BOUND BROOK, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops traveled up 287 North after work and a brief visit to the Middlesex County College Summer League to take in the action from the final two games of the regular season schedule in the 2008 Bound Brook Summer League. The first contest, a 7:45 PM game, featured a team from the GMC in J.F. Kennedy while the second was strictly a non-conference matchup in the nightcap at 8:45 PM. The Mustangs were taking on Bernards, a school in Northern Somerset County, and a member of the Skyland Conference’s Raritan Division. Last season, Bernards had a successful season with the likes of Shane Painter leading the way while Kennedy registered its first double digit win year in five seasons. Afterwards, Montgomery and Pingry did battle in a game matching up the Skyland Conference Delaware East Division and the Patriot Conference.
J.F. Kennedy Locks Up Sixth Seed With Victory Over Bernards, 39-26
Following the victory over Bernards, JFK head coach, Chris Banos said it was nice to have GMC Hoops see the Mustangs win a game for a change. True, entering play on Tuesday night, the web site had seen Banos’ Mustangs five times counting the two summer league games at BBHS, and JFK went 0-5. Kennedy took a 23-14 lead at halftime, and then began the second half with a 9-0 run following a Bernards free throw at the 18:05 mark for a 32-15 lead with 12:44 to play. From that point on, the Mustangs were never threatened in a 39-26 victory over the Mountaineers. With the victory, JFK catapulted itself into sixth place in the final standings, which set them up for a date with Piscataway in the opening round of the playoffs on Thursday night at 8:45 PM.
The web site didn’t arrive until a minute and a half gone by in the second half with Kennedy leading 23-14. Twenty-five seconds later, Bernards went to the line, and made one of two at the charity stripe for a 23-15 score with 18:05 left. Jack Frost then got things rolling for the Mustangs with a jumper that got a kind bounce for a 25-15 lead at the 16:23 mark. Frost then netted a three pointer from just to the right of the top of the key for a 28-15 lead with 14:20 to go. Nick Spoganetz then clicked on a jumper from the right side for a 7-0 run, and a 30-15 lead with 13:32 to play. Jay Stolz then added a pair of free throws that capped the 9-0 spurt for a 32-15 lead with 12:44 to go.
Bernards finally put an end to the JFK run with a jumper from the right wing at the 11:50 mark that was the first points for the Mountaineers in 6:15, and the first field goal of the entire second half for the Somerset County school, which now trailed 32-17. However, the field goal did spark some life into the North Jersey Section 2 Group II qualifier, which then added four more points including a steal off an errant JFK pass to go the length of the floor to fake out Mustang soon to be sophomore Jordan Toczynski for a layup that made it a 6-0 run, and a 32-21 score. The Mountaineers had a chance to make things closer, but Jay Stoltz drew a key charge at the 8:40 mark. Then after J.F. Kennedy called for time to prevent a 10 second violation at the 8:12 mark, Marciano found Frost in the left corner for a three point attempt that drew a foul, and resulted in two of three from the foul line for a 34-21 lead with 7:54 left.
The scoring deteriorated after Frost’s effort at the foul line. Although Kennedy got into the bonus with 6:32 left, Spoganetz failed to capitalize by missing the front end of a one and one. Bernards then made one of two at the line with 4:30 to go that closed the gap to a dozen at 34-22. Following a Mustang timeout with 4:07 to play, JFK got the point back with one of two itself at the 3:10 mark for a 35-22 advantage. Both teams then finished the contest with four points each including a Bernards layup off a nice feed upcourt on the break that made the score, 35-24 at the 2:29 mark, and then a nice spin move for a layup by the Moutaineers at the 1:33 mark that closed the gap again to eleven at 37-26. However, there wasn’t enough time to get any closer as Kennedy won the game, 39-26.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.F. Kennedy (4-4) | 23 | 16 | 39 |
| Bernards (1-7) | 14 | 12 | 26 |
Montgomery Earns Fifth Seed By Downing Pingry, 45-38
In a well played affair that saw quite a few swings in momentum on both sides, the Cougars of Montgomery used a crucial 9-2 run to break away from a 36-36 tie, and close out a hard fought 45-38 victory over Pingry in a well played contest by both schools. The game was another opportunity to see former New Brunswick coach, and Bridgewater-Raritan standout, Jason Murdock in action guiding the Big Blue, which will be trying to fill the void left behind by current all-time leading scorer, and former graduate, Jeff Tannenbaum. Meanwhile, Montgomery’s basketball program has come a long way since being a doormat of the Colonial Valley Conference in the mid to late 1980s. However, it still has some ways to go in order to get up to the level that Skyland Conference Delaware Valley East leaders such as Bridgewater, Immaculata, and Watchung Hills are at.
