NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops rambled down Route 35 again to Rebounds in Neptune to take in the fourth week of action in the 2008 Rebounds Fall League. On this night, GMC Hoops again saw just one game, but it did involve two teams from the GMC as South Brunswick faced off against Spotswood. In this game, Spotswood jumped out to an early lead in a start reminiscent of South Amboy’s win over East Brunswick in last year’s fall league opener. However, the Vikings showed grit and determination, and that they still are good enough to win some games this upcoming season with a come from behind overtime victory over the Chargers, 55-51.
South Brunswick Overcomes Sizable Deficit To Emerge Victorious In Overtime, 55-51
Coming into this game, both teams couldn’t have been on more different paths. South Brunswick had struggled for much of the fall. Despite winning the week before against Southern Regional, it had lost two of its first three games including a 44-36 loss to West Windsor-Plainsboro South on opening night, and a 70-52 blowout defeat at the hands of Brick Memorial. Meanwhile, Spotswood opened its inaugural fall league season on a positive note with wins over Asbury Park by two on opening night (49-47), and a victory over Marlboro (50-41) before losing to the Shore Sharks AAU team last week, 62-59. The first half between these two teams was a continuation of that as the Chargers jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the first half, and a 30-18 halftime advantage.
However, South Brunswick fought back with a 31-19 second half surge, and scored six of eight points in the extra session for a 55-51 thrilling come from behind victory over the Chargers. The Viking win evened both teams records at 2-2 on the fall. The first half saw Spotswood get off to a surprising start with 16 of the first 20 points, but both teams evened up over the final 10 minutes or so for a twelve point lead at the break. The early first half showing included a 9-0 run that broke Spotswood away from South Brunswick for a while. The spurt lasted for 6:01, and coupled with a 7-2 start by the Chargers put them in front by a somewhat comfortable margin. James Pareti started things off by passing to Dwyer for a jumper from the right side, and a 2-0 lead at the 18:44 mark. The Chargers then went up 5-0 as Tyler Osofsky struck for a three from the left wing at the 17:53 mark.
On the next South Brunswick possession, Kory Sanders grabbed an offensive rebound of a Ross Gerhart shot block of Jean Paul Isaacs, and put it back in for a 5-2 Charger lead at the 17:29 mark. Moments later though, Gerhart went to work on the offensive end with a floater, and a 7-2 lead at the 17:18 mark. A minute and twenty seconds or so later, South Brunswick netted a jumper for a 7-4 score at the 15:59 mark. Neither team would score for the next four minutes or so as Isaacs couldn’t convert a steal and offensive rebound with an 0 of 2 showing at the foul line. Finally, Spotswood got on the board as Dwyer made a nice feed on the bounce pass from the right side to James Pareti for a layup that made the score, 9-4 at exactly the 12 minute mark. Pareti, one of the twins, the scrapped for a loose ball, and got a steal that he passed to Gerhart for a layup, and a 6-0 run for a 13-4 advantage at the 10:53 mark.
Following a South Brunswick timeout at the 10:50 mark, James Pareti handed out another assist on a three pointer from the left wing by Cody Pace for the 16-4 early lead at the midway point of the first half. A little more than a half minute later, South Brunswick ended a scoring drought of 6:34 with a three point play at the 9:25 mark that closed the gap to 16-7. Gerhart then made a pair from the foul line for an 18-7 at the 8:45 mark. Then, Tom Pareti followed that up with a steal to Pace, who dished to Tyler Osofsky for a layup, and a 20-7 with 8:02 to go before halftime. The Vikings then got one of two free throws at both the 7:23 and 6:23 marks respectively to close within 11 again at 20-9. Sanders then followed that with a baseline jumper to pull within nine at 20-11 with 5:43 to go in the half. Dwyer then got three of those points back with a traditional three point play at the 4:42 mark for a 23-11 lead.
Spotswood then took its biggest lead of the game when Dwyer kicked out to Osofsky for a three pointer from the top of the key for a 26-11 edge at the 3:58 mark. The Vikings then closed out the first half with a 7-4 run that included a three point play at the 2:53 mark. Spotswood got two of its points down the stretch with a Gerhart kickout to James Pareti for a jumper from the left baseline for a 28-14 advantage as the Chargers went on to take a 30-18 edge at the brief intermission. It was a tale of two halves as the second half was the exact opposite of the first. The Vikes showed fortitude that it hadn’t demonstrated all fall to this point with a 31-19 effort in the second half to tie the game at 49-49. The Chargers may have been victims of some questionable calls down the stretch, but failed to halt the growing momentum from South Brunswick.
