EDISON, NJ–On Thursday, June 26th, GMC Hoops traveled out to the Physical Education Center on the main campus of Middlesex County College to take in some of the action from the 2008 MCC Summer League. Arriving during the 6:00 PM hour, the web site only managed to see one game, which was a battle of two of the top teams in the league: Keyport and Franklin Township.
Both teams entered the game at 2-0, and a half game behind the two co-leaders in the league from the GMC, Perth Amboy Tech and North Brunswick. Arriving at the gym with 8:30 to go in the first half, the web site sat down to watch with Keyport already leading 14-5. Taking advantage of the Red Raiders 3-2, or 1-2-2 zone defense, the Warriors sank a three pointer at the 8:24 mark to close the gap to six at 14-8 with 8:24 left in the first half. Neither team scored for about two and a half minutes before Franklin got on the board again thanks to a nice feed from close to three quarters court for a layup that made it 14-10 at the 5:50 mark.
The Warriors continued their run with another score almost a minute later. After stopping Keyport on the defensive end, Franklin came down the floor, and had a player do a spin move for a shot in the paint that was rejected, but drew a foul that resulted in a pair of free throws for a 14-12 Red Raider lead at the 4:59 mark. There would be another lull in the scoring for about 2:12 before the Warriors created a turnover when a player picked the pocket of a Keyport player at midcourt, and went in for a layup that tied the score at 14-14 with 2:47 left before the intermission. The layup capped a 9-0 run that spanned 5:43, but Keyport would retake the lead going into the brief break when a player sank a trifecta from the top of the key at the 9 second mark for the team’s first field goal in 8:21 to make the score, 17-14 at the half.
After spending some time talking to MCC assistant men’s basketball coach, Chris Tarver for a while, GMC Hoops returned to the action in this one with 11:50 remaining. Up to this point in the second half, neither team really did much from a scoring standpoint with each squad only putting up three points over the first 8:10 as Keyport remained in front by a score of 20-17. However, that would eventually change as the Red Raiders finished the game in strong fashion. Forty-two seconds after the site returned to the action, Keyport committed a turnover, but Franklin gave it right back with a miscue of its own at the 10:33 mark. On the very next Raider possession, Keyport got a score thanks to an offensive rebound and follow for a five point, 22-17 advantage. Following a Franklin timeout at the 9:53 mark, the Warriors got a score that drew them within three again at 22-19. Keyport tried to come right back with a drive for a layup that missed, and then couldn’t score on the putback attempt with 8:45 left in the game.
Neither team would score for almost another two minutes before Keyport began its final assault, which put the game away. Buoyed by the support of a strong contingent of Red Raider supporters, Keyport sank a three pointer from the top of the key on the left side for a 25-19 edge at the 6:55 mark. Then, sank another trey from about the same spot on the other side of the floor for a 28-19 lead. Moments later, Keyport forced a steal that turned into a 2 on 1 fast break opportunity for a layup, and a 30-19 lead with 5:55 remaining. A little more than a minute after that, Keyport grabbed a rebound, and made an outlet pass upcourt for a layup that increased its advantage to 32-19 at the 4:46 mark. The Shore Conference’s Class B Central team produced a stop on the defensive end, and came back up the floor for a layup, and a 34-19 lead with 4:20 to play. Keyport then added another score about a 1:45 seconds later for a 36-19 lead as Franklin called for time.
The Red Raiders then closed out the contest by scoring the game’s final five points while Franklin was unable to produce any points over the final 9 plus minutes as Keyport came away victorious, 41-19. With the victory, Keyport improved to 3-0 on the season while Franklin dropped to 2-1. GMC Hoops was not able to see any of the other action since it headed back up to the Linden Summer League to see East Brunswick take on St. Patrick’s in a 7:30 PM contest.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keyport (3-0) | 17 | 24 | 41 |
| Franklin (2-1) | 14 | 5 | 19 |