SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Thursday afternoon and evening, GMC Hoops traveled over to the Raritan Bay Summer League for the fifth time this summer to take in a couple games from the seventh night of action. The first game was a contest from the 7th and 8th Grade Division while the other was a crossover contest involving a team from the 5th and 6th Grade Division and 7th and 8th Grade Division. Freehold took on Manalapan in a game straight out of the Class A North Division of the Shore Conference while St. Stan’s battled the younger Franklin Heat.
Freehold Prevails Over Manalapan In Battle Of Monmouth County Foes, 44-34
In a game that may be a preview of rivalries to come in the Class A North Division of the Shore Conference, Freehold bested Manalapan by the score of 44-34. Freehold and Manalapan went back and forth in a closely played first half as the former outscored the latter by the score of 25-22. Then, in the second half, Freehold extended its lead with a 19-12 showing for the ten point victory. Despite going only 1 of 9 from the foul line, Freehold connected on 17 field goals, three treys while limiting Manalapan to just 9 field goals, four three pointers, and 4 of 11 from the foul line. With the win, Freehold improved to 2-0 on the summer while Manalapan fell from the ranks of the undefeated to 2-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freehold (2-0) | 25 | 19 | 44 |
| Manalapan (2-1) | 22 | 12 | 34 |
St. Stan’s Defeats Franklin Heat In Crossover, 31-18
Occasionally, the folks at Raritan Bay put together crossovers on the schedule where very talented teams from younger grade divisions will play marginal teams from older divisions. The second game on the Thursday schedule was one of those situations as the Franklin Heat from the Fifth and Sixth Grade division played up by taking on St. Stan’s from the 7th and 8th Grade Division. Patrick Asterita wasn’t as prolific as he was in the game against the South Amboy Ballers last week, but he was effective enough to give St. Stan’s an insurmountable lead in the second half en route to a 31-18 win.
St. Stan’s jumped out to a 11-4 first half lead as it connected on five field goals along with making a foul shot in five attempts. The Franklin Heat, which didn’t get on the board until the 7:30 mark of the first half, had only a field goal and two free throws in the opening period. In all fairness to the Heat though, they had another disadvantage working against them. In the 31-20 loss to Franklin Park a week earlier, the Heat had more players available to play. This time against St. Stan’s, they were somewhat shorthanded. St. Stan’s, on the other hand, often used massive substitutions as its depth became evident in the second half as it outscored the Franklin Heat by a 16-3 margin over the first 9:32 of the half for a 27-7 lead.
Things started ominously for the Heat as they committed a backcourt violation at the 19:54 mark despite pleads from their coach to protect the basketball early on. St. Stan’s didn’t take advantage though, and didn’t score until the 18:08 mark when a player drove in from the right wing, and was fouled. The result was one of two from the line for a 1-0 lead. Following a Franklin Heat timeout at the 17:05 mark, St. Stan’s, which lost in its opener to St. Ambrose, got a basket and a foul, but missed the bonus free throw for a 3-0 lead at the 15:39 mark. STS had a chance to go up even further, but missed a pair of foul shots at the 12:53 mark. St. Stan’s would get the offensive rebound, which eventually led to a Pat Asterita drive from the right wing for a layup and a 5-0 lead at the 12:10 mark.
St. Stan’s then went up by seven on a layup at the 7:54 mark before the Heat connected on a foul line jumper on its ensuing possession for a 7-2 score with 7:30 to play in the first half. The Heat then pulled within three at 7-4 thanks to a pair of foul shots at the 6:33 mark. Asterita then handed out an assist on a layup for a 9-4 edge at the 4:55 mark. St. Stan’s then closed out the first half scoring with a field goal at the 1:27 mark for a 11-4 lead at the break. The second half started off just like it ended for St. Stan’s as Asterita made a nice entry pass to a teammate, who scored a layup as he was fouled for a 13-4 lead at the 19:21 mark. Asterita had a chance to increase the lead further, but misfired on both foul shot attempts at the 17:22 mark. His teammates would pick him up though with a layup at the 16:27 mark for a 15-4 lead.
Over the next 2:12, St. Stan’s, which is located in Sayreville, scored four of the next six points including a pair of free throws at the 14:15 mark for a 19-6 lead. STS then broke the game open with an 11-1 run capped by an Asterita layup off the fast break at the 10:28 mark for a 27-7 lead. The Franklin Heat played hard though the rest of the way, and made the game respectable against St. Stan’s reserves. Finishing the game with a 11-4 spurt, the Heat ended up only losing by a 31-18 margin. With the win, St. Stan’s improves to 2-1 on the summer while the Franklin Heat drops to 0-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Stan’s (2-1) | 11 | 20 | 31 |
| Franklin Heat (0-2) | 4 | 14 | 18 |
GMC Hoops was back out at Raritan Bay on Monday night for two more games. A summary on those two contests will be posted soon.