LINDEN, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to Linden High School to catch the first two games from the third day of action in the Monday/Wednesday Division of the 2010 Linden Summer League. Both games involved teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference as Colonia took on the host school, Linden in the 4:30 PM game while New Brunswick battled Point Pleasant Beach in the 5:30 PM game. It was the first time that GMC Hoops saw the Patriots and Zebras in action this summer.
Linden Cruises Past Shorthanded Colonia, 62-38
The first game of the GMC Hoops afternoon doubleheader in the Monday/Wednesday Division of the Linden Summer League was between Linden and Colonia. These two teams last played each other in the Championship Game of the 2009 Linden Summer League. The Patriots did a rare thing this summer by competing in the 2010 Scarlet Shootout. Usually, Colonia only competes in the Linden Summer League since many of the players are involved with other sports during the summer. However, the Pats not only competed at Rutgers, but they did fairly well by winning their first two games against Bridgewater and Paterson Eastside before bowing out against Rutgers Prep in the quarterfinals.
During that run though, Colonia suffered some casualties as soon to be seniors Dave Cole (knee) and C.J. Gray (ankle) were injured during the two day event. Both were not in the lineup on Wednesday as the Patriots faced off against the Linden Tigers. Despite the efforts of Dashon Johnson (10 points on 5 of 9 shooting), Colonia fell prey to a rather opportunistic Linden team. The Tigers jumped out to a 9-2 lead as they made their first three shots including a three pointer, and scored four points off of three CHS turnovers. From there, Colonia had an uphill climb as Linden gradually extended its lead to 19-11 after the first period, 38-24 at halftime, and then put together a 13-4 effort in the third to put the game out of reach in a 62-38 victory.
Turnovers were the big story in this one as well as offensive rebounding. Linden forced Colonia to commit 14 turnovers, but the key was that the Tigers converted 10 of those miscues for 20 points including a number of layups. Linden also grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, and converted them into 14 second chance points. For the game, Linden made 25 of 60 shots for 42 percent including 3 of 16 from long distance while Colonia connected on only 15 of 54 shots for 28 percent including 4 of 15 from beyond the arc. The Patriots made 4 of 5 from the foul line while the Tigers connected on 9 of 13 from the charity stripe. In other statistical areas, LHS pounded the glass for a 47-24 advantage including a 19-12 edge on the offensive boards.
While forcing 14 Colonia miscues, the Tigers only committed eight. While Colonia had more assists (10-9), Linden had more steals (11-5) and blocks (8-0). Neither team drew a charge. Linden started out fast as it took 22 shots in the first period versus Colonia’s 11. The Tigers converted four of the Patriot six first quarter turnovers for eight points while adding four second chance points to take a 19-11 lead. Both teams didn’t shoot well in the first as Colonia made only 4 of 11 shots including one of four from three while Linden made 9 of 22 shots including a one of eight showing from three. So, despite their early troubles, the Patriots were still somewhat in the game. After falling behind by a 9-2 score in the first 2:46 of the contest, the Pats got back into the game with a 5-0 run including a three pointer from the left corner off an inbounds play to make the score 9-7 at the 5:09 mark.
However, Colonia couldn’t get any closer as Linden embarked on an 8-2 spurt including two layups off steals to take a 17-9 lead at the 2:50 mark. Each team got a bucket down the stretch for a 19-11 Tigers lead going into the second. In the second quarter, Linden shot better from the floor by making 8 of 15 from the floor including one of three from long range while limiting Colonia to 5 of 18 shots. Linden began the second period with a 7-0 run including a three pointer from the right side to extend its advantage to 26-11 at the 6:42 mark. The Patriots battled back to close the gap to ten with a 7-2 run over the next 3:35 including two foul shots at the 3:07 mark for a 28-18 Linden lead. Colonia actually got two more scores for an 11-2 spurt to pull within six at 28-22, but the Tigers got two more scores off Pats turnovers for a 6-0 run and a 34-22 lead with 1:21 left in the half.
Linden then made it a 10-0 run including a layup while being fouled, and then a putback on the missed bonus free throw for a 38-22 lead at the intermission. At the break, Linden made 17 of 37 shots from the floor for 46 percent while Colonia was 9 of 29 for 31 percent. Things went from bad to worse in the third as Jordan McDaniel accounted for all the Patriot scoring in the period with two scores. Meanwhile, the Tigers put together a 13-4 run to extend the back breaking surge to 23-4 for a 51-28 lead after three. The Tigers didn’t score until the 7:40 mark when they netted two free throws for a 40-24 lead. Linden then scored six of the next eight points over a span of 3:14 including a steal for a layup at the 4:26 mark for a commanding 46-26 lead. LHS then added a pair of free throws for a 48-26 lead, and scored three out of the final five points of the frame for a 51-28 lead entering the fourth.
Colonia made things more respectable in the fourth, but it was still outscored by an 11-10 margin as Linden went on to win by the score of 62-38.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linden | 19 | 19 | 13 | 11 | 62 |
| Colonia | 11 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 38 |
Cook And Pittman Lead Zebras Past Point Pleasant Beach, 50-38
After watching Linden and Colonia play in the first game at 4:30 PM, GMC Hoops stayed to watch another GMC team in action as New Brunswick battled Point Pleasant Beach in the 5:30 PM contest. The Garnet Gulls of Point Beach are putting in a lot of work at Linden this summer. Before the summer league season got underway in earnest, Point Pleasant Beach competed in the 2010 Linden Team Camp. Meanwhile, New Brunswick is also putting in some important work this off-season. After competing in the Bound Brook Summer League last year, head coach, Antoine Allen is challenging his team with a more competitive league in Linden. Both of these teams are coming off good efforts this past season.
