RAHWAY, NJ–On Friday night, GMC Hoops traveled out to Rahway High School to catch the final three games in Friday night action from the 2010 Rahway Summer League. All three games involved two teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference. In the first game, South Plainfield played Dunellen in a renewal of a geographical rivalry. Then, in game two, Woodbridge and St. Joseph’s went at it. Finally, in the third game, the best was saved for last as Cardinal McCarrick and Piscataway battled their way into overtime. The Eagles found a way to win, and remain unbeaten on the summer at Rahway.
South Plainfield Shuts Down Dunellen In Second Half For Win, 34-16
GMC Hoops arrived in time to see the final 12:15 of this one. The Tigers were already in front by a score of 20-13. A little over a minute later, South Plainfield added another field goal for a 22-13 lead. The score remained that way until Dunellen called timeout with 9:23 remaining. Following the stoppage, Dunellen’s Sean Gibney had to leave the game briefly when he was shaken up at the 9:05 mark. The Tigers scored on an offensive rebound and follow at the 8:40 mark for a 24-13 lead before the Destroyers got their only points of the last 12:15 of the contest on a three pointer by Gibney from the right wing at the 7:57 mark for a 24-16 SPHS lead.
Using its size advantage, South Plainfield attack the glass on its next possession, which led to an offensive rebound and follow for a 26-16 lead with 7:30 to go. Dunellen had a chance to score when it grabbed three offensive rebounds, but couldn’t put in the follow at the 7:10 mark. After the Tigers called for time at the 7:01 mark. Troy McNair used a high screen to dribble around the right side for a drive to the basket that drew a foul, and produced two free throws for a 28-16 lead with 6:46 remaining. After a four minute lull in the scoring, SPHS connected on a jumper from the left wing at the 2:46 mark for a 30-16.
The Tigers then put the game away with two offensive rebounds and follows that drew a foul, and resulted in two foul shots for a 32-16 lead with 1:21 left. South Plainfield then made two more trips to the line for one of two charity shots to round up the 34-16 victory. The Tigers were 6 of 8 from the foul line over the final 6:46 in the win.
Defense Propels Woodbridge Past St. Joseph’s, 44-41
In the second game of the GMC Hoops tripleheader at Rahway on Friday night, Woodbridge and St. Joseph’s renewed acquaintances. These two teams have been familiar foes in the GMC Red for the past several years, but this coming season, the Barrons will be moving down to the White Division. So, this game may be a rare meeting between the two schools. As they’ve done in their previous two games at Rahway covered by the site, the St. Joseph’s Falcons played very competitively despite being short in numbers and in experience.
Like they did against Perth Amboy two weeks ago, the Falcons jumped out to an early lead only to succumb to the experience and size of Woodbridge. The Barrons defense also played a key role. St. Joe’s was limited to just 15 of 48 shooting for 31 percent including a 5 of 14 showing from beyond the arc. The Falcons also committed 22 turnovers including 14 in the second half. Woodbridge converted those turnovers into 12 points including eight in the game’s final 20 minutes. Keith Hughes and Duquan Bailey played a prominent role in the defensive side of this victory. Hughes did a good job limiting the amount of space that St. Joe’s guard, Greg Patton had. Whenever, Patton did have some room, Hughes cut that down by putting his long arm out and stick a hand in Patton’s face.
The result was a 2 of 13 showing from the floor by Patton, who scored 15 points in a loss to Perth Amboy two weeks ago. Hughes, who scored 7 points and collected 2 assists, also rebounded well with 9 boards and blocked two shots. Bailey didn’t start the game, but the soon to be sophomore came off the bench to make a difference. He picked up eight steals in the balance of time that he was out on the floor. Bailey also handed out four assists in addition to scoring six points. Kyle Anderson and Kyle Pearson provided the scoring punch for the Barrons with 12 and 10 points respectively.
Pearson connected on 5 of 8 shots overall from the floor after coming off the bench while Anderson scored eight of his points in the second half including two three pointers to help give the Barrons a 43-32 lead with less than a minute to go. Anthony Nyers scored a late layup while Kyle Figueredo also added a bucket to help round out the scoring. For the game, Woodbridge shot 18 of 36 from the floor including 3 of 8 from long distance. The Falcons were only 4 of 9 from the charity stripe while the Barrons were only 5 of 11. WHS also had some trouble with turnovers, especially early on. Woodbridge ended up with 19 turnovers on the game, which St. Joe’s was able to converted into 9 points. Patton ended the game with 5 points, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds for the Falcons.
