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 Susan Wagner took on the host school, Linden in the 4:30 PM game while Colonia and New Brunswick battled in the 5:30 PM game. It was the second time that GMC Hoops saw the Patriots and Zebras in action this summer at Linden.
Linden Defeats Susan Wagner, 39-29
In the 4:30 PM game, Linden took a 32-23 lead with 6:18 to go in the contest, and got a floater in the key to bank in for a 34-24 lead at the 5:24 mark. The Tigers then got three of the next five points for a 37-26 lead before Susan Wagner of Staten Island netted a trey with 42 seconds to go for a 37-29 score. LHS then got a basket in the waning moments for the 39-29 victory.
Second Quarter Surge Lifts Colonia Past New Brunswick, 48-31
The Colonia Patriots and New Brunswick Zebras renewed acquaintances on Wednesday in the Linden Summer League. These two teams, which have grown to be fierce rivals in the GMC White, will likely take a break from each other this year as the Pats move into the Red. However, expect these two teams to be competitive in the GMC in 2010-11. CHS was still without the services of Dave Cole and C.J. Gray while NBHS was playing without soon to be junior forward, Milton Pittman. The Patriots showed no ill effects of being without their two top players as Jordan McDaniel and Dashon Johnson led the way in a 48-31 victory. Colonia went 4 of 5 from beyond the arc in the second quarter including threes by McDaniel and Johnson as they outscored New Brunswick by a 23-11 margin for a 33-23 lead at the intermission. Johnson ended up with 18 points, 5 rebounds, a steal, and a block while McDaniel chipped in with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and a block in the 17 point win.
Johnson was 8 of 16 from the floor including one of two from three point range while McDaniel was 5 of 10 from the floor including one of four from three for the Pats. Meanwhile, the Colonia defense did a great job on Jaquan Cook, who was only 3 of 11 from the floor in the first half, and ended up with a team high 11 points on 5 of 16 shooting along with 4 rebounds and a block. Speaking of rebounding, CHS kept the Zebras off the boards with a 30-17 advantage including a 9-5 showing on the offensive boards. The Pats also had an 8-4 edge in second chance points. Both teams only had five players in the contest, but Colonia got 63 percent of its offense from McDaniel and Johnson while teammate Aubrey McGlaughlin contributed with 4 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds. Fuquan Rogers chipped in for New Brunswick with 8 points on 4 of 9 shooting while picking up 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Gary Reeder played with a lot of hustle as he went 3 of 5 from the floor and made a free throw for 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, an assist and a steal.
For the game, Colonia shot 20 of 44 from the floor for 45 percent including 4 of 10 from beyond the arc while making 3 of 6 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, New Brunswick was only 14 of 42 from the floor for 33 percent including 2 of 11 from long distance. The Zebras were also only one of four from the foul line. Both teams did a good job handling the basketball with New Brunswick having a slight edge in turnovers (8-9), and taking advantage of its opponent’s mistakes with an 8-3 advantage in points off of turnovers. In other statistical areas, New Brunswick had more blocks (4-2) and steals (7-3), but Colonia had more assists (13-8). Neither team drew a charge. The Patriots outscored the Zebras in two of the four quarters, and by a combined margin of 32-13. New Brunswick had a 12-10 edge in the first period while the third quarter was even at 6-6.
New Brunswick got off to a fast start with the first four points of the game before McDaniel drove the right side for a layup that made the score, 4-2 at the 8:09 mark. The Zebras then scored another four points as Reeder made a hustling save that led to a Rogers layup, and Deon Perry (4 steals, 3 assists, a rebound, and a block) got a steal and assist on a layup by Nyeem Coleman (5 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal) for an 8-2 advantage with 5:29 remaining in the first period. However, Colonia didn’t panic. Instead, the Patriots fought back with an 8-2 run of its own that included a pull-up jumper by McDaniel and a baseline jumper from Johnson to tie the game up at 10-10 with a minute left in the period Reeder then ended the first quarter scoring with a steal for a layup, and a 12-10 lead for the Zebras.
Both teams struggled shooting wise in the opening period as Colonia began the game going 5 of 14 from the floor while New Brunswick was 6 of 15. The Zebras, however, took advantage of three Colonia turnovers by cashing them all in for six points. The Patriots stayed in the contest thanks to four second chance points on the offensive glass. The second period saw the Pats take over with a 23-11 surge thanks to a scorching 9 of 14 from the floor including four of five from long range. Meanwhile, New Brunswick continued to struggle with 5 of 12 shooting from the floor including one of two from three. McDaniel opened the scoring in the second with a reverse layup that tied the score at 12-12 with 8:43 to play in the first half. Just under a minute later, Rogers drove inside, and kicked out to Coleman for a three pointer from the left corner that put the Zebras ahead 15-12 with 7:45 remaining in the half.
McDaniel then handed out two assists on layups by the Patriots that sparked a decisive run in the game. Colonia, now up 16-15 with 6:28 to go in the first half, got two threes including one by McDaniel for a 22-15 lead at the five minute mark. Colonia continued to surge with a 9-6 run highlighted by a three point play by McDaniel at the 1:41 mark for a 30-21 lead. Johnson then connected on his only three of the game for a 33-23 advantage at the intermission. At the break, Colonia was 14 of 28 from the floor including 4 of 7 from three point range while New Brunswick was 11 of 27 from the floor including a one of four effort from three. Each team had four turnovers in the contest. In the third, both teams only scored six points as the Pats remained on top by a score of 39-29 heading into the fourth. New Brunswick was forced to score in the halfcourt as the Zebras only had two points off turnovers since the first period.
NBHS started out strong though as Cook netted a three pointer from Rogers, and Reeder added one of two from the line for a 33-27 Colonia lead at the 6:33 mark. The Patriots got three of those points back though with a field goal, and a one of two showing from the foul line at the 5:43 mark for a 36-27 lead. Perry then got a steal that eventually got into the hands of Cook who drove baseline along the left side for a layup for a 36-29 score, but Johnson made one of two from the foul line at the three minute mark, and got a layup down the stretch to maintain the Patriots ten point lead heading into the fourth. In the fourth, Colonia pulled away with 9 of the 11 points in the period. McGlaughlin got things started with a drive from the right wing for a layup, and a 41-29 lead with 9:39 remaining. Nearly two minutes later, McDaniel then passed to Johnson for a layup as he was fouled for a traditional three point play, and a 44-29 lead with 7:40 to go.
Following a Colonia timeout with 6:47 to play, the Patriots, which were coached by former CHS standout, Brandon Hall, got two jumpers from Johnson the rest of the way to wrap up the 48-31 victory.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colonia | 10 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 48 |
| New Brunswick | 12 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 31 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Linden next week as the playoffs get underway.