SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Thursday night, GMC Hoops headed over to South Amboy Middle/High School to take in games from the forty-first and final night of action at 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 saw the only two games on the schedule. In the first game, East Brunswick took on St. Stan’s of Sayreville in a contest from the 7th and 8th Grade Division. Then, in the nightcap, South River battled Monsignor Farrell in a game from the High School Division. For the third time this week, the site was treated to a heck of a finale. See all the results from Tuesday night’s action as well as the latest standings.
East Brunswick Finishes On A Strong Note By Breezing Past St. Stan’s, 74-18
In the first contest, it was all East Brunswick as the Bears finished the season strong with its third straight win, and fifth out of six games to finish the season. East Brunswick jumped out to a 15-4 lead, and after giving up a couple of scores to St. Stan’s, it went on a 13-0 run to take a 28-8 lead before St. Stan’s netted a three pointer at the 4:14 mark of the first half. The Bears then finished off the half with a 17-2 tear for a 45-13 lead. From there, EB cruised with a 29-5 showing in the second half for a 74-18 victory. In the first half, East Brunswick made 17 field goals, three treys, and 2 of 4 from the line while limiting St. Stan’s to five field goals, and a three pointer. In the second half, St. Stan’s only made 2 of 24 shots while EB connected on 12 of 26 shots including 3 of 7 from three point range.
Due to rush hour traffic, GMC Hoops didn’t pick up the action until the 13:35 mark of the first half with East Brunswick already leading 15-4. Neither team scored for nearly two minutes until St. Stan’s got an offensive rebound, and put in the follow to close the gap to 15-6. The Sayreville based school then added a score in the key for a 15-8 EB lead at the 11:10 mark. Following a St. Stan’s timeout at the 10:49 mark, the Bears went to work with four steals that were converted into baskets over a span of just 1:22. EB’s pressure defense generated a steal for a layup at the 10:31 mark for a 17-8 lead, and then an EB player ripped away another steal that produced a layup some 18 seconds later. The Bears didn’t stop there either as they got another steal for a layup at the 9:54 mark, and a fast break layup off a steal for a 23-8 lead with 9:27 remaining in the first half.
East Brunswick added a one of two showing from the line at the 8:04 mark, and then two more scores for a 28-8 lead before St. Stan’s ended the 13-0 tear with a three pointer from the right wing to make the score, 28-11 with 4:14 to go in the first half. The Bears resumed their onslaught with six straight points before St. Stan’s called a full timeout with 2:37 remaining and the scoreboard reading 34-11 in favor of East Brunswick. Following the stoppage, EB picked up right where it left off with 11 of the final 13 points of the half including a three pointer from the right wing as time was running out for the 45-13 advantage at the intermission. Two players accounted for 71.1 percent of EB’s opening period scoring. In the second half, East Brunswick started right where it left off in the opening period with two field goals and two threes for a 55-13 lead at the 14:35 mark. The Bears then added a layup and a three pointer for a 15-0 tear, and an insurmountable, 60-13 lead with 9:21 remaining.
St. Stan’s, which had seven offensive rebounds in the final 20 minutes, took advantage of the situation to do something rare, and that was to play all four of the Asterita brothers at the same time as East Brunswick coasted to the 74-18 victory. With the win, EB finished the summer at 6-5 while St. Stan’s closed out the season at 3-7.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Brunswick (6-5) | 45 | 29 | 74 |
| St. Stan’s (3-7) | 13 | 5 | 18 |
South River Rallies To Beat Monsignor Farrell, 52-45
The finale was another barnburner as South River took on Monsignor Farrell of Staten Island. The Rams, which were coming off a very successful summer at Middlesex County College, was looking to get some work in while the Lions were looking to finish the summer at Raritan Bay on a positive note. In a game that saw eight lead changes and five ties while neither team had a lead bigger than seven points, South River rallied from a 38-32 deficit with a 20-7 surge over the final 10:36 for a 52-45 victory over Farrell. Despite having Brandon Walsh (8 points on 3 of 5 shooting and 2 of 3 from the line along with 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and an assist) sit most of the second half with four fouls, the Rams still managed to get the victory as Shawn Fenton helped out with 11 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the floor, and 1 of 2 from the line along with 8 rebounds.
For the game, South River made 22 of 41 shots from the floor for 53.7 percent as well as 8 of 15 from the line for 53.3 percent while limiting Monsignor Farrell to 18 of 49 from the floor for 36.7 percent including 2 of 12 from long distance. The Lions were also 7 of 11 from the line for 63.6 percent. In other statistical areas, turnovers were even at 18 apiece while South River won the battle of the boards with a 34-20 showing overall including a 17-13 edge on the offensive glass. The Rams also had more assists (11-10), steals (11-5), and blocks (2-0) while the Lions drew the only two charges in the game. South River outscored Monsignor Farrell in both halves with a 25-20 showing in the first followed by a 27-25 edge in the second. However, the game was back and forth throughout as the Rams played up tempo while pressuring on all areas of the court.
