TBSA Fall League–September 16, 2007

EDISON, NJ–The second week of action completed on Sunday night at the 2007 TBSA Fall League at the Shooting Academy in Edison with at least three teams undefeated: Bridgewater, Piscataway, and Trenton. Meanwhile, four teams are still winless including: Bishop Ahr, North Hunterdon, Notre Dame, and Timothy Christian. A few teams are at .500 including: Cardinal McCarrick, Colonia, J.P. Stevens, Montgomery, and Roselle Catholic. There are games from earlier in the evening on Sunday that GMC Hoops missed out on, and we’re working on getting the results from former Colonia head coach, and league director, Ken Pace. Speaking of results, the web site was able to obtain the other results from games played earlier last Sunday, September 9th. So, you may want to go back and read the blog entry from the day’s action.

Back to this Sunday’s action, Bridgewater managed to stay unbeaten by easily defeating Bishop Ahr by a 57-37 count. The Panthers, which opened their season by defeating J.P. Stevens in our feature game, broke away from a 37-25 lead with 10:15 left in the game by virtue of a 20-12 run to close the game for the twenty point victory on Court #2. Meanwhile, nearby over on Court #3, P-Way trailed Notre Dame of the Colonial Valley Conference by nine points at halftime, but rallied in the second half with a 32-20 showing to overcome some difficulties for the hard fought, 44-41 win. At 7:00 PM, Colonia had a rematch against a foe it often competes against in the Linden Summer League, Roselle Catholic. Unfortunately for the Lions, they were without the presence of two key starters, Brendan Trelease and Matt Henn, and it showed in a huge way. The Patriots opened the game with a 19-0 rampage over the first 10:02, took a 40-9 halftime lead, and went on to win easily, 68-21 on Court #3. In a non-GMC matchup on Court #2, Trenton had a bit of a shaky start against Timothy Christian of Piscataway and the Patriot Conference, but the Tornadoes turned things around in the second half for an easy win. Trenton Central had some trouble in the first half as the Tigers finished the first half with a 7-4 run to close to within ten at 33-23 going into the intermission, but the Tornadoes from the Colonial Valley Conference outscored TCS by a 2 to 1 margin for a 69-41 rout.

Finally, at 8:00 PM on Court #2, Cardinal McCarrick trailed early 13-8, but finished the first half with a 14-4 rally to take a five point, 22-17 lead. However, without the services of talented varsity players Mike Burwell and Julio Rosario, which are focusing their efforts on the Rebounds Fall League in Neptune, the Eagles would fall prey to a 23-6 Lion surge over the first 8:31 of the second half for a 40-28 North Hunterdon lead. From there, both teams played even with a 13-13 score as the Lions from the Delaware West Division of the Skyland Conference, pulled out the 53-41 win to even up their record at .500. Meanwhile, on Court #3, J.P. Stevens started out fast against the Cougars of Montgomery with a 12-4 lead in the first 5:25, and went on to lead, 30-20 at the half, but the Cougars rallied with a 12-4 tear to open the second half for a 34-32 JPS lead with 15:31 to play. However, in the end, Stevens put the game out of reach with a 22-8 outburst over a span of 12:13 to take a 56-40 lead with 3:18 left, and ultimately won the matchup, 56-46.

Bridgewater Rolls By Ahr Thanks To Late Surge, 57-37

The Panthers of Bridgewater remained undefeated thanks to a strong finish against the still winless Trojans of Bishop Ahr. With 10:30 remaining in the game, Bridgewater-Raritan led by a 37-23 margin. Fifteen seconds after that, Derek Figueredo got an offensive rebound and follow for BGA that trimmed the deficit to just a dozen at 37-25 at the 10:15 mark. Over the next 3:43, the Panthers and Trojans dueled to the tune of a 7-6 advantage for Bridgewater despite a missed one handed dunk, and a subsequent missed offensive rebound and follow, and another offensive rebound, and missed putback attempt with the score 44-31 with 6:32 remaining.

