READING, PA–On Thursday, GMC Hoops made its second trip to Pennsylvania within the past eight months as it visited Albright College to take in some of the action from the first day of the 2009 Hoop Group Elite Team Camp. This team camp had a total of 64 teams competing in two separate brackets: National and American. Two of the teams playing were from the Greater Middlesex Conference: Monroe and St. Joseph’s. The St. Joe’s Falcons won their opening round game against a team from Turkey while Monroe defeated Holy Redeemer. Both schools were playing in the American Division team tournament. See the results from both tournaments. In the Round of 16, St. Joseph’s was taking on Bishop Ireton of Alexandria, Virginia while Monroe was facing off against Bowie of Mississippi.
Morgan Leads The Way As Falcons Pull Away In Second Half To Defeat Bishop Ireton, 55-36
In the first of the two games GMC Hoops saw at this year’s Hoop Group Elite Team Camp, which was previously known as the Eastern Invitational Team Camp, St. Joe’s took on the Cardinals of Bishop Ireton located in Alexandria, Virginia. This past season, Bishop Ireton went 5-23 overall and 1-16 in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, which includes the likes of national powerhouses such as DeMatha and Gonzaga, which competed in the National Division bracket this year. Over the past four years, the Cardinals have struggled in the rugged WCAC with a 27-92 overall record, and a 6-67 mark in conference play.
Meanwhile, St. Joseph’s is competing at this camp for the fourth straight year, and the Falcons were looking to go farther than just the first round. Coming to this camp with St. Joe’s was Steve Rennard, Robbie Ashamole, Nick Contino, Eric Peterson, Andrew Morgan, Kevin Mayce, Nick Straughn, and Slay Sudah. In the contest, both teams played a competitive first half with the Falcons taking a 22-12 lead before the Cardinals rallied with an 8-2 run over the final 4:45 to pull within four at 24-20 going into halftime. In the second half though, the Falcons pulled away even with Rennard on the sidelines nursing a minor injury to his chin. Led by Morgan (13 points on 5 of 9 FG including 3 of 4 3PTR, 3 rebounds and 3 steals) St. Joseph’s outscored Bishop Ireton by a 31-16 margin in the game’s final 20 minutes. For the game, the Falcons shot 23 of 46 from the floor overall for 50 percent including a solid 4 of 12 effort from beyond the arc for 33 percent. At the line, St. Joe’s was just 5 of 10 from the floor, but collected 25 boards including 10 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 12 steals, 3 blocks, and a charge. St. Joseph’s committed 14 turnovers in 32 minutes of play.
Chipping in for the Falcons was Ashamole, who made 5 of 6 shots and 1 of 2 from the line for 11 points while pulling down 6 boards, blocking 2 shots, and handing out an assist. Before leaving the game at the 13:14 mark of the second half, Rennard had 7 points, 3 assists, a rebound, steal, and blocked shot. Soon to be junior, Nick Straughn also contributed with a 2 of 4 effort from the floor as well as a 1 of 1 showing at the line for 5 points, 2 assists, an offensive rebound, and a steal. St. Joe’s took a 1-0 lead early as Nick Contino drew a foul, and made one of two from the line at the 15:39 mark. Bishop Ireton then responded with two free throws at the 14:05 mark for a 2-1 lead. After stopping the Falcons at the other end, the Cardinals quickly came back down, and got two points when Rennard hit the net for a 4-1 lead with 13:46 to go in the half. Peterson (4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) got the Falcons back to within one at 4-3 by making both of his free throw attempts with 13:35 remaining in the half.
One minute later, St. Joseph’s took the lead as Ashamole scored on an offensive rebound and putback off a missed three point attempt by Rennard that made the score, 5-4 at the 12:35 mark. Bishop Ireton made another two foul shots to go back up by one, 6-5 with 11:50 to play in the first half, but then Peterson got his final points of the game on an offensive rebound and putback off his own miss for a 7-6 lead at the 11:22 mark. Up to this point in the contest, there had been five lead changes. However, there would be no more. Over the next 6:37, the Falcons outscored the Cardinals by a margin of 17-6 including a 6-0 burst that was highlighted by two Ashamole field goals off assists by Rennard and Peterson for an 11-6 lead as Bishop Ireton called for time at the 10:13 mark. Following the timeout, the Cardinals drew within four on a one of two showing from the foul line that made the score, 11-7 at the 9:44 mark. The Cardinals had a chance to get closer, but Morgan poked away a steal, and Rennard picked it up and raced downcourt for a layup while being fouled for a 13-7 lead with 8:36 to go in the half.