The Falcons opened the game with a three pointer for a 3-0 lead before Hughes tied the game with a conventional three point play at the 18:20 mark. Patton sank one of two from the line at the 17:06 mark for a 4-3 lead, and his teammates added a jumper and a three pointer for a 6-2 run, and a 9-5 lead at the 12:45 mark. Patton then connected on a jumper that banked in for an 11-5 lead with 12:12 to go in the first half. Both teams then exchanged scores over the next 2:49 including a floater that banked in for St. Joe’s at the 9:23 mark for a 13-7 lead as Woodbridge called for time. Following the timeout, the Barrons showed some urgency with a 7-0 run over the next 3:40.
Bailey and Anderson got scores, and Pearson had a two handed jam to tie things up at 13-13 with 7:06 to go in the first half. Hughes then gave the Barrons a 14-13 lead with a one of two showing from the foul line at the 5:43 mark. The two teams exchanged scores for a 16-15 Woodbridge lead before the Falcons made one of two from the line at the 1:59 mark to tie the game at 16-16. Woodbridge scored five of the next seven points including a three point play by Hughes at the one minute mark that broke an 18-18 tie. St. Joe’s got a score in the final minute of the half to trail at the intermission, 21-18. At the break, Woodbridge was 9 of 18 from the floor, and converted three of four foul shots while making 9 turnovers. St. Joseph’s was limited to 8 of 26 from the field including 2 of 6 from long distance, and went 2 of 5 from the line with 8 turnovers.
Leading the way for Woodbridge at the half was the combination of Hughes and Pearson. Both combined for 62 percent of the Barrons offense over the first twenty minutes. Hughes converted two three point plays to go 2 of 5 from the floor, and 3 of 4 from the line for 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks while Pearson was 3 of 5 from the floor for 6 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal. In the second half, St. Joe’s started things off again with a three pointer, and the game went back and forth for a bit, but the Barrons put together a decisive 17-6 tear for a 43-32 lead en route to the victory.
Just twenty seconds into the second half, the Falcons got on the board with a three pointer from the right corner for a 23-21 lead. Anderson put the Barrons back in front at 24-23 with a trey of his own at the 18:55 mark. St. Joe’s then went ahead again with a three from the right side for a 26-24 lead at the 18 minute mark. Pearson then tied the game at 26-26 with a baseline jumper from the right side with 17:45 to play. Following a timeout at the 17:29 mark, Woodbridge scored five of the next seven points including a layup by Pearson and a three pointer by Anderson off assists by Bailey for a 31-28 lead. Patton accounted for the only St. Joe’s scoring during this stretch with a layup. The Barrons then got another field goal, and one of two from the line by Bailey for a 34-28 lead at the 11:32 mark.
Both teams exchanged scores over the next 2:27 as Woodbridge got a layup while the Falcons made a jumper off an assist by Patton for a 36-30 score at the 9:05 mark. There would be a lull in the scoring for 4:40 before Pearson kicked out to a teammate for a three pointer from the right corner, and a 39-30 lead with 4:25 left. The Barrons then sealed the win with a steal and an assist by Bailey on an Anderson layup and a layup by Nyers from Hughes for a 43-32 lead with 43.4 seconds remaining. St. Joseph’s wouldn’t give up though, and closed the game with a 9-1 spurt by stopping the clock, putting pressure on the Barrons in the backcourt, and connecting on threes. However, it wasn’t enough as Woodbridge came away with the 44-41 victory.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbridge | 21 | 23 | 44 |
| St. Joseph’s | 20 | 21 | 41 |
Late Layin By Thomas Lifts McCarrick Over Piscataway In Overtime, 63-61
The nightcap of this GMC Hoops tripleheader at Rahway was a barnburner that lived up to pre-game expectations. The Eagles and Chiefs are arguably two of the best teams in this league. McCarrick has won every game here so far including a 54-18 victory on opening night over A.L. Johnson, a comfortable win over Union Catholic on June 17th, and a win over St. Joseph’s on Thursday night. In its only appearance at Rahway covered by GMC Hoops, P-Way used a strong second half to roll past A.L. Johnson.
