PLAINFIELD, NJ–The fourth week of action completed on Wednesday night at the 2007 HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic at Plainfield High School as two of the three GMC teams in the league were in action while Plainfield and Shabazz battled in a classic tale of two different halves game between long time Watchung Conference rivals. GMC Hoops was there for all three rounds of games on this particular day as Woodbridge squared off against undefeated Columbia at 6:30 PM, and after Shabazz defeated Plainfield in the 7:30 PM game, Spotswood battled Hillsborough in the 8:30 PM finale.
Columbia Too Strong For Woodbridge In 62-47 Victory
The Woodbridge Barrons had the services of talented junior Gerard Bullock, but it wasn’t enough as Columbia moved up to 5-0 with a solid, 62-47 victory. Once again it was Yvon Raymond and Jameel Grace leading the way for the Cougars, which appear to be in the driver’s seat to win the regular season championship at the Fall-Ball Classic. Jumping out to a 32-21 lead at halftime, Columbia outscored Woodbride by a 10-8 margin over the first 3:30 of the second half for a 42-29 lead when GMC Hoops arrived on the scene. The Cougars then got a dunk from Raymond for a 44-29 lead at the 15:56 mark, and that sparked a 11-4 run that included a Grace layup and foul for a three point play at the 13:58 mark for a 47-29 lead. The senior guard then gave Columbia a twenty point lead over three and a half minutes later with an offensive rebound of a blocked Kenny Rubenstein shot that he tried to turn into a score with a spin move and got fouled at the 10:21 mark. Grace promptly sank a pair of free throws to make it 49-29. Bullock did what he could to keep thiings close with a nifty move for a score that made it 49-31 with 9:13 left while Richie Ng answered another Columbia score with a steal off Rubenstein for a layup that made it 51-33 at the 8:35 mark.
However, Columbia capped the run as Grace fed Raymond with an alleyoop pass that the senior forward slammed home for a 53-33 advantage with 8:08 left. Blair Dolphin got Woodbridge back on the board with a jumper from the left wing for a 56-35 score, but Grace then responded with a three point play at the 7:02 mark, and then Raymond plucked a steal from Bullock, and went the length of the floor for another dunk to make it 58-35 with 6:41 remaining. About a minute later, Dolphin grabbed a rebound of a missed Rubenstein shot, and gave a good outlet pass upcourt to Bullock, who then went in for a layup to make the score, 58-37 at the 5:40 mark. Tim Weber then got into the act with a jumper for a 58-39 Columbia lead with exactly 5:00 left. Following another Cougar score, Bullock connected on one of two at the line for a 60-40 Columbia lead at the 3:35 mark. Woodbridge then closed out the contest with seven of the final nine points including a Bullock jumper from the left side off an assist by Ng for a 60-42 lead with just under three minutes left. Zambrana then picked up a steal, and passed up to Ng for a drive down the middle that resulted in a layin to make it 60-44 with 2:09 to play.
Kenny Rubenstein got Columbia’s final points of the contest with a pair of free throws after being fouled on the drive by Dolphin to make it 62-44 with 1:06 to play. Ng then closed out the scoring with another drive down the middle for a teardrop shot as he was fouled for a three point play at the one minute mark to round out the final, 62-47 score. With the victory, Columbia raised its record to 5-0 on the fall while Woodbridge fell to 2-3. Next week, there will be only one day of games at Hawks thanks to the Columbus Day Holiday. Wednesday night, October 10th, Columbia will be in action again with a game against Hunterdon Central at 8:30 PM while the Barrons will be taking the next week off. Next game for Woodbridge will be on October 15th against Hillsborough at 7:30 PM.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia (5-0) | 32 | 30 | 62 |
| Woodbridge (2-3) | 21 | 26 | 47 |
Shabazz Rallies And Holds Off Late Plainfield Rally For Thrilling 56-51 Win
In perhaps the best game of the evening, two teams from the always tough and competitive Watchung Conference renewed acquaintences on Wednesday night as Shabazz took its 4-1 record into its matchup against 4-1 Plainfield. The Cardinals, which have dominated many of the HawksBasketball leagues in recent years, suffered its only defeat a couple weeks ago when it lost to currently unbeaten Columbia of Maplewood, 45-44. Meanwhile, Shabazz, which was originally scheduled to play Plainfield on opening night, but had to postpone since there was a death in the family of one of the coaches. Prior to play on Wednesday night, the Bulldogs from Newark, and Essex County, had won its four games against the likes of Roselle (42-41), Hillsborough (38-34), Hunterdon Central (48-44), and Spotswood (53-33) while losing to previously undefeated Watchung Hills (54-39). On the other hand, Plainfield, won its four games against the likes of Roselle (73-46), Hillsborough (72-37), Woodbridge (65-44), and Franklin (61-46).
