NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops made the long trek down Route 35 South to Rebounds after work to take in several games from the Rebounds Spring League, or the Hoop Group Headquarters Spring Boys High School Basketball League. The first game during the 8:00 PM hour between Monroe and St. John Vianney went down to the wire while both Manasquan and Lacey had strong second halves to defeat G-Force Gold, and G-Force Black respectively.
Monroe Wins Another Squeaker With Victory Over Vianney, 46-45
Once again, GMC Hoops got out of work later than he wanted to, and also had to get gas on the trip down so the site didn’t arrive to the game until there was 4:21 left in the contest, and St. John Vianney leading by a score of 43-42. The Lancers were coming off another solid season that saw them qualify for the Non-Public A South State Tournament, and defeat GMC Blue Division winner, Bishop Ahr, 60-56 in the opening round on the road in North Edison before getting dismantled by the eventual sectional winner, Christian Brothers Academy from Lincroft by an 83-50 count. On the season, the Lancers went 12-13 overall including a .500 mark in league play. However, St. John Vianney surged to get into the state playoffs. After starting the season at 2-1, the Lancers had lost 6 of 8 to be at 4-7 following a 60-48 loss to St. Rose of Belmar on January 17th. From that point, until the end of the season, St. John Vianney, located in Holmdel, won 8 of 14.
Monroe, on the other hand, was playing its third game of the season at Rebounds, and already played in two squeakers by defeating Asbury Park 56-53 on April 27th, and then losing last week to Manasquan, 54-53. The Purple Birds had forefited their first game of the spring to Manchester after being a late entry into the league. The Falcons, who were missing Mike Mahmoud and Travis Dufner on Monday night, had six players come up including freshmen Ahmid Williams and Danny Brix, Timmy Brix, Kenny Pace, and sophomore Mike Walp. The team was coached by Tim Brix, Sr., who helped guide the Falcons to their first win of the spring against Asbury Park two weeks ago.
Vianney led at the half by three, 23-20, but Monroe rallied in the second half with a 26-22 showing to pull out the one point, 46-45 victory. Following a timeout at the 4:07 mark with the Lancers still leading, 43-42, Monroe picked up a foul at the 3:35 mark. St. John Vianney then caught a break when a Lancer player picked up an errant lob pass for a layup, and a 45-42 lead at the 3:09 mark. The Falcons battled back though when Williams stepped up to the line, and sank two foul shots for a 45-44 Vianney lead with 2:28 to play. The Purple Birds then had a chance to grab the lead when Danny Brix forced a steal, but Monroe couldn’t convert as Mike Walp missed a baseline jumper from the right side at the 1:39 mark.
Twenty-seven seconds later though, Monroe was able to force a stop on the defensive end, and Williams headed in for a layup when he was fouled at the 1:12 mark. With the running clock still going, the freshman guard netted two more free throws for a 46-45 lead at the 1:01 mark. On St. John Vianney’s next possession, the Lancers came right back down the floor for a shot attempt that went off the backiron, and over the backboard with 51.5 seconds remaining. Forced to foul, Vianney committed three fouls over the next nine seconds. With 41.2 seconds to play, Timmy Brix stepped to the line for a chance to give the Falcons some breathing room, but missed the front end of a one and one. Over the next 20 seconds or so, Vianney had chances to take the lead with a couple offensive rebounds, but couldn’t score. During this stretch, both teams battled and scrapped for the rebounds and loose balls.
