SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to the always friendly, always air-conditioned South Amboy Middle/High School after work to take in the final two games from the eighth night of action in the 2010 Raritan Bay Summer League. The site took in one of the three contests from the 7th and 8th Grade Division, and the only High School Division game on the docket.
The first contest was between Manalapan and Milltown from the 7th and 8th Grade Division while the nightcap was between the Metuchen Bulldogs and South Amboy. The world famous Lange Dogs were on tap as well as the typical snacks and drinks. Many have been asking if and when the menu will expand, but Gary Lange is not making any more promises despite pressures from the officiating crews and the media. Manalapan was looking to notch its third victory of the summer already while Milltown was looking to break into the win column. Metuchen was trying to do the same against a South Amboy team that was yet to play this summer.
Strong First Half Propels Manalapan Past Milltown For Third Win, 45-29
GMC Hoops headed over to Raritan Bay after leaving work at 7:20 PM, and rolled into the gym just in time for the end of the first half between Manalapan and Milltown. The site had the usual chat with the league’s co-directors, Gary Lange and Tom Reilly, who despite the kidding, are always gracious hosts. Manalapan is a program that has had its share of troubles at the High School level.
Take into consideration the fact that the Braves have to face the likes of CBA, Freehold Township, Colts Neck, Marlboro, Middletown North, and Middletown South in the rigorous Class A North Division of the Shore Conference. Manalapan last saw glory in the 1987-88 season when it knocked off the Ray Stewart led Perth Amboy Panthers in the Central Jersey Group IV semifinals at South Plainfield High School, and then upset Trenton in the Championship. Trenton had defeated the Buck Jenkins, Adam McLaughlin, and Melvin Nelson led Woodbridge Barrons in the other semifinal.
Meanwhile, Milltown is a small community near East Brunswick, and the students that live there usually end up going to Spotswood High School. The Chargers have become one of the top programs in the GMC Blue Division in basketball. Spotswood reached the GMCT Semifinals this past season before losing to St. Joseph’s and finished second in the GMC Blue. The Chargers also reached the semifinals of the 2009 CJ Group II State Tournament. They’ve also enjoyed success in baseball with Group II and GMCT Championships in 2007 and a CJ Group II title this season. Spotswood lost to Audubon in the Group II semifinals. Returning to the game, Manalapan had a 23-13 lead with 1:23 left in the first half. The Assault then added four more points to end the opening period with a 27-13 lead. The second half saw Manalapan outscore Milltown by a slim 18-16 margin to preserve its lead, and win the game.
Manalapan, which was not allowed to press after attaining a 15 point plus lead according to the rules of the Raritan Bay Summer League, began the second half in a 3-2 zone, and then changed over to a 2-3 zone. Milltown, which deployed a group of perimeter shooters that caused the South Amboy Ballers some trouble in the June 2nd nightcap last week. The Rangers took advantage early on with a three pointer from the left wing at the 19:15 mark to make the score, 27-16. Manalapan then scored four unanswered points for a 31-16 lead before Milltown got back on the board with an offensive rebound and follow to make the score 31-18 with 18:02 left in the game.
Manalapan scored the next four points in the form of a three pointer, and one of two from the line at the 17:01 mark. Following a Milltown timeout at the 16:35 mark, Zack Zukowski drew a foul, and netted one of two from the line for a 35-19 score with 15:19 remaining. The Rangers had a change to pull closer, but misfired on a couple of free throws at the 13:17 mark. Manalapan failed to connect on a couple charity shots after being fouled on a drive at the 12:54 mark. The Assault then called for time at the 11:56 mark, and after Milltown made one of two from the line at the midway point of the half, Manalapan put the game out of reach with six straight points that included a baseline jumper from the left side at the 9:12 mark, and a tip in on a follow at the 8:15 mark for a 43-20 lead.
Anthony Abano sparked a 9-2 finish by Milltown with a three pointer at the 7:31 mark as the Rangers made the game much more respectable in the end as Manalapan won, 45-29. With the victory, the Assault improved to 3-1 on the summer while Milltown dropped to 0-3.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manalapan (3-1) | 27 | 18 | 45 |
| Milltown (0-3) | 13 | 16 | 29 |
South Amboy Uses Late Run To Pull Away From Metuchen, 46-28
In its first high school division game, South Amboy had some struggles with a Metuchen team that had plenty of depth and determination. However, in the end, South Amboy was more experienced and talented. The play of Steve Herdman and Dan Murphy led the way as South Amboy went on a decisive 10-0 run over a span of 4:53 to turn a game that was just a two point tug of war into a 35-23 lead with 6:37 to play. This key run occurred after Metuchen had put together a 10-0 run of its own over a span of 4:23 to pull within one at 22-21 with 13:39 remaining.
