Rahway Summer League–June 18, 2010

RAHWAY, NJ–On Friday night, GMC Hoops traveled out to Rahway High School to catch Friday night action from the 2010 Rahway Summer League. The site saw three games, and all of them involved teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference. In the 6:00 PM game, Edison was taking on Roselle while Woodbridge battled Rahway in the 7:00 PM game. Finally, in the 8:00 PM game, two GMC teams went at it as St. Joseph’s played Perth Amboy. With the Colonia JV Summer League not playing any games on Friday nights like it has in past years, Rahway is the only league being covered by GMC Hoops that has contests on Friday nights.

Roselle Defeats Edison, 33-21

In the first of this GMC Hoops tripleheader at Rahway, it was the GMC versus the Union County Conference as Roselle took on Edison. Both of these teams qualified for the state tournament this past season, but were dismissed unceremoniously in the first round. The Running Rams have been building their program from the ground up for the past five years or so, and it paid off with a Central Jersey Group II Championship in 2008. Along the way, then third seeded Roselle defeated sixth seeded Carteret. Then, in 2009, the Rams reached the semifinals, where it lost to eventual champion, Manasquan.

Meanwhile, Edison turned what appeared to be another year of struggle to one of some moderate success by Eagle standards. Despite the defections of Anthony Green (Piscataway), Mohammed Ali (Cardinal McCarrick), and Will Thomas (Cardinal McCarrick), the Eagles managed to turn a 1-7 start including six straight losses to open the season into a 9-15 finish with a GMCT Play-In Round victory over South Plainfield, and a berth in the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament. It was the first time Edison qualified for the state tournament since the 2006-07 season.

However, the Eagles are going have to start from square one in some sense as they may have to find a way endure another transfer. Head coach, Charlie Mohr, who has guided the Eagles for going on eight seasons and two state playoff berths, has done the best he has could with what he has had available. Contending with the rough and tumble foes such as Piscataway, St. Joseph’s, East Brunswick and others in the GMC Red, the Eagles will be moving down to the GMC White in 2010-11. The move may be a blessing in disguise though as the White Division has been considered to be stronger than the Red from top to bottom over the past couple seasons. EHS will be moving down to the White while Colonia will be moving up to the Red, and Carteret will be dropping down to the Blue.

GMC Hoops arrived with ten minutes to go in the game, and Roselle leading 28-14. After Edison called timeout at the 9:17 mark, the Eagles made two foul shots with 8:46 remaining for a 28-16 Roselle lead. The Eagles had a chance to get closer when they got a steal, but Roselle prevented a score by forcing a turnover at the 8:11 mark. The Running Rams then went back up by fourteen with a floater at the 7:34 mark that made the score, 30-16. Edison then made one of two from the line for a 30-17 score with 7:13 left. EHS had a chance to move closer again when it went into the bonus, but missed the front end of the one and one at the six minute mark.

Roselle then missed a pair of foul shots with 5:19 left, but got a break when the ball went off an Edison player out of bounds. The Rams were unable to capitalize, and the Eagles eventually scored to pull within eleven again as Brian Cohen connected on a jumper from the right side for a 30-19 Roselle lead at the 3:35 mark. Roselle then turned the ball over with 3:25 left, but the Eagles were unable to take advantage. Following a timeout with just under three minutes to play, the Running Rams swiped a steal off an inbounds with 2:47 to play. The Rams then finished off their win with an offensive rebound and follow at the 1:32 mark before EHS closed out the scoring with a drive through the middle for a layup. Roselle won the game, 33-21.


Rahway Downs Woodbridge, 49-35

In a battle of neighborhood rivals, Rahway jumped out to an early 15-8 lead thanks to making three of its first five shots from three point range. The Indians also got a three point play as they attacked the offensive glass the rest of the way en route to a twenty point lead late in the second half, and a 49-35 victory. Woodbridge did a much better job of guarding the perimeter after the first 4:50 of the game, but the long rebounds off missed threes gave Rahway many offensive rebounds, which it converted into second chance points. For the game, the Indians shot 19 of 41 from the floor for 46 percent including 5 of 21 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Woodbridge was only 13 of 33 from the floor for 39 percent incluidng 2 of 7 from three.

