NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops returned to Rebounds after a tw week layoff to take in the sixth week of action from the 2009 Hoop Group Headquarters High School Boys Spring League. The site took in two contests including the first one between Monroe and G-Force Gold at 8:00 PM, and Toms River East battling Ocean Township. Both contests took place on the Knicks Court.
Monroe Continues To Roll As It Dominates G-Force Gold, 73-31
In the first game of the GMC Hoops Doubleheader at Rebounds, the site got there early enough again to catch a good does of the Monroe Falcons, which are in the midst of playing their best basketball of the spring. Buoyed by the success of their last win two weeks ago over then undefeated Neptune, and refreshed after a two week hiatus, the Purple Birds playing like a well-oiled machine against G-Force Gold in Division A action. The Stallions of G-Force Gold, which had won on opening night over Toms River North, had not won a game since, and tonight, their losing ways would continue.
Monroe would jump out to a 25-11 lead over the first 11:25 of the contest, and then after outscoring G-Force by a slim 11-9 margin over the final 8:35 of the half for a 36-20 lead at the intermission, the Falcons surged to post a 37-11 showing in the final period for a lopsided 73-31 victory. GMC Hoops arrived a little more than midway through the first half with Monroe leading already by 14 points. The Purple Birds had a chance to go up even further, but was called for traveling at the 8:15 mark. Travis Dufner then got Monroe Township rolling again with a layup that made the score 27-11 at the 7:51 mark. Following a G-Force timeout moments later, Dufner, who was quite active in this contest, swiped a steal that led to another scoring opportunity, but Mike Walp misfired on both free throw attempts, and the score stayed 27-11 at the 7:01 mark.
G-Force Gold would get the next score on a turnaround jumper at the 6:16 mark that closed the gap to 27-13. On the very next Monroe possession though, Kenny Pace would answer by taking the ball underneath, pump faking, and drawing a foul that produced two foul shots for a 29-13 lead at the 5:57 mark. Neither team would score for almost a minute and a half before G-Force got on the board again with a baseline drive along the left side for a layup that pulled the Stallions to within 14 again at 29-15 with 4:32 to go in the half. However, Monroe would quickly reply once more as Pace passed to Timmy Brix, who drove in for a layup as he was fouled for a traditional three point play that made the score, 32-15 with a bit more than four minutes to go before the intermission.
Rob Gomulka, who played inspired basketball against St. John Vianney on May 18th, was held in check for the most part on this night except for when he netted a three pointer from the right wing to answer Brix’s three point play, and close the gap again to 14 at 32-18 with 3:36 to go in the half. Two minutes would go by before another score, but Monroe’s sophomore point guard, Ahmid Williams ended the drought with a drive and dish to Brix for a layup that made the score 34-18 with 1:36 to go in the first half. G-Force Gold, which also has the likes of another Bishop Ahr player named Rashad Kilgore, scored on a layin that made it a fourteen point game again at 34-20. Monroe Township then closed out the scoring as Pace scored on a follow of a Williams miss as time expired for a 36-20 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Falcons made short work of the Stallions with a 13-2 spurt over the first 4:58 of the period to take a commanding 49-22 lead. Walp opened up the scoring with a foul line jumper that made the score, 38-20 just twenty seconds into the new half. Timmy Brix then showed some defense by blocking a Gomulka jumper, and then scoring on a layup at the other end to expand the Monroe lead to 40-20 at the 19:26 mark. Twenty-one seconds later, Walp scored again on a layup for a 42-20 lead with a little more than 19 minutes to go in the contest. The Purple Birds continued to put on a show as they made a nice entry pass inside to Dufner for a layup on the left low block, and a 44-20 lead with 17:34 to go. Dufner then added another basket, and a three point play for a personal 5-0 run over the next 2:32 to cap the early tear, and give Monroe a 27 point lead with 15:02 remaining.
