SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Thursday evening, GMC Hoops endured rush hour traffic on both Route 287 and Route 440 to get over to South Amboy Middle/High School to take in the third night of action from 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.
On this night, the site was able to take in both of the games on the schedule, and here are still the results from the three games played. There were cries for the world famous Lange Dogs in the Gym, particularly amongst some of the officiating crew. Gary Lange responded to the outcry by stating that he was working on a plan to fire up the hot dog maker next week. GMC Hoops personally requested Pizza, Chicken Wings, and Subs be also added to the menu.
In the opener, and the best game of the evening Parlin defeated Sayreville by three in a regulation thriller. The Parlin Pride overcame a 28-22 deficit with an 18-4 surge over a span of 8:58 to take a 40-32 lead. The Sayreville Stars then responded with an 8-0 spurt to tie things up at 40-40 with 1:31 left. However, the Pride were not to be denied on this night with a 7-3 run in the next 1:15 to take a 47-43 lead with 16.8 seconds to go. Sayreville’s Danny Wojcik, who had five three pointers, and went 2 of 4 at the line for 17 points, grinded his teeth, and let fly a trey from the top of the arc to close the gap to one at 47-46, but it wasn’t enough as Parlin escaped with a 49-46 victory in the latest chapter of this neighborhood rivalry. Then, in the nightcap, CJEOTO started the game with 22-2 blitz over the first 12:19, and cruised from there to a 56-19 win over the Parlin Pride in 7th and 8th Grade action.
Parlin Pride Hangs On For Victory Over Sayreville Stars, 49-46
Here is where the game lived up to the pre-game hype. Sitting at the scorer’s table on Wednesday night watching the finale of that doubleheader between St. Stan’s of Sayreville and the Jersey Shoreshots, GMC Hoops had learned from one of the league’s co-directors, Tom Reilly, that the trash talking had already started between the players from the Parlin Pride and the Sayreville Stars. Besides playing the Sayreville Knights, this had become one of the big rivalry games at the Raritan Bay Summer League for the Sayreville Stars last summer.
Due to the heavy rush hour traffic on Route 287 South and Route 440, GMC Hoops did not arrive to the gym until the second half had already started. The site sat down with 17:55 to go in the game, but was quickly brought up to speed by the scorekeeper and timekeeper, Kyle Krzyzanowski. The first half saw Sayreville come up with a 22-19 lead at the intermission as the Stars made three treys, six field goals, and one of two at the line while Parlin made two threes, five field goals, and 3 of 4 from the line. Sayreville’s Danny Wojcik led the way with 9 points on the only three treys of the game by the Stars. By the time, the site started to take in the action, Parlin had trimmed the deficit slightly to two with a 3-2 run over the first 2:05 to make the score, 24-22. However, Wojcik made one of two from the line at the 16:30 mark to make it 25-22, and then after a Stars timeout with 14:02 to play, Sayreville went up by six on a conventional three point play at the 13:10 mark that made the score, 28-22.
After that score by Sayreville, the Parlin Pride took over the contest with a crucial 18-4 tear over a span of 8:58 to take an eight point, 40-32 lead with 4:12 left. The run was ignited by a layup at the 12:37 mark for a 28-24 Stars lead. Then, the Pride got a steal at halfcourt, and then drove in for a layup from the left side while being fouled, but missed the bonus free throw, and the score stood at 28-26 in favor of Sayreville with 11:39 to go. Nearly two minutes went by before another score, but Parlin managed to then tie the contest with a shot underneath after battling for two offensive rebounds. With the score now tied at 28-28, both teams then exchanged baskets for a 30-30 tie before Parlin had a chance to take the lead. However, with 8:42 left, the Pride misfired on two free throws, and the game remained knotted up.
A little more than a minute later though, Parlin took the lead on a reverse layup from the right side that made the score, 32-30 at the 7:24 mark. The Pride then made it a 13-2 tear with a three pointer from the left side at the 6:02 mark for a 35-30 lead. Sayreville responded with a bucket on a floater that closed the gap to three at 35-32 with 5:25 to go, but Parlin reeled off five more points including a three pointer at the 5:04 mark, and then a scoop shot for a layup, and a 40-32 lead with 4:12 remaining. On the ropes, the Stars fought back with eight unanswered points over a span of 2:41. Wojcik rose to the occasion with a clutch three pointer from the right wing at the 3:19 mark for a 40-35 Parlin Pride lead. Then, less than a half minute later, Sayreville was on the board again with a bank shot that made it 40-37 at the 2:54 mark.
The Stars then pulled within two as they picked up a steal at halfcourt, went in for a layup that was blocked, but drew the foul that resulted in one of two from the line with two minutes to play. Sayreville then tied the game at 40-40 by capping the run with two more foul shots at the 1:31 mark. Seemingly in retreat, Parlin called for a timeout after a turnover at the 1:19 mark. Following the stoppage, the Pride took the lead on a nice entry pass underneath for a layup, and a 42-40 edge with 40.4 seconds to play as Stars coach, Tim Wojcik called for time. Following the timeout, Sayreville tied the contest on its very next possession with a turnaround jumper in the lane that knotted the score at 42-42 with 29.4 seconds left. Then, emotions started to run high as Parlin first made one of two at the line, but on the missed second free throw, got the offensive rebound, and drew another foul that produced two more free throws, and a 45-42 lead with 24.4 seconds to play.