Bridgewater-Raritan, which closed the game with a 20-12 run, scored the next five points after that to increase its lead to 49-31 with just 3:30 to play. Eleven seconds later, the Panthers got another score to make it a twenty point bulge at 51-31 with 3:19 left. Kevin Uszenski tried to make things respectable for the Trojans with a three point play at the 3:00 mark, and Mike Williamson had a three pointer late, but Bridgewater ended up with a 57-37 win to go 2-0 on the fall while Ahr slipped to 0-2. Next Sunday, Bridgewater takes on Timothy Christian at 7:00 PM while BGA, which has faced two of the top teams in Group IV so far this fall, will battle Montgomery at 8:00 PM.


Piscataway Rallies In Second Half To Defeat ND, 44-41

According to P-Way’s fall league coach, Jeff Adkins, the Chiefs had their troubles early on as Notre Dame of Lawrenceville and the Colonial Valley Conference, lived up to the billing it earned at the end of last season when it not only knocked off Bishop Ahr at home, but also when it traveled down to South Jersey, and defeated second seeded St. Augustine’s of Richland in the Quarterfinal round of the 2007 Non-Public A South State Tournament last March. The Irish jumped out to a 21-12 halftime lead, but Piscataway fought back to the tune of a 17-5 outburst over the first 9:50 of the second half to take a 29-26 lead. Notre Dame would take the lead back as the Irish got a steal at half court for a layup for a P-Way 29-28 lead at the 9:20 mark, and then caught a break as they were awarded for a score on a breakaway foul that was set up by a steal and half court that was attempted to be converted into a layup at the 9:05 mark to make it 30-29.

However, the Chiefs took the lead again as sophomore, Wayne Newsome, made a pair of free throws at the 8:24 mark to make it 31-30. Piscataway had a chance to increase its edge, but after grabbing a rebound in the backcourt, Tristian Benjamin, promptly threw the ball out of bounds with an errant pass intended for Omar Smith at the 7:19 mark. Notre Dame eventually tied things up at 33-33 at the 4:05 mark, and then took a one point, 34-33 advantage on a foul shot at the 3:48 mark. Smith then took over the game with some echoes of his clutch performance against Cardinal McCarrick in the 2007 GMCT Championship.

First, the senior forward drove through the lane for a layup, and drew a foul, whch resulted in a pair of charity shots at the 3:20 mark to make it 35-34. then, he followed that up with a drive down left side of the key for a layup to make it a three point lead at 37-34 with 2:36 to play. Benjamin padded the Chief advantage with a pair of free throws to make it 39-34 with 1:47 left. Following a bank shot by Notre Dame at the 1:29 mark to cut the deficit to three at 39-36, Benjamin struck again by penetrating and kicking out to Jeff Adkins, Jr. in the left corner for a jumper that made it 41-36 with 1:11 left. Smith and Benjamin then finished things off by each getting one of two at the line over the final thirty seconds for a 43-36 lead as P-Way went on to win by three, 44-41. With the victory, Piscataway improved to 2-0 while Notre Dame slipped to 0-2. Next Sunday, the Chiefs will play against Elizabeth in a highly anticipated matchup while Notre Dame will face off against Cardinal McCarrick. Both games will take place at 6:00 PM.

Team 1 2 Total
Piscataway (2-0) 12 32 44
Notre Dame (0-2) 20 21 41

Colonia Routs Undermanned Roselle Catholic, 68-21

This game was over before it got a chance to get started. The Patriots took advantage of the shorthanded Lions, which were without the services of two key veterans, Brendan Trelease and Matt Henn for the easy rout. Colonia jumped out to a 19-0 lead over the first 10:02 as the Pats made eight field goals and a three pointer during the span. Brandon Hall spearheaded the onslaught with a field goal and three assists during the span while Jeff Mentzel, who made great strides during the summer by running the floor well, continued to play well with three field goals including a steal that led to a layup off a give and go with Hall at the 18:21 mark, an offensive rebound and putback off a Hall miss at the 17:38, and then a layin to cap the 19-0 opening outburst at the 9:58 mark. Xavier Coleman added a layup at the 11:25 mark to make it 17-0 while another Patriot player knocked in a three pointer off an assist by Hall at the 13:09 mark to make it 11-0.