For the first 40 minutes of regulation time, it was a tale of two halves. Cardinal McCarrick made 13 of 29 shots in the first half including 6 of 14 from three point range to take a 35-23 lead at the intermission. The Eagles scored 10 of the first 12 points to establish their game, and P-Way had a hard time keeping up. Soon to be senior, Charlie Gorman, led the way for the Eagles as he had many open looks early on, and capitalized on a few of them for a game high 14 points at the intermission. On the other side of the ledger, Piscataway had some difficulties by shooting only 8 of 20 from the floor including 2 of 8 from the line. Free throws kept the Chiefs in it with a 6 of 7 showing at the charity stripe versus only one of three by Cardy Mac.
Brian Wong led the way for the Chiefs with 8 points in the first period while sophomore Jelani Jackson have five points in the final 2:27 of the period. In the second half, the Chiefs showed some resolve by stepping up on defense, and feeding off of their pressure on offense for a 26-7 surge in the first 15:51 of the period to take a 49-42 lead. Pacing Piscataway in the second half turnaround was Vik Singh, who ended up with a perfect performance for a game high 23 points. Singh made all eight of his shots from the floor including two threes, and netted all five of his free throws for the high game while also collecting 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 stelas, 2 blocks, and a charge.
Joe Lewis knew his team was in trouble, and had the cure for it. He made the Eagles step up the pressure in P-Way’s backcourt, and the result was a 14-4 tear over 4:03 of the final 4:09 of regulation to take a three point lead before Jackson connected on a three pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 56-56 going into overtime. Even though the scoreboard didn’t work right in the extra session, Dunellen head coach, Bernie Buniak, who helps out in running this lead, kept track of the score and time at the scorer’s table. The two teams battled in the overtime with Singh hitting his final shot for a 58-56 lead at about the 3:30 mark. Gorman responded about a minute later with a basket of his own that tied the game at 58-58. About a minute and a half later, Wong was fouled on a three point attempt, and made all three of his foul shots for a 61-58 lead.
However, the Eagles wouldn’t be denied, especially Will Thomas. The former Edison transfer put together a double-double performance of 10 points and 11 rebounds scored twice in the final minute including a three point play at the 47 second mark, and a layin in the waning seconds to provide the final margin of victory, 63-61. Gorman ended up with a team high 21 points on six field goals including four three pointers along with a perfect 2 of 2 from the foul line. Gorman also picked up five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Jeremy Cruz also chipped in for McCarrick with 12 points on five field goals including a three pointer and a one of two showing from the foul line. John Appiah, seen for the first time this summer by GMC Hoops, made 3 of 7 shots from the floor, and 2 of 3 from the line for 8 points along with 6 rebounds, an assist and a steal. Robert Nunez helped round out the Eagle scoring with 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block.
Meanwhile for Piscataway, Wong ended up with 14 points along with two rebounds and two assists. Jackson ended up going 3 of 7 from the floor including the late three, and made four of six from the line for 12 points along with 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds. Greg Davis chipped in for the Chiefs with three field goals including a three pointer, and a 2 of 3 showing from the line for 9 points, 3 blocks, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Temi Adebayo collected 2 points, 2 blocks, a rebound, and a steal while Marcus Freeney (2 assists and a steal) also played, but didn’t score. For the game, McCarrick went 24 of 65 from the floor for 37 percent including 7 of 23 from beyond the arc while Piscataway clicked on 20 of 42 from the floor for 48 percent including 7 of 18 from downtown.
At the foul line, the Eagles were 8 of 13 for 62 percent while the Chiefs were 14 of 18 for 78 percent. P-Way was also slightly better in the turnover department with a 14-17 edge. A big difference was in the rebounding department with Cardy Mac garnering a 33-19 edge on the glass including a 14-0 edge on the offensive boards. Piscataway had edges in assists (11-10), blocks (7-2), and charges (1-0) while Cardinal McCarrick had more steals (8-7). The Chiefs also cashed in on Eagle mistakes by scoring nine points off of McCarrick turnovers. As mentioned earlier, McCarrick got off to a fast start with 10 of the first 12 points in the game’s initial 2:50. Cruz scored a layup and Gorman added a three pointer in the run. McCarrick also got a three from another player at the 17:10 mark for the eight point lead as Singh accounted for the only P-Way scoring to this point with a field goal.
