COLONIA, NJ—On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to Colonia High School to take in the final two quarterfinal round playoff games that were on the schedule in the Colonia JV Summer League. First, fourth seeded Perth Amboy was taking on fifth seeded Colonia I, and then, in the nightcap, top seeded St. Mary’s of Elizabeth was facing off against ninth seeded New Brunswick. The winners of these two games would go on to play in the semifinals on Tuesday evening with the winners of those two games to play for the Championship later on Tuesday night.
Colonia I Rallies To Defeat Perth Amboy, 43-42
Talk about thrillers. This game had quite a finish. When GMC Hoops arrived at Colonia High School, fourth seeded Perth Amboy was leading 36-29 with 13:32 left when the Junior Patriots of Colonia I rallied with a 14-6 spurt the rest of the way for a come from behind, 43-42 victory. Down by seven, Colonia I didn’t panic although a drive through the middle to draw a foul at the 11:18 mark didn’t produce any results. Amboy then went ahead by nine on a couple of occasions as the Junior Panthers got a field goal at the 10:45 mark, and after two free throws by Colonia I at the 9:55 mark, they netted two foul shots of their own with 8:23 to play for a 40-31 lead.
Over the next 1:45, the Junior Patriots scored four unanswered points including a steal for a layup to close the gap to five at 40-35 with 6:40 left. Following a Perth Amboy timeout at the 6:36 mark, Colonia I made it a 6-0 run with a layup at the 5:30 mark, and then after a 3:18 scoring drought by both teams, the Junior Patriots netted two foul shots at the 2:12 mark to make it a one point game at 40-39. A little less than a minute later, Colonia I took the lead on a foul line jumper at the 1:18 mark for a 41-40 score. Perth Amboy, which was held without a field goal over the last 10:45, got its final points of the game on two free throws with 1:06 remaining for a 42-41 lead. On its very next possession though, Colonia I retook the lead on a foul line jumper at the 45 second mark for a 43-42 score.
Perth Amboy had a chance to take the lead on several occasions, but failed to capitalize. The Junior Panthers turned the ball over with 31 seconds left, but forced a steal, and called for time at the 21 second mark. After Colonia I got a stop, Amboy forced the Junior Pats to go to the line where they missed the front end of a one and one with six seconds to play. After getting the rebound, Perth Amboy was unable to get a shot off as time ran out, and Colonia I advanced to the Final Four with a 43-42 victory. With the win, Colonia I improved to 6-3 on the summer, and advanced to the semifinals to take on top seeded St. Mary’s. Perth Amboy finished the summer at 6-4.
St. Mary’s Survives Tough Battle With New Brunswick, 28-23
This contest was a defensive battle mostly. Both teams really struggled from the field, especially in the first half when they combined for just 12 points. However, the offenses picked up in the second half, and the Junior Hilltoppers from St. Mary’s of Elizabeth outscored a game New Brunswick by a 22-17 margin over the final 20 minutes for the 28-23 victory. For the game, St. Mary’s shot 11 of 38 from the floor for 28.9 percent while New Brunswick was only 11 of 35 from the floor for 31.4 percent. Neither team made a three pointer, but the Junior Hilltoppers were better at the line going 6 of 13 for 46.2 percent while the Junior Zebras were only 1 of 4. Turnovers played a key role as well. St. Mary’s had 18 miscues while forcing New Brunswick to commit 24 turnovers.
In other statistical areas, the Junior Zebras had the edge on the glass with a 29-21 overall advantage in rebounding including a 9-7 showing on the offensive boards while blocking more shots (6-5). Both teams handed out seven assists while St. Mary’s had a slight edge in steals (12-11). In the first half, both teams really struggled offensively. The Junior Hilltoppers were only 3 of 21 overall from the floor while committing 9 turnovers. On the other hand, New Brunswick was not much better making just 3 of 14 shots and committing 11 turnovers. However, in the second half, St. Mary’s went 8 of 17 overall from the floor while the Junior Zebras were just 8 of 21. The Elizabeth school, which earned the top seed with an 8-1 record overall during the regular season, also made 6 of 11 from the line while forcing 13 turnovers to pull out the hard fought victory.