However, during the skirmish for the loose ball on the missed foul shot, a Parlin player said some things to a Sayreville player that resulted in a technical foul call by the officiating crew. Danny Wojcik then stepped to the line, and made one of two free throws to close the gap to 45-43. On the subsequent side out for Sayreville, Wojcik then threw an errant pass into a crowd of players that was intercepted by the Parlin Pride, and with 16.8 seconds remaining, a Parlin player was fouled, which resulted in two charity shots for a 47-43 lead. Attempting to not only atone for his mistake, but also demonstrate that he wasn’t about to quit, Wojcik took a pass at the top of the key, gave a look of determination, and connected on a long three with nine seconds left to pull the Stars to within one at 47-46.
Unfortunately, for the Sayreville fans in attendance, the Stars couldn’t get any closer as the Pride closed the game with two free throws at the 1.5 second mark to round out the final 49-46 score. With the victory, the Parlin Pride stood alone atop the High School standings at 1-0 while the Sayreville Stars fell to 0-1. Both teams will get another crack at each other next week as a number of games have been added to the schedule according to league co-directors Gary Lange and Tom Reilly. Next Thursday night at 8:30, the two neighborhood rivals will square off again.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parlin Pride (1-0) | 19 | 30 | 49 |
| Sayreville Stars (0-1) | 22 | 24 | 46 |
CJEOTO Breezes Past Parlin Pride In 7th and 8th Grade Division Action, 56-19
After having an exhilarating win in the High School Division over a neighborhood rival, the Parlin Pride basketball program was in high spirits going into its matchup against CJEOTO in a contest from the 7th and 8th Grade Division. However, the celebration would be short lived as the nightcap proved to be quite lopsided. The Panthers from CJEOTO, coached by Ian Turnbull, opened the contest with a 22-2 rampage over the first 12:19, and coasted from there to a 56-19 rout of the Parlin Pride in the nightcap game at the Raritan Bay Summer League on Thursday night. CJEOTO wound up taking a 33-7 halftime lead as the Panthers connected on 10 field goals, three treys, and 4 of 6 from the line while limiting the overmatched Parlin Pride to just two field goals and a three pointer.
The game started quietly as neither team had a field goal until the 16:29 mark of the first half. CJEOTO, which stands for Central Jersey Each One Teach One, made one of two from the line at the 18:55 mark. On the missed second free throw, the Panthers grabbed the offensive rebound, but it was blocked by Parlin so the score remained 1-0. Over a minute and a half later, CJEOTO had another scoring chance when it swiped a steal, and then got an offensive rebound that produced a foul on the putback attempt. Two free throws resulted, and the score was 3-0. Parlin finally got on the board at the 16:29 mark with a layup underneath to close the gap to 3-2, but that would be the closest the team would be for the rest of the game.
Following a CJEOTO timeout at the 16:02 mark, the Panthers began to roll like a juggernaut. First they got a field goal from the left low block at the 15:13 mark for their first bucket of the game, and a 5-2 lead. The Panthers then followed that up with a jumper from the left wing at the 14:15 mark for a 7-2 lead. Twenty-three seconds later, CJEOTO continued the assault with an offensive rebound and putback for a 9-2 lead at the 13:52 mark. Sensing the tidal wave was coming, Parlin called for a 30 second timeout with 13:33 still to play in the first half. However, the stoppage didn’t do any could since the Panthers picked up right where they left off. With 13:01 to go in the first half, CJEOTO scored again on a putback for an 11-2 lead. The Panthers then added one of two free throws from the line at the 12:30 mark for a 12-2 lead.
Forty seconds later, CJEOTO got a steal in the Parlin backcourt that led to a layup with 11:50 to go in the first half for a 14-2 advantage. The Somerset based AAU team then got a three pointer from the right wing for a 17-2 lead at the 11:18 mark. The Panthers then rang up five more points before Parlin had another serious opportunity to score. Unfortunately, the Pride couldn’t cash in as it missed both free throws at the 7:41 mark, and the score remained 22-2. Parlin would finally score though as it got its first points and field goal in a span of 11:28, but CJEOTO was continuing to pour it on with four more points for a 26-4 lead. The Panthers then went up 28-4 before Parlin got its final field goal of the half, a three pointer from the left wing for a 28-7 score at the 3:31 mark. CJEOTO then closed out the half with the final five points including a three pointer that bounced in to make the score, 33-7 at the intermission.
The second half was much more competitive, but still produced the same result with CJEOTO outscoring Parlin by a 23-12 margin in the final twenty minutes. The Panthers opened up the second half much like they had ended the first with seven unanswered points for a 7-0 lead with 15:48 remaining. The Pride didn’t get their first field goal of half number two until the 13:36 mark on a layup for a 40-9 score. CJEOTO ran off eight more points before Parlin got a a layup while being fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for the traditional three point play for a 48-11 Panther lead with 8:37 left. The same Parlin player then drained a three pointer from the left wing after a Panther score to make it 50-14, and then connected on another trey from the right wing after an earlier score inside to help round out the final 56-19 score. With the victory, CJEOTO starts the summer at 1-0 while Parlin falls to 0-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| CJEOTO (1-0) | 33 | 23 | 56 |
| Parlin Pride (0-1) | 7 | 12 | 19 |
GMC Hoops will be back out at the Raritan Bay Summer League next week starting Tuesday night.