LINDEN, NJ–On Thursday evening, GMC Hoops traveled over to Linden High School for the fifth time this summer to see action from the Tuesday/Thursday Division of the 2009 Linden Summer League. On this night, the site saw just one game, which involved two teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference. The Bears of East Brunswick were facing off against Red Division Rival St. Joseph’s in the nightcap.
East Brunswick Defeats Shorthanded St. Joseph’s, 46-38
After being over at the Dunn Center earlier in the day to catch the two semifinal games from the 2009 Elizabeth Summer League Playoffs, the site caught a break when it was able to catch East Brunswick in action against St. Joseph’s. GMC Hoops had not been able to see East Brunswick all summer at Linden until today. Meanwhile, the site was seeing the Falcons for the third time this season at LHS. St. Joe’s was playing shorthanded as both Steve Rennard and Andrew Morgan were not in action along with several others. However, it gave the site an opportunity to look at some different players on the Falcons including Brandon Dolan, who put in a solid game against Bishop Ahr earlier in the summer at the Kean Summer League.
East Brunswick jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, and led at halftime by a score of 21-10 before St. Joseph’s rallied in the third with a 15-10 showing to close the gap to six, 31-25. However, in the fourth, the Bears ran off 10 of the first 12 points to take a 41-27 lead with 4:58 left before the Falcons rallied to close the game with an 11-5 run for the 46-38 final score in favor of EB. GMC Hoops arrived at the game with the Bears already leading 3-2. Kevin Lantz, who played a pivotal role in East Brunswick’s win over South River in the Middlesex County College Summer League Championship, made one of two at the line for a 4-2 lead at the 6:20 mark. St. Joe’s had a chance to tie the matchup with 5:30 to go in the period, but misfired on two free throws. The Bears then connected on a three pointer for a 7-2 lead with 3:33 left in the frame, and after nearly a three minute lull in the scoring, Lantz came up with a steal, and went in for a layup from the left side to make the score, 9-2 with 54 seconds to go in the first.
St. Joe’s got back on the board with a bank shot at the 30 second mark before Lantz ended the quarter scoring with a turnaround jumper off an assist by Anthony Gudzak as time expired for the 11-4 advantage. The second period saw East Brunswick increase its advantage to double digits as the Bears won the frame by four. Things started out positively for the Falcons though as Robbie Ashamole connected on a shot in the paint while being fouled for a three point play, and an 11-7 EB lead at the 8:43 mark. Nearly two minutes later, St. Joseph’s had a chance to get even closer, but Mike Simpson failed to connect on two free throws after being fouled on a layup attempt with 6:47 to play in the half. A little more than a minute later, Carl Thomore scored on a turnaround jumper down low for a 13-7 Bears lead at the 5:45 mark. On the next Falcon possession, Ashamole got two offensive rebounds, but came up empty both times on his follow attempts with 5:22 to play in the half. East Brunswick then came down, and scored a layup at the 5:09 mark to take a 15-7 lead.
St. Joe’s got on the board next with a one of two showing from the foul line for a 15-8 EB lead with just inside four minutes to go before the intermission. Twenty-seven seconds later, Kevin McHenry found Thomore for another turnaround jumper in the paint for a 17-8 lead with 3:32 to go in the half. Thomore continued to stay active when he made a nice bounce pass for an assist on a layup at the three minute mark for a 19-8 lead. East Brunswick had a chance to go up even further, but Dolan came up with a steal, and passed ahead to Simpson, who then dished to a teammate for a layup that brought the deficit back down to single digits for the time being at 19-10. The Bears closed out the first half scoring as Thomore handed out another assist on a jumper from the right wing by Anthony Gudzak for a 21-10 advantage at the intermission. The third period was the only quarter in which St. Joseph’s outscored EB, and that closed the gap to just six.
East Brunswick got on the board first in the period when Thomore kicked out to the wing for a three pointer, and a 24-10 lead at the 9:24 mark. St. Joseph’s responded with a three pointer from the left corner at the 7:15 mark for a 24-13 Bears lead. Nick Straughn got into the act with a steal for a layup to pull the Falcons within single digits at 24-15 with 7:04 to go in the half. St. Joe’s added another layup for a 6-0 run, and a 24-17 EB lead at the 6:25 mark. The Bears ended the Falcon burst with a drive through the middle for a floater, and a 26-17 lead at the 5:52 mark. Ashamole responded with an offensive rebound off a Dolan miss, and a jumper that got a kind bounce for a 26-19 score at the 5:21 mark. The soon to be junior then made a nice defensive play as he blocked a shot by Justin Rosa with 2:45 to go in the period. Undaunted, Rosa later handed out an assist as he passed to Thomore, who drove in for a layup , and a 28-19 lead with 2:21 remaining in the half.
Almost a half minute later, Dolan struck for a three pointer from the left corner to trim the deficit to six at the 1:52 mark. He then followed that up with a layup after EB got a three pointer for a 31-24 score with 1:02 left. Straughn closed out the period scoring with one of two from the foul line to make the score, 31-25 heading into the fourth. In the final frame, East Brunswick got started first as Lantz kicked out to John Genco for a three pointer from the left wing to make the score, 34-25 at the 8:00 mark. A little more than a minute and a half later, McHenry added a pair of free throws for a 36-25 lead with 6:24 remaining. Straughn replied with a drive from the right wing to close the gap to single digits again with just under six minutes to play. However, the Bears would score the next five points thanks to Genco, who connected on a three pointer from the right wing at the 5:37 mark, and then made two foul shots at the 4:58 mark to give the Bears a 41-27 lead.
St. Joe’s would close the game strong by outscoring EB by six over the final five minutes or so, but came up short as the Bears came away with the 46-38 victory.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Brunswick | 11 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 46 |
| St. Joseph’s | 4 | 6 | 15 | 13 | 38 |
GMC Hoops was back out at Linden on Wednesday for the semifinals, and will return there on Thursday for the Championship between Colonia and Linden.