During the early going of this contest, GMC Hoops spent some time talking with JFK head coach Chris Banos, who was discussing his team’s latest win over Bernards in the previous hour at the Bound Brook Summer League. During this time there were a couple lead changes as Pingry got off to a 5-4 lead at the 15:12 mark. Twelve seconds or so later, Montgomery connected for a short jumper from the left side of the key to go ahead again 6-5 at exactly the 15:00 mark. The lead continued to change hands over the next 6:50 or so, and by the time Banos left for the night, Pingry was holding a tenuous one point lead at 11-10 with 8:10 left in the first half as both teams combined for five lead changes and a tie over the first 11:50.
Nearly a minute later, Montgomery took the lead back on a nice bounce pass from the right side to the left low block on the break for a layup, the sixth lead change of the night, and a 12-11 lead with 7:13 to go in the half. The Cougars then connected on a three pointer from the left wing to go up by four at 15-11 with 6:17 left. This had been the biggest lead up to this point in a contest that would ultimately see neither squad lead by more than ten points. On the Big Blue’s next possession, Pingry would draw to within two again on a jumper from the left side that made the score, 15-13 at the 5:53 mark. Montgomery quickly countered with a jumper from the right corner, and a 17-13 lead with 5:26 to go before halftime. The game continued its frenetic back and forth pace with a Pingry layup for a 17-15 Cougar lead at the 5:15 mark.
Thirty-one second later, this tug of war battle continued with a baseline drive for a reverse layup by Montgomery for a 19-15 lead with 4:44 to play in the first half. Moments later, the Cougars pounced on a steal for a layup that made it a six point game at 21-15 with 3:15 to go in the half. Fourteen seconds afterward, Montgomery got on the board again after another steal on defense with an offensive rebound and putback at the 3:01 mark for a 6-0 run, and a 23-15 lead. Seconds later, Murdock was compelled to call a timeout to settle his troops, which had been rattled by a 13-4 Montgomery tear in the previous 5:11. The timeout didn’t seem to be the tonic at first as neither the Big Blue nor the Cougars were able to get on the board for the next 2:39 before Montgomery got another offensive rebound and putback for a 15-4 tear, and a ten point, 25-15 edge with 20 seconds left before the intermission.
However, Pingry managed to gain some vital momentum as the first half closed. Despite taking a lot of time to get a shot off in the waning moments, the Big Blue made the wait pay off with a three pointer from the left wing for a 25-18 Cougar lead at the half. Following the brief break, Montgomery got on the board first in the second half with a score that made it 27-18, but then Pingry sliced into the deficit with a three pointer from the left wing for a 27-21 Cougar advantage at the 18:15 mark. There would be a lull in the scoring for a bit more than three and a half minutes before Montgomery got going again with one of two from the line for a 28-21 lead at the 15:15 mark. Pingry showed a sense of urgency though over the next 3:20 with seven unanswered points that consisted of a field goal, and then a three pointer at the 13:34 mark followed by a hard drive from the left side into the key that drew contact, but still resulted in no call as the bank shot was good for a 28-28 tie at the 11:55 mark.
Montgomery would eventually take the lead again with a layup while being fouled for a traditional three point play, and a 31-28 edge at exactly the midway point of the second half. Nearly two minutes later though, the Big Blue knotted the matchup again with a drive from the left wing for a scoop shot while being fouled for its own conventional three point play, and a 31-31 score with 8:04 remaining. Almost two minutes after that, Montgomery again went back up by three with a trifecta from the left wing for a 34-31 lead. The Cougars then went up by five points with a layup at the 5:46 mark that made the score, 36-31. Montgomery had a chance to go up even more, but Pingry came up with a huge defensive play for a steal, and called for time with 5:04 remaining.
Following the timeout, the Big Blue set up a nice offensive series consisting of good ball movement for a three pointer from the left corner that closed the gap to two at 36-34 with 4:31 left. Pingry then forced a Montgomery turnover, and the Big Blue capitalized on the new found opportunity with a jumper from the right side to square the game again at 36-36 with 3:52 to play. In a game that saw nine lead changes and four ties, the Cougars would take control the rest of the way for the victory. First Montgomery took the lead for good with a short jumper in the key at the 3:30 mark for a 38-36 score. A minute and twenty seconds later, the Cougars put Pingry in a more precarious position with a layup for a 40-36 lead at the 2:10 mark. Montgomery then swiped a steal for a layup that made it a six point game at 42-36 with 1:53 to go.
The Big Blue would then get their only score during this decisive closing stretch with an offensive rebound, fake, and follow while being fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 42-38 score with only 1:33 left to play. Montgomery then wrapped the game up with a three point play to cap the 9-2 game ending spurt with 40.3 remaining to round out the final 45-38 score. With the victory, Montgomery concluded its regular season at Bound Brook with a 5-3 overall mark to sew up the fifth seed, and set up a first round playoff matchup with Warren Hills. Meanwhile, Pingry finished the regular season at 3-5, but still managed to clinch a playoff spot as the eighth seed with a opening round matchup against top seeded Bound Brook on Thursday.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery (5-3) | 25 | 20 | 45 |
| Pingry (3-5) | 18 | 20 | 38 |