EWING, NJ–On Thursday, July 10th, GMC Hoops took a nice long trip out to The College of New Jersey to take in several games from the 2008 Eastern Invitational Basketball Team Camp. Several teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference were taking part in this 71 team field spread across three divisions. The teams included: Cardinal McCarrick, Monroe, and St. Joseph’s. The web site got to see three of those teams in action along with another in the form of Edison Academy coached by CJEOTO’s Ian Turnbull.
Notre Dame Pulls Away From McCarrick In 2nd Half, 66-60
Without head coach, Joe Lewis there to guide them, the Eagles had to do without either Julio Rosario, or Branten Widgeon in there games on Thursday. For this particular matchup against Notre Dame of Connecticut in the Consolation Round of the American Division Tournament, Widgeon was the coach while Rosario played. GMC Hoops took the trip to The College of New Jersey via the backroads of Middlesex and Somerset County, and arrived at TCNJ when the Eagles were at the half against Notre Dame. Cardy Mac trailed at the brief intermission by a score of 36-35. In the second half, the Connecticut based school took a double digit lead in the second half, and held on for the 66-60 victory.
In the second half, Notre Dame started out fast with four straight points to take a 40-35 lead with 18:30 left to play. The Eagles then scored their first points of the new half on a field goal with about 18 minutes left for a 40-37 ND lead. Over the next minute, Notre Dame added a one of two showing from the foul line to go up by four only to have Cardy Mac pull within two on a drive from the left wing by Rosario for a reverse layup, and a 41-39 ND lead with around 16 minutes to go. On the Irish’s next possession, Notre Dame went back up by four with a layup, and then rebounded a Rosario miss at the other end to set up a fast break opportunity that was converted on a feed for a layup, and a 45-39 advantage with around 14:30 to play. On McCarrick’s next possession, Dominic Appiah scored on an offensive rebound and putback off a Rosario miss for a 45-41 ND lead at about the 14 minute mark.
Notre Dame then added three more points all via the foul line with two foul shots at the 11:30 mark, and one of two from the charity stripe at about the midway point of the second half for a 49-41 advantage. Thirty-five seconds or so later, McCarrick got on the board again when Rosario hit a jumper from straight on for a 48-43 advantage. The soon to be senior, who looks to be the featured player on this year’s edition of the Cardinal McCarrick Eagles, then followed that up with a putback that closed the gap to three at 48-45 with 8:45 to go. After neither team scored for nearly two minutes, Notre Dame went back up by five, 50-45, on a jumper from the left corner. On McCarrick’s next possession, the Eagles came right back with a field goal at the 8:25 mark for a 50-47 score. Then, after getting a stop, Cardy Mac pulled to within one at 50-49 only to have Notre Dame score the next four points to go back up by five.
Mike Costello then got the Eagles to within three again with a putback of a Rosario miss for a 54-51 score at about the 7:30 mark. Then, after a score by Notre Dame, Rosario fed Appiah in the paint for a short right handed hook shot that made it a three point game again at 56-53. However, the Connecticut school put some distance between themselves at McCarrick again with five unanswered points for a 61-53 edge before Rosario knocked down a jumper from the left for a 61-55 score at the 5:15 mark. Appiah then scored on another offensive rebound and putback of a Rosario miss for a 61-57 score, and then after a Notre Dame basket, Craig Thomas dished to Jack Giordano on the right side for a layup that closed the gap to four again at 63-59. However, the Eagles could not get any closer as Notre Dame outscored them 3-1 over the final several minutes for the 66-60 victory.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame (CT) | 36 | 30 | 66 |
| Cardinal McCarrick | 35 | 25 | 60 |
Monroe Falls To Glasgow of Delaware, 54-33
After watching Cardinal McCarrick take on Notre Dame of Connecticut, and watching some of the first half action between Edison Academy and Watertown of Massachusetts, GMC Hoops headed back over to the outdoor courts to see Monroe take on Glasgow of Delaware. Arriving with about 9:00 left in the first half, Glasgow had a 13-9 edge. About a minute later, the Delaware team got on the board again with a three point play for a 16-9 advantage. Danny Brix, an incoming freshman at Monroe, got the Falcons going with a layup that closed the gap again to five at 16-11 with 7:40 to play in the half. On Glasgow’s next possession, it got three more points from the untraditional variety as a player connected for a three pointer for a 19-11 lead at the 7:20 mark.