At the line, the Barrons did slightly better than the Indians by going 7 of 16 from the charity stripe while the home team was just 6 of 16. However, the big difference was on the boards as Rahway outrebounded Woodbridge by a margin of 26-19 including a 14-8 edge on the offensive glass. Rahway also had four blocks versus only one by Woodbridge. Kyle Pearson and Duquan Bailey led the way in a losing effort for Woodbridge. Pearson had 10 points on 4 of 10 shooting from the floor along with a 2 of 4 showing from the line while grabbing six rebounds. Bailey also had 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting from the floor including a three pointer along with a free throw while handing out five assists, and swiping three steals. Keith Hughes chipped in with 9 points on 2 of 5 shooting from the floor including a three, and 4 of 6 from the line while coming up with 5 boards.

Both teams exchanged scores before Rahway went ahead for good on a three pointer from the left wing at the 19:05 mark. Pearson made two foul shots at the 18:26 mark for a 5-4 Rahway lead. The Barrons would not get any closer after that. The Indians got two offensive rebounds off two missed threes, and then got a break by getting the ball out of bounds at the 17:44 mark. Seventeen seconds later, Rahway netted a three pointer from the left corner off an inbounds play for an 8-4 lead. Nearly a minute and a half later, the Indians made one of two from the line for a 9-4 lead, and after a jumper by Pearson, connected on a three pointer from the top of the key for a 12-6 with 15:10 remaining in the first half.

Bailey then scored on a drive through the middle to pull the Barrons within four, but Rahway converted a traditional three point play at the 14:23 mark for a 15-8 advantage. A little over a minute and a half later, Woodbridge got the three points back, and closed within four again as Bailey inbounded to Hughes in the left corner for a three pointer, and a 15-11 score with 12:45 to go in the half. The Barrons had a couple chances to get closer, but Pearson missed the dunk, and despite getting fouled on a jumper off the follow, they missed two foul shots at the 10:58 mark. WHS did score four of the next seven points including a layup off a steal by Bailey, and a Pearson layup off a pick and roll with Bailey to close the gap to 18-15 with 9:04 remaining in the first half.

In what would be a repeating theme, Rahway missed a pair of free throws, but got the offensive rebound and follow while being fouled at the 6:40 mark. Although the bonus foul shot was missed, the Indians led by a score of 20-15. RHS then scored five of the next seven points including an offensive rebound and follow off a three point attempt that was blocked by Hughes, and a three pointer for a 25-17 lead at the 3:25 mark. Bailey got the only Woodbridge points during this stretch with a nifty move for a pull-up jumper. The Barrons got another layup before Rahway scored on an off balanced shot while being fouled for a conventional three point play at the 1:16 mark for the 28-19 lead they had at the half. Over the first 20 minutes, Woodbridge shot 8 of 19 from the floor including one of three from beyond the arc, and made 2 of 4 from the line while Rahway was 10 of 22 including 5 of 15 from long distance, and made 3 of 7 from the charity stripe.

The positive for the Barrons was that they were only down by nine, and shut down Rahway from three point land over the final 15:10 of the first half. The Indians were 0 of 10 from long range during that span. Both Pearson and Bailey spearheaded Woodbridge offensively with 6 points each. Bailey was three of five from the floor while handing out two assists, and collecting two steals. Pearson didn’t shoot well in the first half, but made two foul shots along with his two field goals for his six points. The game was still close thirty seconds into the second half, but over the next 16:44, Rahway would distance itself from Woodbridge with a decisive 17-5 run for a 47-27 lead with 2:46 remaining.

Rahway started the second half scoring with a steal off Bailey for a layup to take a 30-19 lead, but Hughes responded with a traditional three point play at the 19:30 mark for a 30-22 Rahway lead. Over the next 3:30, Rahway scored four unanswered points while Hughes missed two foul shots. The Indians then drew a foul after grabbing an offensive rebound off a missed three pointer, and made both free throws for an 8-0 run, and a 38-22 lead at the 13:28 mark. The Barrons got a score to break the scoreless drought of eight minutes or so, but the Indians got on the board again with a nice entry pass into the right low block for a turnaround jumper, and a 10-2 run that made the score, 40-24 at the 10:16 mark. Rahway then scored seven of the next ten points over a span of 7:30 including two steals for layups for a commanding 47-27 lead with only 2:46 to play.

Woodbridge made the score more respectable with an 8-2 run including a dunk by Pearson that closed the game, but Rahway came away victorious with the 49-35 win.

