SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Wednesday evening, GMC Hoops headed over to South Amboy Middle/High School to take in two games from the sixth night of action from the 2009 Raritan Bay Summer League. This is the sixth straight summer that the web site is covering this league, which has provided great competition as well as a glimpse of future stars in the Greater Middlesex Conference.
On this night, the site was able to take in two of the three games on the schedule, and has all of the results from the three games played. There were still none of those World Famous Lange Dogs to enjoy while watching the first of two contests between Monsignor Farrell and Sayreville in the High School Division, and the nightcap from the 5th and 6th Grade Division between the Jersey Shoreshots and Roselle, which has caused some concern, and plans for protests. Nevertheless, there was still some refreshments on hand. After the score was tied at halftime between Monsignor Farrell of Staten Island and the Sayreville Stars, Farrell outscored the Stars by a 22-18 margin in the second half, and had leads as big as six points as it held off a fierce challenge for a 39-35 victory. In the finale, Roselle showed plenty of heart and determination despite not having a lot of height to give the Jersey Shoreshots all they could handle, but the Monmouth County based AAU team still managed to prevail by a final score of 34-25.
Monsignor Farrell Holds Off Sayreville In High School Division Action, 39-35
It was another intense game involving the Sayreville Stars of the High School Division of the 2009 Raritan Bay Summer League. The neighborhood squad was taking on a newcomer to the league in Monsignor Farrell of Staten Island, which competes in the Staten Island Division of the New York City Catholic League against the likes of St. Peter’s, Moore Catholic, and St. Joseph’s by the Sea. All three teams have been covered to some extent in the past by this web site either via the Elizabeth Summer League, or the Brothers of the Sacred Heart Christmas Tournament.
This past season for the Lions varsity was not exactly one to remember. Monsignor Farrell went 0-6 league play, and 1-19 overall. Making matters worse, the Lions won their season opener over Bergtraum, 69-63 at home. So, Monsignor Farrell’s program is making a fine step toward rebuilding itself by putting their youngsters in a summer league. The Raritan Bay Summer League has been known in the past for having great competition, especially at the younger levels, but the High School Division has definitely picked up in recent years.
Meanwhile, the Sayreville Stars, were looking to pick up the pieces after losing a tough one in their opener to neighborhood arch rival, Parlin, a team that they will be playing again on Thursday night. The first half saw both teams end up in a 17-17 draw. By the time GMC Hoops arrived at the scene, Monsignor Farrell’s Lions were leading by a 23-20 score with about sixteen minutes left in regulation after a 6-3 start over the first four minutes of the second half. Sayreville would then get a score to close the gap to one on a field goal with approximately fifteen minutes left in regulation, and moments later had a shot to take the lead, but E.J. Perez misfired on two foul shots, and forward Joe Saitta, who was big on the boards for the Stars, couldn’t put in the follow after getting an offensive rebound with 14:42 remaining.
However, the fiery, competitive, and very volatile Danny Wojcik made a big play on defense by swiping a steal, and then handing out an assist on the subsequent layup for a 24-23 lead at the 14:07 mark. Monsignor Farrell would answer though with a layup at the 13:30 mark, and another layup at the 13:07 mark to go ahead by three at 27-24. Seventh grader, Marques Townes had a chance to pull the Stars to within one, but only made one of two at the line. On the missed second free throw, Wojcik grabbed the offensive rebound, but missed on the putback attempt, and Farrell managed to hang on to a tenuous two point, 27-25 lead with 12:27 remaining in regulation. The Lions then went back up by four with a drive through the middle for a layup, and a 29-25 lead at the 11:19 mark. On the very next possession, Sayreville cut the deficit in half as Saitta converted a layup to make the score, 29-27 with 11:05 to go.
The Lions continued to keep the Stars at arm’s length though by scoring four unanswered points on back to back layups for a 33-27 lead at the 10:20 mark. Tempers flared and emotions boiled over as the two teams scrapped for loose balls and rebounds. With 9:55 left in the game, Wojcik was assessed a technical foul, but Monsignor Farrell couldn’t take advantage by missing the free throw. However, the technical still had an impact because Wojcik was then relegated to the bench by his older brother, and Stars head coach, Tim Wojcik until less than two minutes left. Saitta then had to take the team on his shoulders. He first stepped to the line, and wasn’t able to convert on a couple foul shot attempts with 8:36 left. However, the Stars forward redeemed himself by dribbling, and dishing to Townes for a two handed layup from the right side to close the gap to 33-29 with 7:37 to play.
