PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Halloween night, GMC Hoops traveled out to Plainfield High School again to take in one of the two semifinal games in the playoff round of the 2007 HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic between the host school Cardinals of Plainfield, and second seeded Watchung Hills. The winner of this game will take on top seeded, and top seeded Columbia of Maplewood, which advanced to its second straight Championship Game with a convincing 60-37 victory over third seeded Roselle. Plainfield, which is trying to achieve a three peat in the Fall-Ball Classic, has made its fourth Final Four appearance in the HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic in the past five years: 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Meanwhile, Watchung Hills, which went through last year’s regular season with a fourth place finish at 7-3 before being knocked out in the first round by Westfield, earned the second seed in this year’s edition of the Fall-Ball Classic with an 8-2 mark, and won its opening round game over Woodbridge, 58-52.
Plainfield Pulls Out Thriller Without Epps For Third Straight Championship Game Appearance, 46-45
Both teams provide contrasting styles of play with Watchung Hills more of a halfcourt offensive team with a tendency to execute very well on the break, and Plainfield being more of an up tempo full court offense. The Cardinals are talented and athletic while the Warriors have great fundamentals. Both schools come from leagues that are very competitive in the Watchung Conference and the Delaware East Division of the Skyland Conference. Watchung Hills was able to keep the score low, and the tempo at a more manageable pace, but Plainfield still managed to pull out the win despite all that as well as not having one of its top players in the lineup as Isiah Epps did not play. In a game that saw ten lead changes and five ties throughout, and neither team having a lead bigger than six points, the Cards were able to prevail thanks to two straight threes over a 26 second span by guard Anthony Baskerville to take a 44-38 lead at the 4:14 mark, and by withstanding a fierce charge by the Warriors down the stretch for a 46-45 victory.
For the game, there were a total of eleven lead changes and five ties in the contest with neither team holding a lead bigger than six points, and had a run larger than 7-0. In other words, it was quite a nip and tuck game with fine play by both teams. GMC Hoops arrived at the game with the score tied at 10-10 with 8:10 remaining in the first half. A little more than thirty seconds later, Jim Chmielewski made a nice entry pass to Brandon Ward for a layup that made the score 12-10 in favor of the Warriors at the 7:31 mark. Plainfield came back with a three point play some 52 seconds later by John Wrool to give the Cardinals a one point, 13-12 lead with 6:45 to play in the first half. Wrool’s three point play ignited the largest spurt of the game as Watchung Hills made a turnover courtesy of Jesse Ross stepping on the end line at the 6:17 mark, and then after Mike Price came up empty in two attempts at the foul line with 5:42 to go in the half, Shaun Blackmon got a steal and handed out a nice assist on another layup by Wrool at the 4:50 mark for a 15-12 edge. Following a Plainfield timeout at the 4:02 mark, Anthony Baskerville put together a nice quick drive and dish to Shaun Blackmon for a layup to give the Cardinals a 17-12 lead with 3:32 to go before halftime.
Watchung Hills would actually go scoreless for a little more than six minutes before Matisak got a steal, passed upcourt to Ross, who dished to Chmielewski for a layup to make the score, 17-14, and end the Plainfield 7-0 run with 1:34 left in the half. While the Cardinals were scoreless over the final 3:32 of the half, WHHS continued to fight back as Matisak picked up another steal, and was fouled on a subsequent layup attempt that resulted in two free throws for a 17-16 Cardinal lead with one minute remaining before the brief break. Kyle Rawson then closed out the first half scoring with a pair of foul shots at the 28.13 mark for an 18-17 Warrior lead at the intermission. Watchung Hills closed the half with a 6-0 spurt in the final 1:34 that pretty much matched Plainfield’s earlier run, and helped the Somerset County school not only stay in the game, but also reclaim the lead at halftime. In the second half, Watchung Hills managed to get the alternate possession in the opening moments after Ross tied up a Plainfield player for a jump ball at the 19:38 mark. However, the Warriors couldn’t take advantage as the Cardinals then took the lead with a rebound, drive downcourt, and assist by Ricky Terry on another three point play by Wrool at the 19:06 mark for a 20-18 advantage.
A little more than a minute after that, Watchung Hills tied the game up when Ross made a nice skip pass over the top of the Plainfield defense underneath to Eric Kane for a layup attempt that rolled out, but there was a foul, and that turned into two free throws for a 20-20 score at the 18:03 mark. Wrool, who had ten of his points from the time of our arrival at the game until 17:18 mark of the second half, came right back though with a layup off a nice feed inside for a 22-20 lead some two minutes and forty-two seconds into the second half. Ricky Terry then got a steal and converted it into a layup for a 24-20 lead with 17:02 left in the game. The Cardinals had an opportunity to increase its lead to six or seven, but couldn’t convert following a timeout at the 15:44 mark. Watchung Hills then cut the deficit in half as Rawson made a nice pass inside to Matisak for a layup, and a 24-22 score at the 12:01 mark. The home team pushed its edge back to five on a three point play at the 11:31 mark that made the score, 27-22. However, the Warriors got those three points right back on the very next possession with a three pointer at the 11:11 mark to make it a 27-25 contest.
