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. Â Hostos, from New York is currently in the NJCAA Top 25. Â Middlesex was entering the contest at 4-3. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â The visitors from New York forced another steal, but MCC was able to get a stop on defense. Â 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. Â 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. Â Over a ten minute stretch of the first half, Hostos outscored MCC by a margin of 27-5. Â
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. Â 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. Â Following the timeout, Hostos got another transition score to take a 52-27 lead with 16 minutes left. Â Over the next eight plus minutes, Middlesex played better. Â The Colts continued to play well on defense even after switching to man. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â From there, the New York school went on to win by the final score of 71-46. Â With the loss, Middlesex drops to 4-4 on the season.
MCC Notes: Â 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. Â Fenton played for MCC last year, and was a key contributor before going down with a knee injury late in the season. Â Fenton is looking to play at Division II Lesley College of the New England Collegiate Conference.