Following a timeout at the 9:44 mark, the Lions made perhaps their best run of the contest with five of the next seven points to close within 21-5 at the 6:30 mark. However, Colonia increased the lead back to eighteen as Hall drove in for a right handed layup off a fast break to make it 23-5 at the 6:15 mark. Hall then followed that up with a steal off a deflection for a layup that made it 25-6 at the 5:47 mark. CHS got six more points including an offensive rebound and putback by Nnamdi Usuwa off a missed jumper by J.J. D’Amico at the 3:54 mark to cap the run, and make it 31-6. But, Colonia didn’t stop there. The Patriots reeled off nine more points for a 19-1 rampage to make it a 40-6 rout with 1:19 remaining in the first half. Roselle Catholic salvaged what it could in the final minute before intermission with the last three points of the first half to make it 40-9, but it was much too little, much too late.

In the second half, neither team scored much in the first three minutes as Roselle Catholic made one of two free throws at the 17:00 mark to make it a 40-10 game with the only point of the early span. Colonia got its first points of half number two as Hall dished to Mentzel for a layup attempt that the latter was fouled on. The senior forward then made both foul shots for a 42-10 lead at the 15:59 mark. Over the next 10:15, CHS scored 14 of the next 18 points to take a commanding 56-14 advantage with 5:44 to play. Colonia continued to dominate with four of the next six points over the subsequent 3:02 for a 60-16 lead. After yielding the first points of the half, the Pats outscored RC by a 20-6 margin for its insurrmountable lead. The game didn’t end well either as the Patriots continued to put on a clinic with 8 of the last 13 points to round out the final, 68-21 score. With the win, Colonia improved to 1-1 on the fall while Roselle Catholic fell to 1-1. Next Sunday, the Patriots square off against Trenton at 7:00 PM while Roselle Catholic battles St. Joseph’s at 5:00 PM.

Team 1 2 Total
Colonia (1-1) 40 28 68
Roselle Catholic (1-1) 9 12 21

Trenton Pulls Away In Second Half For Easy Win, 69-41

This 7:00 PM game over on Court #2 wasn’t expected to be closer than the game on Court #3 between Colonia and Roselle Catholic, but it ended up being that way, and in the first half, things were a bit interesting for a while. Over the first 13:24 of the game, the Tornadoes, which won the Central Jersey Group IV bracket in 2003, 2005, and 2006, scored 23 of the first 36 points for a ten point lead with 6:26 left in the half. Timothy Christian made a three pointer at the 6:13 mark to make it 23-16 in favor of Trenton while the Colonial Valley Conference team was called for traveling on a subsequent possession before getting another score at the four minute mark to make it 25-16. The Tornadoes added four more points over the next two minutes for a 6-0 run, and a 29-16 lead with two minutes left in the half.

The Tigers showed some heart and guts by fighting back with seven of the final eleven points of the half including a 4-0 burst in the final minute to cut the deficit back to ten at 33-23 going into the brief break. In the second half, the game began to follow its expected script as the Tornadoes embarked on a 29-11 surge over the first 12:37 to take a 62-34 lead with 7:23 left. Timothy Christian couldn’t get any closer despite a 7-5 run over the next 6:17 to make it a 67-41 game as Trenton went on to win by a 69-41 margin. With the victory, the Tornadoes raised its record to 2-0 on the fall while Timothy Christian dropped to 0-2. Things don’t get any easier for the Tigers, which are scheduled to face another undefeated team in Bridgewater at 7:00 PM on Court #2 on Sunday while Trenton faces off against Colonia at the same time over on Court #3.

