Rebounds Fall League–October 27, 2008

NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops took the weekly trip down to Rebounds to take in the seventh week of action from the 2008 Rebounds Fall League. There was one GMC team in action during the 9:00 PM hour on this night, and it was Spotswood, which was facing off against the usually high octane offense of Academy Charter from South Belmar. The Panthers program has come a long way. The school, which began competing against several teams from the GMC back during the 2001-02 season, has now become a perennial contender in Central Jersey Group I.

In 2007-08, the Panthers won the sectional championship by downing Asbury Park, another team playing at Rebounds, by the score of 62-55. Shawn Heeter, a former league director at Rebounds, is the head coach, led the Panthers to victory over a Bishops team that knocked them off in the semifinals in 2006-07. This fall though, Academy Charter, despite their athleticism, speed, and quickness, have struggled somewhat by entering the game with a 1-5 mark overall.

Spotswood Cruises To Victory Behind Strong Second Half Start, 63-54

This game was the second highest scoring game that Spotswood was involved with this fall. The highest scoring game this season was in week three on September 29th against the AAU Squad, the Shore Sharks (lost 62-59). The first half was the highest scoring first half the Chargers participated in this fall with 69 points. Spotswood got the majority of those points with a 39-30 showing in the opening half. The GMC Blue squad played smart basketball, great defense, and weren’t fazed by the athletic ability and talent of their opponent. The Chargers used their perimeter shooting to their advantage.

In the first half, Spotswood connected on seven three pointers in the first half including three by junior Tyler Osofsky, who has been lighting things up this fall. Academy Charter knocked down some trifectas as well with five as both teams combined for 12 three pointers in a 69 point first half that saw the Chargers take a 39-30 edge into the brief intermission. The Panthers kicked things off with a tip in on the follow during its opening possession for a 2-0 lead at the 19:35 mark. Pat Dwyer put the Chargers on the board with a three pointer from the left wing for a 3-2 lead at the 18:47 mark. Academy Charter scored a trey to go back on top by a 5-3 margin before Ross Gerhart promptly replied with a three of his own from the left wing for a 6-5 advantage with 18:08 left in the first half.

About a minute and twenty-two seconds later, Spotswood netted another three pointer to go up by four at 9-5, but the Panthers canned a trey of their own with a three from the left wing for a 9-8 Charger lead at 16:09 mark. Then, Academy Charter came up with a big defensive play on the other end when Gerhart made a nice no look pass to Dwyer for a shot that was blocked by the Panthers at the 14:55 mark. But, the senior forward redeemed himself with a putback for a 11-8 with 14:19 mark. The Panthers kept within one thanks to another tap in on the follow for an 11-10 score at the 13:18 mark. Then, came the key run of the first half.

Over the next 1:23, the Chargers went on a 7-0 spurt including an Osofsky three from the right corner off an assist by Gerhart at the 12:39 mark, a jumper by Pace from the left wing off a pass by Osofsky at the 12:21 mark, and a Cody Pace drive for a layup from the left side that not only gave Spotswood an 18-10 lead at the 11:55 mark, but also coerced the Panthers to call for time at the 11:52 mark. Following the timeout, Academy Charter got on the board with some penetration, and a kickout to the right corner for a three pointer at the 11:30 mark that made the score, 18-13. However, on the very next Spotswood possession, the Chargers promptly went back up by eight thanks to another trey by Osofsky from the top of the key for a 21-13 score.

A short time later, Spotswood had a chance to score again, but a Pace errant pass was intercepted by Academy Charter for a layup that made the score, 21-15 at the 10:34 mark. The Chargers got a bucket to put them go back up by eight, but then the Panthers scored five straight points to close the gap to 23-20 with 9:25 to go before halftime. The Pareti twins then came together for a Tom Pareti three pointer from the left corner for a 26-20 lead at the 8:55 mark. Nearly two minutes later, Osofsky followed that up with a layup off a pass from Pace for a 28-20 lead with 7:03 remaining in the half. However, the Panthers promptly replied with back to back three pointers at the 6:31 and 6:07 marks for a 28-26 Charger lead. Spotswood had a chance to go up by four, but Osofsky misfired on two free throws at the 5:28 mark.

Forty seconds later though, the Chargers redeemed themselves thanks to a Pace offensive rebound and putback of a James Pareti miss that put the team up by four, 30-26 with 4:48 to go in the half. The basket sparked a 6-2 run that included two free throws by Dwyer, who was fouled on an offensive rebound and putback attempt at the 3:46 mark for a 34-28 lead. Academy Charter got two of those points back with an acrobatic move that picked up a foul, and produced two free throws for a 34-30 score at the 2:56 mark. A little more than a minute later, Osofsky struck again with another trey from the top of the key for a 37-30 score with 1:49 to go before the intermission.

The Chargers then got the final points of the half for the nine point lead. After Academy Charter threw the ball away on the inbounds, Pace scored on an offensive rebound and follow off an Osofsky miss for the 39-30 score at the intermission. In the second half, the Chargers scored 11 of the first 15 points in the opening 8:06 for a 50-34 lead. However, the Panthers fought back with a 9-4 run to pull within 11 again at 54-43 at the 6:14 mark. The Chargers would score five straight points to go back up by 16 again with just under six minutes to go, but Academy Charter closed the contest with an 11-4 showing to finish the game with a 20-13 run for the 63-54 final score.

At the start of the second half, neither team could put the ball in the basket. Academy Charter didn’t get on the board for nearly the first four minutes, and Spotswood didn’t score until a little while later. The Panthers drew first blood in half number two with a steal off a Pareti pass for a layup that made the score, 39-32 with 16:05 left in the contest. Fifteen seconds later, Spotswood netted a three pointer for a 42-32 lead at the 15:50 mark. Nearly two minutes afterward, Gerhart put the Chargers up by a dozen with a left handed scoop shot with 14:05 to go. Fifty seconds after that, James Pareti came up with a hard nosed defensive play typical of his character by drawing a charge at the 13:15 mark. On the very next possession, Pace netted two free throws for a 46-32 lead with 12:52 to play.

After a free throw by the Chargers gave them their biggest lead in the game at 47-32, the Panthers came up with great hustle and save that led to a basket for a 47-34 score with 12:07 to go. However, Spotswood took its biggest lead on another three pointer by Osofsky that made the score, 50-34 at the 11:54 mark. The next four minutes saw Academy Charter close the gap somewhat with a 7-4 run to make it a 54-41 score at the 7:22 mark. A little more than a minute later, the Panthers scored again for a 9-4 run, and a 54-43 Spotswood lead with 6:14 to play. On the next Charger possession though, Gerhart scored a layup, and drew a foul. Upon missing the bonus free throw, Gerhart got a boost from his teammates in the form of an offensive rebound that led to the senior guard’s three pointer that got a kind roll for a 59-43 lead.

Academy Charter closed the game with an 8-4 run that made it 63-51 at the 1:30 mark, and then sank a three pointer down the stretch for the final 63-54 score. In the game, the Chargers made at least 10 three pointers while the Panthers made at least 7. Quite a bit of three point shooting for one night, but that is typical of the type of games Academy Charter gets involved in. With the victory, the Chargers have won three straight, and are now 5-2 overall on the fall while the Panthers dropped to 1-6. Next Monday night, Spotswood ends its fall season with a Showcase Game matchup against West Windsor-Plainsboro South in what should be a very good test.

Team 1 2 Total
Spotswood (5-2) 39 24 63
Academy Charter (1-6) 30 24 54