HILLSBOROUGH, NJ–On Wednesday evening, GMC Hoops traveled over to the Hillsborough JV Summer League for the first time this summer. The site saw two games including one involving a team from the GMC. East Brunswick was taking on Hillsborough II in the Old Gym while Hunterdon Central was battling Bridgewater-Raritan in the New Gym. There are three teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference in this 12 team league: East Brunswick, Middlesex, and New Brunswick.
East Brunswick Edges Hillsborough II, 42-41
After being over at the Linden Summer League to see Colonia and New Brunswick play, the site made a long trip over to Hillsborough High School for the 7:00 PM round of games including a matchup between East Brunswick and Hillsborough II. The Junior Bears got off to a slow start in this one, but then not only made a game of it, but also came away with the hard fought, 42-41 victory. Hillsborough II jumped out to a 13-4 lead over the first nine minutes of the contest. However, EB began to creep back into the contest with a fast break layup for a 13-6 lead at the 10:20 mark. Hillsborough II then misfired on two foul shots at the 9:26 mark, but East Brunswick lost the ball out of bounds.
The Junior Bears also missed a chance to get closer at the 7:53 mark by missing two foul shots, but redeemed themselves with two free throws for a 13-8 Hillsborough II lead with 6:33 left in the half. The Junior Raiders netted one of two foul shots at the 5:32 mark for a 14-8 lead, but EB got a steal and scored off a Hillsborough II goaltend for a 14-10 score with 4:02 to go in the first half. East Brunswick put together an offensive rebound and follow at the 3:17 mark, and then a three at the 2:22 mark for a 15-14 lead. The Junior Bears then completed the 13-1 tear with a layup at the 1:02 mark following a timeout by Hillsborough II at the 2:19 mark. The home team then got one of two from the line for a 17-15 EB lead at the 42 second mark, but the Junior Bears swiped another steal, and cashed it in with an offensive rebound and follow with 13 seconds left for a 19-15 lead.
Hillsborough II, which had no field goals over the last 11 minutes of the first half, made one of two free throws with four seconds left for a 19-16 EB lead at the intermission. After watching some of the Hunterdon Central and Bridgewater-Raritan game for a bit, the site returned to action with 11:45 to play in the game, and Hillsborough II leading 28-27 thanks to a 12-8 run. The Junior Bears connected on a three pointer with 11:30 to go to take a 30-28 lead. Hillsborough II then tied the game with a nice post move in the left low block for a 30-30 tie at the 9:50 mark. East Brunswick went back out in front at 32-20 with a jumper from the right side with 9:11 left, but Hillsborough II immediately tied things back up on its next possession at 32-32. East Brunswick then took a four point lead on an offensive rebound and putback at the 6:21 mark, and a steal off an errant pass for a layup at the 5:34 mark for a 36-32 lead.
Over the next 5:26, Hillsborough II embarked on a 9-6 run to close the gap to one with eight seconds left. East Brunswick tried to inbounds when the Junior Raiders attempted to steal the ball away. Bodies dove to the floor to get the loose ball, and Hillsborough II picked it up, but proceeded to throw the ball away out of bounds underneath the East Brunswick basket. EB then inbounded the ball, and was eventually able to run out the clock for the 42-41 victory.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Brunswick | 19 | 19 | 62 |
| Hillsborough II | 11 | 13 | 38 |
Hunterdon Central Hangs On To Beat Bridgewater-Raritan, 34-31
The Junior Red Devils went at it with the Junior Panthers in the other 7:00 PM game that was taking place in the New Gym at Hillsborough High School. Hunterdon Central took a 21-18 lead at the intermission, and then went on a 6-1 run over the first 4:04 including two jumpers and a layup for a 27-19 lead with 15:56 to go. Hunterdon Central made one of two free throws, but Bridgewater-Raritan connected on a three pointer for a 28-22 HC lead with 11:48 to go.
The trey sparked a 10-3 spurt over the next 9:39 to close the gap to 31-29 with just over two minutes to play. Neither team scored for the next 1:15 before Bridgewater got a layup at the 54 second mark for a 31-31 tie, but didn’t score the rest of the way. Hunterdon Central then got an offensive rebound and follow at the 42 second mark for a 33-31 lead. Bridgewater then had a chance to tie things up again, but traveled at the 33 second mark, and Hunterdon Central made one of two free throws with 29 seconds to play, and hung on for the 34-31 win.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunterdon Central | 21 | 13 | 34 |
| Bridgewater-Raritan | 18 | 13 | 31 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Hillsborough over the next several weeks to catch more action from this league.