Team 1 2 Total
Trenton (2-0) 33 36 69
Timothy Christian (0-2) 23 18 41

North Hunterdon Powers Past Shorthanded McCarrick, 53-41

Without the likes of Mike Burwell and Julio Rosario in the lineup, the Eagles were hard pressed to get a win against North Hunterdon. Not to say that it was impossible since Cardy Mac won its first game by four over Warren Hills in the fall league opener. Nevertheless, the Lions jumped out to a 13-8 lead with 8:40 left in the opening half before McCarrick rallied with a 14-4 tear to close out the half for a 22-17 lead at the intermission. The Eagles began their run with a basket at the 7:30 mark, and then Eliazor Landano knocked down a three pointer from the left corner at the 6:41 mark to tie things up at 13-13. Branten Widgeon then followed that up with an offensive rebound and follow for a 15-13 lead with 5:57 to go in the half. Cardinal McCarrick got another score for a 9-0 run before North Hunterdon called a timeout at the 5:39 mark with the score, 17-13.

The timeout didn’t seem to be the tonic as the Eagles reeled off five of the next six points including one of two free throws by Alvin Baptiste-Ousley at the 4:50 mark for a 22-14 lead before the Lions got a reverse layup that made it 22-16 at the 1:29 mark. McCarrick ended up leading by five, 22-17 at halftime. In the second half, North Hunterdon took over the game with a 23-6 surge over the first 8:31 to turn a five point deficit into a twelve point, 40-28 advantage with 11:29 to go. Neither team scored for over two and a half minutes after that before the Eagles got on the board as Tom Costello grabbed an offensive rebound and passed out to Landano for a shot attempt, which the diminutive junior guard was fouled on. Landano then made both at the free throw line to trim the gap to ten at 40-30 with 8:56 remaining. The Lions would retaliate though with a score down low with exactly eight minutes left to make the lead a dozen again at 42-30.

Twenty-three seconds after that, North Hunterdon got another score on an offensive rebound and a jumper from the right baseline on the follow that got a kind roll for a 44-30 lead. Cardy Mac would trim the lead a bit with a 6-5 run over the next 3:46 including one of two free throws at the 3:51 mark that made it 49-36. However, the Eagles weren’t able to get any closer despite getting a 5-4 edge down the stretch as the Lions came away victorious, 53-41. With the win, North Hunterdon raised its record to 1-1 while Cardinal McCarrick slipped to 1-1. The Lions will square off next against Monroe at 5:00 PM next Sunday while McCarrick will take on Notre Dame of Lawrenceville at 6:00 PM.

Team 1 2 Total
North Hunterdon (1-1) 17 36 53
Cardinal McCarrick (1-1) 22 19 41

Hawks Pull Away From Pesky Cougars, 56-46

After losing to the Bridgewater Panthers on opening night, the J.P. Stevens were faced with another Delaware East Division team from the Skyland Conference this past Sunday night in one of the two finales in the second week of action at the 2007 TBSA Fall League. Led by not only the efforts of the usual suspects of Kenny Bland and Myles Reuben, but also senior forward, Teryl Dunlap, who played one of his better games, the Hawks jumped out to a 30-20 first half lead, and then after withstanding a strong flurry from Montgomery early on in the second half, pulled away for the 56-46 victory.

The Cougars, which were just a Group II school in terms of size as recent as the 2001 season, and are now playing with the big boys in Group IV, embarked on a 9-0 spurt over a span of 2:30 to cap a 12-4 rally to begin the second half, and close what was once an eleven point gap at 34-23 to just two at 34-32 with 15:31 to play in the contest. Senior Kevin Tarca led the charge for the Cougars. However, Bland ended the rally with a pair of fre throws at the 15:00 mark to make the score, 36-32. Twenty-two seconds later, Reuben came up with a huge block of a shot attempt underneath Stevens basket, and then at the 14:00 mark, Bland scored again on a layup off a follow of a missed shot by Nick Pol to make it 39-32. Pol would get on the board himself with an offensive rebound of a missed jumper by Bland and follow in the form of a turnaround jumper to make it a 9-0 run that cancelled the early rally by the Cougars, and made it 43-32 with 11:25 to play.