Trailing 10-2, Piscataway called for a timeout at the 16:28 mark. The Chiefs weren’t able to shake off the early doldrums despite getting a field goal as Gorman, who operated in a lot of space in the first half, made a three from the top of the key off a pass from Appiah for a 13-4 lead at the 13:40 mark. Over the next 3:12, both teams scored ten points as Gorman and Wong dueled with two threes each during the stretch, and McCarrick maintained its nine point cushion at 23-14 with 10:28 to play in the half. P-Way would score four of the next six points to creep within seven at 25-18 before Appiah made one of two from the line for a 26-18 McCarrick lead at the 6:10 mark. After a lull in the scoring by both teams for 3:43, Jackson then got going with a three point play at the 2:27 mark, and made two foul shots at the 1:59 mark to close the gap to 26-23.
Over the next minute and a half or so, McCarrick re-established control of the contest with a 7-0 spurt as Cruz hit a three pointer, and Thomas scored on a layup for a 33-23 lead with 32.5 seconds to play in the half. Cruz then added another layup for a 9-0 spurt to close out the half, and a 35-23 lead at the break. In the second half though, Piscataway clamped down on defense, and McCarrick struggled in response. The Chiefs took advantage with 26 of the first 33 points of the period to not only come back, but take the lead by seven points with less than five minutes to play in regulation. Singh started the rally with the first five points of the period on a jumper and a three pointer that closed the gap to eight at 36-28 with 17:50 remaining.
Singh continued to play the hot hand with a three point play, and Adebayo swiped a steal for a layup to pull the Chiefs within two at 37-35 with exactly 15 minutes to go in regulation. McCarrick got a bucket to go back up by four, but Jackson made a three from the right wing to close the gap to 39-38 at the 13:15 mark. P-Way continued to roll while McCarrick lost its touch from the perimeter. The Chiefs scored six of the next nine points over a span of 4:02 including a three by Davis for its first lead of the game at 44-42 with 9:13 to go. Singh then capped the surge with a three pointer and a layup over the next 5:04 to put Piscataway up 49-42 with 4:09 to go. With the tide completely turning against them, the Eagles stemmed the onslaught by turning up the pressure.
The Eagles benefited from their change in strategy as Thomas scored on an offensive rebound and follow, and Cruz got a basket to close the gap to 51-46 with 1:46 remaining. Appiah then added a layup, and Gorman netted his only two foul shots of the game to pull McCarrick within one at 51-50 with 40 seconds to go in regulation. Moments later, Thomas forced a steal that Gorman bounced on before calling a timeout with 36.8 seconds to play in regulation. McCarrick took advantage of the turnover by scoring on a layin off an inbounds play for a 52-51 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the second half. Singh drew a foul, and calmly made both charity shots to put P-Way back on top at 53-52 at the 27.7 second mark. Gorman appeared to put the dagger in the Chiefs with a three from the left wing at the 17 second mark for a 55-53 lead.
Despite missing the front end of a one and one at the 10.9 second mark, and seeing McCarrick make one of two from the foul line with 6.8 seconds left, P-Way managed to tie the game after calling timeout at the five second mark. Jackson hit a clutch shot by sinking a jumper from the top of the key as time expired in regulation to forge the 56-56 tie, and force overtime. Singh then opened the scoring in the extra session with a field goal at the 3:30 mark. Gorman responded with a basket for McCarrick to tie the game at 58-58 with a minute and a half gone by in the period. Wong seemingly gave the Chiefs a key advantage by making all three of his free throws after being fouled on a trifecta attempt with a minute left in overtime, but Thomas replied 13 seconds later with a conventional three point play to tie things up at 61-61, and then won the game with a layin as time was running out. With the hard fought, 63-61 victory, McCarrick improved to 4-0 on the summer at Rahway.
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal McCarrick (4-0) | 35 | 21 | 7 | 63 |
| Piscataway | 23 | 33 | 5 | 61 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at the Rahway Summer League next week.