BOUND BROOK, NJ–On Thursday night, GMC Hoops took a trip out to Bound Brook High School not just once, but twice to capture action involving two GMC teams that are participating in this year’s Bound Brook Summer League. There was a full slate of games played on this night before the long July 4th Holiday Weekend with J.F. Kennedy taking on Bound Brook at 5:45 PM and Piscataway battling Somerville in the nightcap at 8:45 PM. There were also three other games on the night, and they were played at 4:45 PM, 6:45 PM, and 7:45 PM respectively. Here were the results of those games as well as the latest standings:
Other Results
- Montgomery 51–Immaculata 45
- Pingry 49–Bernards 48
- Warren Hills 57–Manville 39
Bound Brook Too Much For Mustangs, 53-33
Early on in this summer league, the Mustangs of John F. Kennedy in Iselin seemed to be off to a good start with two straight wins right out of the chute. However, JFK came crashing down to earth earlier this week with a loss to Pingry, 48-34. Then, on Thursday, Kennedy had to take on the Crusaders from Bound Brook, a team looking to continue its recent success after over a decade of mediocrity. In this game, Bound Brook took a 29-17 lead at the half, and then embarked on an 8-0 spurt to start the second half for a 37-19 lead. From there, the Crusaders were never really threatened in a 53-33 victory. Jordan Hawkins led the way for the Brook with 10 points while Joe Marciano did likewise for JFK according to the scoring given by the Bound Brook Summer League home page.
Leading by a dozen at halftime, Bound Brook went right back to work to start the second half. Just twenty-two seconds into the new half, the Crusaders got a layup while being fouled, and despite missing the bonus free throw for the traditional three point play, they now led 31-17. Neither team would score again for about 2:37 until Hawkins came up with a drive to his left that placed him in the key for a layup attempt that didn’t fall. However, a teammate crashed the boards, grabbed the offensive rebound, and scored on the follow for a 33-17 lead with 17:01 to play. Michael Schieferstein then followed suit with a baseline drive from the left side for a layin that rolled in to make the score, 35-17 at the 16:16 mark. Thirty-one seconds after that, the Crusaders, which pummeled JFK on the boards throughout the second half, came up with another offensive rebound and putback off a missed jumper from the right wing to go up by 20 with 15:45 left to play.
Both teams would then have scoring opportunities over the next minute or so as Marciano failed to convert two layup attempts, and Bound Brook failed to cash in on two offensive rebounds by missing two free throws at the 14:40 mark. Finally, the Mustangs ended a 6:12 scoring drought to start the second half with an offensive rebound and putback that ended the 8-0 start by the Crusaders, and made the score, 37-19 at the 13:48 mark. Marciano then got himself going again with a nice up and under move for the layup from the right side to close the gap to 16 at 37-21 with 13:20 to play. Marciano, the younger brother of former JFK sharpshooter, Vinnie Marciano, then came up with a nice defensive stop by drawing a charge with 11:40 left. Unfortunately, the Mustangs couldn’t take advantage, and chip away at the deficit, and then Hawkins scored a pivotal bucket when he drained a trifecta from the top of the key for a 40-21 lead at the 11:04 mark.
On a subsequent JFK possession, Marciano got the ball on the left side of the floor, drove to his right along the arc, and then moved into the paint for a layup attempt that drew a foul, and resulted in one of two free throws for a 40-22 Bound Brook lead with 10:38 left. Almost a minute and a half after that, Marciano knifed into the key for a layup with his right hand from the left side while drawing a foul. The soon to be junior then netted the bonus free throw to convert the traditional three point play to make the score, 40-25 with 9:11 to go. However, Kennedy could not get any closer as the Crusaders registered the next five points including an offensive rebound and follow off a missed three by Hawkins at the 8:17 mark, and then after making one of two at the line, grabbing another offensive board for a putback for an unconventional three point play that made the score, 45-25 with 7:30 remaining.
