NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled down the Route 35 South corridor through the Gateway to the Shore in South Amboy, then Sayreville, Old Bridge, and Northern Monmouth County to Rebounds to take in the second night of action in the 2008 Rebounds Fall League. On this night, there were two teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference that were in action including Spotswood and South Brunswick. Both the Chargers and the Vikings competed on opening night the week before, but with different results as the Chargers defeated Asbury Park while South Brunswick lost to West Windsor-Plainsboro South. This night had Spotswood taking on Group IV school, Marlboro from Class A North of the Shore Conference while the Vikings were battling Class A South’s Brick Memorial.
Spotswood Registers Another Impressive Victory, 50-41
Arriving late at the gym, GMC Hoops sat down with 15:31 to go in the first half, and Marlboro leading 5-1. About a minute, and forty seconds later, Ross Gerhart scored on a foul line jumper that closed the gap to 7-5 at the 13:52 mark. Fifty-six seconds later, the Chargers forced the Mustangs to commit a turnover, and then eleven seconds after that, Gerhart registered a layup while being fouled for a traditional three point play that put Spotswood ahead, 8-7 with 12:45 to go in the first half. The Chargers then added four more points over the next 2:42 including two free throws by Tyler Osofsky for a 12-7 lead at the 10:03 mark.
Marlboro would rally back though with a three pointer from the top of the key at the 9:16 mark that made it 12-10, and that a traditional three point play on a layup while being fouled at the 6:37 mark following a Spotswood score that made it 14-13. The Chargers then got a three pointer for a 17-13 lead before the Mustangs netted two foul shots at the 4:26 mark to close the gap to two at 17-15. Forty-three seconds later, Marlboro struck again on a leaner from the right side that rolled in to tie things up at 17-17 with 3:43 to go before halftime. At this point, the Mustangs had put together a 10-5 run to square the game.
Points would be at a premium the rest of the half was both teams combined for just nine points. Osofsky got the ball rolling with an offensive rebound and putback off his own miss to answer an earlier Marlboro score to tie the game again at 19-19 with 2:52 to go in the half. The Chargers then had a chance to take the lead, but Marlboro’s defense came up with a huge play as they blocked an Osofsky shot, and the ball went off the Spotswood junior out of bounds with 2:02 to go before the intermission. The Mustangs then took the lead for the first time in 12:37 when they sank a jumper from the left side for a 21-19 lead with 8.3 seconds remaining, but the Marlboro lead didn’t last long as Osofsky came back down the floor for a conventional three point play as time expired for a 22-21 Charger edge at the break.
The second half saw the game continue to be nip and tuck until Spotswood put together a decisive 10-0 tear late in the second half to pull out the victory. The Chargers wound up outscoring the Mustangs by a 28-20 margin in the final period of play. Spotswood began the half with a 4-0 run over the first 1:24 for a 26-21 lead, but Marlboro came back with a 4-0 run of its own over the next 1:34 to pull within one again before Gerhart hit a jumper straight on for a 28-25 lead at the 17:02 mark. Fifty-three seconds later though, Marlboro would tie the matchup with a three pointer from the left wing for a 28-28 score with 16:09 remaining in regulation. On the very next Charger possession, senior forward, Pat Dwyer put his team ahead by draining a three from the left side for a 31-28 adavantage at the 15:54 mark. The Mustangs promptly replied with a three pointer of their own once more for a 31-31 tie at the 15:33 mark.
Three quarters of a minute later, junior point guard, James Pareti put Spotswood back on top when he grabbed an offensive rebound, and put in the follow for a 33-31 lead at the 14:48 mark. The Chargers had a chance to go up even further, but went 1 of 4 at the line while Marlboro had tied the score before the one free throw by Spotswood put it in the lead, 34-33 at the 11:41 mark. Nearly two minutes later, the Chargers got a key bucket when they first grabbed an offensive rebound, and then James Pareti, one of the Pareti twins, kicked out to Cody Pace for a three pointer from the right wing for a 37-33 lead with 9:48 to play. Marlboro then scored four unanswered points to tie things up at 37-37 before Pace, who missed the opener due to commitments to baseball, came up big again with a trey from the left wing for a 40-37 lead with 7:48 remaining.