On its next possession, Bishop Ireton got a layup while being fouled by Rennard for a three point play that closed the gap to 13-10 with 8:08 to play before the intermission. A little over a minute later, the Falcons had a chance to go back up by five, but Rennard misfired on both free throw attempts with 7:02 to go before halftime. The soon to be senior, who has made an early commitment to Pennsylvania redeemed himself though by taking a pass from Mayce on the left wing, and making a three pointer for an 18-10 lead with 6:35 to go in the opening half. Rennard then scored again on a pull-up jumper from the left side for a 20-10 lead before Bishop Ireton, which only had two field goals to this point (one on an interference call), made its eighth free throw in nine attempts to trim the deficit to single digits again at 20-12 with 5:30 to play in the half.
St. Joe’s went back up by ten as Rennard found Mayce for a layup, but then Bishop Ireton connected on a jumper to close the gap again to eight at 22-14 with 4:24 to go before the break. The Cardinals then added another bucket to pull within six before Ashamole kicked out to Morgan for a jumper at the 3:00 mark for a 24-16 lead. Bishop Ireton finished off the half with a 4-0 run to get within four as the two teams went into the brief break with St. Joseph’s in front 24-20. In the opening half, the Falcons were 10 of 22 overall from the floor including just 1 of 7 from downtown, and made 3 of 7 at the line while turning the ball over 7 times. Rennard got all of his points in the half along with 2 assists, a rebound, steal, and blocked shot. Ashamole added 6 points, 4 rebounds, an assist, and a block while Morgan (4 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals) and Peterson (4 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist) each had four.
In the second half though, Morgan picked up 9 points on three treys to lead the Falcons to an impressive win. The soon to be senior guard, netted a three pointer from the top of the key to open the scoring in the final period for a 27-20 Falcon lead at the 14:33 mark. Thirty-seconds after that, Rennard made a fine alleyoop pass to Ashamole for a dunk following a Morgan steal to put St. Joe’s up by nine, 29-20 with 13:55 left. Soon afterward, Rennard left with a cut to his chin, but it didn’t affect the Falcons. Following a three pointer by Bishop Ireton to pull within six at 29-23 with 12:40 to play. Contino got his only field goal of the game off a drive for a layup that put the Falcons up by eight, 31-23 with 12:21 left. After a Cardinal timeout, Straughn made a nice drive and dish for a layin at the 10:52 mark, and a 33-23 lead. Bishop Ireton would get a field goal to close to within eight again, but Morgan then drained a three pointer from the left wing at the 9:47 mark for a 36-25 lead.
Following a 30 second timeout with 9:47 to go, St. Joseph’s scored 9 of the next 13 points including Morgan’s final three of the game to take a 45-29 lead, but the Cardinals showed some fight by scoring five straight points to pull within eleven at 45-34 with 4:47 to go. Fortunately for the Falcons, Bishop Ireton was unable to get any closer. Straughn came up with a three point play at the 4:24 mark for a 48-34 lead, and then scored again on a layup off a pass from Contino for a 50-34 lead. The Falcons, which closed the game with a 10-2 spurt, scored five of the last seven points for the 55-36 win. St. Joseph’s advanced with the win, but would lose in the Quarterfinals to Pennington.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph’s | 24 | 31 | 55 |
| Bishop Ireton | 20 | 16 | 36 |
Bowie Rolls Past Monroe Thanks To Strong First Half Finish, 68-41
In the final game of the day that GMC Hoops reported on before coming back to New Jersey, Monroe took on Bowie from Mississippi in another game from the American Division Tournament. The Purple Birds advanced by defeating Holy Redeemer while Bowie, which is located 5 miles Northwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, defeated the Bishops of Asbury Park. This game appeared to be very competitive at the start with a total of six lead changes and three ties over the first 10:45 while neither team held a lead bigger than four points. However, over the last 9:15 of the half, Bowie turned on the fullcourt pressure, and put together a 28-12 surge for a 39-24 lead at the intermission. From there, Bowie coasted with a a 29-17 showing over the first 17:02 of the second half before the game was halted with 2:58 left, and the Mississippi team leading, 68-41.
