SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Thursday evening, GMC Hoops headed over to South Amboy Middle/High School after being out at the Linden Summer League to take in a couple of games from the thirty-seventh night of action at the 2009 Raritan Bay Summer League. This is the sixth straight summer that the web site is covering this league, which has provided great competition as well as a glimpse of future stars in the Greater Middlesex Conference.
GMC Hoops saw the final two games of the Thursday tripleheader after watching the Championship game between Colonia and Linden at LHS. In addition, the site was able to get the results of the first game played between St. Stan’s and the Parlin Pride from the 7th and 8th Grade Division. In the second game, there was a very competitive game between the Jersey Shoreshots and the Monroe Falcons from the 5th and 6th Grade Division. Finally, in the nightcap, the Purple Birds of Monroe got out to a huge lead early, and cruised to an easy win over Metuchen in a game from the 7th and 8th Grade Division. See all the results from Thursday night’s action as well as the latest standings.
Parlin Pounds St. Stan’s In 7th And 8th Grade Action, 53-38
In the first game on Thursday afternoon and evening, the Parlin Pride took on St. Stan’s of Sayreville in a contest between two 3-5 teams from the 7th and 8th Grade Division. This game was decided in the first half as Parlin outscored St. Stan’s by nearly a two to one margin, 31-16 en route to a 53-38 victory. The Pride connected on 18 field goals and 4 three points while making 5 of 6 from the foul line for its 53 points while St. Stan’s had 12 field goals and 4 threes along with 2 of 6 effort from the line for its 38 points. With the victory, the Parlin Pride improved to 4-5 on the season while St. Stan’s fell to 3-6.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parlin Pride (4-5) | 29 | 16 | 45 |
| St. Stan’s (3-6) | 20 | 22 | 42 |
Monroe Rally Runs Out Of Time As Shoreshots Win, 45-42
Leave it to the younger guys to do it. On a night that saw two games in the 7th and 8th Grade Division get decided by double digit margins, the two teams entrenched in a matchup from the 5th and 6th Grade Division played the most competitive ball game of the evening. Early on though, it looked as if this game would end up like the rest as the Jersey Shoreshots, leaders of the division, jumped out to a 24-8 lead over Monroe. However, behind the second half three point shooting of Ryan Turco, and the inside play of Adam Darwish, the Little Purple Birdies rallied with a 34-21 surge over the final 25:53 to get themselves a shot in the end before the Shoreshots came away with the 45-42 victory.
For the game, Monroe shot 15 of 38 from the floor overall for 39.5 percent including 7 of 16 from beyond the arc for 43.8 percent. The Falcons were also 5 of 10 from the line while making 15 turnovers. On the other side of the ledger, the Shoreshots made 19 of 49 shots for 38.8 percent, but only 1 of 7 from downtown. The Monmouth County squad also made 6 of 7 foul shots while committing 11 turnovers. In other statistical areas, the Shoreshots outrebounded Monroe by a 28-24 margin overall including an 11-8 edge on the offensive glass. They also had more assists (14-13), steals (13-9), and blocks (1-0). Neither team drew a charge. The Jersey Shoreshots, which had Austin Chang, Thomas Morris, Kevin Kalery, Nick Facendo, and Zach Howarth on the roster for this one, won the first half by a 29-20 margin, but then Monroe outscored them in the second by a 22-16 score.
After getting off to a slow start, Ryan Turco finished up strong like his team did. He made 4 of 10 shots overall including 4 of 6 from three point range for 12 points while handing out 3 assists, grabbing two rebounds, and picking up a steal. Despite giving up a some size underneath, Adam Darwish fought hard to chip in when he could. The Jersey Shoreshots started out strong with an 8-2 run over the first 3:18 as they made 3 of their first 5 shots while connecting on two attempts from the foul line. Following a Monroe timeout at the 16:42 mark, the Falcons got a jumper from the right side to cut the deficit in half at 8-4 with 14:55 to play in the opening period. The Shoreshots answered with the next seven points including an offensive rebound and follow at the 14:22 mark, and a conventional three point play at the 12:57 mark to take a 15-4 lead.
Monroe had chances to cut into the lead, but only made 1 of 4 foul shots in two trips to the line at the 12:10 and 10:28 marks that made the score, 15-5. There would be a lull in the scoring for the next 2:33 before Turco made a three pointer from the right corner for a 15-8 Shoreshot lead at the 7:55 mark. The Jersey Shoreshots came up with a response though in the form of a 9-0 spurt over the next 2:02 that included a three point play, and a steal for a layin to go up by 16 at 24-8 with 5:53 left in the first half. All appeared lost, but the Little Purple Birdies didn’t give up as they put together a 12-5 finish including several scores by Darwish to close the gap to single digits at 29-20 at the intermission. Over the first 20 minutes, Monroe made 7 of 19 shots including 3 of 8 from three point range while the Shoreshots clicked on 12 of 26 from the floor, but no threes. The Monmouth team did connect on all five of its free throw attempts while making only five turnovers. Monroe was just 3 of 6 from the charity stripe while committing eight miscues.
In the second half, the Jersey Shoreshots seemed to be on their way to cruising to victory as they scored the first six points over a span of just 2:56. They capped the run with a short jumper from the right side for a 35-20 lead at the 17:04 mark. However, Monroe wouldn’t go away. Instead, the Falcons chipped away at the deficit by first making two free throws at the 16:14 mark, and then Turco nailed a three pointer to close the gap to ten at 35-25 with 14:24 left. The Shoreshots would get those five points back to go up 40-25 with about 13 minutes remaining, but Monroe responded with seven straight points including a three pointer and two field goals (one by Darwish) for a 40-32 Shoreshot lead at the 10:18 mark. The Little Falcons had a chance to get close, but missed on two free throws with 10:04 left. After neither team scored for 3:10, the Jersey Shoreshots converted a conventional three point play to take a 43-32 lead at the 6:54 mark.
