SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Tuesday night, play returned to the 2010 Raritan Bay Summer League with the fifth night of action after the long Memorial Day Holiday Weekend. GMC Hoops stopped over at the league, which is always played at the air conditioned South Amboy Middle/High School, for the final two games of the night. Both of which were from the very competitive 7th and 8th Grade Division as the Carteret Pirates took on St. Ambrose in the 7:30 PM game while St. Matthew’s of Edison took on the Jersey Shoreshots in the 8:30 PM nightcap. Check out the results from the first two contests of the evening.
Carteret Pirates Cruise Past St. Ambrose In 7th And 8th Grade Division Contest, 44-25
After getting through the usual kidding around with the Raritan Bay co-directors Gary Lange and Tom Reilly, GMC Hoops entered the gym with 14:04 to go in the first half, and Carteret already leading 11-5. The Pirates size and activity on the defensive end proved to be too much in this one. Carteret’s pressure created a lot of easy basket opportunities, which were converted in the form of fast break layups. The Pirates closed the half with a 20-9 surge for a 31-14 lead at the intermission, and never looked back in a 44-25 victory to remain undefeated in the 7th and 8th Grade Division. Two of the Pirate players scored 16 of the team’s 31 points in the first half as Carteret connected on 14 field goals and a three pointer while limiting St. Ambrose to just five field goals and a three along with one of two from the line.
Just a bit more than a minute after sitting down, Carteret got a steal that resulted in a layup for a 13-5 lead at the 13:03 mark. The Pirates actually had four steals in a span of 2:04 including three by one player as they took a 15-5 lead. St. Ambrose finally got on the board after a scoring drought of at least 2:59 with a field goal that trimmed the deficit to 15-7 at the 11:05 mark. A little more than a minute later, Carteret got the points back with a field goal for a 17-7 lead just past the midway point of the first half. On its next possession, St. Ambrose got on the board again with a one of two showing from the foul line for a 17-8 Carteret lead. The Pirates went back up by double digits with an offensive rebound and follow at the 8:20 mark.
Carteret went up by more as it forced another steal that got the Pirates running in transition for a layup and a 21-8 lead with 7:50 remaining in the first half. A little more than a minute and a half after that, Carteret was on the board again with another layup at the 6:17 mark for a 23-8 lead. St. Ambrose countered nearly a minute later with a jumper from the right side for a 23-10 score at the 5:25 mark. The Pirates reacted with eight unanswered points in the form of a steal and drive for a layup at the 4:10 mark, a rebound and assist on a layin at the 3:56 mark, and an offensive rebound and follow off a miss at the 3:11 mark for a 31-10 lead. Following a St. Ambrose timeout at the 3:08 mark, the Old Bridge team finished the half with the final four points including a long two pointer from the left wing for the 31-14 Carteret lead at the intermission.
The Pirates then picked up right where they left off at the end of the first half with a rebound and nice pass upcourt for a layup while being fouled for a three point play, and a 34-14 lead at the 19:15 mark. St. Ambrose tried to scratch and claw its way back into the game with a 5-0 run, but a foul line jumper by Carteret made the score, 36-19 with 15:51 to go. The bucket sparked an 8-0 spurt by the Pirates before St. Ambrose netted two free throws with 10:20 remaining for a 42-21 score. St. Ambrose then closed the game with four of the final six points against Carteret’s reserves as the Pirates went on to win, 44-25. With the victory, Carteret remained undefeated at 3-0 while St. Ambrose slipped to 1-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carteret Pirates (3-0) | 31 | 13 | 44 |
| St. Ambrose (1-2) | 14 | 11 | 25 |
Jersey Shoreshots Prevail Over St. Matthew’s Despite Alfonso Heroics, 51-44
This contest had one of the best performances to date in this year’s league, and perhaps all time as St. Matthew’s of Edison took on the Jersey Shoreshots. The Shoreshots, playing up this year, has fifth and sixth graders on its team, while St. Matthew’s is in the 7th and 8th Grade Division. Despite the efforts of big man, Austin Alfonso, who scored a game high 24 points along with several blocked shots, St. Matthew’s succumbed to a second half rally by the Shoreshots, which used pressure defense to put together a pivotal 12-0 spurt to turn a 36-32 deficit into a 44-36 lead en route to a 51-44 victory in the nightcap game at the 2010 Raritan Bay Summer League.
Things got off to an auspicious start when GMC Hoops was notified by league co-director, Tom Reilly, that the world famous Lange Dogs sold out. The site was also told by the other co-director, Gary Lange that he was going to try to eventually make some Meatball Subs containing his well renowned Lange spaghetti sauce. Back to the action, there were ten lead changes and two ties in the contest. Nine of those lead changes occurred in the first half alone. Neither team had a lead bigger than eight points throughout the contest. Alfonso scored 10 points on five field goals in the first half, and 14 points on seven field goals in the second half for his 24 points on 12 field goals.
Kevin Callari led a more balanced attack for the Shoreshots with 15 points on three treys and three field goals. He had eight points in the first half on two threes and a field goal. The Monmouth County AAU squad coached by former Cardinal McCarrick (St. Mary’s) standout, William Howarth, a member of that great 1980 team that won the Non-Public B South sectional, and played St. Anthony’s in the Non-Public B state final, also got contributions from Kenny Lepping and Ryan Turco of Monroe as well as Nick Facendo, Zack Howarth, Robert Wiese, Brian Santos, and Chris Hanningan. In the first half, the Shoreshots took a 23-22 lead at the intermission as it hit for six field goals, three treys, and 2 of 4 from the foul line while St. Matthew’s got its 22 points on 11 field goals. Each team had a 6-0 run in the half with the Shoreshots turning a 10-9 deficit into a 15-10 lead before St. Matthew’s rallied to take the lead back with six unanswered of its own.
