NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday Night, GMC Hoops made another trip down to Rebounds to take in the sixth week of action in the 2008 Rebounds Fall League. For the first time in a couple weeks the site had a chance to see two GMC teams in action, and for the first time in several weeks, the site was able to capture action from two separate games. The key game the site was tracking was a rematch from opening night of the 2008 Rebounds Spring League, which pitted East Brunswick against St. John Vianney. Meanwhile, Spotswood was looking two win its second game in a row as it took on G-Force, an AAU team based in Union County.
Vianney Avenges Spring League Loss With 49-40 Victory Thanks To 16-7 First Half Spurt
The Lancers were ready this time around, and they had a good deal of fan support to keep them going if there was any doubt. Trailing the Bears 12-10 with 8:23 left in the first half, St. John Vianney, which is based in Holmdel, put together a 16-7 spurt for a 26-19 halftime lead. Then, the Lancers built on that lead at the intermission with a 13-7 start of the second half for a 39-26 advantage with 7:28 left. So, a 29-14 surge over a span of 15:51 boosted Vianney past East Brunswick en route to a 49-40 victory.
GMC Hoops sat down to the action with 8:23 to go in the first half after watching a bit of the opening period of play between Spotswood and G-Force over on the Nets court in the other side of the Rebounds facility. East Brunswick was leading by two, 12-10, but that lead didn’t last long. Some forty-six seconds later, Vianney was at the line, and sank a pair of free throws for a 12-12 tie. On the next EB possession, the Bears turned the ball over by traveling at the 6:55 mark. Twenty seconds after that, the Lancers were in the lead as a player knifed in from the right wing for a layup attempt that drew a foul, and produced one of two from the foul line for a 13-12 lead.
Twelve seconds later, East Brunswick had the ball again when it turned it over once more with a carrying violation at the 6:23 mark. Neither team would score for almost a minute and a half before Vianney got on the board with a short jumper in the key for a 16-12 lead with 4:56 to go in the first half. Nearly a half minute later, good teamwork by the Lancers came about with a steal, then an offensive rebound off a missed layup attempt, and then a fine dish for the layup, and an 8-0 run for an 18-12 lead with 4:28 to go before the brief break. The Bears would end a 4:43 scoring drought with one of two from the charity stripe for an 18-13 Lancer lead at the 3:40 mark.
Over the next two minutes, St. John Vianney would go up by eight on a 5-2 run for a 23-15 lead at the 1:40 mark. Eight seconds after that, EB got on the board with a short hook at the 1:32 mark that made the score 23-17. The Lancers then scored three straight points including a one of two effort at the line for a 26-17 lead at the 37.9 mark. Mike Kvidahl scored the final points of the half by both teams with a jumper from the left baseline with 6.9 seconds left for a 26-19 Vianney edge at the break. In the second half, the Holmdel based school scored 13 of the first 20 points before EB rallied via the three pointer, and closed the game strong with a 14-10 run for the 49-40 Lancer win.
After watching more of the Spotswood vs. G-Force matchup, GMC Hoops returned to the action to see that St. John Vianney opened the final period with a 7-4 run for a 32-23 lead at the 15:38 mark. Thirty-three seconds later, Vianney scored a layup while being fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 34-23 lead with 15:05 to go. Neither team would score for the next 1:15 until the Bears made one of two from the line for a 34-24 at the 13:50 mark. EB then added a pair of charity shots at the 12:50 mark for a 34-26 Vianney lead. Neither team would score for the next 4:46 before the Lancers grabbed an offensive board, and put it back in off an airball for a 36-26 lead with 8:04 to play.