Marlboro would get a field goal to pull within one at 40-39, but then Osofsky netted two free throws at the line with 4:47 remaining, and then after a Mustang turnover at the 3:53 mark. Gerhart struck with a floated off the glass from the right side for a 44-39 lead. The scores highlighted a crucial 10-0 spurt that was capped by a Dwyer offensive rebound and putback off a Gerhart miss for a 50-39 lead with 1:17 to play as the Chargers went on for the 50-41 victory. Spotswood improved to 2-0 on the season, and will take on the Shore Sharks next week at 9:00 PM.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotswood (2-0) | 22 | 28 | 50 |
| Marlboro (0-2) | 21 | 20 | 41 |
Brick Memorial Rolls Past South Brunswick, 70-52
While Spotswood was taking on Marlboro on the other side of the Rebounds facility, South Brunswick was squaring off against Brick Memorial on the Nets Court. It would be a very tough night for the Vikings as the Green Dragons jumped out to a 29-18 halftime lead, and then outscored the Vikes by a 41-34 margin in a high scoring, 75 point second half for the convincing 70-52 victory. GMC Hoops joined the action with 18:17 to go in the first half, and Brick Memorial already leading 5-0. BMHS had a chance to go up even further, but missed a layup from the right side at the 18:13 mark. The Green Dragons made up for it though with good hustle on the next South Brunswick possession. A Brick Memorial player blocked a shot off of Jean Paul Isaacs, and then saved the ball off of the Viking forward for a SBHS turnover.
The Vikings continued to be plagued by turnovers in the early going as they committed another miscue at the 16:14 mark, and were still scoreless. South Brunswick didn’t get on the board until about 5:47 into the contest when Isaacs came up with an offensive rebound that led to a floater, which banked in for a 5-2 Brick Memorial lead at the 14:13 mark. However, BMHS responded quickly with a conventional three point pay at the 14:03 mark for an 8-2 lead. The Green Dragons then added another three points for an 11-2 score at the 11:55 mark. Forty-five seconds later, Brick Memorial added a field goal for a 13-2 lead with 11:10 to go before halftime. Finally, South Brunswick got another basket when Isaacs came up with a rebound to set up a jumper from the right corner at the other end for a 13-4 BMHS lead at the 10:47 mark. Brick Memorial would get another score that forced South Brunswick to call for time at the 10:13 mark with the score, 15-4.
Brick Memorial and South Brunswick would exchange scores for the next several minutes. At the 9:21 mark, BMHS got a layup from the left side for a 17-6 lead. Then, moments later the Green Dragons swiped a steal for a layin that put them up 19-6 at the 9:08 mark. South Brunswick would get on the board with a field goal before time was called at the 7:24 mark with the score standing at 19-8. Brick Memorial then got another score to go up by 13 once more at 21-8 before Cody McHugh made a nice pump fake and drive to the basket from the right side that went for naught as his floater hit off the back iron with 6:28 to go in the half. BMHS then got another score for a 15 point, 23-8 lead before Kory Sanders made a traditional three point play that made it 23-11 at the 4:30 mark. Brick Memorial then scored 6 of the next 9 points while South Brunswick misfired twice at the line with 1:46 left for a 29-14 score.
Although the Vikings would tally the final four points of the first half, they hurt themselves with poor perimeter shooting down the stretch including three air balls in the final minute as the two teams went into the break with Brick Memorial leading, 29-18. In the second half, the Green Dragons took over in a very fast paced period. Both teams got going early as BMHS struck first with a short jumper over Isaacs at the 19:32 mark for a 31-18 lead. Thirty-five seconds later, the Vikes replied with a score of their own as Sanders, a senior, registered two points with a layup that made the score, 31-20 at the 18:57 mark. A minute and a half later, BMHS went back up by 13 with a field goal, and then the Vikings turned it over on their very next possession at the 17:06 mark. Twenty-four seconds after that, Brick Memorial hit a jumper from the left side for a 35-20 lead with 16:42 to play.
Over the next 6:01, both teams went back and forth in an evenly, but high scoring span that saw 37 points scored. Brick Memorial earned a 19-18 edge despite a steal by Isaacs that eventually set up his own layup for a 54-38 lead at the 10:41 mark. Ten seconds later, the Green Dragons got a field goal that not only forced SBHS to call for time with the score, 56-38, but it also began a 7-0 run that ultimately finished off the 70-52 win. With the victory, Brick Memorial improved to .500 at 1-1 on the fall while South Brunswick fell to 0-2. The Vikings will face Southern Regional next Monday night.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brick Memorial (1-1) | 29 | 41 | 70 |
| South Brunswick (0-2) | 18 | 34 | 52 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Rebounds on next Monday night to catch Spotswood in action against the Shore Sharks another AAU team.