Plainfield pushed the lead back to five when Anthony Baskerville converted a conventional three point play on a layup as he was fouled at the 10:51 mark for a 30-25 score. Nearly a minute and fifteen seconds later, the Warriors closed the gap to three Ward got a steal off Steve Butatunde underneath for a layup that made the score, 30-27 with 9:37 to play. Darryl Gordon, the younger brother of 2004 graduate, Mike Gordon, who led Plainfield to a North Jersey Section 2 Group IV Championship over Watchung Conference rival Elizabeth, netted one of two at the foul line at the 9:06 mark for a 31-27 lead. Kevin Baglin did one better than Gordon at the charity stripe by making both of his attempts for a 31-29 lead at the 8:21 mark. Ricky Terry then made two foul shots of his own at the 7:44 mark to make it a four point game again at 33-29, but Baglin retaliated with a layin to make it 33-31 with exactly seven minutes to play. Terry promptly responded with a left handed scoop shot on very next Cardinal possession to once again make it a two possession game at 35-31 with 6:53 left, but Baglin answered with a three pointer from the left side for a 35-34 Plainfield lead at the 6:36 mark. Following a Plainfield timeout at the 6:04 mark, the Warriors took their first lead since 12-10 at the 7:37 mark of the first half when Rawson got a steal, and turned it into an assist on a Ross layup for a 36-35 score at the 5:43 mark.
On a subsequent Plainfield possession, Gordon, who has a taller twin brother that is now playing at St. Patrick’s, connected from long distance on the right wing to give his team a two point, 38-36 advantage with 5:24 to play. The lead would be short lived though as Kyle Rawson came back down the floor for a layup at the 5:11 mark to tie the game once again at 38-38. Then, the deciding sequence of the game took place. First with 4:40 remaining in regulation, Price inbounded the ball to Baskerville for a three pointer from the left wing that gave the Cardinals the lead for good at 41-38. Then, the Cardinals got the ball back, and a short time later, Baskerville came through again with another clutch three pointer from the right wing that made it a six point, 44-38 lead with 4:14 to play. Rawson continued to symbolize the fight that the Warriors still had left in them with a drive from the left baseline for a reverse layup that made the score, 44-40 at the 3:56 mark. The Warriors then had a couple opportunities to get closer, or better yet, tie the game, but Ward traveled at the 3:10 mark, and then Rawson made only one of two at the foul line after being fouled on a drive to make the score, 44-41 in favor of Plainfield with just 2:04 remaining. Watchung Hills started to show some aggression on defense, and produced a turnover when Terry dribbled into trouble in the form of a Warrior double team at the 1:44 mark. However, the Cardinals got a big play again from Baskerville as the point guard swiped a steal for a layup, and a 46-41 lead at the 1:33 mark.
Once more, Watchung Hills showed resolve with a Matisak tip in off a Kane miss from the left side for a 46-43 Cardinal lead at the 1:17 mark. Several seconds later, the Warriors called for time, and following that timeout, they set up a trap to force a jump ball that after some deliberation by the officials, was awared to Watchung Hills on the alternate possession at the 1:05 mark. Less than seven seconds after that, Kane found Matisak for a baseline jumper along the left side to cut the lead to one at 46-45 with 58.3 seconds remaining. The Somerset County school, which defeated Piscataway in the first round of the 2007 North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament after the Chiefs won their first GMCT crown since 1995, attempted to force another turnover in front of the Plainfield bench with 37.53 left, but was called for a foul. Off the side out of bounds by the Cardinals, the Warriors triple teamed the ball, and forced a steal that fell into Rawson’s hands. The senior guard then went in for the layup, but missed, Matisak tried to follow, but couldn’t convert, and then Baglin got the offensive rebound, and passed to Ward for a jumper that didn’t go down with 25 seconds remaining. Watchung Hills managed to get the ball back as Matisak made a save off a Plainfield player with 10.47 seconds remaining, but the Warriors were unable to convert as Rawson failed to score on a drive with 2.1 remaining, and the Cardinals pulled out the squeaker to advance to its third straight Fall-Ball Classic Championship, and its fourth in the last five years.
With the win, Plainfield improved to 8-4 on the fall while Watchung Hills fell to 9-3. The Cardinals advance to play Columbia in the Championship Game for the second year in a row. Last season, the Cards defeated the Cougars in a battle of one versus two seeds for the school’s second straight Fall-Ball Classic title. Columbia reached the title tilt by virtue of defeating Roselle in its semifinal game, 60-37.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield (8-4) | 17 | 29 | 46 |
| Watchung Hills (9-3) | 18 | 27 | 45 |
Raymond and Grace Help Cougars Roll Into Championship, 60-37
The Cougars of Columbia from Maplewood and the Iron Division of the Iron Hills Conference, rolled easily again for its second straight playoff win, and second consecutive Fall-Ball Classic Championship Game appearance by defeating a much improved Roselle team that earned the third seed in this year’s tournament, 60-37. Behind a 19 point performance on nine field goals and a free throw by senior forward, Yvon Raymond, and a game high 23 point effort on three treys and seven field goals by senior point guard, Jameel Grace, the Cougars jumped out to a commanding 38-21 point lead at the half, and then outscored the Runnin’ Rams by a 22-16 margin in the second half for the easy victory. Raymond and Grace both combined for 42 of their team’s 60 points, or 70 percent of Columbia’s offense in the game.
Senior forward, Jamal Reynolds chipped in with 9 points for the winners while Kavon Cornwall had a team high 12 points for Roselle and teammate Antoine Smitty added 10 points in the loss. With the victory, Columbia stays undefeated at 12-0, and will face fifth seeded Plainfield in a rematch of last year’s final that was won by the Cardinals. Both teams played each other during the regular season, and the Cougars came away with a 45-44 victory on September 19th that they could have easily lost. Roselle ended its fall season with an 8-4 record, but a lot of positives to build on as it tries to emerge from a rebuilding of the program that began with the graduation of the multi-talented Jesse Holley, and retirement of long time head coach Stan Kokie earlier in the decade.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia (12-0) | 38 | 22 | 60 |
| Roselle (8-4) | 21 | 16 | 37 |
GMC Hoops plans to be in attendance on Thursday night when top seeded and undefeated Columbia faces fifth seeded, and two time defending champion, Plainfield in the Championship Game of the 2007 HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic at 7:45 PM.