St. Mary’s had the first opportunity to go on top, but after being fouled on a layup attempt with 18:37 to go in the half, the Junior Hilltoppers misfired on the free throw. Another 4:32 went by without any scoring as St. Mary’s started off 0 of 7 from the floor while New Brunswick was 0 of 5. A little more than a minute later though, the Junior Hilltoppers went on top on a layup that ended an 0 of 9 start for a 2-0 lead at the 12:42 mark. The scoring futility continued for the next 2:50 and beyond when St. Mary’s inbounded underneath the New Brunswick basket for a layup attempt that drew a foul, but didn’t yield any points thanks to another missed foul shot. When a timeout was called at the 9:25 mark, both teams were already a combined 1 of 18 from the floor and committed 11 turnovers.
New Brunswick didn’t get on the board until the 6:57 mark of the first half when it got a field goal on a high arching shot from the foul line for a 2-2 tie. On its next possession, St. Mary’s retook the lead on a jumper from the left side to make the score 4-2 as both teams seemed to be coming out of their slumps. However, the scoring would continue to be hard to come by as both teams combined for six points the rest of the half. The Junior Hilltoppers went up by four as a player dribbled to the foul line for a jumper, and a 6-2 lead at the 5:21 mark. The Junior Zebras would then tie the game by scoring the final four points of the half including a nice entry pass from the left wing to the left low block that produced a scoop shot for a layup at the 2:27 mark, and then a line drive jumper from the foul line at the 1:38 mark. The offenses finally picked things up in the second half, but St. Mary’s got the lion’s share of the points for the win.
The Junior Hilltoppers started off the second half with great passing and teamwork for a layup and an 8-6 lead a little more than 30 seconds into the period. New Brunswick answered with a drive through the middle for a layup at the 19:15 mark to tie it up again at 8-8. The game went back and forth for a bit longer as St. Mary’s connected on a bank shot from the foul line to take a 10-8 lead, but then the Junior Hilltoppers went up further on a layup at the 17:46 mark for a 12-8 advantage. The Elizabeth school then made it a 7-0 run on a one of two showing from the line at the 15:26 mark, and then two foul shots with 13:05 to play for a 15-8 lead. Moments later though, New Brunswick put a halt to the run as the Junior Zebras came right back down the floor for a layup, and a 15-10 score with just under 13 minutes to play. NBHS added another score to close within three, but St. Mary’s went back up by five thanks to a nice extra pass down low for a layup and a 17-12 lead at the 9:41 mark.
Over the next 2:29 though, the Junior Zebras rallied with six unanswered points including a drive for a layup after a blocked shot at the other end to take their first lead of the contest, 18-17 at the 7:12 mark. The lead didn’t last long though as St. Mary’s scored on its next possession off an offensive rebound and a jumper on the follow with 6:31 to play for a 19-18 lead. The Junior Hilltoppers added another field goal before New Brunswick made one of two from the line at the 4:15 mark for a 21-19 score. St. Mary’s added another field goal, and then after a timeout, clicked on two key free throws with under a minute to play to go up by six, 25-19. The Junior Zebras didn’t quit though. They would get a field goal to pull within four, and then after St. Mary’s made one of two at the line with 15.6 seconds left, New Brunswick climbed to within three on a layup at the 8.89 second mark. However, St. Mary’s would prevail as the Junior Hilltoppers got an offensive rebound and follow off a missed foul shot to put the game away, and win, 28-23.
With the victory, St. Mary’s improved to 9-1 overall, and advanced to the semifinals to face Colonia I.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Mary’s (9-1) | 6 | 22 | 28 |
| New Brunswick (3-8) | 6 | 17 | 23 |
GMC Hoops would like to thank league director, Brian O’Lone for his help this season.