NEPTUNE, NJ–With the fall league season over at Rebounds, it is time to look back and reflect on what happened this year. There were three teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference in the 2008 Rebounds Fall League, and one of them truly impressed. After having a season that exceeded some expectations last year with a state playoff berth, and an upset over Old Bridge on the road in the preliminary round of the 2008 GMCT, a lot was expected of Spotswood.
With virtually everyone coming back this season including senior Ross Gerhart and junior Cody Pace, the Chargers were expected to be somewhere in the top three of the GMC Blue Division. The question now is, are the Chargers contenders to win it all? Obviously, Bishop Ahr and Middlesex are going to have something to say about that. The Blue Jays appear to be a perfect matchup for the Chargers, but we’ll get to that in a moment. This fall, the Chargers went 6-2 at Rebounds with the two defeats coming by a total of just seven points including a four point loss to South Brunswick (GMC Red and CJ Group IV) in overtime. Spotswood defeated Asbury Park (CJ Group I Finalist), Marlboro (CJ Group IV), Ocean Township (CJ Group III), Academy Charter (CJ Group I Champions), and West Windsor-Plainsboro South (CJ Group IV).
The Chargers outscored their opponents by a total of 431 to 381, or an average of 53.9 to 47.6 per game. Led by junior Tyler Osofsky as well as Gerhart and Pace, the Chargers lit it up from long range with roughly 47 three pointers, or an average of 5.9 per game. The only game Spotswood never had a lead in was in the 62-59 loss to the Shore Sharks although, the game was tied at 2-2 early on, and the Chargers pulled within one at 48-47 with 6:25 remaining in regulation. At times, the Chargers had double digit leads including a 26-11 lead over South Brunswick late in the first half, a 34-14 lead over Ocean Township early in the second half, a 56-34 lead over G-Force late, a 50-34 lead over Academy Charter midway through the second half, and a 45-30 lead late in the second half against West Windsor-Plainsboro South.
Doing as well as they did in this fall league on top of the fact that the Chargers reached the Final Four of the TBSA Summer League, Spotswood puts itself in a very good position coming into the regular season. The Chargers did lose to Bishop Ahr in the semifinals over the summer at TBSA, but it will be interesting to see how they’ll do against the Trojans once the uniforms are put on, and the lights shine down from December to March. BGA does have two things going for it, a lot of size and a lot of depth. Perimeter shooting especially from seniors Matt Sheehy and Matt Fiorino will be key. A more intriguing matchup for the Chargers is against Middlesex. Both teams seem to matchup well against each other. Each squad can shoot well from long distance although I think Spotswood gets a slight edge here, and Middlesex holds the advantage down low with Mark “Sparky” Stockton and Ryan Farley. The Chargers do have some inside presence though with the tenacious Pat Dwyer, and a new face on the frontline.
After starting the fall at 0-2, South Brunswick managed to get it in gear like they did last year by winning 4 of their last 6 to finish up at .500, or 4-4. In the eight games, the Vikings scored a total of 377 points, or an average of 47.1 per game. Meanwhile, SBHS allowed a total of 373, or an average of 46.6 per contest. The Vikes defeated Southern Regional (47-38), Spotswood (55-51), Allentown (60-28), and Ocean Township in the Showcase round (43-38) while they lost to West Windsor-Plainsboro South (44-36), Brick Memorial (70-52), Asbury Park (54-39), and Marlboro (50-45). Ironically, South Brunswick managed to beat Spotswood despite losing to three opponents that the Chargers defeated in West Windsor-Plainsboro South (47-38), Asbury Park (49-47), and Marlboro (50-41).
South Brunswick did lose a lot the past two years, especially after going 27-3 two years ago, and then losing all starting five from that team, and four of the starting five from last year’s team with the fifth starter also unable to play since it is too old (Mohammed Sanu). However, they do have some solid seniors coming in with Jean Paul Isaacs, Cody McHugh, Brett Pinnix, Andrew Buckner, Kory Sanders, and Vito Ross. Expect the Vikings to finish in the top half of the GMC Red this year somewhere around 4th or 5th. It will be tough to overcome St. Joseph’s, Piscataway, and Stevens, but the Vikes have a good shot to get past the likes of EB, Edison, Old Bridge, and Woodbridge. Speaking of EB, the Bears finished 2-6 on the fall with losses in each of their last five games this fall following a 2-1 start.
East Brunswick scored a total of 345 points, or an average of 43.1 per game while allowing 385, or an average of 48.1 per game. The Bears were pretty much in every game except one, and that was a 73-48 defeat at the hands of Middletown South. All the other losses were decided by 9 points or less including a 48-42 defeat to St. Rose of Belmar, and a 44-43 defeat at the hands of Manasquan. GMC Hoops only managed to see the Bears once in a 49-40 loss to St. John Vianney of Holmdel back on October 20th. Overall the three GMC teams went .500 or 11-11 against non-conference opponents that included a 6-9 mark against the Shore Conference.