UNION, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops made its first trip up to the 2009 Kean Summer League at Harwood Arena on the main campus of Kean University. There are just ten teams playing in this league, but five of them are from the Greater Middlesex Conference including: Bishop Ahr, Monroe, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, and St. Joseph’s. On this night, the site covered four of the five games played, but got results from all five contests played. See those results as well as the latest standings. The first contest the site took in was between St. Joseph’s and Perth Amboy, which were already in the second half when the site arrived. The next two went on simultaneously as Monroe battled Roselle on Court #1 while Bishop Ahr took on David Brearley of Kenilworth on Court #2. Finally, in the last game of the evening, Sayreville faced off against Union.
Perth Amboy Prevails Over St. Joe’s, 54-43
After being at work until the afternoon, and then taking a nap, GMC Hoops was a bit behind schedule, and didn’t arrive to see this game until there was 13:30 remaining in the contest. By this time, Perth Amboy was already ahead by a 40-27 margin. Soon to be junior, Kevin Mayce tried to get the Falcon flock going with a jumper from about the foul line with 13:11 remaining to trim the gap to 40-27. Slay Sudah, who looks to be in great shape, brought the deficit down to single digits with a baseline floater from the right side to make the score, 40-31 with 12:30 left. Yoelbin Sanchez put Amboy back in business with a layup on the Panthers’ very next possession to make the score, 42-31 with exactly twelve minutes to go.
Thirty seconds after that, Ariel Hilton added a jumper that made the score 44-31 in favor of the Panthers as St. Joseph’s called for a timeout at the 11:10 mark. Following the stoppage, neither team scored for over a minute and a half before Perth Amboy got on the board with a layup at the 9:30 mark for a 46-31 lead. The Falcons would then get a pair of free throws before the Panthers made one of two from the charity stripe for a 47-33 lead with 7:31 left. Amboy then took its biggest lead of the game with a three pointer from the top of the key that made the score, 50-33 with 7:02 to play. Trying to comeback, St. Joe’s put together an 8-0 rally over the next 2:25 that included two free throws by Sudah at the 5:46 mark, and a steal for a score at the 4:37 mark that brought the Falcons within nine again at 50-41.
Unfortunately, the Falcons couldn’t get any closer. Sanchez would put Perth Amboy up by double digits again when he got the ball down low, made a pump fake, and scored for a 52-41 lead with 4:08 to go. Then, the Panthers began to take time off the clock. St. Joseph’s would be held without a point for a span of 3:20 until Sudah dished to a teammate for a layup at the 1:17 mark that made the score, 52-43. Amboy went on to prevail by the final score of 54-43. With the victory, the Panthers improved to 2-0 on the summer while the Falcons dropped to .500 at 1-1.
Monroe Hangs On To Beat Roselle, 51-46
While GMC Hoops was taking in a great deal of the Bishop Ahr contest against David Brearley Regional of Kenilworth, Monroe was battling Roselle over on Court #1. The Falcons didn’t have their full roster on hand, but still had a good turnout with the likes of Ahmid Williams, Danny Brix, Mike Walp, Mike Mahmoud, Ryan Genevive, and Blake Bascom in attendance. The Purple Birds came out flying in a high scoring first half as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first 3:55, and went on to take a 34-22 advantage at halftime. However, in the second half, defense took over, and Roselle fought its way back thanks to some full court pressure. In the end though, Monroe Township would prevail to stay undefeated with a 51-46 victory.
Over the first two minutes of the contest, Monroe jumped out to a 6-0 lead. Roselle didn’t get on the board until the 16:28 mark when it connected on a jumper from the left wing for a 6-2 Monroe advantage. The Rams quickly gave those points back though as the Falcons scored on a layup that made the score 8-2 with 16:05 left in the first half as Roselle called for time. The timeout didn’t seem to be the tonic as Bascom came up with a steal, and handed out an assist on a Mahmoud layup for a 10-2 lead with 15:46 remaining before halftime. The next 2:16 though would see Roselle cut into the deficit with a 4-2 run that made the score, 12-6 at the 13:30 mark. Monroe then scored four of the next seven points including a fast break led by Mahmoud, who passed upcourt to Williams for a layup, and a 16-9 lead with 11:13 to go in the period.