Team 1 2 Total
Rahway 28 21 49
Woodbridge 19 16 35

Arias And Rodriguez Pace Amboy To Victory, 42-31

In the finale, two teams from the GMC Red went at it as St. Joseph’s played Perth Amboy. The Falcons didn’t have their varsity squad play in this one, but they still gave a spirited fight against the more veteran squad of Perth Amboy. The Panthers did have some youngsters such as soon to be sophomores Hamilton Capellan and Jonathan Rodriguez. Rodriguez along with soon to be senior Wancel Arias led the Panthers to a hard fought, 42-31 victory in this game. Arias made both of his shots from the floor along with 6 of 8 from the foul line for 10 points while Rodriguez made three of four shots from the floor including a key three, and both his attempts from the line for his 10 points. Perth Amboy’s bench also contributed with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists in the win.

In a losing cause, soon to be junior, Greg Patton led the way for St. Joe’s. Patton, a JV player this past season, connected on 6 of 12 from the floor including 2 of 6 from three point range while also making a foul shot for a game high 15 points. St. Joseph’s also got solid contributions from its bench in this one as well. For the game, Amboy was 13 of 23 from the floor for 57 percent including 2 of 5 from beyond the arc while making 14 of 21 from the foul line for 67 percent. On the other hand, St. Joseph’s was 12 of 38 from the floor for 32 percent including 2 of 13 from three point land while netting 5 of 6 from the charity stripe. Looking at other statistics, Perth Amboy outrebounded St. Joe’s by a 21-16 margin, but the Falcons had the edge on the offensive boards (7-2).

St. Joseph’s got off to a solid start by making four of its first six shots including a jumper from the left side, and a three pointer from the top of the key by Patton for a 9-2 lead at the 15:29 mark. Perth Amboy was 0 of 3 from the floor in the first 4:31, but limited St. Joe’s to just 8 of 32 shots the rest of the way while making 13 of 20 shots. Chael Hernandez got the Panthers rolling with a three pointer from the right side for the team’s first field goal of the game, and a 9-5 St. Joe’s lead at the 14:15 mark. The trifecta by Hernandez sparked an 11-6 run by Amboy over a span of 7:07 to close the gap to 15-13 with 8:22 to go in the first half. The Panthers then scored six of the next seven points in the ensuing 6:22 to make it a 17-7 tear for a 19-16 lead with two minutes to play in the half. PAHS, which ended up 8 of 13 from the floor in the first half, outscored St. Joe’s by a 4-3 margin over the rest of the half for a 23-19 lead at the intermission.

The Panthers were also a perfect 6 of 6 from the floor while St. Joseph’s was just one of two from the line. Outside of Patton, who was 4 of 7 from the field including two of four from downtown for 10 points along with two rebounds, the Falcons were just 4 of 14. Arias paced Perth Amboy with a perfect two of two from the floor and line for 6 points along with a rebound. Amboy had a chance to go up by more to open up the second half, but Hernandez misfired on both his free throw attempts at the 19:10 mark while the Panthers made only one of two from the charity stripe at the 18 minute mark for a 24-19 lead. Amboy had another opportunity, but St. Joe’s drew a charge with 17:27 remaining. Neither team had made a field goal over the first 3:38 when the Panthers netted a pair of free throws at the 16:22 mark for a 26-19 lead.

The offenses continued to struggle over the next four minutes and change before Amboy got an offensive rebound and follow that led to a St. Joe’s timeout at the 11:31 mark. Trailing 28-19 now, the Falcons had to show a little more urgency, and Patton did his best to lead the way. Showing leadership by directing his teammates on the floor, Patton also demonstrated it by dribbling around and into traffic for a jumper that closed the gap to seven at 28-21 with exactly eleven minutes left. PAHS added a free throw over the ensuing 2:20 before Rodriguez hit a big shot by connecting on a high arching three from the top of the key for a 32-21 lead with 8:40 to go. The scoring became hard to come by again before the Falcons netted two foul shots with 4:50 to play for a 32-23 Amboy lead.

Following a Panther timeout at the 4:39 mark, Rodriguez scored again on a layup off an assist by Yoelbin Sanchez at the 4:30 mark for a 34-23 lead. Perth Amboy then scored again on a foul line jumper at the 3:33 mark for a 36-23 lead. St. Joe’s wouldn’t go away though with eight unanswered points over the next 1:55 including a steal by Patton that ultimately led to his layup and foul for a three point play at the 2:03 mark, and another traditional three point conversion at the 1:38 mark for a 36-31 score. The Panthers wouldn’t let the Falcons get any closer though as Arias made two foul shots at the 1:22 mark, and one of two from the line at the 53.1 mark to seal the 42-31 win.

Team 1 2 Total
Perth Amboy 23 19 42
St. Joseph’s 19 12 31

There are no games this week at Rahway due to graduation ceremonies. GMC Hoops will be back out at this league next week.