Shabazz, which has been a long time power in Group III with the most state titles in that boys basketball bracket with nine titles including one over a Wally Cirafesi led South Plainfield team back in the 1964-65 season when the school went by the name of Newark South-Side.  At that time, SPHS was the defending Group III state champion. The 1964 state title is the last one won by the Tigers although the 2003-04 team came close to one and won the first of two conference titles with a 27-1 record. Meanwhile, Plainfield has enjoyed a resurgence to basketball prominence beginning with a North Jersey Section 2 Group IV Championship Game appearance against another Newark school and Watchung Conference rival in Newark East Side, and then a sectional title in 2004 as well as two final four appearances in the same bracket in 2006 and 2007.
This game was a tale of two different halves. In the first half, Plainfield dominated to the tune of a 32-22 showing that included a game opening 14-3 tear over the first 9:03 of the contest. In the second half, Shabazz controlled things with a 19-3 outburst over the first 7:47 to turn a ten point halftime deficit into a six point, 41-35 lead. The Bulldogs ended up outscoring Plainfield 34-19 in the second half, and most of the Cardinal points came late in the second half as part of a late 10-0 rally that actually tied the game at 51-51 with 1:28 to play. Shabazz would pull the game out though with a jumper from the left wing at the 1:06 mark, and then a three point play with just 36.39 seconds left to pull out the hard fought, 56-51 win. For the game, there were a total of 54 points scored in the first half and 53 scored in the second for balanced scoring overall. For how close the game ended up being, there were only three lead changes and two ties throughout the contest while the largest lead ended up being eleven by the Cardinals in the first half. Shabazz had a ten point, 51-41 lead with 7:32 remaining in the game only to have Plainfield come back to tie late.
The game began with Plainfield scoring the first six points of the contest over a span of 3:35. Anthony Baskerville opened the scoring int he game with a jumper from the left wing at the 19:23 mark for a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals then got another score on a layup at the 17:36 mark for a 4-0 advantage. Ricky Terry then followed that up with a layup of his own about a minute later for the six point early lead. Daveon Boardingham finally got the Bulldogs on the board with an offensive rebound and putback attempt that resulted in a foul, and one of two at the line for a 6-1 score at the 16:10 mark. Saheed Williams gave Shabazz its first field goal of the contest when he penetrated into the key for a short jumper that cut the Plainfield lead in half at 6-3 with 15:20 to go in the first half. Over the next 4:23 though, the Cards put the Bulldogs on the ropes with an 8-0 run that put them in front, 14-3 at the 10:57 mark. Highlighting the spurt was a foul line jumper by Epps off an assist by Baskerville at the 15:09 mark, a tap in by Shaun Blackmon at the 12:56 mark, a jumper from the left side by Mike Price at the 11:46 mark, and then a putback off his own miss by Epps at the 10:57 mark. Adding to the problems, Shabazz failed to convert on a chance during the stretch as Kevin Morris misfired on a pair of free throws at the 13:39 mark.
Shabazz, which was scoreless for a period of 5:13, and only had one field goal over the first 12:21 of the contest, finally got on the board with a pair of free throws at the 10:07 mark to end the Plainfield 8-0 run, and the 14-3 tear to start the game. Morris then followed that up with the Bulldogs first field goal in nearly eight minutes with an offensive rebound and jumper from the left wing for a 16-7 Cardinal lead at the 7:39 mark. Epps gave the hometown team a double digit lead again with a jumper at the 7:07 mark for an 18-7 score, but Shabazz brought the deficit back down to single digits as Morris picked up a loose ball and went in for a layup from the left side to make the score, 18-9 at the 6:45 mark. Daryll Gordon scored on an offensive rebound and putback to give the Cardinals a 20-9 advantage at the 6:30 mark only to have the Bulldogs come right back with an offensive rebound and follow by Simmone at the 6:03 mark for a 20-11 score. Simonne, a tall and well built forward, ended up being a big factor in the win for Shabazz with at least 19 points in the final 26:03 of the contest.