Sayreville had other opportunities to score, but Saitta was called for traveling at the 6:48 mark, and then Monsignor Farrell made a nice defensive play by coming up with a block to prevent a layup at the 5:44 mark. The Lions then forced a turnover by getting a steal, and converted into two points with a layup at the 5:24 mark for a 35-29 lead. The Stars responded though with a score of their own to pull within four points again at about the five minute mark as the scoreboard read, 35-31 in favor of Farrell. After a full timeout was called by the Lions, Saitta connected on a short jumper from the right side off an inbounds play to close the margin to two at 35-33 with 3:20 to go. On a subsequent possession, Monsignor Farrell went up by four again with a layup while being fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for the traditional three point play at the 2:45 mark. With Farrell up 37-33, Danny Wojcik re-entered the game with 1:58 left
Right away the younger Wojcik tried to make an impact when Townes missed a three pointer, he grabbed the offensive board, and put up a follow that missed. Fueled by his competitiveness, Wojcik then went for the ball, and tied up the Monsignor Farrell player to force a jump ball, and the arrow pointed in the direction of the Stars with 1:50 left. Unfortunately, for the Sayreville faithful in attendance, Perez missed a shot, and Farrell managed to get the rebound at the 1:37 mark. Another opportunity presented itself for the Stars as Isaiah Cureton intercepted a pass in the Sayreville end of the court, and then went upcourt on the drive, and drew a foul. Cureton then made one of two at the line for a 37-34 Lions lead with 1:10 left in regulation. Following Cureton’s efforts at the line, Sayreville called for time at the 1:09 mark.
Following the timeout, Sayreville’s fullcourt pressure forced a turnover as a Monsignor Farrell player was caught with his foot on the sideline over in the Lions frontcourt at the 1:03 mark. Now, with a chance to pull within one, Sayreville got the ball to Saitta, who missed the jumper as Farrell guarded Wojcik tightly to prevent him from putting up a game tying three pointer. The Stars continued to scrap, and Wojcik got the ball with 42.7 seconds to go when he was fouled on the floor by a Farrell player. The game got tighter after that as Saitta when one of two at the line after being fouled by a Lions defender at the 29.9 second mark. Now, with a two point, 37-35 lead, and Sayreville’s defense stepping up the pressure, Monsignor Farrell was faced with a difficult task. However, the Lions found a way to prevail as Wojcik was called for his fourth foul at the 22.4 second mark. Farrell then called a timeout, and upon getting the ball inbounds, was fouled, and forced to go to the line.
Monsignor Farrell misfired on both free throws, but got a pivotal offensive rebound, dished back down low for a layup and the foul with 13.8 seconds to go. The Lions failed to make the bonus free throw, but had enough of a cushion to hold off Sayreville for the 39-35 victory. With the win, Monsignor Farrell opened the season at 1-0 while the Stars dropped to 0-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monsignor Farrell (1-0) | 17 | 22 | 39 |
| Sayreville Stars (0-2) | 17 | 18 | 35 |
Jersey Shoreshots Earn A Hard Fought Victory Over Roselle, 34-25
In the nightcap, there was a very competitive game from the 5th and 6th Grade Division between the Jersey Shoreshots from Monmouth County, and the Runnin’ Rams of Roselle. The latter has become a fixture in this league over the past several years although this summer, Roselle is only having its 5th and 6th Grade team compete. Meanwhile, this is the first summer that the Shoreshots have competed in this league, and they have a squad in the 3rd and 4th Grade Division as well as in the 5th and 6th Grade Division. Looking at the two teams, you may have thought that the Shoreshots were much older since they were a lot bigger than their Roselle counterparts. However, the young Rams showed that their athletic ability, anticipation and aggressiveness on defense, quickness, and determination, can make up for all of that.
In the first 14 minutes or so of the game, both teams combined for seven lead changes, and two ties while neither team held a lead bigger than six in the first half. It wasn’t until about the six minute mark that the Shoreshots started to control the contest. However, Roselle fought to the very end. The problem that they had was an inability to penetrate the Shoreshots zone defense, and the Rams consequently settled for long jump shots from near three point range on the perimeter. While they did demonstrate that they had the range, the Rams were often off the mark, and done offensively as the bigger Shoreshots got the rebound. In the first half, both teams combined for 32 points while the defenses on both sides stepped it up a notch in the second half as the two squads only combined for 27 points over the final twenty minutes.
Both teams struggled to score early on as the defenses made a statement. Roselle was the agressor offensively though with several nice looking three point attempts that didn’t want to fall. The Shoreshots also helped themselves by coming up with two huge blocks on defense as the two squads were deadlocked at 0-0 over the first three minutes or so of the game. However, the Jersey Shoreshots finally got things going with a jumper that rattled home for a 2-0 lead at the 16:58 mark. Roselle then immediately countered on its next possession with a jumper to tie things up at 2-2 with 16:30 left in the half. The Runnin’ Rams then came up with a steal for a layup, and a 4-2 lead at the 15:37 mark. The Jersey Shoreshots then compounded their struggles offensively by missing a pair of free throws at the 15:12 mark as Roselle kept its 4-2 lead. The scoring drought persisted for a bit longer as each side held the other scoreless for the next 2:08 before Roselle called for a 30 second timeout at the 13:04 mark.
