South Plainfield’s Justin Vaca (32 points) and Sayreville’s Sam Jones (30 points) were chosen GMC Hoops Players of the Game in the contest between the Tigers and Bombers at The Bomb Shelter in Parlin on January 3rd.
GMC Hoops began the new year with two games on Saturday, January 3rd. One of them was the GMC Red National clash between Sayreville and South Plainfield. Trailing 23-13 after one quarter, the Tigers exploded behind the play of junior guard, Justin Vaca, who scored a career high 32 points.
South Plainfield outscored Sayreville by a margin of 23-10 in the second, including 11 of the last 12 points of the frame that turned a 32-25 deficit into a 36-33 halftime lead. The Tigers then opened the third with a three-point play by Trayvon Smith, followed by a three from Vaca to take a 42-33 lead at the 7:08 mark. South Plainfield eventually built up a 78-66 lead late before Sayreville put together a last-minute rally.
The Bombers utilized a full-court press that turned the game upside down. Sam Jones, who scored a team high 30 points, scored 9 points during an 11-2 tear that brought Sayreville within three at 80-77 with 13.7 seconds to play. Both Vaca and Jones were selected as GMC Hoops Players of the Game.
South Plainfield: Justin Vaca
Vaca, a 6’0” junior guard, pumped in a career high 32 points to lead sixth-ranked South Plainfield to a huge 81-77 road win at The Bomb Shelter. Vaca tallied his 32 points on 12 total field goals, including six threes, and a perfect 2 of 2 from the line. Vaca also collected 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Vaca, who is averaging 13.4 points per game, followed that up with 17 points against both Colonia on January 6th and Woodbridge on January 8th.
Sayreville: Sam Jones
For the second time this season, Jones earned GMC Hoops Player of the Game honors for the Bombers with a 30-point performance. The 6’0” Sayreville senior guard scored a team high 30 points on 11 total field goals, including three treys, and 5 of 5 from the charity stripe. Jones also collected 7 rebounds, 7 steals, and 2 assists. Currently ranked third on Sayreville’s all-time scoring list with 1,454 points, Jones is second on the team in scoring with an average of 19.8 points per game.