The bucket actually sparked a 10-2 run that helped the lead balloon to thirteen points. Danny Brix added a layup at the 6:59 mark, and then Bascom capped the spurt when he drove into the key, and drew a foul on the shot attempt for a one of two showing at the line to put Monroe ahead, 24-11 with 6:18 to go in the first half. Roselle got three of those points back with a run over the next 2:18 that included a one of two effort at the foul line for a 24-14 lead with four minutes remaining before the intermission. The Rams then brought the deficit down to single digits before Mahmoud kicked out to Bascom on the right wing for a three pointer at the 27-16 lead at the 2:38 mark. Monroe Township closed out the first half with seven of the final eleven points including a short baseline jumper from the right side by Danny Brix for a 34-22 lead at the break.
in the second half, Monroe didn’t get on the board for the first 3:14 while Roselle garnered the first points to cut the deficit down to ten with 17:37 left. Williams pushed the advantage back up to twelve when he was fouled on the drive, and converted that into two free throws for a 36-24 score at the 16:46 mark. Pulling to within single digits again, Roselle scored on a traditional three point play to close the gap to nine at 36-27 with 16:13 to play. The Rams were hoping to get closer, but Bascom helped Monroe keep them at arm’s length with a steal and a breakaway layup for a 38-27 lead at the 14:12 mark. Genevive then added a short jumper after a Roselle score that made it 40-29 with 13:32 to go. The Falcons then went up by thirteen as Walp clicked on two foul shots at the 13:04 mark for a 42-29 score. The Rams were thwarted even further when Danny Brix drew a charge at the 11:48 mark.
However, Roselle didn’t relent as it began to deploy its fullcourt pressure to force Monroe into making some turnovers, and the tactic worked. Over the next 5:06, the Rams outscored the Falcons by a 6-2 margin to pull within nine again at 44-35. Monroe kept the Union County team at bay though with four of the next seven points for a 48-38 lead with 4:05 remaining. Refusing to quit, and playing much more spirited than it did in its opener against Sayreville, Roselle rallied with six straight points to pull within two baskets at 48-44 at the 1:06 mark. Unfortunately, the Rams were unable to get any closer as Bascom came up with a huge conventional three point play with 54 seconds left for a 51-44 lead, and Monroe emerged victorious with a 51-46 win. With the victory, Monroe improved to 2-0 on the summer while Roselle remained winless at 0-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe (2-0) | 34 | 17 | 51 |
| Roselle (0-2) | 22 | 24 | 46 |
Bishop Ahr Surges Past David Brearley, 47-24
With TBSA going to new management, and getting a different name, there was one less summer league for the GMC teams to get into this year. Among those teams searching for a new league this summer was Bishop Ahr, which had been a fixture at the Middlesex County College summer league early on in this decade, and then the HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest in 2005 and 2006 before moving on to TBSA the past two summers. Last summer, BGA advanced to the Championship game at TBSA before losing to J.P. Stevens.
This year, Ahr has its varsity up at Kean while its JV continues to play at Middlesex, where it has been for the past several summers. The Trojans began the season with a loss on opening night to Monroe (54-37). Once again, the Trojans will be formidable despite the losses of Matt Fiorino, Matt Sheehy, and Matt Melnick. BGA has Darius Griffin returning along with Matt Bernocchi and Rob Gomulka to fill in at the guard spots along with soon to be sophomore Roger Kilgore. Meanwhile, the likes of Manny Kroggmann, Justin Peoples, Nick Napurano, and soon to be junior Rashad Kilgore will give Ahr plenty of size again this coming season. So, expect Ahr to be the favorite to win the GMC Blue again with Spotswood giving the Trojans all it can handle for division honors.
Neither team scored for the nearly the first two minutes of the game before the Trojans got going with a nice pass upcourt to Peoples for a layup attempt that drew a foul, and produced one of two free throws at the 18:01 mark. A little more than a minute later, Peoples was back at the line again after being fouled underneath, and he made both foul shots for a 3-0 lead. David Brearley fought back though with a three pointer from the left wing by Nick Kurus that tied the score at 3-3 with 16:08 to go in the first half. Bishop Ahr then went back on top as Griffin grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by Rashad Kilgore, and put it back in for a 5-3 lead at the 14:49 mark. Dominick Vitale then put Brearley ahead with a three pointer for a 6-5 lead at the 12:49 mark. The Trojans quickly took the lead back on its next possession with a field goal at the 12:35 mark.
There would be a lull in the scoring activity for a bit more than two minutes before Ahr got a steal for a breakaway layup at the 10:26 mark for a 9-6 lead. The Bears, which have been a fixture in the Group I State Tournament for the past several seasons after being mired deep in mediocrity early on this decade, then scored four of the next six points including a drive from the left wing for a layup to pull within one at 11-10 with 7:54 to go. Ahr would then get a score to go up by three before Vitale drove baseline for a layup, and a 13-12 Trojan advantage at the 6:28 mark. Those would be the final points for the Bears in the first half as BGA closed out the first half with a 10-0 run that included two free throws at the 6:04 mark, two more foul shots by Griffin at the 5:15 mark, a rebound and outlet pass upcourt by Peoples to Rashad Kilgore for a layup at the 3:41 mark for a 19-12 lead. The elder Kilgore then added a layup at the three minute mark for a 21-12 lead, and another one with under a minute to go after Peoples came up with a block and a rebound at the other end.
