SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops headed over to South Amboy Middle/High School to take in a game from the twenty-third 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 headed over for the final game of the Tuesday tripleheader after work, and before heading over to Middlesex County College and Bound Brook for action in the summer leagues there. The site learned the league has struck a deal to get some 8:30 PM games added to the schedule, and they will all involve the South Amboy varsity. More details will be posted on this as the site gets them. In addition, the site saw South Amboy host Metuchen in a contest from the very competitive 7th and 8th Grade Division. See all the results from Thursday night’s action.
South Amboy Rolls Past Shorthanded Metuchen, 51-27
On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops captured the finale of the tripleheader of action at the Raritan Bay Summer League between South Amboy and Metuchen from the 7th and 8th Grade Division. Earlier this summer, these two teams went at it, and Metuchen pulled out the victory in overtime thanks to the likes of big man Hunter Clarke leading the way. However, this time, Clarke and a number of other Metuchen players including Brian Eustace were not in attendance for this matchup. Consequently, South Amboy took advantage. In the first half, the Guvs took a 25-10 lead at the intermission as they connected on 12 field goals and made 1 of 4 at the foul line while Metuchen made just five field goals, and missed all four of their foul shot attempts.
The Guvs then started the second half in a 2-3 zone, and opened up the scoring with an offensive follow for a layup to make the score, 27-10 at the 18:42 mark. South Amboy then scored four of the next seven points including a short shot for a field goal, and a 31-13 lead with 17:15 to go. Twenty-one seconds later, South Amboy was on the board again with a field goal to take a twenty point lead, 33-13 with 16:54 left. Sensing the game was getting out of hand, the South Amboy coach began to make mass substitutions, and quite frequently. Steve Herdman handed out a couple assists on a score down low at the 14:28 mark, and another jumper at the 13:45 mark for a 39-13 lead. Following timeouts by both South Amboy at the 13:30 mark, and Metuchen at the 12:27 mark, the Guvs made another field goal with 11:35 to go for a 16-3 start to the second half, and a 41-13 lead.
South Amboy then closed out its big start with four of the next six points to take a insurmountable thirty point, 45-15 lead with 10:36 remaining. Metuchen made things more respectable with a 7-4 run over the next 7:59 that included a three pointer from the left side of the top of the key by Brandon Switzer, the younger brother of recent MHS graduate, Mark Switzer, to make the score, 49-22 with 2:37 to play. The Bulldogs then scored five out of the last seven points including another three pointer by Switzer to round out the 51-27 final score. With the victory, South Amboy moved ahead of Metuchen in the overall standings at 5-2 as the Bulldogs fell a half game back at 4-2. Both teams still trail Monroe in the 7th and 8th Grade Division.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Amboy (5-2) | 25 | 26 | 51 |
| Metuchen (4-2) | 10 | 17 | 27 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Raritan Bay next week for more action.