SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops headed over to South Amboy Middle/High School to take in a game from the fourteenth 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.
GMC Hoops headed over for the final game of the Monday tripleheader after work, and saw the Monroe took on the Parlin Pride in another game from the High School Division. In other games, Colts Neck defeated the Central Jersey Hawks in a contest that involved teams from the 3rd and 4th Grade as well as the 5th and 6th Grade Divisions, and Roselle downed Monroe in a contest from the 5th and 6th Grade Division. See all the results from Monday night’s action.
Monroe Pulls Away For Win Over Depleted Parlin Pride, 48-34
In a battle from the High School Division, the Monroe Falcons opened up their season against a shorthanded Parlin Pride squad to round out the Monday night tripleheader. The Purple Birds jumped out to a 22-18 halftime lead, and then pulled away in the second half with a 26-16 showing for a 48-34 victory. Parlin had actually closed the gap to two at 26-24 with 17:04 to go before the Falcons finished off the win with a 22-10 surge. Monroe started the second half off with an offensive rebound and follow off of a blocked shot for a 24-18 lead at the 19:08 mark. Parlin then responded with a one handed floater to close the gap again to four at 24-20 with 18:18 to go. The Pride, which had entered the game undefeated at 2-0 thanks to two hard fought wins over the Sayreville Stars earlier this season, made one of two from the line to pull within three at 24-21 with 17:43 left.
On Monroe’s next possession, the Purple Birds came up with a score at the 17:21 mark for a 26-21 lead, but then Parlin struck right back with a three pointer from the right wing at the 17:04 mark for a 26-24 Monroe advantage. Over the next forty-three seconds, the Falcons scored the next four points including an offensive rebound and follow at the 16:21 mark for a 30-24 lead. Monroe then made it a 6-0 run with another offensive rebound, and follow at the 15:29 mark for a 32-24 lead. Parlin then ended its mini-scoring drought with a traditional three point play at the 14:26 mark to trail only by five, 32-27. Then, a little more than a minute later, Parlin struck again with one of two from the foul line for a 32-28 lead at the 13:21 mark. Neither team would score for the next 3:44 before Monroe got a jumper from the left wing that was just inside the arc for a 34-28 edge at the 9:37 mark.
A bit more than a half minute later, Monroe got a short jumper to bounce in for an eight point, 36-28 lead at the 9:04 mark. Parlin then called for a full timeout, but it didn’t curtail the momentum the Purple Birds were gaining. The Falcons would then get a field goal at the 8:16 mark for a 38-28 lead before scoring again while being fouled at the eight minute mark for a 40-28 advantage. Monroe had a shot to go up a bit further, but missed the bonus free throw. Both teams then exchanged scores for a 40-30 Falcon lead before Monroe got another basket to go up by a dozen. Following the score though, Monroe was assessed a technical foul, and Parlin converted both free throws for a 42-32 score with 6:03 left. The Pride then trimmed the deficit to single digits before calling a 30 second timeout with the score, 42-34 in favor of Monroe.
Over the final 3:49, Monroe shutdown Parlin while running time off the clock. The Purple Birds finished with a 6-0 burst that included a Ryan Stolte layup at the 1:59 mark for a 48-34 final score. With the victory, Monroe starts the summer at 1-0, and was in action again on Wednesday night against Monsignor Farrell while the Parlin Pride fell to 2-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe (1-0) | 22 | 26 | 48 |
| Parlin Pride (2-1) | 18 | 16 | 34 |
GMC Hoops will be out at the Raritan Bay Summer League on Wednesday to see more games.