Walsh got things started for the Rams with a steal for a layup in the first few moments of the game for a 2-0 lead before Farrell called for time at the 18:55 mark. The Lions would tie the game, but South River took the lead back with a layup at the 17:41 mark that made the score, 4-2. After the Lions tied the game again, the Rams scored the next five points including a rebound and drive upcourt for a layup by Walsh as he was fouled for a three point play, and a 9-4 lead at the 16:42 mark. South River had a chance to go up even further, but missed two foul shots with 15:43 to go in the half, and Farrell took advantage with a three pointer from the left wing at the 14:53 mark that made the score, 9-7. The Rams got those three points back with a steal for a layup while being fouled for a conventional three point play, and a 12-7 lead at the 14:09 mark.
South River had another chance to go up even further, but Monsignor Farrell was able to draw a charge on Walsh at the 13:20 mark. On a subsequent possession, Farrell got an offensive rebound and follow while being fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for the traditional three point play, and despite a 4-0 rally, still trailed by one, 12-11 with 12:30 to go in the first half. Neither team scored for over a minute and a half before South River put together a fast break that produced a bank shot from the left side for a 14-11 lead at the 10:52 mark. The Lions got a field goal to pull within one again, but the Rams came up with a conventional three point play at the 9:12 mark for a 17-13 lead. South River added another score before Farrell made three free throws to close the gap to three again at 19-16 with 5:36 to play in the half.
The Lions got to within a point thanks to another score before Fenton, who sat a great deal of the first half, got an offensive rebound off his own miss, and scored on a putback for a 21-18 lead with four minutes to go before the intermission. Following a 30 second timeout by new Rams head coach, Rodney Harris at the 2:33 mark, South River ended the first half by scoring four of the last six points for a 25-20 lead at the intermission. In the first half, South River made 10 of 23 shots for 43.5 percent, and netted 5 of 9 from the foul line for 55.6 percent while Monsignor Farrell was limited to 8 of 25 shooting from the floor overall for 32 percent including just 2 of 8 from downtown. The Lions made only 2 of 3 from the line while making 14 turnovers. South River also committed a lot of miscues with 13 in the game’s first 20 minutes. The second half started out with Farrell outscoring South River by an 18-7 margin over the first 9:24 to take a 38-32 lead, but the Rams would rally behind the play of Fenton to win the game.
As he did to start the game, Walsh got things going in the second half for South River with an offensive rebound and follow after the Lions got on the board first. Following a Farrell timeout at the 19:02 mark, a Lions player made the Rams defense look like swiss cheese by weaving right through it as he went virtually coast to coast for a layup, and a 27-24 South River lead at the 18:49 mark. The Lions then got a huge break as Walsh picked up his fourth foul of the game at the 18:00 mark. Farrell would get another score before Walsh went to the line, and made one of two before going to the bench for a little over twelve minutes. Monsignor Farrell then tied the game at 28-28 with a scoop shot for a layup at the 15:30 mark. A little over a minute later, Farrell took its first lead of the contest on a layup with 14:20 to go. South River tied the game up, but the Lions wrestled the lead right back before Fenton got on the board with a field goal at the 13:18 mark to knot the game again at 32-32.
On its next possession, Farrell took the lead again with a layup at the 13:00 mark, and then scored four more points to take a six point lead. With 11:45 remaining, the Lions went to the line, and made one of two. On the missed second foul shot, the Staten Island school picked up two offensive rebounds, and put in the follow for a 37-32 lead. A little over a minute later, Monsignor Farrell made another one of two from the line for a 38-32 lead as South River called for a timeout with 10:36 to play. Over the next 3:29, the Rams scored five of the next seven points including a three point play at the 7:01 mark for a 40-37 Farrell lead. A little more than a minute after that, South River got a layup to close to within one at 40-39 with 5:50 to go. Then, Fenton gave the Rams the lead with a floater at the 5:21 mark before the Lions took the lead back with two foul shots with 4:56 left to play.
Walsh re-entered the game at the 4:48 mark, and the Rams responded with a foul line jumper by Fenton at the 4:35 mark to take a 43-42 lead, and a three point play at the 3:10 mark to go ahead by four, 46-42. Farrell got an offensive rebound and follow with under two minutes to play to close the gap to two again, but South River got an offensive rebound and follow at the 1:10 mark for a 48-44 lead, and scored four of the final five points to win the game, 52-45. With the defeat, Monsignor Farrell ended the summer at 6-4 overall.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| South River (1-0) | 25 | 27 | 52 |
| Monsignor Farrell (6-4) | 20 | 25 | 45 |
GMC Hoops thanks Tom Reilly and Gary Lange for their assistance and great hospitality this summer.