From there, Monroe continued to pummel G-Force. The Falcons scored seven of the next eleven points including a one of two showing from the foul line by Pace to make the score, 56-26 with 9:45 to go. Brix then blocked Gomulka again on a layup attempt, which was converted into a Dufner layup at the other end for a 58-26 lead at the 7:49 mark of the second half. Pace then put the exclamation point on things with a one handed jam off the fast break to make the score, 61-28 at the 5:50 mark. After that, Monroe Township continued to outscore G-Force to the tune of a 12-3 spurt over the final 5:50 for the convincing 73-31 victory. With the win, Monroe improves to 4-2 overall, and is now tied for second place in Division A with Neptune and Manchester. Meanwhile, G-Force dropped its fifth in a row, and is now 1-5.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe (4-2) | 36 | 37 | 73 |
| G-Force Gold (1-5) | 20 | 11 | 31 |
Toms River East Moves Into Sole Possession Of First Place By Cruising Past Ocean Township, 46-31
In the nightcap of the GMC Hoops Doubleheader at Rebounds, the site took in a game involving two teams from the Shore Conference. The Raiders of Toms River East, which reside in the Class A South Division of the conference, was looking to not only improve to 5-1, but get at least a share of first place while Ocean Township, which competes in the Class B North Division of the conference, was hoping to get a win to perhaps gain a three way tie for first place. At the start of the game, GMC Hoops chatted a bit with G-Force Gold coach, Bob Gomulka, who is the father of Bishop Ahr’s Rob Gomulka.
While our chat was going on, the Raiders jumped out to an 8-1 lead over the Spartans in the first 8:15 of the contest. Finally, Ocean Township, got its first field goal of the game with a jumper from the top of the key to make the score, 8-3 at the 11:34 mark. Toms River East then responded with a 10-4 run over the next 4:25 to increase its advantage to 18-7 at the 7:09 mark. The Raiders continued to roll with a layup on a scoop shot at the 6:28 mark to go up by 13 at 20-7. Toms River East then scored five of the next seven points including a one of two effort at the line with 3:35 to go in the half, and a conventional three point play on a layup while being fouled at the one minute mark for a 25-9 lead. Ocean Township then closed the first half with the final five points including a three pointer from the top of the key as time expired to close the gap to 25-14 at the intermission.
The Raiders responded by opening up the second half with the first seven points over a span of 2:29. Toms River East got on the board first with a layup at the 19:15 mark to go up 27-14. Then, a little more than a half minute later, TRE got a field goal to go ahead, 29-14 at the 18:40 mark. Toms River East then added another field goal before grabbing two offensive rebounds, and being fouled on the putback attempt that resulted in a one of two showing at the foul line for a 32-14 lead. The Spartans began to show signs of life at this point, and began to put together an 11-2 tear over the next ten minutes or so to cut the deficit to only nine points at 34-25. First, Ocean Township made one of two from the line at the 15:13 mark for a 32-15 lead. Then, the Spartans forced a steal, drove down the court, spun, and drew the foul on a layup attempt to produce another one of two showing at the half to pull within sixteen at 32-16 with 14:24 remaining.
Ocean Township prevented Toms River East from perhaps getting another score by calling a timeout at the 13:22 to avoid a turnover. The Spartans then got another score, and then benefited from a missed layup down low by Toms River East while making another one of two at the charity strip to close the gap to 32-19 at the 12:50 mark. Following a TRE timeout with 11:42 left, Ocean Township continued to try to climb back into the matchup with a field goal at the 9:37 mark that made the score, 32-21. On the very next possession, Toms River East then got its only points during the span as it got an offensive rebound following to missed free throws, and drew a foul on the putback for a 34-21 lead with 9:23 remaining. Ocean Township then scored four unanswered to pull within single digits, but couldn’t get any closer as the Raiders came up with a crucial 8-0 run including a jumper at the 5:10 mark and two free throws at the 3:30 mark to pull away with a 42-25 lead.
From there, Ocean Township outscored Toms River East by a 6-4 margin the rest of the way to round out the final 46-31 score. With the victory, Toms River East improved to 5-1, and gained sole possession of first place in Division B as Second Baptist Church fell to Academy Charter (51-47). Meanwhile, the Spartans dropped back down to .500 at 3-3.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toms River East (5-1) | 25 | 21 | 46 |
| Ocean Township (3-3) | 14 | 17 | 31 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Rebounds not only on Monday night for the Week Seven games, but also on Wednesday night for the finale Showcase Games.