The Mustangs would then get another three point play thanks to a steal that sparked a fast break that culminated with a layup and a foul to make the score, 45-28 with 6:13 left. Hawkins eventually replied though with a drive for a layup from the right side some 55 seconds later to make the score, 47-28 with 5:18 to go. Soon to be sophomore Jordan Toczynski would cap the JFK scoring on the night by dribbling to his left, and sinking a jumper at the 1:11 to make the score, 51-33 as the Crusader went home with the 20 point win, 53-33. Bound Brook is now 3-0 on the summer while JFK is now 2-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bound Brook (3-0) | 29 | 24 | 53 |
| J.F. Kennedy (2-2) | 17 | 16 | 33 |
Somerville Wins Easily Over Piscataway, 51-37
In the finale, it was a renewal of an old rivalry of sorts as Piscataway took on Somerville. These two teams were competitors in the old Mid-State Conference back in the 1970s and 1980s before Piscataway moved into the GMC back in the 1988-89 season. Then, the Mid-State Conference became extinct with the emergence of the Skyland back in the 1990s, and Somerville became a member of that conference. These two teams did play each other recently although it was only a scrimmage. The first scrimmage GMC Hoops covered this past season was a tri-scrimmage at Watchung Hills between the host school, P-Way, and Somerville. Of the three teams, Somerville looked the best although in all fairness to the Chiefs, they didn’t have all their horses that day since players such as James White, J.D. Griggs, Tristian Benjamin, and Thomas Bennett were all preparing for the 2007 North Jersey Section 2 Group IV Championship Game with Hunterdon Central at Rutgers Stadium that weekend.
Returning to this game, Piscataway had another large turnout of players on this night. While there weren’t as many as for the game against Montgomery on Tuesday night, there was still quite a bit of talent there with 20 players all suited up to go when called upon. Once more coaches Dennis Wells and Jeff Adkins, Sr. utilized everyone especially the youngster to give them an opportunity to play, learn, and make mistakes. In the long run, this will help the Chiefs continue what they’ve started the past two seasons. The first half saw, the young and more inexperienced Chiefs show flashes of brilliance, but Somerville take a double digit lead into the brief intermission, 25-13. Then, in the second half, the Pioneers, which will be moving into North Jersey Section 2 Group III this coming school year, gave a knockout blow against the Piscataway veterans in the form of a 12-0 tear over the first five minutes to take a 37-13 lead. From there, Somerville was never really threatened in a 51-37 victory.
After traveling over to the Linden Summer League to watch Cardinal McCarrick take on St. Patrick’s in a 7:00 PM game from the Referee Camp, GMC Hoops arrived to see this contest with 17:24 to go in the first half, and Piscataway already leading 2-0. Moments later, the Pioneers drew a foul, and netted a pair of free throws for a 2-2 tie at the 17:20 mark. On a subsequent Chief possession, Piscataway got a basket on an offensive rebound and putback while drawing a foul, and despite missing the bonus foul shot for the traditional three point play, the Chiefs held a 4-2 lead with 16:35 to go in the half. Somerville then embarked on an 8-0 spurt over the next 3:25 to take a 10-4 lead. Piscataway would finally put an end to the run with a jumper from the right wing for a 10-6 Somerville edge at the 12:31 mark. The Chiefs then made it a 4-0 run with a layup at the 11:14 mark to pull within a basket at 10-8.
Twenty-five seconds later, the Pioneers finally put an end to the run when a player managed to finally get the handle on a pass, and take a short jumper from the right side to make the score, 12-8 at the 9:49 mark. Somerville then added a drive from the right side for a scoop shot that went in for a 14-8 lead at the 9:26 mark. The Pioneers then capped the 6-0 burst with two free throws that made the score, 16-8 at the 7:34 mark. The Chiefs finally ended the Somerville run on a field goal that trimmed the deficit to six again at 16-10 with just inside seven minutes to go before halftime. On the next Somerville possession, the Pioneers took advantage of two offensive rebounds by drawing a foul, and converting one of two from the charity stripe to go back up by seven at 17-10 with 6:32 to go in the first half. Nearly a minute and a half later, Somerville was back at the line again to make one of two more for an 18-10 lead after being fouled hard on a layup attempt with 5:07 left in the half.
