EDISON, NJ–On Thursday night, GMC Hoops followed up its scrimmage coverage between South Brunswick and Steinert with a bit of college hoops action. The site traveled over to the Physical Education Center on the main campus of Middlesex County College to see the Colts take on Northampton Community College from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in Region XIX action.
MCC entered the contest with a 3-2 record overall including a recent victory over Union County College earlier this week (67-64). Northampton entered the contest below .500, but lost a number of close games including to a recent Middlesex opponent in Union County College (88-86) in overtime. The Spartans defeated another MCC opponent in Sussex County Community College (86-77) on December 3rd. This game would be another close one for the Spartans, which held the lead for much of the second half only to falter down the stretch in a 68-66 defeat. Northampton came out strong in both the first and second halves by starting the game with a 10-3 lead, and then coming out of the locker room at halftime with a 14-4 spurt that turned a 37-31 deficit into a 45-41 lead.
The Spartans actually held a 56-49 lead with about 10:30 to play before the Colts rallied with a 19-10 surge to prevail. Arman Wilson looked sharp after suffering an injury against Sussex last week. After starting the game 2 of 6 from the floor, the sophomore from South Brunswick made 7 of 11 shots including a three pointer while also going 6 of 9 from the line to end up with 25 points. He also added 7 rebounds, 2 charges, and an assist. Shamai Santiago also chipped in for Middlesex. The former South Plainfield standout made his first five shots from the floor, and ended up going 7 of 12 overall including two threes along with a 3 of 4 effort from the line for 19 points. Santiago also handed out 5 assists, swiped 3 steals, and grabbed a rebound.
North Brunswick native, Jeff Ashamole started the second half comeback with a three point play at the 10:13 mark. He also added several huge blocks and a charge along the way. Yusuf Leary, an Oregon native now residing in Plainfield, came up with the game winning shot at the 10 second mark while Santiago helped seal the win with one of two from the line with 2.5 seconds left. Ashamole then deflected and stole the ensuing inbounds to close things out. Northampton had the ball with a 66-65 lead with 21 seconds to play, but threw the ball away on an inbounds play. The Spartans also did themselves in with poor foul shooting.
After Northampton took the early 10-3 lead in the first half, Middlesex responded with a 10-0 run that included a floater by Santiago, a field goal and a three point play by Wilson, and a three pointer by Colonia’s J.J. D’Amico to take a 13-10 lead. The Spartans then responded by scoring seven straight points for a 17-13 lead before an injury timeout at the 9:08 mark. MCC then fought back with a 19-10 run including an 10-2 spurt over a 1:50 span that included eight points from Wilson and two by Santiago for a 32-27 lead. Wilson ended up with 15 points in the opening half on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor, and a 3 of 3 showing from the line while Santiago added 11 points on 4 of 4 shooting including a three, and 2 of 2 from the line.
Perth Amboy’s Edwin Guerra added two free throws at the 1:53 mark for a 34-31 lead, and then Santiago closed out the first half with a trey for a 37-31 advantage at the intermission as the Colts ended the opening period with a 34-21 surge. Once again, the Colts flirted with danger in this one. They got a stiff challenge for the third straight game. The defense has tightened up as the Colts have limited their opponents to an average of 65 points in their last two games. The problem has been that MCC has only averaged about 67.5 in those same two contests. Santiago continues to help lead the Colts while Wilson played his best game of the three covered by GMC Hoops.