SOMERVILLE, NJ–On Sunday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to Immaculata High School again to take in the final two games from the fifth week of action in the fall league there. As mentioned previously, there are 18 teams competing in this league including five from the Greater Middlesex Conference.
This league involves teams from five different counties including Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, and Somerset. For the third time this fall, the web site was able to see some GMC teams in action. In addition, thanks to Chris Fox, we were able to get the results from all the games as well as the updated standings.
On this night, the site saw one contest involving teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference while the other involved teams from the Skyland and Colonial Valley Conference. In the first matchup, Monroe was battling Montgomery in a rematch of last year’s Central Jersey Group IV State Tournament Quarterfinal round game won by the Falcons in Monroe. In the nightcap, the site saw a battle of unbeatens as Hillsborough took on Hopewell Valley.
Montgomery Rallies In Second Half To Defeat Monroe, 36-35
In a battle of two 3-1 teams entering the contest, Monroe came out strong with a 25-14 lead at the intermission only to be outscored 22-10 in the second half including a 14-6 Montgomery spurt over the final 14:55 for a 36-35 Cougar win. Montgomery, which has looked quite formidable so far this fall including a blowout win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South on opening night, was no stranger to Monroe since it lost to the Falcons back in the Quarterfinal round of the Central Jersey Group IV State Tournament back in March. After the Falcons took a 25-14 lead into the brief intermission, the Cougars came out strong with an 8-2 spurt over the first 6:38 to pull within five at 27-22 with 15:22 remaining.
The Purple Birds then got a field goal at the 14:55 mark for a 29-22 lead. Like the game against Immaculata that Monroe won two weeks ago, fouls began to be a factor. By the 13:19 mark of the second half, Monroe had six fouls while Montgomery had three. Kenny Pace, who was held scoreless over the final 14:55 of play, handed out an assist on a field goal from the right wing by Danny Brix at the 12:51 mark for a 4-0 burst, and a 31-22 lead. Montgomery responded though with a three pointer from the left side at the 12:37 mark, and another three from the right corner at the 11:09 mark for a 31-28 score.
Following a Monroe timeout with 10:05 to play, Montgomery crept to within one at 31-30 thanks to a layup while being fouled with 8:37 left. The Cougars were unable to tie the contest up due to a missed bonus free throw. The Cougar defense continued to tighten as it came up with a blocked shot on Pace with 6:14 to play. Montgomery then got the rebound, and dished left for a two handed layup, and a 32-31 lead at the 6:07 mark. By this point, both teams had a significant number of fouls as Monroe had eight while Montgomery had six. Although, he didn’t score for almost the final 15 minutes of the game, Pace still played a role by handing out assists like the one on a Danny Brix layup at the 4:58 mark for a 33-32 lead. Pace set up the play with a steal on the defense end as well.
With a little over four minutes remaining, Danny Brix made one of two at the line for a 34-32 lead. Then, older brother, Timmy Brix made one of two from the line for a 35-32 lead at the 3:11 mark. Montgomery rallied again though with a nice move for a layin that made the score, 35-34 at the 2:15 mark, and a fine penetration and dish right for a layup with 1:05 to go for a 36-35 lead after a Timmy Brix pass to Danny Brix went out of bounds, and a 30 second timeout by the Cougars at the 1:19 mark. It wasn’t over yet though. Both teams had eight fouls apiece as Monroe called for time with 38 seconds left in regulation. The Purple Birds had the ball with a chance to go ahead again.
However, when sophomore Victor Sorrento got the ball down low on the right side of the paint, he was double teamed, and had his shot blocked, which led to a jump ball at the 21 second mark. The Cougars got the ball on the alternate possession. However, Mike Mahmoud came up with a steal seconds later only to have Sorrento called for a traveling violation with 16 seconds to go. Forced to foul, Monroe made Montgomery go to the line, where the Cougars missed the front end of a one and one with 13 seconds to play. Having one more chance to pull the game out, Monroe was unable to get the win as Timmy Brix’s last second shot hit the rim, and Montgomery emerged victorious. With the victory, the Cougars improved to 4-1 on the fall while Monroe slipped to 3-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery (4-1) | 14 | 22 | 36 |
| Monroe (3-2) | 25 | 10 | 35 |
Hillsborough Rolls Past Hopewell Valley Behind Strong Second Half, 73-48
In the nightcap, GMC Hoops was treated to another showdown as Hillsborough took on Hopewell Valley in a game that matched to undefeated teams at 4-0. The Raiders, which hail from the Skyland Conference, and Mid-State 39, were coming off a victory over previously unbeaten Cardinal McCarrick last week while Hopewell Valley was coming into this contest following a one point win over Watchung Hills.