Simonne’s basket sparked a 6-0 run by the Bulldogs over a span of 1:31 to cut the Plainfield lead down to just five at 20-15. Adding to the run were Williams with a finger roll layup off a steal and an assist by another Shabazz player at the 5:16 mark, and Morris, who got a steal for a layup at the 4:32 mark to bring the deficit down to five. Gordon then got a steal, and drove the length of the floor for a lefty layup that gave Plainfield a seven point, 22-15 lead with 3:46 to go before intermission, and then the Cards scored again off another steal for a nine point, 24-15 advantage with 3:08 to go in the half. Simmone then connected on a bank shot at the 2:30 mark for a 24-17 Plainfield lead, but then the Cards closed things out with 8 of the last 13 points for a ten point, 32-22 lead at the break. Following an earlier Cardinal score, Baskerville added to the final run with a jumper from the top of the key to make it 28-17 at the 1:42 mark. Simmone then scored on an offensive rebound and putback for a 28-19 Plainfield lead at the 1:20 mark. Epps then scored on a shot off the window with exactly a minute left for a 30-19 edge. Shabazz then registered the next three points on one of two free throws at the 46.43 second mark by Boardingham, and then a short jumper in the key by Simmone at the 20 second mark. The Cardinals then closed the period with a score with 5.3 remaining to lead by a dozen going into the short intermission.
In the second half, things went in reverse for Plainfield, and Shabazz took advantage of the situation. The Bulldogs started off by scoring eight of the first ten points of the second half in a span of just 2:07 to suddenly close the gap to 34-30 at the 17:53 mark. Following a Plainfield timeout, the Newark school crept closer as Morris made a baseline drive along the left side for a teardrop shot that bounced in to make the score, 34-32 at the 16:54 mark. Nearly a minute after that, Morris found Simmone for a jumper from the left side that tied the game for the first time since 0-0 at 34-34 with 16:01 remaining in regulation. Remarkably, Shabazz then took the lead as Williams stole the ball from Epps and went in for a layup to make it a 14-2 tear, and a 36-34 lead with 15:43 to play. A little more than a half minute later, Simmone used his strength to knock down a fadeaway jumper while being fouled after grabbing two offensive rebounds for a three point play that made it a 17-2 rampage, and a 39-34 lead with 15:06 left. Plainfield then made one of two at the line, but despite Epps getting the offensive rebound, couldn’t convert, and the score stood at 39-35 with 14:05 to go.
A little more than a minute later, Shabazz completed its 19-3 outburst when Morris found Williams for a baseline drive along the right side that resulted in a layup to follow a block on the other end by Boardingham, and give the Bulldogs a six point lead at 41-35 with 12:53 to play. From the time Shabazz trailed 14-3, the Bulldogs had outscored the Cardinals by a 38-21 margin over a span of 18:04 for the lead. The Newark South Side school would continue to roll with 10 of the next 16 points over a period of 5:18 to complete a 48-27 showing in a 23:22 time frame. Baskerville got Plainfield going again with the team’s first field goal since the opening of the second half as he grabbed a rebound, and got an assist on a layup that almost resulted in a three point play, but the bonus foul shot was missed for a 41-37 Shabazz lead at the 11:40 mark. Williams then canned a baselne jumper for the Bulldogs to increase the lead back to six at 43-37 with 10:53 to play. The Cardinals trimmed the deficit back to four as Epps scored on a tap-in for a 43-39 game with 10:38 left, but Shabazz then reeled off four straight points as Khadir Johnson got on the board with a layup at the 10:21 mark, and Simmone scored on an offensive rebound and putback at the 8:36 mark for a 47-39 edge.
Despite being put on their heels, the Cardinals persisted thanks to Baskerville, who found a way to connect on a tough shot that banked in for a 47-41 Shabazz lead with 8:23 remaining. But, the Bulldogs appeared to have Plainfield down for the count as they would get a basket, and then a pair of free throws at the 7:32 mark for a ten point, 51-41 lead. However, the Bulldogs may have woken up the Cardinals by missing two free throws after an offensive rebound and putback attempt with 5:36 left. Ricky Terry then passed to Steve Butatunde for a layup as Butatunde was fouled, but the forward missed the bonus free throw, and the score remained, 51-43 at the 5:04 mark. Approximately forty seconds later, Epps passed to Shaun Blackmon for a layup that made the score, 51-45 at the 4:23 mark. The Cardinal defense also stiffened with two blocks on the next offensive possession by Shabazz, and then Price picked up a steal for a layup with 3:18 left to make the score, 51-47. Plainfield didn’t stop there either. Following a Shabazz turnover and subsequent timeout, Baskerville went to the line to make one of two for a 51-48 score at the 2:44 mark, and then Epps did the same thing at the 1:53 mark after the Bulldogs committed another miscue at the 2:05 mark. The Cardinals then tied the game on a jumper from the right wing with 1:28 left in regulation for a 51-51 score.
