NEPTUNE, NJ–Play resumed at the 2008 Rebounds Spring League one week after the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend put a halt to the weekly action. There was a full slate of games on tap with Neptune in action, and East Brunswick playing in the featured contest of the night. The Fliers managed to stay undefeated with a ten point victory over the Mid-Jersey Heat. Meanwhile, the Bears defeated Asbury Park in a rematch of this past season’s game played in the 2007 Vaughn Stapleton Tournament.
GMC Hoops came down in time to see both contests as well as action from a game between two of the top teams in Division B as Mater Dei Hotshots took on Toms River East in a 7:00 PM game. With 3:45 left in the second half, Mater Dei led by a 40-28 count. The Class B Central squad then got a basket at the 2:30 mark, and then added three of the next four points over the next 45 seconds for a 45-29 lead. That would be how the game ended as Mater Dei won 45-29. One of the two NJ Shoreshots teams were in action as well by taking on St. John Vianney. The Lancers had not been the same since their opening night loss to East Brunswick while the Shoreshots had been playing well.
With the score 22-18 in favor of the Shoreshots at the 8:42 mark of the first half, the AAU squad based at Rebounds would embark on an 11-4 spurt over the next 5:33 to take a 33-22 lead with 3:09 to go in the first half. Then, after the Shoreshots registered for more unanswered points, Vianney got back on the board with a key three point play in the waning moments of the half to trim the deficit to a more manageable dozen at 37-25. In the second half, St. John Vianney scored the first points of the period at the 18:30 mark to pull within ten at 37-27, but then the Shoreshots began to pull away with 5 of the next 9 points to take a 42-31 lead. From there, Vianney wouldn’t get any closer as the Shoreshots won easily.
Neptune continued to roll through its Spring League schedule with a victory over the Mid-Jersey Heat. The Scarlet Fliers led by as many as 19 with a bit over four minutes to go in the game, and cruised from there to its sixth straight win. And, with Lakewood losing to Point Pleasant Boro, Neptune was in sole possession of first place with an unblemished 6-0 mark. However, the Piners will have a chance to get back into the hunt when it takes on the Fliers next Monday with the winner moving into the Showcase round of games on Thursday, June 12th with first place in its back pocket.
East Brunswick Ends Skid Despite Defensive Laspes
East Brunswick was looking to accomplish two things on this night. First it was looking to stem the tide that had turned against it after its opening night win, and second, it was looking to put together a win streak to close out the spring at Rebounds. Despite the concerns of long time head coach, Bo Henning, who expressed his displeasure about the way the Bears were playing defense, EB was able to put away Asbury Park in a tightly contested battle, 58-51. While the Bears produced plenty of steals and turnovers, there were also a number of missed defensive assignments, and bad fundamentals in protecting their own basket.
Trailing by three at the half, East Brunswick utilized a 38-28 surge in the second half to register its first victory in five weeks. It wasn’t easy though. At first, the Bears suffered from offensive woes as the team went 1 of its first 13 from the field while Asbury Park jumped to a 9-4 lead at the 12:30 mark. The only field goal EB would have in the first 7:30 was within the first 54 seconds. With 19:06 remaining in the first half, Dustin Schuld swiped a steal, and then proceeded to hand out an assist on a short jumper by Kevin Johnson for a 2-0 lead. The Bishops then quickly tied the game on its next possession with a field goal, and then continued its 9-2 run for the early five point lead. A little over a minute later, EBHS had an opportunity to take the lead, but couldn’t cash in on the three offensive rebounds it picked up on its offensive sequence.
Thirty seconds later, Nick Navara got the Bears back on the board wth one of two from the charity stripe to make the score 3-2 in favor of EB. The score remained that way until an Asbury Park timeout at the 16:04 mark as East Brunswick couldn’t get the ball in the basket, and was 1 of 8 overall from the field. Following the stoppage, the Bears came up with a rare defensive stop thanks to drawing a charge on an Asbury Park player with 15:52 to go in the first half. Almost a half minute after that, junior Alec Mayo netted one of two from the foul line that put the Bears up by two again at 4-2. Over the next 2:54, the Bishops would score the next seven points while East Brunswick couldn’t convert opportunities. With 14:45 to go in the half, the Bears blew a chance to go up by four as Schuld picked up another steal, and passed off to Johnson, who missed the layup that made EB get off to a 1 of 10 start from the field.
Nearly a minute and a half later, Asbury Park took its first lead of the contest with a three pointer from the top of the key that made the score, 5-4 at the 13:20 mark. On its very next possession, the Bears had a chance to wrestle the lead back, but couldn’t convert the two offensive rebounds they had collect on the sequence, and the score remained, 5-4 in favor of the Bishops with 12:59 left before the brief break. Twelve seconds afterward, Asbury Park was on the board again thanks to a layup at the 12:47 mark that made it 7-4. The Bishops then forced a turnover that ended up being converted with a breakaway dunk for the 9-4 lead. However, the Bears did what they had been doing all spring, and that was to battle back. East Brunswick broke out of its early game scoring funk with a three pointer that made it 9-7 before Asbury went back up by four with an offensive rebound and putback at the 11:40 mark.
