MONTCLAIR, NJ–On Friday night, after watching much of the scrimmage between Metuchen and Rutgers Prep, GMC Hoops took a trip up the Garden State Parkway to Montclair State University to see the Red Hawks in action against the Dolphins of the College of Staten Island.
The Red Hawks, which entered the game with a 5-3 mark overall, broke away from a 28-27 halftime lead with a 50-43 showing in the second half for a 78-70 victory. A key stretch in the game was a 19-7 spurt over a span of 6:30 that turned a 34-33 edge into a 53-40 advantage with 9:36 to play. During the stretch, former East Brunswick standout, John Byrne, who made 8 of 10 from the line, and scored 10 points overall, netted two free throws at the 10:36 mark, and two technical foul shots at the 10:23 mark. Orange native and Newark Tech hoops standout, Daniel McRae, swiped a steal, dribbled thru traffic, and scored a layup to cap the run.
Staten Island didn’t give up though. After former Rutgers Prep standout, David McDaniel, who also played JV ball at St. Joseph’s, made two blocks to force a jump ball at the 6:03 mark, and then connected on two free throws for a 62-49 lead with 5:10 left, the Dolphins rallied with an 11-4 run that closed the gap to 66-60 with under two minutes to play. However, Paul Siljee of Wayne, New Jersey and Wayne Valley High School, who had a game high 23 points including a 10 of 12 effort from the free throw stripe, made two free throws at the 1:41 mark, and McRae made another big play on the defensive end that he cashed in on at the offensive end when he blocked a shot, and scored on a dunk at the other end with 1:09 to play for a 70-60 lead.
With the victory, Montclair State University, which entered the game at 5-3 overall including a 2-1 mark in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, and coming off a tough 75-72 loss to Ramapo that saw the Red Hawks almost overcome a 20 point deficit, moved up to 6-3 overall while CSI, which got a team high 22 points and 15 rebounds from big man Michael Ledbetter, dropped to 3-5. More details on this game later.
GMC Hoops–College Coverage–Results–December 11, 2009
- Montclair State University 78–College of Staten Island 70