However, the Cards failed to take the lead, and Shabazz got a jumper from the left wing by Morris to take a 53-51 lead with 1:06 remaining, and then closed out the host school with the final three points for a five point, 56-51 victory. With the win, Newark Shabazz moves up to 5-1 on the fall while Plainfield drops to 4-2. The Bulldogs will also own the head to head tiebreaker for playoff seeding if the two teams end up in a tie at the end of the regular season. Both teams will take a day off next Monday thanks to the Columbus Day holiday while Plainfield will play on Wednesday, October 10th, versus Spotswood at 7:30 PM. Shabazz will not play again until October 15th when it squares off against another Essex County school, Columbia, which is still undefeated on the season with a 5-0 record.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shabazz (5-1) | 22 | 34 | 56 |
| Plainfield (4-2) | 32 | 19 | 51 |
Hillsborough Overcomes Late Start For a 45-34 Victory Over Spotswood
Rounding out the night at Plainfield High School was a matchup involving the other GMC team in action as Spotswood faced off against Hillsborough. So far this fall, both teams have had their share of struggles. Each team is rebuilding after state playoff appearances last year. The Raiders, which knocked off East Brunswick in the opening round of the 2007 Central Jersey Group IV State Tournament, entered the night with a 1-5 mark while the Chargers, which lost to New Providence in the first round of the 2007 Central Jersey Group II State Tourney, came in losers in four of their first six games. In a somewhat low scoring affair, Spotswood had difficulty getting shots to fall, and ultimately that cost the Chargers as Hillsborough overcame an early 8-2 Spotswood lead for a 20-16 halftime advantage, and outscored the GMC Blue squad, 25-18 in the second period for a 45-34 victory.
Spotswood started off strong with eight of the first ten points over the opening 2:17 of the contest, but gave way to an 18-8 tear by Hillsborough over the duration of the period for the four point lead at intermission. Over the final 17:43 of the first half, Spotswood could only muster four field goals, and were held scoreless for a span of 7:39. For the half, the Chargers connected on eight field goals for their 16 points while Hillsborough made just five shots from the floor, but netted 10 of 14 from the foul line for 71.4 percent. In the second half, Hillsborough made nine field goals while connecting on 7 of 9 more at the line for 77.9 percent. On the other side of the ledger, Spotswood connected on eight field goals, but made only 2 of 5 from the charity stripe for 40 percent. So, for the game, the Raiders, which had a decided advantage down low, made 14 field goals, but feasted at the line to the tune of a 17 of 23 effort for 73.9 percent while Spotswood had more field goals with 16, but only had those five attempts from the line in the second half. Like the first half, the Chargers had started strong with an 8-3 run to open things up, and take a one point, 24-23 lead, but that was the last time Spotswood lead as Hillsborough outscored them 22-10 over the final 16:18 for the eleven point victory.
The Chargers, which outscored the Raiders by a margin of 16-5 over the first 5:49 of both halves combined, opened the scoring with a jumper from Cody Pace on the left side at the 19:25 mark. Hillsborough then got its first field goal of the game to tie things up at 2-2 with 18:35 to go in the first half. Spotswood then came right back down, and scored when Pat Dwyer kicked out to Ross Gerhart in the left corner for a jumper that was true for a 4-2 advantage at the 18:26 mark. Both Tom and James Pareti then added scores for the Chargers to give them an 8-2 lead with 17:43 to play in the half as Hillsborough called a timeout. Following the stoppage, Hillsborough regrouped, and scored the next four points including a jumper from the right wing at the 14:52 mark, and a jumper in the key off a nice entry pass by Jalil Williams at the 13:56 mark for an 8-6 Spotswood lead. Neither team scored for approximately 2:17 until Gerhart connected on a jumper from the left wing to give his team a four point, 10-6 advantage with 11:39 remaining in the half. Williams then made one of two at the line to close the gap to three at 10-7 at the 11:14 mark, and then Frank Mitchell made one of two of his own at the 9:25 mark to cut the deficit to two at 10-8.