In the second half, Kilgore and Bishop Ahr picked up right where it left off as Griffin skied for an offensive rebound, and dished to the big man for a layup, and a 25-12 lead with 19:21 to play in the game. David Brearley again fought back though with eight of the next ten points including a three pointer by Vitale, and one of two from the foul line at the 16:53 mark to slice into the Ahr lead, which had dropped to 27-20. Kurus then added a field goal twenty-six seconds left to make it a five point game at 27-22 with 16:27 to play. Nick Napurano then began to make his presence felt when he kicked out a pass to the right wing for a three pointer, and a 5-0 run for a 32-22 lead. Gomulka then swiped a steal, and drew a foul that produced one of two from the line for a 33-22 lead with 12:58 left. Napurano then put in a score underneath after BGA attacked the boards for three offensive rebounds to take a 35-24 lead at the 11:56 mark. Gomulka added two more free throws after that for a 37-24 advantage with 11:10 remaining.
Roger Kilgore then got into the act with a fast break layup off a steal that put the Trojans up by 15 as Brearley was forced to call for time at the 8:55 mark. Napurano then helped BGA close out the game with a 13-0 run as he picked up a steal, and handed out an assist on a layup by Gomulka for a 41-24 lead as Ahr went on to win, 47-24. With the victory, Bishop Ahr evens its record at 1-1 this summer while David Brearley falls to 0-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Ahr (1-1) | 23 | 24 | 47 |
| David Brearley (0-2) | 12 | 12 | 24 |
Strong First Half Lifts Union Over Sayreville, 38-27
In the final game of the evening, Sayreville, a team that wasn’t originally in this league, was taking on Union in a battle of two Group IV teams. The Farmers had another solid campaign, but it ended up on a disappointing note as they lost to Watchung Conference rival, Linden in the opening round of the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament on a shot at the buzzer by Tevin Calhoun. Similarly, Sayreville’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion as it lost to West Windsor-Plainsboro South in overtime in the semifinals of the Central Jersey Group IV Tournament after winning in the opening round over Steinert, and in the Quarterfinals at East Brunswick. On this night, the Bombers were going to have to do without Dave Milewski, but still had Mark Keir and Darryl Stephenson leading the charge.
Union opened the game with a layin for a 2-0 lead before Sayreville tied things up at 2-2 with 19:17 to go in the first half. The Bombers then went ahead with a field goal before Union struck back with a three pointer from the left wing. The Farmers perimeter game proved to be one of the big differences in this contest. Union then added an offensive rebound and putback at the 12:54 mark for a 7-4 lead before there would be a lull in the scoring ended by a pair of Sayreville free throws that made the score, 7-6 at the 11:07 mark. The Farmers would get those two points back with a couple foul shots of their own at the 10:18 mark, and then added another three pointer from the right wing for a 12-6 edge with 9:45 to go before the intermission. Sayreville, which played quite well at the East Brunswick Team Camp thanks to its physical play, and scoring from Milewski, tried to hang around with a pair of free throws, but Union began to take control of the contest with a three pointer that sparked a 6-0 run for an 18-8 lead with 5:57 to go in the half.
Over the next 1:27, Sayreville cut into the Union lead by scoring two of the next three points before calling a timeout at the 4:30 mark with the Farmers leading 19-10. Twenty-four seconds later, Union connected on a three pointer from the right corner to make the score, 22-12 with 4:06 to go in the half. Stephenson got the Bombers back to within ten at 22-12 by making two free throws at the 3:39 mark, but Union would go into the locker room with a 23-12 lead as it grabbed two offensive rebounds, and drew a foul on the follow to produce one of two from the line at the 1:11 mark to close out the opening half scoring. In the second half, the Bombers came out much more spirited as it outscored the Farmers by an 11-5 margin over the first 13:09 of the period to pull within five at 28-23 with 6:51 to play. However, the GMC White school couldn’t get any closer.
The Bombers had their chances though. With 5:49 left, Sayreville had a big scoring chance, but couldn’t convert as Tarif Jackson first missed a shot. Stephenson tried to put back in the follow twice, but couldn’t score. Union then got the ball, but the Bombers stole it back only to have Jackson miss again. A little more than a minute and a half later, the Bombers had another opportunity, but failed to score as a putback attempt by Stephenson just missed at the 4:12 mark. Dodging these couple bullets, Union then closed out the game with an 8-0 run sparked by another three pointer from the left wing at the 3:36 mark, and then capped by one of two free throws and a putback with 1:26 left for a 36-23 lead. Sayreville scored four of the final six points to make the game closer as the Farmers came away with the 38-27 win. With the victory, Union tied Perth Amboy and Monroe for first place in the league at 2-0 while Sayreville fell to 1-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union (2-0) | 23 | 15 | 38 |
| Sayreville (1-1) | 12 | 15 | 27 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Kean next week for more action.