NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled down to Rebounds once more to take in the seventh week of action from the 2008 Rebounds Spring League. The web site managed to see all or part of two games, but as far as it was concerned, it was all the action it needed for this report. In the first game, undefeated Neptune was taking on Lakewood, which had lost its first game of the spring to Point Pleasant Boro last Monday. Then, in the second matchup, the lone GMC representative, East Brunswick, was looking to win its second straight game with a matchup against Manasquan of the Shore Conference.
GMC Hoops arrived with only about a minute and change to go in the first game with Lakewood ahead by seven, 46-39 with about 1:10 left. The Piners then missed a free throw moments later. Unfortunately for Neptune fans though, the Scarlet Fliers were unable to make any shots down the stretch. The hometown team missed on every three point attempt, and only made one field goal. So, despite the fact that Lakewood made only one of five from the foul line in the final minute or so of the game, the Piners still managed to come away with the upset win, 47-41. Both teams are now 6-1 overall on the spring with the showcase games still left to play on Thursday.
East Brunswick Notches Second Straight Win With Overtime Victory Over Manasquan, 51-50
After coming up with a victory over Asbury Park last Monday, the Bears of EB were looking to make it two straight victories with a win over Manasquan, a team from the Shore Conference Class A Central Division. Entering the contest, Manasquan had compiled a 4-2 record to be right in the middle of the pack in Division A behind Neptune, Lakewood, Point Boro, and New Jersey Shoreshots. This contest would be closely contested throughout with 7 lead changes and 4 ties in just the first half alone, and 14 lead swaps and 7 ties for the entire contest. Neither team had a lead bigger than eight points on the night.
Fittingly enough, the game would go to overtime, and there East Brunswick would prevail as sophomore guard, Mauro Tucci connected on a three pointer from the left corner with 26.3 seconds left to give the Bears a lead they wouldn’t relinquish at 51-50. Manasquan was unable to get a go ahead score, and EB prevailed by that same one point margin. Both teams were even at 20-20 going into halftime, and were still knotted at 48-48 going into the extra session. Things didn’t appear as if it was going to be that close at the onset of the contest. Manasquan scored the first seven points of the game within 1:44 on two field goals, and a three pointer as the Warriors converted five points off of EB turnovers. Following a wisely called timeout by East Brunswick with 18:09 to play in the first half, the Bears got on the point themselves with a drive into the paint for a spin move and short hook shot for a 7-2 Manasquan lead with 17:37 left before the intermission.
The Bears then followed that up with a three pointer that closed the gap to two at 7-5 with 16:34 to go in the opening half. Manasquan, which had a fairly decent amount of size, especially with their one bruising forward, pounded the offensive boards on a subsequent sequence, but ultimately came up empty. With about 16 minutes left, the Warriors got a nice strong drive to the basket from the left side that drew contact for a foul. However, the Class A Central squad couldn’t cash in with two missed free throws. Although Manasquan would grab the offensive board, drive, and draw another foul, it would come up empty once more with two more missed free throws. Subsequently afterward, Mike Weber come up with a jumper from the right wing for a 9-7 Manasquan lead with 14:49 remaining in the half. EB would eventually take the lead though as Dustin Schuld, who has paced the team this spring with his spirited play, knocked in a three pointer from the right wing that banked in to cap a 10-2 rally for a 10-9 lead with 11:38 to go in the half.
Almost a minute and fifteen seconds later though, Manasquan, which has some GMC ties to it thanks to former standout Jason Westrol, the son of former head coach and athletic director over at J.P. Stevens, Randy Westrol, took the lead back with a layup that was off a well designed play that had a cutter from the left wing get the score for an 11-10 advantage at the 10:25 mark. Alec Mayo would counter though for East Brunswick with a three pointer from the left wing some 50 seconds later for a 13-11 edge at the 9:35 mark. However, the Warriors would tie things up again though by attacking the offensive boards for four more rebounds that produced two second chance points for a 13-13 score with 8:19 to play.
The Bears would quickly reply though as Schuld drove, then stopped for an off-balanced shot that produced a field goal for a 15-13 lead at the 8:11 mark of the opening period. In a game that was even more competitive than East Brunswick’s win over Asbury Park a week earlier, the lead shifted back and forth with both teams combining to put together 14 lead changes and 6 ties while neither team led by more than eight. Manasquan continued the back and forth pace of the matchup by scoring on a fadeaway from a Warrior player over Mauro Tucci for a 15-15 tally at the 7:02 mark. Neither team would score over the next 1:40 or so until Nick Navara drew a foul on a three point attempt that resulted in three free throws, and sparked a mini 5-0 run for a 20-15 lead. With 3:36 remaining in the half, the Bears got a layup off a drive into the paint to cap the burst. However, Manasquan fought back with an offensive rebound and putback that made the score, 20-17 at the 3:18 mark. East Brunswick then came up empty at the foul line on two attempts with 2:42 to go in the half, and Manasquan tied the contest up going into the brief break on a three pointer from the top of the key at the 1:42 mark.