Spotswood would go into a long dry spell after Tom Pareti found Dwyer for a layup at the 8:27 mark for a 12-8 advantage. For two minutes both teams only combined for one score as Hillsborough converted a nice pass for a layup that closed the gap to 12-10 at the 8:10 mark. Following a Spotswood timeout with 6:27 left in the half, neither team could manage any points although the Chargers were getting their share of offensive rebounds, but were unable to convert as the game remained close at 12-10 with just under five minutes to go in the first half. Then, at the 4:45 mark, Dennis McGill made a short hook in the key to knot the game at 12-12. The Raiders then followed that up nearly a minute later with a pair of foul shots for its first lead of the contest, 14-12. Tim Gendimenico then added one of two at the line himself after another Raider player did the same thing for a 16-12 edge with 2:58 to play before halftime. A minute and a half passed before McGill was fouled on a shot attempt by James Pareti, and converted two foul shots for a 10-0 spurt, and an 18-12 lead with 1:32 left until the brief break.
Spotswood finally put an end to its scoring drought, and the 10-0 Hillsborough tear when Gerhart took in a pass from James Pareti for a jumper from the left wing at the 48.2 mark to make it an 18-14 Hillsborough lead. McGill, who had eight points in the half, then made another pair at the charity stripe for a 20-14 advantage with 16.6 to play before Pace closed out the half with a layup to make it 20-16. In the second half, Spotswood started strong again with eight of the first eleven points to retake the lead briefly. Tyler Osofsky, who didn’t score in the opening half, got a steal for a layup while he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 20-18 Hillsborough lead with just 13 seconds gone by in the new half. The Raiders went back up by four with a jumper at the 19:05 mark for a 22-18 score. The Chargers then reeled off six of the next seven points over a span of 2:47 to take its first lead since the 8:10 mark of the first half. The only point by Hillsborough during this stretch was on one of two at the foul line from Frank Mitchell at the 18:14 mark for a 23-18 lead. Gerhart dribbled in for a foul line jumper that made the score, 23-20 at the 17:18 mark. Thirty-seven seconds later, Pace drove in for a layup while he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw to make the score, 23-22 in favor of Hillsborough. Dwyer then capped the run with an assist on another Osofsky layup for a 24-23 Charger lead with 16:18 to play.
Hillsborough, which led for 19:05 of the second half, and for 23:53 of the final 24:48 of the game, promptly took the lead back with power drive on from the left side by McGill for a layup over Tom Pareti that made the score, 25-24 at the 15:23 mark. The Raiders then followed that up with an offensive rebound and follow over Pace for a three point, 27-24 edge at the 14:49 mark. Spotswood got back to within one on a steal and assist by Gerhart on a layup by Alex Dwani to make the score, 27-26 wth 12:55 to go. Hillsborough took the lead by three again on an off-balanced shot off the glass while being fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 29-26 score with a bit more than twelve minutes remaining in the game. McGill then gave his team a five point lead on an offensive rebound and putback to make the score, 31-26 at the 11:09 mark. The Raiders made it a 10-2 spurt when Tom Magrosky passed to Tim Gendimenico for a foul line jumper that made the score, 33-26 with 10:40 left. Finally, the 12-2 spurt was capped when Jalil Williams made a nice entry pass to Frank Mitchell, who was fouled by Osofsky for a pair of free throws that made the score, 35-26 at the 8:39 mark.
Hillsborough pretty much pulled out the victory thanks to two decisive runs in both halves. Over a span of 15:18 combined in both halves, the Raiders outscored Spotswood by a 22-2 margin. Spotswood finally got off the schneid with one of two from the charity stripe for a 35-27 Raider lead with 7:20 left. The Chargers then got another score, and forced a subsequent turnover, but couldn’t convert as the score remained, 35-29 with 6:13 left. Williams then connected on a jumper from the left wing for a 37-29 lead at the 5:26 mark, but Pace pulled Spotswood back to within five on a baseline drive from the left side for a layup and the foul for a three point play by Pace that made the score, 37-32 with 4:52 left. However, Hillsborough was able to get more breathing room when Williams fed McGill with a lob pass that was converted into a layup for a 39-32 lead at the 3:56 mark. McGill then closed out his 16 point night with a baseline jumper from the right side for a 41-32 lead at the 1:33 mark. Hillsborough closed out the victory with four of the final six points for the 45-34 win.
Both teams now are 2-5 on the season with Hillsborough and Spotswood benefitting from forefeit wins thanks to Franklin’s abrupt departure from the league after the third week. Next week, the Chargers taking on the hometown Plainfield Cardinals on Wednesday, October 10th at 7:30 PM while Hillsborough’s next game will be on October 15th at 7:30 PM against another GMC school in Woodbridge.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough (2-5) | 20 | 25 | 45 |
| Spotswood (2-5) | 16 | 18 | 34 |