights–March 16, 2011–Paterson Eastside vs. Newark Central–T of C Quarterfinals

Here are video highlights from the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions Quarterfinal between Group IV state champion, Paterson Eastside and Group II State Champion Newark Central. With about 6 minutes to go, the Ghosts led 54-43, but Newark Central rallied with a 16-5 spurt including a game tying three by Brandon Waiters to force overtime. In the extra session, the Blue Devils went on a 13-0 run after giving up the first basket to take a 72-61 lead en route to the victory. Over a span of 9 minutes, the Blue Devils outscored the Ghosts by a margin of 29-7.

GMC Gridiron Highlights–October 14, 2011–Dunellen @ Highland Park–Blue Division Clash

Here are video highlights from Dunellen’s 27-6 victory over Highland Park back in mid-October. The Destroyers got four rushing touchdowns from Vinnie Grausso to spark them to victory. Highland Park didn’t run one offensive play until there was 10 minutes to go in the first half. The only score the Owls had was on a kickoff return in the first period by Quawi Batchelor.

GMC Gridiron Highlights–September 30, 2011–J.F. Kennedy @ Bishop Ahr–White Division Clash

Here are the video highlights from Bishop Ahr’s 31-14 victory over J.F. Kennedy in the fourth week of action in the 2011 GMC Football season. The Trojans gave up an early touchdown, and appeared ready to give up another when it stopped Kennedy on downs, and then proceeded to score 31 unanswered points to defeat the Mustangs 31-14. Kenny Virden played a key role in the victory with four touchdowns.

2011 GMC Gridiron Trophy–Standings

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–As with the GMC Hoops Trophy, there will also be a trophy for the football season as well. The same formula applies with two points for a win, and minus one point for a loss. We are also using this to show all the different teams that GMC Gridiron covered during the course of this 2011 season. The site saw a total of 18 different teams from the GMC this year. Below are the latest standings:

2011 GMC Gridiron Trophy–Standings

*–Clinches Title