NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled down to the Hoop Group Headquarters, formerly known as Rebounds to take in the opening night of action from the 2009 Hoop Group Headquarters High School Boys Fall League. This is the fourth straight year that the site is covering this league. Six teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference are competing in this league, and the site saw four of them in some sort of action. Check out the results of the four games along with the rest of the contests, and the latest standings.
In the first contest at 8:00 PM involving a GMC squad, East Brunswick took on Toms River East. The Raiders, which won Division B of the Spring League back in June, were no match for the Bears, which were without the likes of Mauro Tucci (football). The 9:00 PM round of games saw contests involving three teams from the GMC including South Amboy versus Lacey, South River versus Ocean Township, and Spotswood versus Shore Regional.
East Brunswick Cruises Past Toms River East, 53-39
The Bears of East Brunswick have become a fixture at the Spring and Fall Leagues put on by the Hoop Group. Playing in Division B this fall season, the Bears opened up their schedule with a contest on the Celtics Court against Toms River East, which won the Spring League’s Division B. GMC Hoops just so happened to catch the very end of this game after getting out of work a bit later than usual. Arriving with 4:15 left in the contest, the game was already well within hand.
Leading by a score of 51-34, EB had nothing really to worry about. Just run out the clock. Neither team scored for about the first 2:30 after the site arrived. The Raiders netted two free throws for a 51-36 EB lead at the 1:44 mark. The Bears answered in the form of a short baseline jumper from the right side by John Genco a little less than a half minute later for a 53-36 advantage with 1:18 left. Seconds later, Toms River East came right back down the floor for a three pointer at the 1:07 mark for a 53-39 East Brunswick lead.
The Raiders then had opportunities to make the final score even more respectable, but EB prevented them from doing so thanks to charges drawn by Genco at the 39 second mark, and Dan Sclafani at the 20 second mark. With the 53-39 victory, the Bears start off the fall at 1-0 while Toms River East slips to 0-1. Next week, EB will be back in action against Middletown South at 6:00 PM on the Nets Court.
Ocean Township Pulls Away From South River, 52-35
South River is one of the new teams in this league from the Greater Middlesex Conference, and they were competing without the likes of Brandon Walsh, Shawn Fenton, and Xavier Foster. Their opponent is no stranger to the Hoop Group leagues, and playing against GMC competition. Ocean Township has competed in the past against the likes of South Amboy, Spotswood, and East Brunswick.
On this opening night, it was a victory for the Shore Conference, which actually went 2-4 in games versus the GMC as the Spartans went on a 9-0 run midway through the first half, and after the Rams started out strong with an 18-10 run over the first 11:29 of the second half to close within five at 36-31 with 8:31 left, Ocean Township went on a decisive 9-0 run over a span of 4:26 to take a 45-31 lead en route to a 52-35 victory.
This game was going on while South Amboy was taking on Lacey and Spotswood was taking on Shore Regional, so there was a lot to cover. Nevertheless, the contests started with Ocean Township scoring six of the first ten points over the opening four minutes. South River fought back though with five of the next seven points in a span of only 1:46 to grab a 9-8 lead at the 14:14 mark. The Spartans went back out in front on its next possession with a fadeaway jumper along the baseline for a 10-9 score at the 13:30 mark.
The score sparked a key run for Ocean Township. Over the next 4:56, Ocean scored nine unanswered points including a three point play at the ten minute mark to take a 17-9 lead before the Rams got a bucket, and called timeout with the score, 17-11 with 8:34 to go in the half. Following the timeout, Ocean Township, which actually outscored South River by a margin of 18-4 over the final 14:14 of the half, padded its lead with a 7-2 spurt over a 4:24 span for a 24-13 lead at the 4:10 mark.
The final field goal of the first half was scored by Ocean at the 3:45 mark as neither team could muster any offense the rest of the period. In the second half though, the Rams showed some resiliency by scoring 18 of the first 28 points of the new period to pull within five at 36-31 with 8:31 to go. However, South River wouldn’t get any closer. On its next possession, Ocean scored a reverse layup from the right side at the 7:42 mark to spark another 9-0 spurt that included a three pointer from the top of the key at the 6:54 mark, and a couple of field goals for a 45-31 lead with 4:05 to play.
The final four plus minutes saw Ocean outscore the Rams by a margin of 7-4 for a 52-35 victory. With the win, the Spartans start at 1-0 while South River drops to 0-1. The Rams are back in action again on Monday night when they take on Manalapan at 8:00 PM on the Celtics Court.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Township (1-0) | 26 | 26 | 52 |
| South River (0-1) | 13 | 22 | 35 |
Spotswood Rolls In Opener Against Shore Regional, 65-43
On the other side of the Hoop Group Headquarters facility, the Spotswood Chargers were doing battle with the Blue Devils of Shore Regional on the Knicks Court. The Chargers have become no strangers to the spring, summer, and fall leagues at Rebounds. Although it didn’t play in the Spring League, Spotswood did compete in the Summer League. This game was no contest as the Chargers, a Group II team took it to Shore Regional, a Group I team. Spotswood jumped out to a 30-8 lead over the first 10:30 of the contest en route to a 45-19 halftime advantage, and never looked back in a convincing 65-43 win over the Blue Devils.
