RAHWAY, NJ–On Thursday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to Rahway High School for the first time this summer to take in the second night of action from the inaugural Rahway Summer League. The site had a chance to see two games after being over in Bound Brook to see Middlesex play Hunterdon Central in the opening night of the 2010 Bound Brook Summer League. Both contests involved GMC teams going up against squads from the Union County Conference. The first game pitted Cardinal McCarrick against Union Catholic while the nightcap featured Piscataway against A.L. Johnson. Both contests were similar in the sense that Union Catholic and A.L. Johnson were competitive in the first half, but McCarrick and Piscataway pulled away in the second half for easy victories.
Cardinal McCarrick Shuts Down Union Catholic In Second Half For Victory, 46-27
For the first time this summer, GMC Hoops got a chance to see Cardinal McCarrick play. The Eagles opened the summer at Rahway with a convincing 54-18 rout of A.L. Johnson on Tuesday night. Cardy Mac had a fine campaign this past season. Despite losing the likes of Julio Rosario from the year before, and having to slug their way through the rigors of a tough GMC White schedule, the Eagles managed to finish at 17-11, reach the GMCT Elite Eight, and the Championship Game of the Non-Public B South State Tournament for the second straight year. The Eagles made a great run in the states, giving Trenton Catholic all it could handle before falling in the 2010 Non-Public B Final (62-53). McCarrick played a similar game against St. Joseph’s in the Quarterfinals of the GMCT before losing (59-49). It was that kind of year for the Eagles as they came up short often after giving great fights.
Cardinal McCarrick will lose the likes of Mo Isaac, who plans to walk on at St. Francis of Pennsylvania, and Craig Thomas, who is going to play at the Division III level over at Wilkes University in Northeastern Pennsylvania. However, Cardy Mac will still have plenty coming back including soon to be junior, Dana Raysor, Mohammed Ali, Jumanne McDaniel, and Will Thomas along with soon to be seniors Jeremy Cruz, Charlie Gorman, and Mike Lewis. In addition to some fine talent coming up from the JV level, the Eagles also have incoming freshman, Marques Townes, who was a standout player in the Raritan Bay Summer League last summer. The Eagles were facing off against a Union Catholic team that had the likes of Jamaad Nash and big man, Mike Marciano leading the way.
The Vikings ended up 13-11 on the season, and qualified for the Non-Public A North State Tournament. In the state tourney, Union Catholic, the 12th seed, pulled a huge upset in the first round by defeating fifth seeded Delbarton of Morris County (67-64) before losing to Paramus Catholic in the Quarterfinals. Union Catholic’s program has been gradually improving as head coach, Jim Reagan, has put the Vikes in the Bound Brook Summer League as well as a freshman squad in the Raritan Bay Summer League over the past several years. It seemed early on that McCarrick was going to win this one going away, but Union Catholic showed some character and resiliency in fighting back to make a game of it for the balance of the first half.
The Eagles scored the first six points of the game over the opening 2:06 to put the Vikings on the ropes early. Raysor, who didn’t have one of his better shooting games, but still did a solid job of making plays, drove to the basket, and kicked out to Will Thomas on the left wing for a jumper to make the score 2-0 just ten seconds into the game. Ali, who looks in very good shape, and much improved, then followed up with a layin for a 4-0 lead at the 19:22 mark. About a minute and a half later, Cruz swiped a steal that created a transition opportunity cashed in by Raysor on a layup at the 17:54 mark for a 6-0 lead. Marciano got Union Catholic going as he was fouled on a follow attempt, and made two foul shots at the 17:11 mark. The younger brother of Dartmouth’s John Marciano, added to that with a hook at the 15:56 mark for a 6-4 lead.
The Vikings then tied the game at 6-6 with a jumper from the left wing at the 15:15 mark before Cruz put McCarrick back in front with a three pointer from the left wing for a 9-6 score with 15:08 to go in the half. From this point on, the Eagles would only get six points on three field goals for the balance of the period. Meanwhile, Union Catholic stayed in the game. Nash made one of two from the foul line at the 14:31 mark for a 9-7 McCarrick lead. The Eagles then had a chance to go up further, but misfired on a pair of free throws, and although Raysor got the offensive board, they couldn’t capitalize on the second chance as the ball was thrown out of bounds with 13:20 to go in the half. A little more than two minutes later though, Cruz got a rebound on the defensive end, drove upcourt, and dished for a layup and an 11-7 lead at the 11:14 mark.
