EDISON, NJ—For the first time in several weeks, GMC Hoops stopped over at The Basketball Shooting Academy to take in an hour’s worth of games in the next to the last week of the 2008 TBSA Fall League. The site stopped by during the 4:00 PM hour while on lunch break from work. With the league moving up the start times of all of its games by one hour, it is difficult to come down, and see any of the late games anymore. Nevertheless, Greg Machos found a way to get there not only yesterday, but for his last visit to TBSA on October 5th.
Two games were on tap during the hour. Monroe, which has had a very successful fall so far, was taking on Hunterdon Central of the Delaware West Division of the Skyland Conference on Court #2 while Manville was battling Hackettstown of the Raritan Division of the Skyland on Court #3. The contest between Monroe and Hunterdon Central was pretty much under the Falcons control throughout with the Purple Birds leading by five at the half, and then by as many as 15 in the second half before pulling out the 55-46 victory. Meanwhile, the other game was much closer. The Mustangs from Somerset County and the Tigers from Warren County were entangled in quite a contested affair with a total of 14 lead changes and two ties over the final 22:19 of the game.
Monroe Downs Hunterdon Central, 55-46
Upon arriving at the TBSA facility, there was 9:15 to go in the first half, and Monroe was leading on Court #2 by a 16-12 margin. The Red Devils then made two foul shots at the 9:03 mark to pull within a field goal at 16-14. A little more than a minute later, Hunterdon Central connected on a three pointer from the right wing for a 17-16 edge at the 8:01 mark. The Purple Birds would quickly respond though with a field goal for an 18-17 lead with 7:44 to go in the first half. On the very next Hunterdon Central possession, the Tigers grabbed an offensive rebound off a long carom, and kicked it out to the left side for a jumper that put them ahead again at 19-18 with 7:32 left before the intermission.
A little more than a half minute later, Monroe Township reclaimed the lead for good when senior guard, Steve Blish knocked down a three pointer for a 21-19 advantage at the 7:01 mark. The Purple Birds then got another score to add to the lead before the Red Devils were called for a carry violation with the score, 23-19 with 5:53 to go in the opening half. Twenty-three seconds later, Monroe got on the board again with a field goal for a six point, 25-19 lead with five and a half minutes still remaining before the brief break. Hunterdon Central came back on a subsequent possession to sink a trifecta from the left wing that closed the gap to 25-22 at the 5:06 mark. The Falcons then closed out the first half with a 10-8 showing for a 35-30 lead at the half.
In the second half, Monroe started things up with a three pointer that not only gave them a 38-30 lead, but sparked a 12-2 tear over the first 7:51 of the new period for a 47-32 lead. The tear included nine unanswered points over a span of 5:56. From there, Monroe wasn’t threatened despite the fact that Hunterdon Central outscored the Purple Birds by a 14-8 margin including a 7-1 spurt over the final 2:30 for the 55-46 final score. With the win, Monroe Township improved to 6-1 on the fall while Hunterdon Central slipped to 1-6. Next week, the Purple Birds close out the fall season with a game against Weequahic at 4:00 PM while Hunterdon Central will be wrapping things up against Edison at 1:00 PM.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe (6-1) | 35 | 20 | 55 |
| Hunterdon Central (1-6) | 30 | 16 | 46 |
Manville And Hackettstown Get Embroiled In Basketball Tug Of War
While Monroe was defeating Hunterdon Central to improve to 6-1 on the fall at TBSA, Manville and Hackettstown were battling in quite a back and forth struggle. Hackettstown, which resides in Warren County, and is the home of Division III School, Centenary College of the Colonial States Athletic Conference, competes in the Raritan Division of the Skyland Conference with the likes of Somerville, Delaware Valley, North Plainfield, and North Warren. Manville, which competes in the Valley Division of the Skyland, is looking to improve this year after battling mediocrity the past five years since the Central Jersey Group I Championship Game appearance against Piscataway Tech. In this game, there were 14 lead changes and 2 ties over the final 22 plus minutes with neither team having a lead bigger than three points.
GMC Hoops picked up the action in this one with 2:19 left, and Manville leading by three, 19-16. Hackettstown, which has the nickname of the Tigers, got a bucket with 41 seconds to go before the intermission, and that is how the score stood as both teams went into the brief break. The Tigers began the second half with a field goal to go ahead by one at 20-19 with 19 minutes to go. The Mustangs came back though on a subsequent possession, and netted two free throws to take the lead back, 21-20. Nearly a minute later, Hackettstown wrestled the edge back with a bounce pass into the right low block for a layup, and a 22-21 score with 16:50 to play. Neither team scored for over two minutes before Manville swiped a steal, and scored for a 23-22 advantage at the 14:30 mark.
Forty-nine seconds later, the Tigers drove in for a layup from the left side to continue the seesaw battle with a 24-23 lead at the 13:41 mark. Following a Manville timeout at the 12:47 mark, the Mustangs put their defense to work to get the next score. With 11:25 remaining in regulation, Manville forced a steal, and passed the ball upcourt for an off-balanced layin, and a 25-24 edge. On the next Hackettstown possession, the Mustangs forced another turnover, and drew a foul on the floor, but couldn’t take advantage while the Tigers reeled off the next three points including one of two at the foul line for a 27-25 lead at the 9:14 mark. Fifty-one seconds later, Manville tied the game up at 27-27 with two free throws. Shortly afterward, Hackettstown scored on a short jumper from the right side on the high post off a no look pass to go ahead again, 29-27.
Seventeen seconds later, Manville came right back down and took the lead back with a three pointer from the left wing that made the score, 30-29 with 7:43 left. Neither team would score for nearly 1:45, but Hackettstown put together good ball movement to set up a scoring opportunity that drew a foul down low, and made one of two from the foul line for a 30-30 tie at the 6:05 mark. About a half-minute later, Manville went ahead again with a one of two showing from the charity stripe for a 31-30 score at the 5:33 mark. Almost a minute and a half later, Hackettstown made two free throws to go back up on top, 32-31 with 4:05 left. The Tigers could have gone up even more, but they turned over the ball at the 3:36 mark. Following a timeout at the 3:32 mark, Hackettstown took the biggest lead of the contest with a field goal at the 1:30 mark that made it 34-31.
On Manville’s next possession, the team netted two free throws to pull within one at 34-33 with 1:10 to play in regulation. Hackettstown went back up by three with a pair of their own charity shots at the 53 second mark for a 36-33 score. The Mustangs hung in there though with the next four points, all on foul shots including two from the line at the 35 second mark, and then after a turnover by the Tigers, another pair including the second one that followed a lane violation by Hackettstown for a 37-36 lead with a half minute to go. The Tigers would prevail though with a last second shot for the 38-37 victory.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hackettstown (2-5) | 18 | 20 | 38 |
| Manville (1-6) | 19 | 18 | 37 |