This game would end up not living up to the pre-game hype as Hillsborough pulled away from an eight point halftime lead with a 39-22 second half showing for the lopsided 73-48 win to remain unbeaten. In the game, Hopewell Valley, led by the shooting efforts of guard, Max Alton, went 15 of 42 from the floor overall for 36 percent including 5 of 13 from long range for 38 percent. Meanwhile, at the line, the Bulldogs were 13 of 15 for 87 percent. On the other side of the scoring ledger, Hillsborough connected on 29 of 62 shots overall for 47 percent including a 5 of 15 effort from beyond the arc for 33 percent. The Raiders also went 10 of 14 from the charity stripe for 71 percent.
In other statistical areas, Hillsborough dominated the boards with a 34-22 edge including a 12-2 showing on the offensive glass. The Raiders also had more assists (22-9), steals (8-4), and fewer turnovers (8-14). Hopewell Valley had more blocks (4-1) while neither team drew a charge. The Bulldogs started out strong by making three of their first four shots for a 9-6 lead at the 18:25 mark. The Raiders responded by making two free throws at the 17:30 mark for a 9-8 HVHS lead. Hillsborough then added one of two from the line at the 16:09 mark for a 9-9 tie, and then took a 12-9 lead on a three pointer from the top of the key at the 14 minute mark.
Hopewell, which is located in Mercer County, got a bucket to draw within one, but the Raiders scored the next four points including a reverse layup to cap a 10-2 run for a 16-11 lead at the 12:45 mark. Following a three pointer by Alton, Hillsborough went back up by four on a nice baseline drive and spin move for a layup, and an 18-14 score. Following a Bulldog timeout with 10:49 to go in the first half, Hopewell Valley pulled to within two again on a lob pass down low for a layup in the right low block, and an 18-16 Raider lead at the 10:30 mark. Hillsborough got another basket to go back up by four before the Bulldogs made another lob pass off the fast break for a layup, and a 20-18 ball with 8:24 left in the half.
Hillsborough then proceeded to reel off five straight points including a one of two showing from the foul line at the 7:17 mark for a 25-18 lead before Hopewell Valley responded with a three point play at the 5:39 mark to close the gap to 25-21. The Raiders scored the next three including a field goal before a timeout at the 4:47 mark, and then one of two from the line at the 3:51 mark. The Bulldogs responded by making two free throws with 2:39 to play in the half for a 28-23 Raider lead. Hillsborough went up by nine at 32-23 after scoring four straight, but Alton, who has fouled on a three point attempt, drew Hopewell Valley back to within a half dozen at 32-26 by making all three foul shots with 1:33 to go before the intermission. The Raiders then closed out the half with two foul shots with no time on the clock for the eight point, 34-26 lead.
At halftime, Hopewell Valley was 8 of 17 overall from the floor, but only 5 of 13 from the field over the final 18:25 of the half. Meanwhile, Hillsborough was 13 of 31 from the floor. The Bulldogs had an edge in three point shooting by going 2 of 6 while the Raiders were just 1 of 7. Both teams shot fairly well at the line with Hopewell Valley making all eight of its attempts at the charity stripe while Hillsborough connected on 7 of 10. However, the big stat was the rebounding as the Raiders held a 15-10 overall edge in that department including a 7-0 advantage on the offensive glass. Hillsborough also committed fewer turnovers (5-8). In the second half, the Raiders shot 16 of 31 from the field while Hopewell only went 7 of 25.
Both teams started the half with five points apiece including another one of two showing at the line by the Raiders that made the score, 39-31 with 19:41 to play. Hillsborough then canned a three pointer from the right wing at the 18:03 mark for a 42-31 lead before Hopewell Valley responded with a three of its own from Alton to cut the deficit back to eight again at 42-34 with 17:35 to go. Hillsborough came right back down on its next possession, and drew a foul that produced two free throws for a 44-34 lead. Neither team would score over the next 2:23 before the Raiders got a layup for a 46-34 edge at the 14:50 mark. Following a 30 second timeout by the Bulldogs, Hillsborough, which was 4 of 8 from long distance in the second half, connected from three again for a 49-34 lead at the 14:10 mark.
From there, the Raiders were never threatened again as they put together a 9-4 run over the next 5:25 for a 58-39 lead with 8:45 to play, and then added a 7-5 run for a 65-44 lead with 5:23 remaining. Hillsborough, which closed the game with a 31-14 surge, closed out the contest by scoring eight of the final 12 points for the 73-48 victory. With the win, the Raiders remained undefeated at 5-0 while Hopewell Valley dropped to 4-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough (5-0) | 34 | 39 | 73 |
| Hopewell Valley (4-1) | 26 | 22 | 48 |
On Sunday night, GMC Hoops will be back over at Immaculata High School to see the final two games of the evening there including Cardinal McCarrick’s contest against Immaculata at 8:15 PM.