The Little Purple Birdies continued to fight though, and didn’t give up. Rather, they ended the game on a 10-2 spurt. First they got a field goal before taking a timeout at the 5:34 mark. Then, after Morris missed a pair of free throws with 1:16 to go, Monroe got a three pointer from Turco for a 5-2 run that closed the gap to six at 45-39 with 1:03 to play. Following a Jersey Shoreshot timeout at the 36.6 second mark, Turco struck again with a three pointer that banked in with 8.8 seconds to play for a 45-42 Shoreshot lead. However, Monroe ran out of time as the Jersey Shoreshots prevailed to improve to 8-2 overall on the summer while the Falcons fell to .500 at 5-5.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey Shoreshots (8-2) | 29 | 16 | 45 |
| Monroe (5-5) | 20 | 22 | 42 |
Monroe Rolls Into Second Place With Win Over Metuchen, 56-21
The nightcap of the evening appeared at first look to be a good one since both Monroe and Metuchen were at the top of the standings in the 7th and 8th Grade Division coming in. However, without the services of the likes of Hunter Clarke, Brian Eustace, and Frank McGuire, the Bulldogs were in for a long night. Perhaps with Clarke, Eustace, and McGuire, Metuchen would have stood a much better chance, but with the way the Falcons were playing, it might have not even mattered. The Purple Birds did a fine job of passing the ball around to run the offense, and playing unselfishly while the Bulldogs were using too much dribble on offense. In addition, Monroe had plenty of size upfront with the likes of Tyler Uthiem, Ryan Stolte, and Tyler Salzer (5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block) along with the scrappiness of Adam Darwish (7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and an assist), who along with Ryan Turco (4 points, 2 steals, and a rebound), stayed behind after the 5th and 6th Grade contest against the Shoreshots.
The result was a lopsided affair. Monroe jumped out to a commanding 31-8 lead, and after a 7-0 uprising by Metuchen to start the second half, the Falcons cruised to a 25-6 finish for a 56-21 victory. Leading the way was Uthiem, who scored 14 points on 7 of 12 shooting overall while collecting 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 3 steals. The big man for Monroe was 6 of 7 for 12 points in the first half alone. Stolte chipped in with a double-double of 11 points on 5 of 12 shooting, and 14 rebounds along with 2 assists and 2 steals. Jair Davis chipped in with 13 points including a perfect 3 of 3 from beyond the arc while also picking up 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Azem Perovic had his struggles from the floor, but still helped out with 6 points including a three pointer while handing out 5 assists, collecting 2 rebounds and swiping 2 steals.
One of the few bright spots for Metuchen was Joe Mesdea, who connected on four field goals including a three pointer for 9 points while picking up 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Ruki, the Bulldogs big man, had 4 points along with 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal. Marquis Crawford also helped out with 3 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. For the game, Monroe shot 24 of 63 for 38.1 percent including 4 of 8 from three point range while making 4 of 7 from the line. On the other hand, Metuchen was only 9 of 40 from the floor for 22.5 percent including a 2 of 6 showing from long distance while going 1 of 6 from the foul line. One of the keys to Monroe’s overwhelming victory was the fact that the Falcons forced 25 turnovers while committing 14. The Falcons also pounded the boards for a 39-24 effort overall including a 20-9 showing on the offensive glass.
In other statistical areas, Monroe had more assists (13-4), steals (16-5), and blocks (4-2). Neither team drew a charge. The Falcons got off to a fast start thanks to Stolte, who scored the first seven points of the game on a perfect 3 of 3 from the floor including a basket while being fouled for a conventional three point play to cap the early run at the 17:44 mark. Stolte got his points thanks to three offensive rebounds, which would be one of the two main themes of the night. The Purple Birds added two more scores before Mesdea came up with a baseline drive for a layup at the 16:20 mark to end the early tear for an 11-2 score. Over the next 1:12 the Falcons, which clicked on 7 of its first 12 shots and swiped 5 steals, got two more scores for a 15-2 lead before Metuchen called its second timeout of the game at the 15:08 mark.
Over the next 3:34, Monroe scored 4 of 6 points to take a 19-4 lead before ending the half with a 12-4 run to take a 31-8 lead at the intermission. The Falcons simply dominated the first half as it made 14 of 37 shots thanks to their dominance on the offensive boards, and forcing 17 Metuchen turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs were only 4 of 18 from the floor. In the second half, things didn’t get much better for Metuchen although things started positively. The Bulldogs scored seven straight points to start the period before Davis netted a three pointer for a 34-15 lead with 16:44 remaining. The trey ignited a 20-5 tear over a span of 8:30 that included a jumper by Turco from Davis at the 8:14 for a 51-20 lead. A short time later, Davis added another three for a 54-20 lead, and the Metuchen Bulldogs called timeout to stop the clock with 7:37 to play.
Following the stoppage, Monroe was content with taking time off the clock as the two teams only combined for three points in the final seven and a half minutes. With the 56-21 victory, the Falcons improved to 5-2 overall on the summer while Metuchen fell to 6-3.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe (5-2) | 31 | 25 | 56 |
| Metuchen (6-3) | 8 | 13 | 21 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Raritan Bay next week for more action.