The Eagles had a chance to go up further, but Union Catholic came up with a solid defensive play by drawing a charge on Townes at the 10:57 mark. There was then a lull in the action for 4:39 before the Vikings drew within three on a one of two showing from the foul line for an 11-8 score. On Cardinal McCarrick’s next possession, Raysor made a nice bounce pass to Ali for a layup, and a 13-8 lead at the 5:57 mark. A little over a minute later, the Eagles had another chance to go up even further, but missed another pair from the foul line with 4:38 to go in the first half. Union Catholic would get the next score on an inbounds play to Nash, who scored the basket as he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 13-10 McCarrick lead with 3:06 to go before halftime. Just under a minute later though, the Eagles went back out in front as Raysor got the team’s final points of the half with a layup at the 2:11 mark to make the score, 15-10.
On the Vikes next possession, they scored on a floater at the 1:50 mark for a 15-12 McCarrick lead. Over a minute later, Nash took some contact along the right baseline before banking one in for a 15-14 Eagles lead with 38.9 seconds to go before halftime. Marciano then closed out the first half scoring by drawing a foul on the offensive rebound, and making one of two from the charity stripe for a 15-15 tie with 8.5 seconds left before the intermission. The second half was all McCarrick though as the Eagles scored 31 of the 43 points in the final 20 minutes of play. Cardy Mac’s relentless, physical style of play wore down Union Catholic, which led to the Eagles winning the game going away. It didn’t start out easy though as the Vikings opened up the second half scoring by getting the ball to Nash, who drove up the left side for a layup while being fouled, but again, missed the bonus free throw for a 17-15 lead at the 19:35 mark.
Cardinal McCarrick then went on a 10-0 run over the next 2:31 for a 25-17 lead. Raysor (9 points and 7 assists) started the spurt with a layin in transition for a 17-17 tie at the 19:07 mark. He then was involved on another Eagle score as he passed to Ali for a layup, and a 19-17 lead at the 18:45 mark. Townes (6 points) then swiped a steal for a layup while being fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 21-17 lead with 18:05 left in the contest. Ali, who had 10 points in the contest, scored again on layups at the 17:21 mark and 17:04 mark before Union Catholic ended the run with a layup of their own. Raysor then had a hand in the scoring again when he passed ahead to Gorman for a score, and a 27-19 lead with just under 16 minutes to play. There would be a lull in the scoring for the next 2:45 before Union Catholic made one of two from the line, and then Nash got the offensive board, and put in the follow for a 27-22 score with 13:15 remaining.
Cruz (6 points) struck for his second three of the game for a 30-22 lead at the 12:38 mark before Nash (10 points) stepped up to the line to make one of two from the line to trim the deficit to 30-23 at the 12:06 mark. On the very next McCarrick possession, Ali returned the favor by passing to Raysor for a three pointer from the right corner, and a 33-23 advantage at the 11:30 mark. Two minutes later, Raysor handed out another assist on a feed to Thomas (9 points) for a field goal that ended a 4-0 UC run for a 35-27 lead with 9:30 to go. McCarrick then went up by ten when Cruz swiped a steal off Nash, led to an offensive rebound and follow attempt by Thomas that drew a foul, and produced two free throws for a 37-27 score with 7:12 left. The Eagles could have gone up by even more, but Raysor misfired on two foul shots at the six minute mark, but he redeemed himself with a steal and assist on another layup for a 39-27 lead with 5:30 to play.
Following a Union Catholic timeout at the 5:05 mark, Raysor got out in transition again, and dished to Thomas for a layup, and a 41-27 lead before the Eagles called for time at the 2:09 mark. Townes then cleaned up with two layups while Thomas made one of two from the line to round out the 46-27 final. With the victory, McCarrick, which is also competing at the Linden Summer League this summer, improved to 2-0 on the young season.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal McCarrick (2-0) | 15 | 31 | 46 |
| Union Catholic | 15 | 12 | 27 |
Piscataway Turns Up The Heat In Second Half To Defeat A.L. Johnson, 52-31
In the nightcap, Piscataway had some similar struggles in their matchup against the Crusaders of A.L. Johnson of Clark. The Crusaders made shots from the perimeter through much of the first half as the game went back and forth for a bit, but in the second half, P-Way’s size, depth, talent, and defensive pressure proved to be too much for A.L. Johnson. Add to that, the shooting of soon to be senior, Brian Wong, and you had the ingredients for a 33-16 surge in the final 20 minutes for the 52-31 victory. Wong had 14 points on four three pointers including three in just a span of 1:52 in the second half to turn the game into a rout. Soon to be junior, Tajae Sharpe, did a solid job getting in the middle of things with 9 points and 4 assists. Tyjohn Young battled underneath in the first half for six points.