The Lancers had another chance to take the lead, but couldn’t as Walp came down with the rebound, and drew a foul. However, like Brix before him, the sophomore couldn’t connect on the front end of the bonus giving St. John Vianney another chance. Fortunately for Monroe, the Lancers shot beyond halfcourt fell short, and the Falcons prevailed by a final score of 46-45 to improve to 2-2 on the spring. Vianney dropped to 1-3 and into a tie for sixth place with G-Force Gold, which played at 9:00 PM against Manasquan.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe (2-2) | 20 | 26 | 46 |
| St. John Vianney (1-3) | 23 | 22 | 45 |
Manasquan Rolls Past G-Force Gold Behind Late Surge, 65-39
In the 9:00 round of games, GMC Hoops was preoccupied with two contests. Both of which involved squads from G-Force, an AAU team from up in Union County. As mentioned earlier this spring, G-Force has several familiar faces on their squad in the form of Rob Gomulka, Mark Radil, and Pablo Ozuna. On the Nets Court, G-Force Gold squared off against the Warriors of Manasquan in a Division A battle while their brethren from G-Force Black took on Lacey in a matchup of two teams in Division B. Both G-Force teams were done in by strong second half performances by their adversaries. However, each team did have their fair share of opportunities in their respective contests. Turnovers, missed foul shots, not getting back on defense were some of the fundamental things costing G-Force.
However, in G-Force Gold’s matchup against Manasquan, the Union County squad gave the Shore Conference power a run for their money. Over the first 32:19 of the contest, G-Force was right there with the Warriors. Manasquan only led by six at the break after a first half that saw three lead changes and a tie early on before the Warriors started to take over. Even though Manasquan was in control, it couldn’t seem to find a way to break away from G-Force Gold. The Warriors didn’t have their biggest lead of the first half until 1:36 remaining before the intermission. Even in the second half, when Manasquan went on an 11-0 spurt to take a 39-26 lead after G-Force Gold pulled within two on a 4-0 burst to open the half, the Warriors still couldn’t shake G-Force.
Over the next 4:30, G-Force rallied to the tune of a 10-3 run to close the gap to six at 42-36 when Manasquan called for time at the 7:41 mark. Then, following the timeout, the Warriors put the game away with a tidal wave of a 23-3 surge for the 65-39 victory. Manasquan’s overall size, athletic ability, and shooting performance down the stretch proved to be too much for G-Force Gold to overcome. The game started out in a favorable way for G-Force with layups underneath at the 18:30 and 17:44 marks for a 4-0 lead. Manasquan came within two thanks to a nice entry pass underneath for a 4-2 G-Force lead at the 17:08 mark. A minute and a half later, both teams had exchanged scores for a 6-4 G-Force Gold lead at the 15:38 mark.
Then, Manasquan began to assert itself. The Warriors scored six of the next eight points over a span of 2:18 for an 8-6 lead. The run was capped by a layup off the fast break at the 13:20 mark. The defending Central Jersey Group II Champions, which defeated Monroe last week (54-53), then scored five of the next seven points including a three pointer from the right side of the top of the key for a 13-8 lead. G-Force Gold made every effort to hang around with five of the next nine points over a span of 4:47 to close the gap to 17-13 at the 6:20 mark. Both teams then got scores to match each other over the next 1:20 as Manasquan countered G-Force with a jumper that got a kind bounce at exactly the five minute mark for a 19-15 lead.
Manasquan, which outscored G-Force Gold by a margin of 24-16 over the final 15:38 of the first half, went on a 6-2 run over the next 3:24 including an offensive rebound and putback of an air ball from the left corner for a 25-19 lead. Both teams then scored three points each down the stretch for a 28-22 Manasquan lead at the half. At the start of the second half, G-Force Gold gave a repeat performance of what they did to start the game with four straight points in the first 1:30 to pull within two at 28-26 before Manasquan got going again with a jumper from the right wing for a 30-26 lead at the 18:30 mark. The two pointer sparked what appeared at first to be a decisive 11-0 run by the Warriors, which got one of two free throws at the 17:10 mark, another score at the 15:42 mark, two free throws at the 14:00 mark, and a drive from the left wing for a layup with 12:12 to play that made the score, 39-26.