Fifty-five seconds later, EB pulled within two again thanks to a steal and score that made it 11-9. Over a minuter after that, the Bears knotted that game at 11-11 with a pair of free throws at the 9:37 mark. On Asbury Park’s next offensive possession, East Brunswick forced a turnover thanks to another steal that was almost converted for a layup, but drew a foul. After the one of two showing at the line with 8:55 left before intermission, EB was ahead again at 12-11 courtesy of a now 8-2 run. The Bishops, which were in the midst of a 5:27 long scoring drought continued to struggle from the floor as East Brunswick’s Mauro Tucci registered a block, which his teammates rebounded, and ultimately turned into a score for a 14-11 lead with 7:21 to go in the half. Asbury Park would finally get on the board thanks to a fast break opportunity that was culminated with an alleyoop pass for a tip in that made the score, 14-13 at the 7:03 mark.
Promptly responding to the Asbury Park basket, EB got an offensive contribution from Tucci with a layup just eight seconds later for a 16-13 lead. Then, over the next 3:05, the Bishops would managed to square the game again with three free throws coming in the form of a one of two showing at the line with 4:51 left, and two more at the 3:50 mark for a 16-16 tie. Thirty-seven seconds later, EB took the lead back as Schuld handed out an assist on a Johnson layup that managed to go in despite much duress at the 3:13 mark. Over the next fifty-five seconds though, Asbury Park scored five straight points including a three pointer for a 21-18 lead with 2:18 to play in the half. Each team would then come up with a score while Asbury was unable to convert on a scoring opportunity with 1:13 left by missing both foul shots, and the halftime score ended up reading, 23-20 in favor of the Bishops.
In the second half, East Brunswick overcame the the small halftime deficit by outscoring Asbury Park by double digits for the seven point win. The Bears got going right away in the new period as Navara clicked on a baseline jumper from the right side that rattled and rolled in for a 23-22 Bishop lead just ten seconds in. Mayo then showed some rarely found EB defense on this night, and that led to a Navara steal, and an eventual EB putback at the 18:41 mark for a 24-23 lead. On the very next AP possession, the Bishops grabbed the led back thanks to a circus shot for a layup that made the score, 25-24. Neither team would score for over a minute and a half before Tucci swiped a steal, and proceeded to score on a putback to propel the Bears in front once again, 26-25. Asbury would tie the game again a bit more than a minute and a half later with a one of two showing at the line that squared the game at 26-26. Then, the Bishops took a two point lead thanks to a jumper from the right wing at the 14:05 mark that made it 28-26.
The game that had a total of 14 lead switches and 9 ties including 6 lead swaps and 4 ties in the first half alone, continued to go back and forth as Schuld scored on a baseline drive from the right side at the 13:04 mark that made the score, 28-28. Schuld, who has played very aggressively on the offensive side of the ball for the Bears this spring, then followed that up nearly twenty-five seconds later with a drive for a layup to put EB in front again, 30-28. Fifty-six seconds later though, the Bishops would tie the game again with a field goal that made the score, 30-30 at the 11:45 mark. Right away though, the Bears wrestled the lead back thanks again to Schuld, who clicked on a jumper with 11:30 remaining in regulation for the 32-30 lead. Schuld’s bucket was the catalyst to a 6-2 EB burst that also included a steal and a nice dish by Johnson on a layup by another Bear for a 36-32 lead at the 10:48 mark. Asbury Park would pull within two again though thanks to a jumper that proceeded an East Brunswick timeout with exactly half the second period gone by.
Inside a minute later, the Bishops tied the game again with a score that made it 36-36 at the 9:05 mark. On a subsequent possession though, East Brunswick took the lead again thanks to a field goal that made the score, 38-36 with 8:24 to play. A little more than two minutes after that, Asbury Park had tied the game only to have the Bears go ahead again thanks to a drive into the key for a floater that made the score, 40-38 at the 6:19 mark. Within a span of just 17 seconds, EB picked up two more quick scores including a steal for a layup by Schuld for a six point, 44-38 lead. On its next offensive sequence, Asbury Park cut the deficit in half with a three pointer from the right wing that made the score, 44-41 at the 5:43 mark. Schuld then quickly retorted for EB with a layup that put the Bears back up by five at 46-41 with 5:20 to go in the game. Asbury Park would get a score to pull within three once more, but Schuld answered again with two from the charity stripe for a 48-43 advantage with exactly five minutes to play.
The Bishops continued to battle though and after no scoring for nearly two minutes, they came up with a three pointer from the left wing that closed the gap to two at 48-46 with 3:19 remaining. However, Asbury Park couldn’t get any closer as the Bears proceeded to respond with 8 of the next 11 points including a three pointer that sparked the decisive run at the 3:09 mark. East Brunswick went on to win the contest by a final score of 58-51 to improve to 2-4 on the spring. Meanwhile, Asbury Park fell to 1-5. Next Monday night, EB will be back in action with a game against Manasquan while the Bishops will take on Point Boro.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Brunswick (2-4) | 20 | 38 | 58 |
| Asbury Park (1-5) | 23 | 28 | 51 |