A little less than a minute and a half later, Blake Bascom lost the ball for Monroe, and Glasgow turned it into a fast break opportunity with a pass upcourt for a layup, and a 21-11 lead with six minutes to play in the first half. Within the next minute, Monroe was on the board again with an offensive rebound and putback for a 23-11 lead. The Falcons finished the first half strong with five of the last seven points including a one of two showing at the line by soon to be junior, Travis Dufner at the two minute mark, an offensive rebound off a missed jumper by Blish for a spin and bank shot by Dufner at the 1:30 mark, and then after a Glasgow jumper from the left wing at the 15 second mark, a field goal in the waning moments of the half for a 25-16 Glasgow lead at the intermission.
After another stop inside to watch Edison Academy, GMC Hoops returned with 10 minutes remaining in the second half, and Glasgow up by a dozen, 35-23. The Delaware school went up by 14 again thanks to a two handed jam at about the 9 minute mark for a 37-23 lead. Then, after Bascom missed both his free throw attempts at the 8:30 mark, Glasgow drew a foul on a jumper in the key, and made one of two at the charity stripe for a 38-23 lead. The Delaware team then added a field goal for a 40-23 advantage before Danny Brix scored again with a jumper from about the free throw line to make the score, 40-25 with about 6:30 remaining. Glasgow then added another bucket on a nice fake down low for a score, and a 42-25 lead. The game finished with Glasgow outscoring Monroe 12-8 over the final 5:30. The Falcons got two layups from Dufner, and a jumper by Danny Brix during the closing stretch as Glasgow ended up with the 54-33 win.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glasgow (DE) | 25 | 29 | 54 |
| Monroe | 16 | 17 | 33 |
Edison Academy Advances To American Division Championship
Another area team that was in action on Thursday morning and afternoon was Edison Academy, which was guided by assistant coach Ian Turnbull. Edison Academy is a prep school out of the Edison Job Corps. The school plays a national schedule including the likes of St. Anthony’s, St. Patrick’s, St. Thomas More Prep of Connecticut, South Kent of Connecticut, and Winchendon of Massachusetts. The team had already advanced to the semifinals of the American Division Championship Tournament with wins over Cedar Cliff of Pennsylvania in the first round, and Chestnut Hill of Pennsyvlania in the second round. Edison Academy was taking on Watertown of Massachusetts, a team that had quite a knack for hitting the perimeter shot. Edison Academy jumped out to a 10-3 lead only to have Watertown rally with three straight treys to close the gap to two at 14-12. However, Turnbull’s team closed out the first half with a 22-14 showing for a ten point halftime lead, and eventually prevailed in the end.
GMC Hoops picked up the action in this game with Edison Academy leading by a 10-3 margin with 12:56 left in the first half. Watertown then netted a trey at the 12:16 mark for a 10-6 score. Edison Academy responded on its next possession with a layup in the left low block for a 12-6 score with 11:50 to play in the first half. The prep school had a chance to increase its lead even further, but misfired on a couple free throws at the 11:35 mark. Watertown then struck again with another three pointer to close the gap to three at 12-9 with 11:14 to play before the intermission. Edison Academy then went back up by five on a jumper from the right corner at the 11:00 mark for a 14-9 score, but Watertown quickly replied on its next possession with a three pointer from the left side for a 14-12 score at the 10:40 mark. Both teams then exchanged baskets for the next 1:13 before Watertown committed a backcourt violation at the 9:27 mark with the scoreboard reading 16-14 in favor of Edison Academy.
Edison Academy then made one of two at the line with 8:36 left in the half to spark a 20-12 showing over the final nine minutes to take a 36-26 edge at the break. In the second half, Edison Academy went back to work by making two shots at the foul line with just inside 15 minutes remaining for a 38-26 lead. The prep school then added an offensive rebound and putback for its biggest lead of the game to this point at 40-26 with 14:09 remaining. Watertown then hit a three pointer to pull within eleven again at the 13:59 mark, but were unable to overcome the deficit as Edison Academy not only won the game, but ended up winning the American Division Championship by defeating the Nia School of Newark.