NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled down to the Hoop Group Headquarters, formerly known as Rebounds to take in the second night of action from the 2009 Hoop Group Headquarters High School Boys Fall League. This is the fourth straight year that the site is covering this league. Six teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference are competing in this league, and the site saw three of them in some sort of action. Check out the results of the three games along with the rest of the contests, and the latest standings.
The web site saw contests involving three teams from the GMC including Cardinal McCarrick versus Southern Regional, South River versus Manalapan, and Spotswood versus Middletown North. All the games were played during the 8:00 PM hour so the site was only able to get some of the first half as well as most of the second half in for all three of the games since they were all happening simultaneously.
Manalapan Defeats South River, 50-40
In the first game, GMC Hoops took in the later portion of the first half between South River and Manalapan. Both teams entered the contest at 0-1 so the winner would improve to .500 while the loser would remain winless. This game was another tough one for the Rams, which are a Group I school. Manalapan is a Group IV school that competes in the Class A North Division of the Shore, and has traditionally played the likes of CBA, Freehold Township, Middletown North, and Middletown South year in and year out in the Shore Conference.
In the first game, the Rams took on Ocean Township, a Group III school that plays the likes of Neptune, Freehold Borough, Monmouth Regional, Red Bank, and Long Branch in the Class B North Division of the Shore. South River head coach, Rodney Harris, a 1987 graduate of the school, who was on hand to watch his team in action, knows this is tough competition, but he feels this is what his team needs to improve. “This is how you improve,” he said after the contest with the Braves. Prior to this year, the Rams did not play in a fall league.
In the past, South River has competed in the Middlesex County Summer League, where this year, it reached the Championship Game of the playoffs before losing to East Brunswick. Most of the Rams such as Shawn Fenton and Steven Moore, play on the football team so they aren’t playing at full strength, but on Monday, Brandon Walsh was in action. This contest saw Manalapan take a 31-18 lead at the half, and then get outscored by the Rams, 22-19 in the second half for a 50-40 victory. The site arrived with a little more than 3:15 remaining in the first half after being at work until 7:30 PM.
Manalapan was leading 25-16 when the Braves added a field goal at the 2:47 mark for a 27-16 lead. Thirty-five seconds later, Walsh netted two foul shots to close the gap to 27-18, but Manalapan added a layup with 1:47 to go in the first half, and then put in another two points to close out the half with a 6-2 burst for the 13 point lead at the intermission. The Rams competed though in the second half, and didn’t let the game get away to their credit as the Braves improved to 1-1 on the fall with the 50-40 win. South River drops to 0-2. Next Monday night, the Rams will be playing another tough opponent as they take on Freehold Township (White) at 8:00 PM over on the Celtics court.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manalapan (1-1) | 31 | 19 | 50 |
| South River (0-2) | 18 | 22 | 40 |
Middletown North Edges Spotswood In Low Scoring Affair, 29-26
It was quite unusual to see Spotswood’s offense get limited to just 26 points, but that is what happened as Middletown North overcame a 12-10 halftime deficit with a 19-14 showing over the final 20 minutes for the 29-26 win. GMC Hoops came over to see the game after watching South River play for a little bit, and covered whatever it could while watching Cardinal McCarrick go at it with Southern Regional in an overtime classic.
With 18:03 to go in the contest, Middletown North embarked on a key 8-2 run to take the lead with a jumper that tied it up at 12-12. The run continued after Spotswood got an offensive rebound and follow at the 17:45 mark to go back up by two. The Lions scored six unanswered points to move out in front by four, 18-14 as the Chargers called for time at the 14:51 mark. Following the timeout, Spotswood got three straight points including a one of two showing at the foul line to pull within one at 18-17 with 11:08 remaining in regulation. The Chargers then tied the game up at 18-18 with a one of two showing from the foul line at the 9:48 mark.
Over the next 3:05, Middletown North scored five in a row including a three point play at the 6:43 mark to go back out in front, 23-18. A little less than a minute and a half later, the Lions were forced to call timeout after Tyler Osofsky netted a three pointer to pull the Chargers within two again at 23-21 with 5:22 left. Neither team scored for the next 3:11 until the Lions got a field goal at the 2:11 mark for a 25-21 lead. Middletown North then added a pair of free throws at the 1:44 mark for a 27-21 lead. However, to its credit, Spotswood didn’t give up.
First, the Chargers got a three pointer at the one minute mark to cut the deficit in half at 27-24. Spotswood had a chance to cut into the Middletown North lead a bit more, but James Pareti missed the front end of a one and one with 42 seconds to play. The Lions then made one of two at the line for a 28-24 lead with about 30 seconds left. The Chargers then came right back down, and got the ball to Osofsky, who was fouled, and made two from the line for a 28-26 Middletown North lead with 21.5 seconds remaining. The Lions, which lost their opener to Rumson Fair-Haven (48-30), netted a free throw to go up by three with around ten seconds left.
