SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops headed over to the Raritan Bay Summer League for the seventh time this season to take in the first night of games from the fourth week of action in the league. There were four games on the schedule, and the site watched the last two after being at work. The site first saw a contest from the High School Division between Sayreville and Metuchen and then watched, Manalapan take on the Old Bridge Warriors from the 7th and 8th Grade Division.
Ciragi Leads Sayreville Past Metuchen, 64-33
It was a rare occasion for GMC Hoops to see a High School Division Game at the Raritan Bay Summer League, but the site did catch one. In the third game of the evening, Sayreville, which was playing its third game, was taking on Metuchen in their first game. The venerable, Ray Newman was coaching the youngsters for Metuchen. The longtime head coach at J.F. Kennedy is still helping out at Metuchen these days. His team would need all the help they could get as it took on a Sayreville team that has a solid group with some of the players playing at the Middlesex County College Summer League, and cheered their varsity and JV teammates on at the Linden Team Camp. Last week, the site saw its first High School game of the summer at Raritan Bay as South Amboy defeated the Bulldogs.
Sayreville jumped out to a 31-14 halftime lead, and never looked back in a 64-33 win over Metuchen. Rob Ciragi, who played a pivotal role for the Sayreville Knights last summer at Raritan Bay, led the way again in this victory. GMC Hoops arrived with about 18 minutes to go in the game. By that time, Sayreville had put together a 6-5 run for a 37-19 lead. Over the next 2:10, both teams exchanged scores with Sayreville continuing to lead by a 39-21 margin with a little under 16 minutes remaining. Sayreville then added one of two from the line at both the 14:42 and 12:07 marks for a 41-21 lead. Metuchen came up with a score on its next possession to close the gap to 41-23 at the 11:51 mark, but Sayreville would respond with a score of its own for a 43-23 lead as Metuchen called for time at the 10:42 mark.
Metuchen would get a score to draw within eighteen again, but after a miss by Brian Eustace, Sayreville grabbed the rebound on the defensive end, got the ball to Ciragi for a coast to coast layup, and a 45-25 advantage with 8:46 to play. Sayreville then added another layup for a 47-25 lead at the 8:25 mark. These scores were part of a 12-4 run over a span of 5:39 that included a baseball pass by Ciragi for another assist on a layup as well as another assist on an earlier score for a 53-27 lead with 6:12 to play. Both teams would exchange three points over the next 2:07 for a 56-30 lead, and then Metuchen made one of two from the line at the 2:54 mark for a 56-31 Sayreville lead.
Metuchen would get no closer though as Sayreville closed the game with an 8-3 run that included a three pointer at the 2:34 mark, and a score by Ciragi at the 2:15 mark. Eustace helped Metuchen round out its scoring on the night with an assist on a layup at the 1:22 mark, but Sayreville came away with the 64-33 victory. With the win, Sayreville improved to 3-0 while Metuchen fell to 0-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sayreville (3-0) | 31 | 33 | 64 |
| Metuchen (0-1) | 14 | 19 | 33 |
Manalapan Breezes Past Old Bridge Warriors Behind Strong First Half, 62-34
For the third time this summer, the site saw the Manalapan Assault in action from the 7th and 8th Grade Division while it was the first time it saw the Old Bridge Warriors. The previous two times that GMC Hoops saw Manalapan in action, the Assault won including a 51-44 victory over Monroe and a 45-29 win over Milltown a week ago. The Assault entered the game with a 3-1 record while Old Bridge was even at .500. The first half was all Manalapan, which fell behind 2-0 early, and only led 6-4 at the 11:48 mark of the first half, but closed the period with a 27-8 surge for a 33-12 lead at the intermission. The coaches of both teams agreed to have the scoreboard reset at halftime, and a more competitive second half was played between the two teams, but Manalapan went on to win, 62-34.
The lone bright spot for the Old Bridge Warriors was Dominic Pedone, who scored 12 points in the second half as his team only lost by seven in the final 20 minutes of action. Old Bridge jumped on the scoreboard first as Chris Pozo found Ed Mish down low for a layup, and a 2-0 lead just a minute and a half into the contest. The Warriors had a chance to go up by even more, but Manalapan’s size came into play with a blocked shot on Mish. The Assault then gathered the rebound, and scored on a fast break layup for a 2-2 tie at the 17:39 mark. Manalapan, whose size was ultimately too much for Old Bridge, especially on the double teams, scored again less than a half minute later for a 4-2 advantage with 17:16 to go in the half.
The Assault continued to do their namesake by making a nice pass upcourt for a layup, and a 6-2 lead at the 14:57 mark. However, after an Old Bridge timeout at the 14:53 mark, Will Denneny dribbled to his right to create enough space for a pull-up jumper that was true for a 6-4 Manalapan lead at the 11:48 mark. The Monmouth County team, which has suffered its lone loss to unbeaten Freehold, then connected on a three pointer at the 11:28 mark, and a layup at the 11:05 mark for an 11-4 lead. The Assault then swiped a steal that was converted into a layup at the 10:45 mark for a 13-4 advantage. Manalapan went up even further when it got a floater to bank in while being fouled for a three point play, and a 16-4 lead with 10:15 left in the first half.
The Assault continued to attack with another steal for a layup, and an 18-4 lead at the 9:27 mark, a baseline drive and fake for a jumper at the 8:49 mark for a 20-4 score, and then a three pointer from the left wing at the 7:43 mark for a 23-4 lead. The Old Bridge Warriors got a three pointer at the 7:16 mark, and a layin at the 6:24 mark from Q (do not have a full name from the roster given) to close the gap to 23-9, but Manalapan quelled the rebellion with a three of its own from the left wing for a 26-9 lead. The Assault then added five more points for an 8-0 run, and a 31-9 lead before Pozo connected on a three from the left wing for a 31-12 Manalapan advantage. The Assault added another score to close out the period for a 21 point lead at the break.
As mentioned earlier, the coaches agreed to reset the score for the start of the second half, and the Warriors liked the change at the start of the new period. Old Bridge opened the second half with a 6-2 run included an offensive rebound and follow by Pedone at the 17:41 mark. Pedone, who was fouled on the play, missed the bonus free throw, but his teammates put in the follow for a 35-18 Assault lead. The Warriors added another score as Pedone got another offensive rebound and follow off a missed baseline jumper by Mish for a score as he was fouled again. Pedone would miss the bonus foul shot again, but his team was now down only 35-20 with exactly 16 minutes to play in the game. While the game still remained competitive in the second half, Old Bridge would not get any closer in the overall score.
Manalapan put together a 6-0 run over the next 2:49 for a 41-20 lead. The Assault added two more scores for a 10-0 run, and a 45-20 lead before Pedone put in a layup at the 11:40 mark for a 45-22 score. Over the next 5:07, Manalapan outscored Old Bridge by an 8-2 margin for a comfortable 53-24 lead at the 6:33 mark. Pedone got another layup, and then one more offensive rebound and follow, but Manalapan still had a 60-31 lead with 1:15 to go en route to a 62-34 victory. With the win, Manalapan improved to 4-1 on the summer while Old Bridge dropped to 2-3.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manalapan (4-1) | 33 | 29 | 62 |
| Old Bridge Warriors (2-3) | 12 | 22 | 34 |
GMC Hoops was back out at Raritan Bay on Wednesday night, but will not have a complete report since it only saw a little bit of action from the very last game.