EDISON, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to the Physical Education Center on the Edison Campus of Middlesex County College to take in the opening night of games at the 2009 Middlesex County College Summer League. For ten straight summers, the web site has been covering this league through its ups and downs. There were eight games on the docket on Thursday night including a matchup involving East Brunswick Tech a late addition to the league. See the latest details on the changes made, and the updated list of teams now in the league.
There were three games that the site covered. Two involved teams from the GMC while one consisted of teams outside the conference. Over on Court #1, Roselle Park faced South Hunterdon in a rematch of Tuesday’s game while on Court #2, Highland Park was taking on Somerset Vo-Tech. Finally, on Court #3, Timothy Christian battled Bishop Ahr in a game between future GMC foes. Only one of the three games was fairly close with a margin of victory being only nine points while the other two were both 20 points or more. The site was unable to stay for the 7:00 PM matchups due to its commitment to coverage of the 2009 East Brunswick Team Camp at EBHS.
Timothy Christian Pummels Bishop Ahr, 51-19
This was the most lopsided game of the night with a young JV squad from Bishop Ahr taking on Timothy Christian, but knowing how BGA coach, Rocky Prodoscimo coaches his kids, he wouldn’t make any excuses. The Tigers, which are poised to join the Greater Middlesex Conference for the 2010-2011 season, had their varsity squad, and they were simply too much for the young Trojans. When the site sat down to join the action, TCS was already up by a 6-0 margin at the 13:30 mark. The Tigers, which went 16-11 overall this past season including a 6-3 mark against the GMC, then added a field goal about a half minute later for an 8-0 lead. After Timothy Christian made one of two from the foul line with 12:15 to go in the half, Bishop Ahr called for time at the 11:14 mark for a 9-0 TCS lead.
After watching some of the games played between Highland Park and Somerset Vo-Tech, and South Hunterdon and Roselle Park, GMC Hoops returned with 4:54 to go in the half, and during the 6:20 interval, the Tigers had scored four of the six points so even though Bishop Ahr had gotten on the scoreboard, it still trailed by a 13-2 margin. Nearly two minutes later, Timothy Christian got another score with a steal and drive for a layup from the right side to go up 15-2 with 2:55 remaining before halftime. Following a 30 second timeout at the 2:43 mark, the Tigers scored again thanks to a one of two showing from the foul line for a 16-2 lead with two minutes to go in the half. Bishop Ahr quickly replied this time with a jumper from the right wing to pull within twelve again at 16-4 at the 1:55 mark, and then made two free throws for a 16-6 TCS lead with 1:33 to go in the half. The Tigers then closed out the first half scoring with two points for an 18-6 halftime lead.
In the second half, things got much worse for BGA as TCS went on a 17-3 tear over the first 8:25 for a commanding 35-9 advantage. The Tigers then added a breakaway layup at the 11:33 mark for a 37-9 lead. Bishop Ahr would call for time a short time later, but it wasn’t the tonic as Timothy Christian scored right out of the stoppage with a steal for a layup that increased the Tiger lead to 39-9 at the 11:05 mark. The slide continued for Ahr as Timothy Christian scored on a fast break layin for a 41-9 lead a short time later at the 10:44 mark. Over the next 7:49, BGA would play more competitively with an 8-4 run that made the score a bit more respectable at 45-17 with 3:55 to go, but TCS then closed the game with six of the final eight points for 51-19 victory. With the win, Timothy Christian improves to 3-0 while Bishop Ahr slips to 0-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timothy Christian (3-0) | 18 | 33 | 51 |
| Bishop Ahr (0-2) | 6 | 13 | 19 |
South Hunterdon Wins Second Straight Over Roselle Park, 54-34
This was an unexpected rematch that left GMC Hoops puzzled, but due to the changes that were made in just the past 24 hours, it is understandable that this would happen. South Hunterdon faced off against a Roselle Park team that it had defeated 48 hours earlier by a score of 42-35. In that game, the Eagles broke away from a 31-31 tie with a decisive 11-1 run for a 42-32 lead, and eventually won by seven. This time, South Hunterdon outscored the Panthers by a 34-15 margin in the second half to pull away from a 20-19 halftime lead for the victory. When the site arrived to sit down at the game, South Hunterdon had already jumped out to a 7-4 lead over the first 5:53 of the contest. The Eagles then added one of two free throws at the 13:35 mark for an 8-4 lead. Roselle Park would counter with a three pointer to only trail by one at 8-7 with 13:23 left in the half. South Hunterdon’s head coach would then call a timeout with 13:20 to go in the opening period, and for the rest of the half, both teams were deadlocked in a tight battle with each team scoring 12 points over the final thirteen plus minutes.
In the second half, South Hunterdon got off to a good start by first recovering from a near turnover, and then turning the near miscue into points with a kickout to the right corner for a three pointer, and a 23-19 lead at the 19:37 mark. Roselle Park countered with two free throws to close the gap to two at the 18:46 mark, and then tied things up at 23-23 on an offensive rebound and follow with 18:23 to play. South Hunterdon then made good on two trips to the foul line by making three of four foul shots for a 26-23 lead at the 16:24 mark. Roselle Park then turned the ball over with 15:02 to go, but the Eagles couldn’t take advantage as a nice penetrate and kick for a three pointer was negated by a three second violation. GMC Hoops went away from the action in this game for a bit to watch Highland Park battle Somerset Vo-Tech, and Timothy Christian face off against Bishop Ahr, but when it returned, South Hunterdon was beginning to get some distance between itself and the Panthers.