GMC Hoops was taking in quite a bit of action from the games being played between South River and Ocean Township as well as South Amboy and Lacey. As a result, by the time the site got over to the Spotswood game, it was already well out of hand. With 9:30 to go in the first half, the Chargers were up by over 20 points. Shore Regional would get a couple of field goals including a putback at the 8:06 mark, and a bucket at the 7:37 mark, but Spotswood then closed out the half with a 15-7 spurt for a 45-19 lead at the intermission.
In the second half, Shore Regional started out strong with a 7-0 run that included a steal for a breakaway layup attempt that was missed, but rebounded for a foul and two foul shots at the 17:52 mark, a field goal, and then a three pointer at the 15:11 mark while the Chargers couldn’t take advantage of two offensive rebounds by James Pareti and Tyler Osofsky at the 16:58 mark. Despite all that, Spotswood was still in charge, 45-26, and would finally get on the board minutes later with a three pointer before the Blue Devils sank a pair of free throws at the 12:28 mark for a 48-28 Charger lead.
Spotswood got six straight points from one of its reserves including an offensive rebound and putback off an Osofsky miss at the 12:12 mark, another offensive rebound and follow of an Osofsky miss at the 11:40 mark, and then a short hook in the right low block for a 54-30 lead. The Chargers then added a three pointer at the 9:45 mark to cap a 9-2 spurt for a 57-30 lead. From there, Shore was able to make the score a bit more respectable with a 13-8 run to close out the contest, and round out the 65-43 final score.
With the win, Spotswood begins the fall at 1-0 while Shore Regional falls to 0-1. The Chargers will be back in action on Monday night when they face Middletown North at 8:00 PM over on the Nets Court.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotswood (1-0) | 45 | 20 | 65 |
| Shore Regional (0-1) | 19 | 24 | 43 |
First Half Surge Propels Lacey Past South Amboy, 47-36
The featured matchup of the night for GMC Hoops involved South Amboy, which the site didn’t really get as good a look at during the summer at Middlesex County College. The Guvs were facing the Lacey Lions from Ocean County, and the Class A South Division of the Shore Conference. The game started out on a good note for South Amboy as it took an early 9-2 lead with 13:35 remaining in the first half. However, Lacey roared back (no pun intended) with 23-0 rampage over a 13:24 span to take a 25-9 en route to a 47-36 win.
The Governors had gotten off to its fast start thanks to Joe Charmello, who drained a three pointer at the 13:35 mark to cap the 9-2 start. However, the senior had to go to the bench as he still appeared hobbled by the injury suffered during AAU season. Lacey took advantage of that by embarking on a decisiive 23-0 rampage over the next 13:24 to take a commanding 25-9 lead. The run consisted of the following:
- An up and under move for a score at the 13:07 mark to make it 9-4
- A three pointer and two field goals over the next 6:32 to take its first lead at 11-9
- Another three pointer and field goal over the next 1:35 to take a 16-9 lead at the 5:00 mark
- A three pointer from the top of the key at the 3:17 mark for a 19-9 lead
- A reverse layup at the 2:26 mark for a 19-0 run, and a 21-9 lead
- A field goal at the 1:07 mark for a 21-0 run, and a 23-9 lead
- Another bucket to cap the 23-0 surge inside the final minute for a 25-9 lead
Tim Simko closed out the first half scoring with a three pointer from the right corner for South Amboy to make it a 25-12 game at the intermission. In the second half, the Guvs played more respectably with a 14-13 start over the opening 9:40 to pull within a dozen at 38-26 with 10:20 to play. The Governors then got a three pointer to close within single digits at the 8:05 mark. Both teams exchanged baskets over the ensuing 31 seconds for a 40-31 Lacey lead, but the Lions swiped two steals for layups to take a 44-31 lead at the 5:59 mark.
South Amboy then scored four of the next six points over a span of 4:13 to make it a 46-35 Lacey lead, but it was too little, too late as the Lions closed out the 47-36 victory. With the win, Lacey starts the fall at 1-0 while South Amboy begins at 0-1. The Guvs are back out in action on Monday night when they play Brick Township at 7:00 PM on the Nets Court.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lacey (1-0) | 25 | 22 | 47 |
| South Amboy (0-1) | 12 | 24 | 36 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at the Hoop Group Headquarters on Monday night for the second week of action from this league.