The Garnet Gulls, which compete in the Class B Central Division of the Shore Conference, reached the Championship Game of the 2010 South Jersey Group I State Tournament before falling to state finalist, Woodbury (78-57). After being a program in the doldrums for much of this decade, Point Beach has made some strides with three state tourney berths since 2006. Meanwhile, New Brunswick, a program that had been a combined 12-48 over the previous three seasons including a 4-36 mark the last two, returned to prominence in the GMC with a 15-10 mark, a third place finish in the White Division, an Elite Eight berth in the 2010 GMCT, and a berth in the North Jersey Section 2 Group III State Tournament. With the likes of Jaquan Cook and Milton Pittman returning along with a supporting cast of Nyeem Coleman, Fuquan Rogers, T.J. Overtree, Deon Perry, Derrick Lunn, and Gary Reeder, the Zebras are looking to get even better in 2010-11.
Cook and Pittman will be a dynamic duo to watch this upcoming season. They made their point in this game against Point Pleasant Beach. Cook made 9 of 12 shots from the floor for 18 points along with 5 rebounds and 2 blocks while Pittman connected on 6 of 10 shots from the floor for 12 points along with 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and a block in a 50-38 victory over the Garnet Gulls. Fuquan Rogers also chipped in with 10 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the floor while also picking up 5 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. The Zebras also took advantage of Point Beach mistakes by forcing 14 turnovers that they converted into 14 points. NBHS also had six second chance points. For the game, New Brunswick made 25 of 52 shots for 48 percent while Point Pleasant Beach was 15 of 46 from the floor for 33 percent including a 4 of 17 effort from beyond the arc. Neither team shot well at the line as the Zebras were 0 of 3 while the Gulls were 4 of 12.
In other statistical areas, New Brunswick outrebounded Point Beach by a margin of 30-21. Offensive rebounds were even as well as second chance points, but the Zebras had more blocks (3-1) and charges (1-0). NBHS had a slight edge in turnovers (13-14), and more points off turnovers (14-8), but the Garnet Gulls made more points from beyond the arc (12-0). Cook put the Zebras out in front early with a layup while being fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 2-0 lead at the 8:13 mark. Point Beach then got a free throw at the 7:14 mark before getting a score to go ahead 3-2, but Cook, who made 4 of 5 attempts in the first period, got another traditional three point play opportunity, but missed the free throw for a 4-3 lead at the 5:54 mark. Cook, who scored all 8 Zebra points in the frame, added another layup at the 3:29 mark for a 6-3 lead.
New Brunswick had an 8-3 lead after Cook scored another layup, but Point Pleasant Beach got an easy layup as the Zebras lost their concentration on defense for an 8-5 score after one. NBHS made 4 of 10 shots from the field in the first, but nothing from three point range, and the team was 0 of 5 from the floor outside of Cook in the period. In addition, the Zebras committed six turnovers. However, Point Pleasant Beach was limited to 2 of 15 from the floor including an 0 of 5 effort from beyond the arc. Point Beach then opened the second with a bucket to draw within one at 8-7, but New Brunswick responded with four straight points including a layin by Pittman and a layup for a 12-7 lead at the 6:17 mark. Point Pleasant beach then scored five of the next seven points including a three pointer to draw within two at 14-12, but Rogers gave New Brunswick some breathing room with two layups for an 18-12 lead at the 2:27 mark.
The Gulls netted another three pointer to draw within three at 18-15, but Gary Reeder drew a charge at the 1:31 mark while his teammates put together a 6-0 run including a layup off an inbounds by Pittman, and a steal by Rogers for a layup in the waning moments of the half for a 24-15 halftime lead. New Brunswick had six points off Point Beach turnovers in the first half while making 12 of 24 shots from the field. The Garnet Gulls, meanwhile, were limited to 6 of 26 field goals including two of eight from three point range. New Brunswick got on the board early in the third as Cook got a layup while being fouled at the 9:11 mark for a 26-15 lead. However, Point Pleasant Beach netted two threes for a 6-2 run that closed the gap to 28-21 with 7:46 left in the period. However, New Brunswick put together a 4-0 run including a layup by Cook and a follow by Pittman for a 32-21 lead at the 5:22 mark.
Both teams exchanged two scores over the final 5:22 for a 36-25 New Brunswick lead heading into the fourth. The Zebras, by this time, had gone with a smaller lineup, and began the final period the same way. Point Pleasant Beach took advantage with a 4-2 run to begin the fourth for a 38-29 score at the 7:29 mark. The Garnet Gulls wouldn’t get any closer though. NBHS put together a 6-1 run including an offensive rebound and putback by Pittman, a steal for a layup by Pittman, and a layup off a lob pass by Rogers for a 44-30 lead at the 4:21 mark. Following a Point Beach timeout, New Brunswick got another score as Reeder got a rebound at the defensive end, drove upcourt, and dished to Cook for a layup that coerced the Gulls to call another timeout with the score, 46-30 at the 3:38 mark. Point Pleasant beach then ended the game with an 8-4 run including two steals for layups in the final 30 seconds, but New Brunswick came away with the 50-38 win.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Brunswick | 8 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 50 |
| Point Pleasant Beach | 5 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 38 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Linden next week.