Neither team would score for almost two minutes until Somerville came up with a score on a jumper from the right wing while being fouled. Although the Pioneers failed to convert the bonus free throw, they managed to take a 20-10 lead at the 3:15 mark. Fifty-seven seconds later, Somerville got on the board again with a pump fake and drive along the left side of the key for a layup and a 22-10 edge with 2:18 to go before halftime. The Chiefs finally got on the board after being scoreless for almost six minutes thanks to an offensive rebound, and follow with a short jumper that closed the gap to ten again at 22-12 with 1:03 remaining. The Pionners then went long distance some 20 seconds later with a three pointer to go up 25-12, and then the Chiefs closed out the first half scoring with a one of three showing at the foul line for the 25-13 Pioneer advantage at the break. One would think that with P-Way only down 12, and its veteran players not even on the floor yet in this game that it would overcome the deficit. However, Somerville had other plans.
Over the first 5:21 of the second half, the Pioneers embarked on a pivotal 12-0 tear that essentially put the game out of reach. Amazingly enough, it was against the veteran Piscataway players such as Jeff Adkins, Jr., Thomas Bennett, Malcolm Griggs, Jamar Rose, and Wayne Newsome, which couldn’t get their hands on the magic they found in a bottle the other night against Montgomery. Somerville caught an important break right away when the officials called Newsome for a foul at the 19:28 mark that resulted in a pair of Pioneer free throws. The early foul on Newsome perhaps made the Chiefs a bit less aggressive on the defensive side of the ball. Nevertheless, the Pioneers did a fine job breaking the Chief press at times although Piscataway still managed to force its share of turnovers. Leading 27-13, Somerville then forced a Chief turnover at the 18:16 mark, and cashed in on it moments later with a nice pass for a layup from the right side to make the score, 29-13 with 18:01 left to play.
The Pioneers got on the board again around a half minute later on a fast break opportunity that culminated with a nice dish for another layup from the right side that drew a foul, and was converted into a three point play for a 32-13 lead at the 17:29 mark. A little while after that, Somerville scored once more on a three pointer from the left corner that prompted P-Way coach, Jeff Adkins, Sr. to call for a timeout with 16:42 to play, and the Pioneers now leading, 35-13. Following the stoppage, Somerville scored again to cap the 12-0 uprising for a 37-13 lead. The Chiefs managed to get some points via the foul line thanks to a one of two showing by Adkins at the 14:39 mark, two foul shots by Newsome at the 13:51 mark, and another one of two from the soon to be junior forward at the 13 minute mark for a 37-17 Ville lead. Somerville then put the game essentially to rest with an 8-2 run over the next 3:52 for a 45-19 advantage. Capping the spurt was a three point play at the 9:08 mark.
The Chief starters, which were taken out for a time, returned to the battle, and again tried to chip away at the huge deficit. Following an earlier P-Way score, Rose intercepted a pass on the right side near midcourt, and drove into the Chief frontcourt for a floater that made it a 45-23 score with 7:08 left. Less than a minute later, Piscataway got the ball, and Griggs passed it to Rose for a jumper from the right baseline that connected for a 6-0 run, and a 45-25 Somerville lead as the Pioneers called for time with 6:21 to play. Following the timeout, Newsome came up with a block at the 6:08 mark, and then fired in two more from the charity stripe for an 8-0 P-Way spurt, and a 45-27 Ville lead with 5:08 remaining.
Piscataway then had a chance to get even closer when Newsome recorded another blocked shot, and Adkins got his hands on the ball. The soon to be senior guard, then drove into the key, but a Somerville player drew a charge to stop the gradually developing momentum the Chiefs had. From there, P-Way still managed to outscore the Pioneers by a 10-6 margin, but Somerville came away with the 51-37 win. Both teams are now 2-1 on the summer.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerville (2-1) | 25 | 26 | 51 |
| Piscataway (2-1) | 13 | 24 | 37 |
Latest Standings
Below are the latest standings from the Bound Brook Summer League as of the end of play on July 3rd:
- Bound Brook (3-0)
- Warren Hills (3-0)
- Somerville (2-1)
- Piscataway (2-1)
- Pingry (2-1)
- Rutgers Prep (2-1)
- J.F. Kennedy (2-2)
- Bernards (2-2)
- Montgomery (2-2)
- Union Catholic (1-2)
- Immaculata (0-3)
- Manville (0-3)
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Bound Brook some time next week for more action from this league.