It was a difficult game for the Purple Birds. One of the toughest of the summer for a Monroe team that has played exceptionally well since competing in the Rebounds Spring League. For the game, Monroe Township was 16 of 51 from the floor including just 2 of 12 from three point range while making 7 of 14 from the foul line. In other statistical areas, the Falcons picked up only 19 rebounds including 7 on the offensive glass. Monroe did hand out 16 assists, and swipe 13 steals, but turned the ball over 18 times in 32 minutes. There was a bright spot though for the Purple Birds, and that was the play of soon to be senior, Timmy Brix. The Monroe forward picked up 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting from the field, and a perfect 4 of 4 from the line. Brix also collected 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 charges.
Bowie got on the board first with a layup at the 15:26 mark for the 2-0 lead. Monroe tied the game at 2-2 up a little more than a minute later when Danny Brix inbounded to his older brother for a layup underneath in the left low block. Following a timeout at the 14:12 mark, Bowie got a jumper from the right wing at the 14:05 mark, and then a fast break layup at the 13:06 mark to go ahead, 6-2. The Falcons fought back though as Timmy Brix found Kenny Pace (9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal), and then after Bowie came up empty on two attempts at the foul line, Pace scored again to tie the game up. However, Bowie raced back down for a fast break layup, and an 8-6 lead with 11:52 to go in the half. Monroe was able to keep pace though as Timmy Brix scored again, and then came up with a stop on the defensive end by drawing a charge at the 11:27 mark with the score tied at 8-8.
Monroe now had a chance to take the lead, but after being fouled, Danny Brix was unable to take advantage as he missed both foul shot attempts at the 11:17 mark, but his brother and Kenny Pace picked him up 16 seconds later when the former found the latter for a layup, and a 10-8 lead with 11:01 to go in the half. The elder Brix then followed that up with his second charge of the game at the 10:44 mark. However, Bowie overcame that to take the lead back on a traditional three point play at the 10:07 mark. Almost a minute later, soon to be junior Alex Vizcaino (2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal) passed to Timmy Brix for a layup, and Monroe’s final lead of the game at 12-11 with 9:15 to go in the first half. Bowie then took over the contest. Its fullcourt pressure began to force turnovers, and the offense started converting them. Over a span of just over three minutes, the game transformed from a closely played affair to a double digit Bowie lead.
Bowie scored 16 of the next 18 points including a short baseline jumper from the left side at the 8:27 mark for a 13-12 lead, a steal for a layup seconds later for a 15-12 lead, and another steal for a layup at the 7:58 mark for a 17-12 lead. When Monroe finally got the ball into the frontcourt, Danny Brix missed a shot that Bowie rebounded and turned into a fast break layup, and a 19-12 lead with 7:38 to go in the half. Bowie would add another bucket for a 10-0 run before the Falcons were able to stem the tide temporarily as Pace found Travis Dufner (9 points on 4 of 6 shooting, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal) for a layup as the Monroe forward was fouled for a traditional three point play, and a 21-15 Bowie lead with 7:07 to play before halftime. Bowie quickly picked up right where it left off after that with a 6-0 run in just 56 seconds including one of two free throws to cap the 16-2 run for a 27-15 lead with 6:11 to go in the half.
The next 3:54 saw Monroe compete more, but still Bowie outscored the Falcons by a 10-7 margin despite a three pointer by Pace, and a bucket by Dufner. As the Purple Birds called for time, Bowie was now leading 37-22 with 2:17 to go in the half. Both teams then scored two points each over the final two plus minutes for a 39-24 Bowie lead at the intermission. In the second half, the Mississippi team picked up where it left off in the first half with a 10-4 start over the first 6:53 of the second half to take a commanding, 49-28 lead. Bowie scored eight of the next 12 points after that to go ahead by twenty-five at 57-32 with 10:09 to go. From there, Bowie wasn’t threatened as the game ended with just under three minutes to play, and the Mississippi school leading, 68-41. Bowie went on to win the National Division bracket by beating Pennington, a team that defeated St. Joseph’s in the Quarterfinals. So both Monroe and St. Joe’s have nothing to be ashamed of, and can hang their heads high.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowie (MS) | 39 | 29 | 68 |
| Monroe | 24 | 17 | 41 |