Over the first 26:21 of the contest, the Metuchen Bulldogs showed its true grit in the contest. During that time, South Amboy appeared to be on the verge of blowing the game wide open on a few occasions, but Metuchen refused to fold. In the first half, South Amboy took a 19-11 lead as it made eight field goals along with 3 of 4 from the foul line. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs connected on three field goals while making 5 of 8 from the line. Murphy and Herdman paced South Amboy with six points each in the first 20 minutes while Nick Kales added three, and Daquan Davis and Aaron Lewis each had two. Matt Stavropoulos paced the Bulldogs with six points on a field goal on 4 of 6 from the charity stripe.
Davis opened up the scoring in the game with a finish of a nice give and go play between him and Lewis for a 2-0 South Amboy lead at the 19:04 mark. Murphy then made the score 4-0 with a layup at the 18:23 mark. Herdman fed Murphy with a nice pass for a layup, and a 6-0 lead at the 17:33 mark. The early run by South Amboy prompted Bulldogs coach, Phil Switzer to call for time at the 17:30 mark. After the timeout, the Bulldogs fought back not only to get back into the game, but also take the lead. After an offensive rebound and follow at the 16:27 mark, the Bulldogs got a steal and that resulted in a layup by Stavropoulos with 16:12 to play in the first half.
Stavropoulos then drove in for a layup, and drew a foul at the 15:02 mark that resulted in a one of two showing at the line for a 6-5 score. The hungrier Bulldogs used their size and determination to attack the offensive glass, and get three offensive rebounds before Stavropoulous drew another foul on a layup attempt, and made both from the foul line for a 7-6 lead at the 13:09 mark. Nick Kales, who struggled to get going early on, and needed a bit of prodding from his coach, responded by grabbing a rebound off a blocked shot by Davis at the defensive end, driving the length of the floor, and scoring a layup while he was fouled for a three point play, and a 9-7 South Amboy lead at the 10:56 mark. South Amboy then added another field goal to go up by four at 11-7 with less than ten minutes to play in the first half.
Herdman gave South Amboy a chance to go up even further, but after swiping a steal, he was unable to score while the Bulldogs came up with a bucket to draw within two again at 11-9 with 7:14 to go in the first half. Herdman did get going though offensively as he first took a kickout by Davis for a jumper from the left wing to make the score 13-9 at the 4:47 mark, and then a short time later, he swiped a steal off Connor McCadden for a layup, and a 15-9 lead with 4:06 to go in the half. Stavropoulos then scored his final points of the half with one of two from the line at the 2:24 mark for a 15-10 score. After a South Amboy timeout at the 2:11 mark, Murphy got his final points of the first half with an offensive rebound and follow off a Kales miss at the 1:30 mark for a 17-11 lead. Lewis then closed out the first half scoring when he was fouled on a three point attempt, and made two of three from the free throw line with 27.6 seconds to go before the intermission.
At the start of the first half, Kales tried to get himself going when he grabbed a rebound at the defensive end, and drove coast to coast for a layup attempt, and drew a foul. Unfortunately, he was unable to put South Amboy further ahead as he missed both free throws at the 19:41 mark. He did later make one of two at the line, and Davis put in the follow of the missed second foul shot for an unconventional three point play, and a 22-11 lead with 18:02 to play. Metuchen then rallied as they scored six straight points over the next 2:21 that included a layup by Frank McGuire off an assist by Stavropoulos for a 22-17 South Amboy lead. Following a timeout at the 15:06 mark, the Bulldogs continued to scrap back into the contest with four more points including a steal by McGuire off Kales for a layup at the 14:55 mark, and an offensive rebound and follow at the 13:39 mark to pull themselves within one at 22-21.
Herdman then came up with a huge three pointer to give South Amboy some breathing room as he drained the shot from the top of the key at the 13:20 mark to make the score, 25-21. Metuchen would get a layup to draw within two again at 25-23 with 11:30 left, but then Lewis sparked the decisive run with a bank shot from the right side at the 11:13 mark for a 27-23 lead. A little more than a minute and a half later, Ryan Kudelka kicked out to Kales for a jumper, and a 29-23 lead with 9:39 to go. The run continued as Herdman passed upcourt to a teammate for a layup and a foul, and despite the missed bonus free throw, South Amboy was now up 33-23. Kales then concluded the 10-0 spurt with a layup off another assist by Herdman for a 35-23 lead at the 6:37 mark.
Lewis, the son of Sacred Heart of South Amboy head coach, Billy Lewis, and nephew of Cardinal McCarrick head coach, Joe Lewis, added a little icing on the cake with a three pointer for a 42-27 advantage with 2:03 to go, and South Amboy scored four out of the final five points to round out the 46-28 victory. With the win, South Amboy starts the summer at 1-0 while the Bulldogs fall to 0-3. On another note, Michael Zammit, the younger brother of former South Amboy player, John Zammit, and occasional scorekeeper at Raritan Bay, nearly suited up for this one, but South Amboy eventually had enough players to play. Little Zammit was relieved.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Amboy (1-0) | 19 | 27 | 46 |
| Metuchen (0-3) | 11 | 17 | 28 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Raritan Bay next week if it is unable to get back there this week.