NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–On Sunday night, GMC Hoops took a trip up from work to catch the final game of the night at the 2008 Star-Ledger College Summer League. Once again, it was a doubleheader night at the College Avenue Barn on the main campus of Rutgers University. In the first game, D’Annunzio & Sons was taking on AXA Advisors while in the nightcap, VP Builders faced off against the Scarlet Fever. Both games were very entertaining with the GMC being well represented. The opener saw D’Annunzio & Sons move into sole possession of first place for the time being with a 91-89 decision over AXA Advisors.
Leading the way was Piscataway native, and Oak Hill Academy graduate, Deshawn Mitchell, who scored a team high 21 points for D & S. Rutgers player, Jonathan Mitchell registered a game high 32 points for AXA. In the rebounding department, Rutgers big man, Hamady N’Diaye (14 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 blocks) pulled down 12 boards for D & S while Jonathan Mitchell equaled N’Diaye’s feat with 12 rebounds of his own. With game highs in points and rebounds on Tuesday night, Mitchell was tops in scoring and rebounding for two straight games. Former Newark Eastside standout, Corey Chandler, who now attends Rutgers, registered 20 points, 8 rebounds, and a team high 7 assists while Mount Vernon graduate, and RU standout, Mike Coburn (12 points), who handed out 12 assists. Three different players all recorded double-doubles in the contest.
The finale, which was the feature game of the night for GMC Hoops, turned out to be quite an offensive slugfest, especially in the first half with both teams combining for 106 points. VP Builders get the lion’s share with 57, and then slightly outscored the Scarlet Fever by one in the second half for a 105-96 victory that gave VP its first win of the year. Anthony Farmer of Rutgers, led VP Builders with a game high 21 points while Sean Baptiste, a former standout at St. Joseph’s, paced the Scarlet Fever with a game high 26 points. Former Roselle Catholic standout, Dave Cherry of Rutgers-Newark (19 points), skied for 12 rebounds while Jamil Goodwin equaled that game high mark for the Scarlet Fever.
Moving on to assists, Rashod Calloway handed out 10 for VP Builders while Rob Delaney dished out 7 for the Fever. Helping to spearhead the effort, Cranford native, and current FDU player, Terrence Grier collected 18 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals for VP while Plainfield native and Watchung Conference rival, Jerrell Thompson picked up 20 points and 4 assists in a losing cause for the Scarlet Fever. Another former GMC standout, Kofi Genfi of Sayreville had himself a double-double when he scored 15 points and grabbed 10 boards.
Baptiste registered his 26 points on 10 of 24 shooting from the floor including 4 three pointers, and going a perfect 2 of 2 at the line while pulling down 7 rebounds, handing out 2 assists, and blocking a shot. Genfi was 7 of 10 from the field, and 1 of 2 from the charity stripe for his 15 points while picking up 10 rebounds including five on the offensive glass. The Rutgers walk-on also added 2 blocked shots, a steal, and a charge. Devon Young of South Brunswick got into the game for VP, and made a significant contribution, especially in the second half. Young, who helped lead the Vikings to a Central Jersey Group IV Sectional Title, and a Group IV state final berth in 2007, came up with 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field including a trey along with collecting 2 rebounds.
The game started with Grier opening the scoring for VP on a turnaround jumper that made the score, 2-0 just 28 seconds into the contest. Jamin Shumate, who played high school ball at St. Patrick’s, and now plays for St. Peter’s College, then netted two free throws to knot the score at 2-2 with 19:24 to go in the first half. Fifty-five seconds later, Calloway made a kickout to Farmer in the left corner for a three pointer, and a 5-2 lead at the 18:29 mark. Nearly a half minute afterward, Farmer scored again on a three pointer from the left wing for an 8-2 lead with 18:02 remaining in the half. Sean Baptiste then netted a jumper after the Fever grabbed an offensive rebound to trim the deficit in half at 8-4 with 17:45 to play before halftime. On the very next VP possession, Grier was back at it again with a drive to the hoop for a layup while drawing a foul. Despite missing the bonus free throw, Grier had helped VP build a 10-4 lead with 17:36 left in the half.
Twenty seconds later, Farmer got on the board with a layup for a 12-4 VP Builders advantage, and then on the next Scarlet Fever possession, Grier swiped a steal, and passed an assist to Calloway for a layup, and a 14-4 lead that compelled the Fever to call for time at the 16:51 mark. Following the timeout, VP continued to pour it on with five of the next seven points over a brief span of 1:22 to take a 19-6 lead with 15:29 to go in the half. Capping the burst was another three pointer from Farmer after Manchester native, Jaron Griffin of Rutgers get an offensive rebound and follow for another score. During the next 2:07, the Scarlet Fever tried to make inroads on the deficit that had built up. The team went on a 7-2 run that included a Thompson three pointer off an assist from former CBA standout, Mike Kuhn for a 21-13 VP Builders advantage with 13:22 remaining in the half.
