SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops came down to see the final game of the evening in the twenty-fifth day of the 2010 Raritan Bay Summer League. There were some very good games earlier in the day as South Amboy beat Union Catholic in High School Division action, 43-36 while Monsignor Farrell lost its first game of the summer at Raritan Bay to Metuchen (42-34). Another team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten as Freehold fell to Franklin Park in a contest from the 7th and 8th Grade Division. See all the results from Monday night. In the finale, the 5th and 6th Grade team from Franklin Park took on the Shore Blazers. Breaking the tradition of close games and upsets on the night, Franklin Park jumped out to a 34-9 first half lead, and coasted from there to a 49-21 victory.
Franklin Park Rolls Past Shore Blazers, 49-21
Franklin Park had a decided height advantage in this one, and pushed the ball up the court frequently as it jumped out to a huge lead, and never looked back. Franklin Park connected on two threes, twelve field goals, and 4 of 5 from the foul line in the first half while limiting the Shore Blazers to just four field goals and one of four from the charity stripe to take a 34-9 lead at the intermission. Over the first 5:52 of the first half, Franklin Park scored the first nine points of the contest including a layup at the 18:42 makr, a field goal at the 17:45 mark, and a breakaway layup at the 16:17 mark. The team located in Southern Middlesex County then wrapped up the early run with an offensive rebound and follow off a missed jumper from the right corner for a 9-0 lead at the 14:08 mark.
Even with the second string entering the game, Franklin Park, which had 13 players for the game versus just seven for the Shore Blazers, kept rolling along. The Shore Blazers would get their first score of the game on a layup at the 11:46 mark, but then Franklin Park replied with a traditional three point play at the 11:10 mark for a 12-2 lead. Franklin Park then added two free throws at the 8:35 mark for a 14-2 lead. The Shore Blazers had their best run of the game including a floater that banked in at the 8:10 mark, and a layup with 7:49 to go in the first half to close the gap to eight at 14-6. However, the Blazers wouldn’t get any closer after that. Franklin Park scored six of the next eight points including a rebound and drive for a layup, and a steal for a layup while the Shore Blazers got a jumper off with a nice quick release to make the score, 20-8 with 4:50 to play in the half.
Franklin Park then closed out the first half with a 14-1 run sparked by a 2-on-1 fast break that was finished with a past to the left for a layup, and a 22-8 advantage at the 4:25 mark. After the Shore Blazers missed both free throw attempts at the 3:05 mark, Franklin Park connected on a three pointer from the right wing at the 2:41 mark, and a foul line jumper at the 2:09 mark for a 27-8 advantage. After the Shore Blazers called for time at the 2:07 mark, Franklin Park drained another three from the right corner for a 30-8 advantage. Franklin Park then scored four of the last five points of the period for a 34-9 lead at the break. In the second half, Franklin Park picked up where it left off with an 11-6 start including a three pointer from the top of the key that ended a 4-0 Shore Blazers run for a 45-15 lead with 12:17 remaining. From there, the Blazers made things more respectable with a 6-4 run to round out the final score. With the victory, Franklin Park improved to 5-1 on the summer while the Shore Blazers dropped to 0-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Park (5-1) | 34 | 15 | 49 |
| Shore Blazers (0-2) | 9 | 12 | 21 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Raritan Bay next week.