Spotswood had several chances to tie at the end, but Osofsky’s first three attempt was blocked. His second three hit iron, and a hustling James Pareti got the offensive rebound in the left corner for a last second desperation three attempt that was off the mark. With the 29-26 victory, Middletown North improved to .500 at 1-1 while Spotswood, which defeated Shore Regional in its opener (65-43), fell to .500 at 1-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middletown North (1-1) | 10 | 19 | 29 |
| Spotswood (1-1) | 12 | 14 | 26 |
Cardinal McCarrick Prevails Over Southern Regional On Last Second Shot In OT, 56-54
This was the marquee game of the night as far as GMC Hoops was concerned. Cardinal McCarrick, which won over South Brunswick in an earlier game (55-29), really had to dig down deep not only to withstand a Southern Regional three pointer at the end of regulation to tie things up at 49-49, but also a 5-0 run over the first 55 seconds to take a 54-49 lead to win the game. The Eagles did just that by scoring the final seven points of regulation including a runner off the glass for a basket as time expired for the 56-54 victory. The Eagles brought a decent contingent of players including Mo Issac, Craig Thomas, Ryan Smith, and Mike Lewis, and everyone contributed in the victory.
Cardinal McCarrick opened up the fall with a win over Freehold Township’s Blue team by a score of 49-28 on September 21st while the Rams of Southern Regional, based in Manahawkin near Long Beach Island in Ocean County, started the season in tough fashion with a 63-38 loss to St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth. The first half was a very high scoring period with both teams combining for 53 points as the Eagles jumped out to a seven point lead at the intermission (30-23). However, after Cardy Mac took a 34-23 lead on a pair of free throws by Craig Thomas with 17:33 to play in regulation, the Rams, which compete in the Class A South Division of the Shore Conference, began to chip away at the deficit.
Southern Regional started by making big defensive plays such as a blocked shot at the 16:26 mark. The Rams then scored the next four points to pull within seven before Thomas found Ryan Smith for a jumper from the left wing that made the score, 36-27. McCarrick had a chance to increase its lead, but the Rams, which rallied from behind to defeat Neptune in the Hoop Group Headquarters Summer League came up with another blocked shot at the 12:27 mark. Southern Regional then outscored McCarrick by a 5-2 margin to close the gap to 38-32 when Smith stepped to the line for the Eagles, and missed two foul shots at the 10:46 mark.
However, Smith rebounded when Thomas kicked out to him on the left side off the penetration for a jumper that was true, and made the score, 40-32 with 9:25 left. Southern Regional connected on a three pointer to pull within five, but Thomas stepped to the line, and made both free throws for a 42-35 Cardy Mac lead at the 8:28 mark. The Rams continued to rally though with an 8-2 run over the next 3:25 that included an offensive rebound and putback at the 7:06 mark, and then another field goal at the 5:03 mark. Southern Regional then tied the contest up at 44-44 with 4:31 to play on a one of two showing from the foul line. The Eagles would take the lead back on a one of two effort from the line at the 3:15 mark, but the Rams scored on their very next possession to take a 46-45 lead at the 2:53 mark.
Southern Regional had a chance to go ahead even further, but Isaac came up with a key blocked shot at the 2:28 mark. The Rams got another opportunity, but couldn’t cash in as they missed both foul shot attempts with 1:34 to play. The Eagles then rallied to score the next four points including a bucket at the 1:00 mark, and two free throws with 12.2 seconds left for a 49-46 lead. However, after the Rams called for time, they tied the game up on a three pointer from the left wing with four seconds left in regulation. We were going to overtime tied at 49-49. In the extra session, Southern Regional tried to build off the momentum gained at the end of regulation.
Over the first 55 seconds of the overtime period, the Rams scored the first five points for an 8-0 run in less than a minute that transformed the McCarrick three point lead into a five point deficit with 1:05 remaining. However, the Eagles fought back as Thomas passed to Isaac for a line drive jumper to close the gap to three at 54-51. The Eagles then added one of two at the line with 41 seconds to go. Instead of taking time off the clock, Southern Regional took a quick shot, which Isaac rebounded, and passed to Thomas, who tossed the ball upcourt to a teammate, who was fouled and made two free throws with 29 seconds left. Then, after a 30 second timeout with nine seconds to play, the Eagles pulled out the win with a runner from the right side that banked in as time ran out for the 56-54 win.
With the victory, the Eagles improved to 3-0 on the fall while Southern Regional fell to 0-2. Cardinal McCarrick gets a bye this Monday, but will return to action on October 12th with a game against Manasquan at 7:00 PM over on the Celtics Court.
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal McCarrick (3-0) | 30 | 19 | 7 | 56 |
| Southern Regional (0-2) | 23 | 26 | 5 | 54 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at the Hoop Group Headquarters on Monday night for the third week of action from this league.