After stopping VP from scoring on its next possession, the Scarlet Fever closed to within six points as Shumate grabbed an offensive rebound off a Thompson miss, and put it back in for a 9-2 run, and a 21-15 VP lead at the 12:56 mark. Following a timeout by VP Builders, Grier got his team going again with an offensive rebound and putback of a Farmer miss that pushed the lead back to eight at 23-15 with 12:27 left in the half. Kuhn then answered for the Fever with an off-balanced jumper that bounced in for a 23-17 score just inside 12 minutes to play before the brief break. Fifteen seconds later, Genfi drew a charge, but the Scarlet Fever couldn’t cash in as Grier stole the ball, and proceeded to the basket for a one handed jam and a 25-17 lead at the 11:33 mark.
About 45 seconds later, Kuhn added a one of two effort from the line for a 27-21 VP lead. On the missed second shot, Genfi grabbed the rebound, but threw a pass that was stolen at the 10:47 mark. Farmer then made one of two from the line moments later for a 28-21 lead at the 10:39 mark. The Scarlet Fever would respond though in the form of a jump stop for a layup by Thompson that made the score, 28-23. Then, after a pair of free throws by Calloway made the score, 30-23 at the 10:03 mark, Thompson drilled a trifecta from the left corner that drew the Fever to within four at 30-26 with 9:15 left. Both teams would then exchange scores including a layup by Baptiste to cap an 11-5 Fever spurt that compelled VP Builders to call for time at the 8:50 mark of the first half. Following the timeout, the lead would vacillate between 6 and 8 points for the next 3:50 as both teams answered each other’s scores.
Grier started the stretch with a layin off an inbounds play for a 34-28 lead at the 8:15 mark. Following another score by VP, Genfi registered a bucket on a layup underneath for a 36-30 VP lead at the 7:34 mark. A little more than two minutes later, Genfi scored on a putback for a 42-36 VP advantage at the 5:30 mark, and several seconds later, VP answered with a basket that increased the margin back to eight at 44-36 with 5:21 to play. Fourteen seconds later, the Scarlet Fever closed the gap to five once more as Baptiste passed to Delaney for a three pointer from the left corner that made the score, 44-39 at the 5:07 mark. On a subsequent possession, VP Builders went back up by seven as Grier elevated and scored on a layin in the face of a Fever defender while being fouled. Although the former Rhode Island player missed the bonus free throw, VP was still up 46-39 with 4:25 left in the first half.
Grier’s score then sparked a 9-2 spurt over the next 1:43 or so that also included a pair of free throws by Calloway at the 2:38 mark for a 53-41 advantage. Genfi would answer with an offensive rebound and putback that closed the gap to ten again at 53-43 with 2:20 to go before the brief break. Thompson then handed out an assist on a Genfi breakaway layup that trimmed the deficit to eight at 53-45 with 1:55 to play in the half. Both teams then exchanged a couple baskets to round out the 57-49 halftime score. In the second half, the Fever started things off with four of the first six points including a Goodwin layup at the 19:40 mark that made the score, 57-51, and then a Genfi layup that answered a score by Cherry for a 59-53 at the 19:19 mark. This early burst was the opening salvo in a 14-6 tear over the first 3:41 to tie the game up at 63-63. Baptiste got a bit hot during this stretch with a three pointer that rattled in from the left wing off an assist by Delaney to make the score, 59-56.
Cherry then sank a pair of free throws for a 61-56 VP lead at the 18:03 mark. The Scarlet Fever then ran off seven straight points including another three pointer from the left wing for a 63-61 lead at the 16:36 mark. It was the first, and only lead of the contest for the Fever. The advantage was also brief as it lasted just 17 seconds before Farmer netted a pair from the charity stripe for a 63-63 tie. Those two foul shots sparked a 12-0 run that included a three pointer from the left side by Young off a pass from Griffin for a 66-63 lead at the 14:45 mark, a Griffin three point play at the 14:22 mark that made it 69-63, and a long two pointer by Young off a kickout by Farmer for a 73-63 advantage with 12:56 remaining. Over the next 3:13, the Scarlet Fever did what it could to rally with a three pointer and a couple foul shots by Baptiste for an 81-72 lead at the 9:43 mark. The next 4:07 saw VP garner its largest lead of the game with a 10-4 showing that included a three point play by Calloway at the 8:22 mark for an 88-74 lead.
Trailing 91-76 with about 5:36 to play, the Scarlet Fever went on a 7-4 run that included a layup by Shumate for a 95-83 VP lead. Baptiste then sank a three pointer that keyed another 7-4 burst for a 97-90 VP lead with around four minutes left. Thompson sank another trey that closed the gap to 101-95 with 2:18 remaining, but the Fever couldn’t get any closer as VP Builders closed things out with an emphatic two handed jam by the athletic Cherry off an assist from Griffin for the 105-96 victory. With the win, VP Builders improves to 1-4 overall on the year while the Scarlet Fever drop to 2-3.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| VP Builders (1-4) | 57 | 48 | 105 |
| Scarlet Fever (2-3) | 49 | 47 | 96 |