Thirty-six seconds later, St. John Vianney clicked on a three pointer from the left corner for a 39-26 advantage with 7:28 to go. Then, East Brunswick began to make their run with 14-8 spurt over the next six minutes for a 47-40 Vianney lead at the 1:28 mark. Highlighting EB’s run was a three pointer from the right side by Kvidahl at the 7:13 mark, an Alec Mayo trey from the left wing at the 1:56 mark, and then a trifecta from the left side by Nick Navarra to close the gap to seven with less than a minute and a half to go. However, the Bears could not get any closer as Vianney came away with the 49-40 win. With the victory, St. John Vianney improved to 4-2 on the fall while East Brunswick slipped to 2-4.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John Vianney (4-2) | 26 | 23 | 49 |
| East Brunswick (2-4) | 19 | 21 | 40 |
Spotswood Downs G-Force On Strong First Half, 62-42
The Chargers raced out to a 21-7 lead in the first 11 minutes of the game, and never really looked back after that in an easy 62-42 victory over G-Force to improve to 4-2 on the fall. After arriving late to Rebounds, the web site came over to the Nets court for a bit, and took in some of the action before heading over to the main game of the evening between St. John Vianney of Holmdel and East Brunswick. Arriving with nine minutes to go in the first half, GMC Hoops saw Spotswood was already up 14 points. Six seconds later, Ross Gerhart kicked out to Tyler Osofsky for a three pointer and a 24-7 advantage with 8:54 to go in the first half.
G-Force, which has become a staple at Rebounds as well as the Raritan Bay Summer League in South Amboy, got on the board with a couple foul shots at the 8:10 mark for a 24-9 Spotswood lead. On the next Charger possession, G-Force swatted a shot by Gerhart that went off the senior guard out of bounds with 7:32 to go before the intermission. The web site went away from the game for about six minutes, and returned with 1:22 left and Spotswood now leading 34-18 on a 10-9 showing during the 6:10 span. Former St. Joseph’s player, Rob Gomulka, went to the line after being fouled on the drive, and made one of two from the line for a 34-19 Charger advantage with 48 seconds left in the half. Both teams then scored two points for a 36-21 Spotswood lead at the brief intermission.
In the second half, the Chargers outscored G-Force by only a five point, 26-21 margin, but it was still good enough to preserve the large halftime lead, and expand upon it. G-Force did start the period with three of the first five points to close within 14 at 38-24 with 18:55 left. Spotswood would get the next four points though including a field goal at the 17:57 mark, and then nearly a half minute later, Gerhart passed to James Pareti for a jumper from the left side for the 42-24 lead with 17:30 left. On the next G-Force possession, the Union County squad got a bank shot for a 42-26 Spotswood lead at the 17:16 mark. Moments later, G-Force was on the board again with a layup to close within 14 once more at 42-28 with 16:59 to play.
With momentum on their side, G-Force squandered the opportunity to close even more as it fouled Pat Dwyer on a three point attempt that resulted in three free throws for a 45-28 lead with 16:41 to go. About a minute and fifteen seconds later, G-Force was fouled on a drive, and made one of two from the line for a 45-29 Spotswood lead at the 15:24 mark. A little more than a minute after that, Tyler Osofsky stole an errant pass by Candelino, and then dished to Dwyer for a layup attempt that drew a foul from Candelino. The result was two free throws, and a 47-29 advantage with 14:21 remaining. Over the next 4:51, the Chargers maintain their lead with a 49-31 edge at the 9:30 mark. Twenty-one seconds later, Barr scored on a layup to close the gap to 49-33 with 9:09 to play.
Neither team would score for the next 1:15 before Osofsky kicked out to Cody Pace for a three pointer from the left wing, and a 52-33 lead with 7:54 to go. Over the next 4:18, the Chargers added 4 of the next 5 points for a 56-34 edge before G-Force got its first field goal in 6:09 for a 56-36 Spotswood advantage. Dwyer then helped closed out the victory with a one of two showing at the line with 40 seconds left for a 62-40 lead. With the 62-42 win, Spotswood improved to 4-2 on the fall while G-Force fell to 1-5.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotswood (4-2) | 36 | 26 | 62 |
| G-Force (1-5) | 21 | 21 | 42 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back down at Rebounds again next Monday night to see Spotswood back in action with a game against Academy Charter of South Belmar.