With 7:50 remaining, South Hunterdon was up by eight points, 34-26. The Eagles then got a field goal five seconds later to go up by double digits at 36-26. Neither team scored for nearly the next two minutes until South Hunterdon converted a scoop shot for a layin while being fouled for a conventional three point play, and a 39-26 lead with 5:53 to go. Roselle Park would make one of two from the lead to cut the deficit to twelve at 39-27 at the 5:00 mark, but really couldn’t get any closer than that. South Hunterdon went back up by fourteen a short time later thanks to a well executed weave play from the top of the key that set up a drive through the middle for a layin, and a 41-27 advantage at the 4:30 mark. Over the next 3:13, the Panthers would outscore the Eagles by a 6-4 margin, but still trailed 45-33 with 1:17 left. South Hunterdon then outscored Roselle Park by a 9-1 margin including two free throws at the 1:04 mark to close out the 54-34 win. With the victory, the Eagles improve to 2-0 while the Panthers fall to 0-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Hunterdon (2-0) | 20 | 34 | 54 |
| Roselle Park (0-2) | 19 | 15 | 34 |
Somerset Vo-Tech Prevails Over Highland Park, 36-27
In this matchup, GMC Hoops got a look at the Jaguars of Somerset Vo-Tech, which are based in Bridgewater, and compete against many of the Greater Middlesex Conference teams, particularly the teams in the GMC Gold. This past season, Somerset Tech went only 6-16, but that was still a major improvement over the one win season in 2007-08. The last time SVT was in the state tournament was in the 2005-06 season when it qualified for the Central Jersey Group II tourney, and lost in the first round to Raritan of Hazlet (70-44). Significant players on that team were the likes of Rutgers Camden standout, Joe Bush.
On the other side of the ledger, Highland Park was looking to at least play a lot better than it did against South Plainfield in its opener, where it lost to the Tigers by a 49-12 margin. The web site joined the action with the scored tied at 2-2 at the 12:57 mark after watching a bit of the matchup between Roselle Park and South Hunterdon. About a minute and a half later, Highland Park struck for a jumper from the right wing that took a kind bounce for a 4-2 lead. Twenty seconds later, Somerset Vo-Tech notched a field goal for a 4-4 tie with 10:06 to go in the first half. The Jaguars then stole an inbounds pass by the Owls, and went the other way upcourt for a layup, and a 6-4 lead at the 9:29 mark. Forty-two seconds later, Somerset Tech got another field goal for an 8-4 lead with 8:47 to go in the first half.
Highland Park would get a score to pull within a basket, but then, with an opportunity to tie things up, the Owls turned the ball over at the 8:12 mark, and the Jaguars still ahead, 8-6. Twenty seconds later, Somerset Vo-Tech scored on a jumper from the left baseline for a 10-6 advantage with 7:52 to play in the half. Highland Park drew back to within two on an offensive rebound and follow a bit more than a minute, and a half later for a 10-8 SVT lead at the 6:11 mark. After a timeout with 6:02 to go in the half, the Owls eventually tied the game up with a jumper at the 4:48 mark that made the score, 10-10. The Jaguars went back ahead with a bucket before Highland Park tied it back up again at the 3:44 mark with a field goal of its own as the game continued to go back and forth. There would be a total of seven lead changes and four ties over the final 12:57 of the first half.
With 3:13 to go before the intermission, Somerset Tech made a drive along the baseline for a 14-12 lead, but Highland Park came back some 100 seconds later by first drawing a foul that produced one of two free throws, and then on the missed second foul shot, the Owls got the rebound, and put in the follow for a one point, 15-14 lead. The Jaguars would take the lead into the brief halftime thanks to a 4-0 run in the final 1:33 that made the score, 18-15 at the break. In the second half, neither team scored for almost the first four minutes before Somerset Vo-Tech got on the board with a field goal that made the score, 20-15 at the 16:05 mark. Forty-five seconds later, Somerset Tech was at it again with a layin for a seven point, 22-15 lead with 15:20 to go. Almost a minute later, the Jaguars made it a nine point lead with a right handed hook shot in the key for a 24-15 score at the 14:27 mark. Highland Park made one of two at the line to pull within eight at 24-16 with 13:05 remaining, but couldn’t get any closer.
Somerset Tech closed the game with a 12-11 edge the rest of the way for the 36-27 win. With the victory, the Jaguars improve to 1-1 while Highland Park drops to 0-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset Vo-Tech (1-1) | 18 | 18 | 36 |
| Highland Park (0-2) | 15 | 12 | 27 |
GMC Hoops will return on Tuesday for the 7:00 PM round of games from the third night of action from the MCC Summer League after work, and before heading over to Bound Brook for the opening night there.