In the second half, East Brunswick seemed to put themselves in a stranglehold position thanks to a 12-1 tear midway through the period for an eight point lead. However, Manasquan rallied to tie and force the extra session. Both teams offenses picked things up a bit more by scoring 28 points each. The Bears got things rolling as Mayo penetrated and kicked out to Schuld on the left wing for a three pointer that made it 23-20 a little more than a half minute into the new period. Eleven seconds later though, Manasquan would pull within one on a shot in the left low block for a 23-22 EB lead at the 19:15 mark. The basket sparked a 12-4 blitz over a 1:29 span that included back to back three pointers from the right wing for a 32-27 lead with 17:46 to go in the game. Rattled and reeling, the Bears did compose themselves to rally back, and actually reclaim the lead. Over a span of 12:27, East Brunswick outscored Manasquan by a margin of 16-3 including a 9-1 spurt to break away from a 34-34 tie.
Schuld began the tear with a drive in from the right side for an up and under move layup that closed the gap to 32-29 with 17:33 to play. Mayo then followed up by getting his hands on the ball, and passing ahead to Mauro Tucci for a layup that made it 32-31 with 16:13 to play. Neither team would score for an incredible span of 5:20 before the Warriors went back up by three on a cross court drive from the left side for a layup that made it 34-31 at the 10:53 mark. Twelve seconds later, Manasquan had a chance to improve upon its lead, but misfired on two free throws at the 9:51 mark. Forty-four seconds later, East Brunswick got a nice push up the floor and assist by Weber on a layup and a foul that resulted in a three point play for a 34-34 tie with 9:07 left. Navara then followed things up with a steal for a jumper that put the Bears in front, 36-34 with 8:29 to play in regulation. About a minute and a half later, Weber struck again with a fine drive off the inbounds pass for a score that made it a 7-0 run, and a 38-34 lead at the 7:06 mark.
Manasquan would get its lone point during this stretch with one of two from the foul line at the 6:35 mark that made the score, 38-35. EB then got back to business thanks to Schuld, who drilled a three pointer from the right wing at the 5:43 mark that made the score, 41-35, and then swiped a steal off a Warrior player on Manasquan’s next possession for a layup that gave the Bears their biggest lead of the contest at 43-35 with 5:29 to go. Ten seconds later, Manasquan called for time in order to stem the tide of momentum rushing against it. The timeout worked as the Warriors rallied to square the game, and force overtime with a 13-5 tear of its own over the final five and a half minutes of regulation. With 4:58 left, Manasquan began its rally with nice ball movement that led to a power layup by a player, who was fouled for a three point play that made the score, 43-38. About a minute and fifteen seconds later, the Warriors scored again on a layup that closed the gap to three at 43-40 with 3:41 to go.
Manasquan crept even closer with an offensive rebound of a long carom from a missed three pointer for a putback that made the score, 43-42 with 3:04 to go in regulation. Seconds later, East Brunswick coughed up the ball, and on a subsequent Warrior possession, Manasquan canned a jumper from the left side to cap a 9-0 run for a 44-43 lead at the 2:12 mark. On EB’s next possession though, the Bears took the lead right back with a layup at the 1:57 mark that made it a 45-44 game. The contest continued to volley back and forth as Manasquan attacked the offensive glass again with two offensive rebounds and a putback attempt that drew a foul and resulted in 1 of 2 from the charity stripe for a 45-45 tie. EBHS then had a chance to take the lead twice, but each time the Bears missed a three (Schuld and Tucci both missed). Following a Warrior timeout with 44.3 to play in regulation, Manasquan forged ahead with a hard drive from the right side into the key for a short hook that made it 47-45 at the 27.5 second mark.
East Brunswick failed to score on its next offensive possession, and Manasquan had a chance to put the game away with 10.1 remaining in regulation. After drawing a foul, a Warrior player netted the first foul shot thanks to a kind bounce and roll, and then missed the second for a 48-45 score. Needing a three pointer to force overtime, the Bears got what the doctor ordered as Tucci passed to Mayo, who quickly tap passed it to a tall lanky player on the right wing for a clutch three pointer to force the extra session with a 48-48 tie. In the final period of action, the overtime, Manasquan started things off on the wrong foot with a backcourt violation at the 1:44 mark. Nevertheless, the Warriors still managed to take the lead with a nice drive and dish for a layup that made the score, 50-48 with 1:12 remaining. However, East Brunswick would take the lead for good at 51-50 with 26.3 left as Tucci connected on a clutch three, and then pumped his fist in a show of emotion.
After a Manasquan timeout at the 24.3 second mark, the Warriors were unable to score on its next possession, and Schuld grabbed the rebound, and drew the foul. Although the Bears would turn the ball over with 3.5 left on the clock, they would come away victorious as Manasquan’s desperation heave was off the mark. With the victory, EB won its second in a row, and improved to 3-4 on the spring while Manasquan dropped to 4-3. The two teams will be back in action for the Showcase round as the Bears will be taking on G-Force Gold at 8:00 PM on the Sixers court while the Warriors will be facing off against Point Boro in a 9:00 PM contest over on the Celtics court.
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Brunswick (3-4) | 20 | 28 | 3 | 51 |
| Manasquan (4-3) | 20 | 28 | 2 | 50 |