Montgomery, which was held scoreless for approximately six minutes, finally got on the board again with 9:30 to play as it made a pair of free throws to close the gap to nine again at 43-34. Unfortunately for the Cougars, J.P. Stevens quickly responded as Reuben got a bucket on a follow off a Bland miss at the 8:46 mark. The Hawks then put the game essentially away with a 7-2 spurt over the next 3:01 for a 52-36 lead with 5:45 remaining. Tarca did what he could to try and turn the tide with a putback at the 5:17 mark, and then a jumper at the 4:03 mark to make it a 54-40 game. However, it wouldn’t be enough as Reuben made a pair of free throws to make it a 56-40 game with 3:18 left, and Stevens went on to win, 56-46. In the first half, JPS started out strong with twelve of the first sixteen points including a rebound and follow by Dunlap off a missed breakaway layup by Pol at the 16:32 mark to make it 8-2, a Reuben jumper from the left wing to make it 10-2 at the 15:30 mark, and another offensive rebound and follow by Dunlap off an air ball by Patrick Lem for a 12-4 lead at the 14:35 mark. Montgomery, which managed only one field goal over the first 8:43, made a pair of free throws at the 13:52 mark to make it 12-6 before Bland replied with a one of two showing at the foul line to make it 13-6 with 12:35 remaining in the first half.

After the Cougars registered their second field goal of the first half off a fine execution of the sideline break for a layup that made it 13-8 at the 11:17 mark, JPS scored the next four points including a bucket off a baseline drive that was set up nicely by an entry pass from Reuben that made the score, 17-8 with 7:42 to go before the intermission. Over the next 3:42, the Hawks managed to slightly increase its lead with an 8-7 showing during the stretch for a 23-15 advantage with exactly four minutes to play before the brief break. Then, led by the trio of Bland, Reuben, and Dunlap, J.P. Stevens reeled off seven straight points in a span of about two minutes to take a 30-17 lead with 1:24 to play in the first half. Bland helped initiate the spurt with a steal and assist on a layup by Reuben at the 2:21 mark to make the score, 27-17. Shortly afterward, Bland came up with another steal and assist, but this time it was on a layup by Dunlap at the 1:37 mark that increased the Hawks advantage to 29-17. Dunlap then closed out the run and Stevens’ first half scoring with a one of two effort from the charity stripe to make it 30-17. Montgomery then closed out the opening half scoring with a three pointer from the top of the key for a 30-20 Hawk lead at the intermission.

With the victory, J.P. Stevens evened its record at 1-1 on the fall, and will take on another Skyland Conference team, but from the Delaware West Division in Warren Hills at 8:00 PM on Court #2 this coming Sunday. Meanwhile, Montgomery dropped to 1-1 on the season, and will face another North Edison squad when it squares off against Bishop Ahr at the same 8:00 PM start time over on Court #3.

Team 1 2 Total
J.P. Stevens (1-1) 30 26 56
Montgomery (1-1) 20 26 46

So far, of the 14 games that GMC Hoops has results for, there have been 12 games involving GMC teams competing against non-conference foes. If you recall, the GMC went 15-21 against its non-conference opponents in the 2006 TBSA Fall League. Through the first two weeks of the 2007 TBSA Fall League, the ten teams from the GMC have gone 6-6 in the 12 games we have gotten results for. Here’s how the other conferences break down against the GMC: Colonial Valley Conference (1-2), Skyland Conference (4-3), Watchung Conference (1-0), and Mountain Valley Conference (0-1).