Following the stoppage, the Monmouth County based AAU squad banked in a three pointer from the top of the key for a 5-4 lead with 12:28 to go before the intermission. Roselle then responded with a three pointer of its own for a 7-5 advantage before the Shoreshots came up with another trey to go back up 8-7 at the midway point of the first half. Fifteen seconds later, Roselle took the lead back with a short baseline jumper from the left side for a 9-8 lead with 9:45 to go in the half. The Runnin’ Rams then went up by two with one of two free throws from the line at the 8:18 mark for a 10-8 score. A bit over a minute later though, the Shoreshots tied things up again at 10-10 with a field goal at the 7:15 mark. On a subsequent Roselle possession, the Rams misfired on a couple of foul shots at the 6:44 mark, and the game remained tied at 10-10 before the Shoreshots came up with a layup at the 6:00 mark for a 12-10 lead.
Twenty seconds later, Roselle had an opportunity to tie again, but made only one of two free throw attempts for a 12-11 lead. Both teams would go scoreless afterward for a span of 2:18 before a Jersey Shoreshots player put on a nifty drive through the middle for a layin, and a 14-11 lead. The Monmouth County based AAU team then got another basket on an offensive rebound and follow up that made it 16-11 at the 1:42 mark. The Shoreshots then made one of two at the free throw stripe for a 17-11 advantage with 1:05 to go before halftime. Then, after two charity shots by Roselle at the 55.7 second mark, the Shoreshots closed out the first half scoring with a drive for a layup from the right side that made it a 19-13 game at the intermission. In the second half, the Jersey Shoreshots went up by eight on two free throws just 42 seconds into the new half for a 21-13 lead.
Roselle got its first points of the second half when it had one of its players fouled by the Shoreshots to produce one of two from the line at the 18:02 mark for a 21-14 Shoreshot lead. Nearly two minutes passed before another scoring opportunity showed up, but the Shoreshots couldn’t take advantage as they missed both free throw attempts, and the score remained, 21-14 with 16:12 to play. On the very next Roselle possession, the Runnin’ Rams had a similar opportunity. However, after getting fouled on an offensive rebound and follow attempt, the Rams missed both of their foul shot attempts at the 15:36 mark, and the margin remained at seven in favor of the Shoreshots. The largest lead of the game occurred at the 14:17 mark as the Shoreshots got a jumper to connect from the right side for a 23-14 lead. After the Shoreshots took a thirty second timeout at the 13:08 mark, Roselle went on a 7-0 run that included a three pointer from the right wing at the 12:03 mark, a slashing drive through the lane for a layin at the 11:03 mark, and a steal, and an assist for a layin at the 10:42 mark to close the gap to two at 23-21.
The Shoreshots then got one of two from the charity stripe with 10:01 remaining for a 24-21 lead, but then Roselle replied with a field goal at the 9:14 mark that made the score, 24-23. The Runnin’ Rams then had back to back opportunities to score, but each time missed two shots from close range at the 9:00 and 8:02 marks respectively. Roselle then had another opportunity when its defense forced a steal, and drove in for a score. The Runnin’ Rams drew a foul, but on the ensuing possession, missed a chance to take the lead as a three point attempt was off the mark with 7:49 remaining. Roselle would not get any closer after that, as it was held two only two points over the final 9:14, and was without a field goal for that entire span. The Shoreshots then went up by three on a layup in the right low block for a 26-23 edge at the 6:26 mark.
Roselle would score on its next possession by getting one of two from the line with 5:59 to play, but the Shoreshots got that point back on its next possession by making one of two of their own from the line at the 5:26 mark. Then, with the score now 27-24, the Jersey Shoreshots started to put the game away with an offensive rebound and follow at the 4:21 mark to go ahead by five at 29-24. Roselle got its final points of the game with 2:40 remaining as the Runnin’ Rams made one of two from the line that closed the gap to four at 29-25. However, the Rams couldn’t get any closer as the Shoreshots ended the game with the final five points for the 34-25 victory. With the win, the Jersey Shoreshots, which lost its opener last week to St. Stan’s of the 7th and 8th Grade Division, improved to 1-1 while Roselle, which had won its opener over South Amboy on Monday night, fell to 1-1 overall.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey Shoreshots (1-1) | 19 | 15 | 34 |
| Roselle (1-1) | 13 | 12 | 25 |
GMC Hoops plans to see some if not all four games on Thursday evening.