Alfonso started the game off with a layup just 30 seconds into the contest for a 2-0 lead. St. Matthew’s then scored again on a fast break capped by an Alfonso layup at the 18:46 mark for a 4-0 lead. The Shoreshots countered with a layup at the 17:58 mark, and then a three by Callari at the 17:43 mark for a 5-4 lead. The Jersey Shoreshots tried to apply some pressure, but St. Matthew’s was able to break it on one occasion by getting the ball to Alfonso, who drove in for a layup at the 16:28 mark for a 6-5 lead. On the next Shoreshots possession, they got a field goal to go ahead, 7-6 at the 15:50 mark. Alfonso continued to be prolific though by single handedly giving St. Matthew’s the lead again at 8-7 on a spin move and score with 15:09 to play in the first half.
Right back came the Shoreshots with a field goal at the 14:43 mark for a 9-8 lead. St. Matthew’s wrestled the lead back before the Shoreshots called for time with 13:59 left in the half. Already, there had been six lead changes in the contest. Nick Facendo sparked the 6-0 run for the Shoreshots with a layup at the 12:19 mark for an 11-10 lead. He then swiped a steal, and drove to the basket where he was fouled. After making the first free throw, Facendo missed the second. Lepping grabbed the offensive rebound, but traveled with the score showing 12-10 nearly midway through the first half. Neither team would score for the next 2:18 until the Shoreshots swiped a steal, and drove in for a layup while being fouled for a traditional three point play that capped the 6-0 run, and made the score 15-10 with 7:47 to go in the half.
Alfonso, who has a tendency to drive his coach crazy despite his fine play, got going along with his team as he went coast to coast through the Shoreshot defense, and scored a layup that made the score, 15-12 at the 7:02 mark. He had a chance to get more points, and close the gap further, but misfired on a couple free throws at the 6:13 mark. His teammates would pick him up though as they scored the next four points including a bucket down low for a 16-15 lead at the 3:52 mark. The lead continued to go back and forth as the Shoreshots hit a three to go up 18-16 before St. Matthews tied the game, and then took the lead on an inbounds pass to Alfonso that he converted into a layup for a 20-18 lead with just under two minutes remaining in the first half. The Shoreshots came right back down the court, and scored on a floater at the 1:47 mark for a 20-20 tie. Ryan Turco had a chance to put the AAU team out in front when he picked up and steal and went in for a layup that drew a foul, but he came up empty at the line in two attempts with 1:01 left in the half.
St. Matthew’s then took the lead on a field goal at the 20 second mark, and then Alfonso came up with a block at the 12.9 second mark to temporarily preserve the lead, but Callari connected on a three pointer with three seconds to go in the half for a 23-22 lead going into the intermission. The second half started out with St. Matthew’s putting together an 8-0 run to seemingly have a stranglehold on the lead. Again, it was Alfonso that did the damage as he was responsible for all eight points in the run. First, Alfonso scored on a drive from the right side for a layup just twelve seconds into the second half for a 24-23 St. Matthew’s lead. Then, he connected on a turnaround jumper in the paint at the 19 minute mark for a 26-23 lead. A little more than a minute and a half later, St. Matthews scored again as Alfonso received a nice entry pass, and scored on a layup at the 17:21 mark for a 28-23 lead. Alfonso then capped the run with a layup off the fast break at the 15:05 mark for a 30-23 advantage.
From that point on though, the Shoreshots defense clamped down on Alfonso, limiting him to just six points on three field goals the rest of the way. The result was a 21-6 tear over a span of 6:01 to take an eight point lead. First the Shoreshots connected on a three pointer to pull within four at 30-26. After a St. Matthew’s score for a six point lead, Lepping got a layup at the 14:03 mark for a 32-28 score. Callari then swiped a steal for a layup at the 13:26 mark for a 32-30 St. Matthew’s lead. The Shoreshots had a chance to get closer, but Lepping’s shot was blocked by another St. Matthew’s defender, and that turned into a fast break opportunity that resulted in a layup, and a 34-30 lead with 12:12 remaining. The Shoreshots got a field goal to pull within two again at the 11:30 mark only to have Alfonso score at the 10:40 mark for a 36-32 lead.
The Shoreshots then took control of the game for good with five straight points in the form of a three pointer by Callari, and a layup for a 37-36 edge at the 10:17 mark. The Jersey Shoreshots then connected on a three from the top of the key at the 9:51 mark for a 40-36 advantage. After getting a stop at the defensive end, the Shoreshots drove in for a layup, and a 42-36 lead with 9:13 remaining. Turco then capped the run when he collected a steal, and drove in for a layup for a 44-36 advantage with 9:04 to play. Alfonso tried to get his team back into the game by first getting a layup that broke a near three minute scoring drought that closed the gap to 44-38 at the 7:44 mark, and then scoring a layup off a fast break for a 44-40 Shoreshots lead with 6:54 left. The Jersey Shoreshots kept St. Matthew’s at arm’s length though with a three pointer at the 5:09 mark for a 47-40 advantage.
St. Matthew’s would get two more scores for a 47-44 Shoreshots lead, but couldn’t get closer as the Shoreshots closed the game with a 4-0 run including a layup by Lepping with 1:47 left to wrap up the 51-44 victory despite a terrific block by Alfonso with 47.7 seconds to play. With the victory, the Shoreshots improved to 1-1 while St. Matthew’s dropped to 0-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey Shoreshots (1-1) | 23 | 28 | 51 |
| St. Matthew’s (0-2) | 22 | 22 | 44 |
GMC Hoops has more summaries coming on Raritan Bay action. In addition, the site plans to be back out at the league next week.