The Vikings opened up the scoring with an off-balanced jumper by Sanders at the 19:25 mark for a 30-20 Spotswood lead. The junior then followed that up with a baseline drive from the left side for a 30-22 at the 18:47 mark. South Brunswick then got a steal, and eventually got the ball in the hands of Jean Paul Isaacs, who scored while being fouled for a three point play that made the score, 30-25 and forced the Chargers to call for time at the 18:28 mark. Following the timeout, Isaacs, who made 9 of 11 shots for the game from the foul line, made two free throws at the 17:21 mark for a 30-27 Spotswood lead. But, the Chargers wouldn’t give in so easily. Gerhart struck for a three pointer that got a kind bounce from the left wing for a 33-27 lead with 16:43 to play in regulation.
The Vikes, which were now showing more urgency in the tone of their play, then got two charity shots from Cody McHugh to close the gap to four again at 33-29 with 15:39 to play in the second half. Gerhart then came back down on the next Spotswood possession, and sank a jumper of the left side off the break for a 35-29 lead at the 15:06 mark. McHugh then promptly responded with a left baseline jumper to pull his team to within four again at 35-31 with 14:45 to go in the second period. McHugh, who scored most if not all of his points during this early second half stretch, grabbed an offensive rebound, and put it back in while being fouled for a traditional three point play that capped a 16-5 SBHS tear to suddenly make it a one point game at 35-34. Spotswood tried to stem the tide with a 6-0 spurt over the next next 3:47.
The Charger run included a Gerhart drive along the left baseline into traffic for a layup that made it 37-34 at the 12:42 mark, a Spotswood fast break that culminated with a Pareti pass to Gerhart, who then dished to Dwyer for a layup, and a 39-34 lead at the 11:58 mark, and a Dwyer block on McHugh at the defensive end that his team turned into points at the other end with a layup for a seven point, 41-34 lead with 10:04 to go. Eight seconds later, South Brunswick called for time. Following the timeout, the Vikings went back to work with a steal for a layup at the 8:17 mark, a field goal, and two free throws at the 6:07 mark for a 41-40 game. Neither team would score for the next 1:50 before Osofsky sank a sank shot from the right side for a 43-40 advantage with 4:17 left. Promptly responding, the Vikes got a layin at the 4:02 mark to draw within one again at 43-42.
On a subsequent Spotswood possession, Osofsky got the Chargers back on the board with an offensive rebound and follow attempt that drew a foul, and resulted in two free throws for a 45-42 lead with 3:21 left. Gerhart then put South Brunswick in critical condition with a putback of a Dwyer miss for a 47-42 lead at the 1:30 mark of regulation. Roaring back though, the Vikings put together a 7-2 run to close the second half to force overtime. Isaacs started the critical game saving run with a pair of free throws at the 1:03 mark for a 47-44 Charger lead. The Vikes then got a layup at the 50.6 second mark to pull within one at 47-46 before Osofsky drew another foul, and made a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left for a 49-46 lead. However, South Brunswick didn’t give up, especially after Sanders’ three point attempt from the right wing was off.
With an opportunity to put the game away, Spotswood was at the line, and missed the front end of a one and one. SBHS took the rebound, and got the ball to the front of their bench, where they called for time at the 1.2 second mark. Following the timeout, the Vikings got the ball inbounds for a three pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer to force the extra session tied at 49-49. In the overtime period, the Chargers had a chance to get on the board first, but Dwyer missed a shot off the front of the rim. Osofsky grabbed the offensive board, but was called for traveling at the 41.6 second mark. Nearly ten seconds later, Jean Paul Isaacs connected on a short turnaround jumper in the paint for a 51-49 lead. It was the first lead of the game for South Brunswick, which never trailed again.
Isaacs, who scored all six points for the Vikings in the added period, netted two free throws at both the 12.9 and 7.1 second marks for a 55-49 lead. The Vikes then went on to win 55-51 to improve to 2-2 with its second straight win while Spotswood dropped to 2-2 with its second straight loss.
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Brunswick (2-2) | 18 | 31 | 6 | 55 |
| Spotswood (2-2) | 30 | 19 | 2 | 51 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Rebounds next week to take in a game between Spotswood and Ocean Township.