Following a G-Force Gold timeout with 12:06 remaining, the Union County AAU squad rallied a 10-3 run that was bookended by Candelino. First, he took a pass from Mark Radil for a short jumper that rolled in at the ten minute mark for a 4-0 start to the run, and a 39-30 score midway through the second half. Then, he followed a missed free throw with a layup to cap the run at the 7:41 mark to make the score, 42-36. Appearing to be back on track, and within striking distance, G-Force had no idea what was about to hit them. Following a Warrior timeout, Manasquan scored ten straight points including an unconventional four point play that started out with a layup and a foul, and then on the missed bonus free throw, the Warriors scored again on a tap in for a 52-36 lead with 4:30 remaining. From there, Manasquan continued to blitz G-Force Gold with three pointers and scores inside to the tune of a 13-3 tear, and a 23-3 surge to close the game for the 65-39 victory.
With the victory, Manasquan won its second straight to improve to 2-2 overall while G-Force Gold dropped its third straight to fall to 1-3 on the spring.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manasquan (2-2) | 28 | 37 | 65 |
| G-Force Gold (1-3) | 22 | 17 | 39 |
Lacey Downs G-Force Black With Strong Second Half, 51-42
While we were watching the 9:00 PM battle between G-Force Gold and Manasquan on the Nets court, simultaneously, G-Force Black was battling Lacey, a team from Ocean County, and the South A Division of the Shore Conference, on the Sixers Court. For the season, Lacey went 14-13 overall, and qualified for the South Jersey Group III Tournament, where the defeated Highland Regional of Blackwood (58-38) in the opening round, and then lost to Deptford in the quarterfinals, 59-38. Deptford went on to the sectional final, where it lost to Kingsway Regional.
Like the game being played simultaneously on a court adjacent to it, this game was decided in the second half when Lacey outscored G-Force Black by a 30-17 margin for the 51-42 victory. Lacey actually overcame a 25-21 halftime deficit with a 28-11 surge to take a 49-36 lead with 2:53 left. The Lions started the game off with the first basket on a score underneath for a 2-0 lead at the 17:34 mark. Then, the Lions went up by four on an offensive rebound and putback with 15:45 to go in the first half before G-Force Black rallied with an 8-4 burst over a span of 4:35 that tied the game at 8-8 at the 11:10 mark. The next 7:40 saw a back and forth battle where both teams matched each other basket for basket, but G-Force Black managed to take the lead on an 11-9 showing that made the score, 19-17 with 3:30 to go in the half. Pablo Ozuna then made his presence felt by hustling for a loose ball that forced a jump ball, and then after getting the alternate possession, the Woodbridge player then handed out an assist on a jumper by a teammate from the left wing for a 25-21 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Lacey started things off again with an offensive rebound and putback of an own miss for a 25-23 G-Force Black lead at the 19:45 mark. The Union County squad would get a score to go back up by four before Lacey got a layup to close to within two again at 27-25 with 18:18 to play. Thirty-three seconds later, the Lions roared once more with a layup that knotted the contest at 27-27 with 17:45 to play in regulation. Lacey then made it a 6-0 run with a layup while being fouled, and despite missing the free throw, the Lions had the lead for the first time since the middle of the second half at 29-27 with 15:29 remaining. Following a G-Force Black timeout, Lacey scored on a fast break layup to go ahead, 31-27 with 14:40 left. G-Force Black, which had began the season with two straight victories, pulled within one again on a three pointer from the right corner for a 31-30 score at exactly the 14 minute mark.
Over the next two minutes though, Lacey went on a 5-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at that point, 36-30 with twelve minutes remaining. G-Force Black then got a bucket to pull within four, but the Lions then got a clutch three pointer from the right side for a 39-32 lead with 8:10 left. The jumper actually sparked the decisive 13-6 run over a span of 5:27 for a 49-36 lead with only 2:53 left to play. G-Force made the score a bit closer by outscoring Lacey 6-2 the rest of the way, but the Lions still prevailed, 51-42. Both teams are now 2-2 on the spring.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lacey (2-2) | 21 | 30 | 51 |
| G-Force Black (2-2) | 25 | 17 | 42 |
GMC Hoops plans to be out again at Rebounds on May 18th to take in the fifth week of action from this Spring League including Monroe’s contest against Division A leading, and undefeated Neptune at 8:00 PM, and St. John Vianney versus G-Force Gold at 9:00 PM.