Good morning everyone. Sorry for not posting anything yesterday (Saturday), but I was busy putting together a lot of video highlights from the past couple days including a game that I saw in the late afternoon and early evening on Friday between Stonehill and Queens College in the 2007 NYIT Tip-Off Classic on the NYIT Campus in Long Island. In case you weren’t aware, there are not only four GMC players on the Stonehill roster, but they are also the creme de la creme in GMC basketball talent over the past three seasons. Three of the players: Nick Smith (Colonia), A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe), and Vince Rosario (Cardinal McCarrick) were Home News-Tribune players of the year as well as the all time leading scorers at their respective schools while the fourth player, Darrell Carroll (St. Joseph’s), wasn’t shabby either as an all conference first team selection. In addition, two other Jersey players: Randall Stallworth of Monsignor Donovan (7 points and 10 assists) and Mike Kernan from the 2007 Group III State Champions, Shawnee, (11 points, 8 rebounds, and a blocked shot) are also on the Stonehill roster.
In Friday’s game, Stonehill jumped out to a 10-2 early lead only to have Queens College pull within 10-9, but the Skyhawks then ran off nine straight points for a 19-9 lead. The game would pretty much be the same way for the rest of the first half, and a portion of the second as Stonehill led 43-31 at the intermission, and then ran off the first seven points of the second half as Nick Smith, who led the way with 20 points including a three pointer before halftime and four of the first seven points of the second half. Trailing 50-31 early in the second half, Queens College rallied with a 13-6 run to pull within 56-44 before Smith slammed home an alley-oop pass for a 58-44 lead.
Rudowitz followed with his only points of the game on a jumper from Rosario (12 points including two threes) for a 60-46 lead. Following a score by Queens College, the Monroe standout registered an assist on a three pointer by Centreville, Virginia’s own Colin Scanlon to make it a 63-48 game. From that point on, Stonehill wasn’t threatened as it outscored the East Coast Conference representative by a 27-22 margin for a commanding 93-70 lead before Queens closed the contest with the final nine points to round out the 93-79 Stonehill victory. Take a look below at some of the video highlights from the contest. You can also view the summary on the game at the web site.
Complete details on this game will be available soon. Special thanks to Big Mike Allocco, a former Stonehill alum, for taking us out to the game.