There were six lead changes and a tie in the first half before P-Way closed the half with a 5-0 run before a 19-15 lead at the intermission, and added another score at the 19:39 mark of the second half for a six point lead. The Crusaders of Johnson Regional battled to stay in contention up until the midway point of the second half when Wong took over. The Chiefs then rounded out the 52-31 victory with a 10-0 tear. Piscataway didn’t come ready to play early on as it didn’t score for the first 4:51 of the game. Not to say that the Chiefs didn’t have their opportunities. Greg Davis misfired on a couple free throw attempts at the 17:34 mark, and then over a minute later, Temi Adebayo missed a layup underneath. He redeemed himself a bit by getting a steal, but his teammates were unable to cash in as they threw the ball away at the 16:15 mark.
Sharpe finally got P-Way on the board by making one of two from the line at the 15:09 mark. Adebayo tried to crash the boards for an offensive rebound, but was called for over the back. A.L. Johnson struck for a three pointer from the right wing for a 3-1 lead with 14:15 to go in the half. On the next Piscataway possession, Davis got an offensive rebound, and scored on the follow with a floater to tie things up at 3-3. The Crusaders then reeled off the next four points on a layin at the 13 minute mark, and a fast break layup for a 7-3 lead with 12:47 to go in the opening half. Young did his part to keep the Chiefs close by getting an offensive rebound and putting in the follow of a Wong miss at the 12:27 mark, and then after a three pointer by Johnson at the 11:35 mark for a 10-5 lead, the soon to be junior forward, took a pass from Sharpe, who got the offensive rebound off his own miss, for a layup, and a 10-7 score with 9:25 to go in the half.
Vik Singh (8 points) swiped a steal for a layup to close the gap to one at 10-9 with 9:05 to go before the intermission. Nearly forty seconds later, Wong struck for his only three of the first half on a shot from the right wing following a backcourt violation by the Crusaders for a 12-10 lead at the 8:27 mark. A.L. Johnson went back out in front with a trey from the right side for a 13-12 lead at the 6:49 mark. Kendall Marks put P-Way back in front with two free throws at the 6:24 mark for a 14-13 lead. Neither team would score for nearly two minutes before A.L. Johnson retook the lead on a layup off an inbounds underneath that made the score, 15-14 with 4:40 to go in the half. The Chiefs then closed out the half with the final five points including a Sharpe layup set up on the defensive end by a block from Davis, which fell into the hands of Singh, who passed ahead to Sharpe for the score, and a 16-15 lead at the 2:45 mark.
Jelani Jackson then made one of two from the line for a 17-15 P-Way lead with two minutes to go in the half. Just under a minute later, Young got another offensive rebound off a missed jumper by Singh, and laid in the follow for a 19-15 lead at the 1:04 mark. The score remained the same as the two teams went into the brief intermission. Sharpe then started off the second half with a rebound and pass upcourt to Jackson for a layup, and a 7-0 run for a 21-15 lead just 21 seconds into the new period. A.L. Johnson stayed closed though by putting an end to the Chiefs run with a layup at the 19:28 mark for a 21-17 Piscataway lead. Sharpe responded moments later with a layup for a 23-17 lead at the 19:10 mark. The Crusaders came back on its next possession with a basket while being fouled, and despite missing the bonus free throw for the traditional three point play, they only trailed by four at 23-19 with 18:28 remaining.
About a minute and a half later, Singh scored a bucket as he was fouled, but missed the bonus foul shot for the conventional three point play for a 25-19 lead at the 17 minute mark. Sharpe followed that up with a layup at the 16:44 mark for a 27-19 lead. A.L. Johnson would get a score to pull within six again at 27-21, and had a chance to pull within four, but Jackson swiped a steal, passed to Wong, who then passed to Singh for a layup, and a 29-21 lead with 15:35 to go in the game. The Crusaders scored the next four points over a span of 5:09 to pull within four at 29-25, but then Wong got going with 11 points in the next 1:52 to give Piscataway a commanding lead. First, Davis found Wong in the left corner for a three, and a 32-25 lead with 9:26 to play. Wong then struck again from way beyond the three point arc on the right wing for a 35-25 lead at the 8:53 mark.
Following a timeout by A.L. Johnson, Wong struck again just under a minute later as he took a kickout pass from Adebayo, faked the three, dribbled in, and connected on a jumper for a 39-27 lead with 7:55 to go. Johnson Regional called for time again at the 7:39 mark, but it wasn’t the tonic as Wong capped his scoring frenzy with a three from the right wing for a 42-27 advantage with 7:34 left. The Crusaders would close to within eleven by scoring the next four points, but the Chiefs closed out the 52-31 win with a 10-0 game ending run. A.L. Johnson, which lost to Cardinal McCarrick in its opener, dropped to 0-2 with the loss.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piscataway | 19 | 33 | 52 |
| A.L. Johnson (0-2) | 15 | 16 | 31 |
GMC Hoops will be back out at Rahway on Friday night to see at least some of the action from the third night of games this season.