BOUND BROOK, NJ–On Thursday evening, GMC Hoops made the journey out to Bound Brook High School for the third time this summer as the ninth night of games took place in the Bound Brook Summer League. This year, there is only one team from the Greater Middlesex Conference as Middlesex was looking to solidify its position in the upcoming playoffs that start next week. The Jays were taking on Bridgewater in the 8:00 PM game after Watchung Hills and Somerville went at it in the 7:00 PM game.
Watchung Hills Rolls Past Somerville, 54-30
Watchung Hills continued to roll by winning its last game of the regular season against a formidable Somerville squad. The Warriors jumped out to a 40-21 lead with 13:30 left in the contest, and cruised from there to a 54-30 win over the Pioneers in a renewal of old Mid-State, and current Skyland Conference rivalries. Watchung Hills scored a layup at the 11:45 mark for a 42-21 lead before Somerville fought back with five of the next six points including a three pointer from deep on the right wing for a 43-26 lead.
The Warriors got those points back in a 7-1 run that included a basket and a foul at the 6:57 mark, and then an offensive rebound on the missed bonus foul shot that produced a three pointer at the 6:05 mark for a 50-27 lead. Watchung Hills then scored four of the last seven points to round out the twenty-four point win. With the victory, the Warriors ended the regular season with a 7-1 record while Somerville fell to 3-5. Watchung earned the top seed in the playoffs while Somerville ended up third, and played Middlesex in the opening round.
Middlesex Downs Bridgewater, 33-32
In the nightcap of the GMC Hoops doubleheader at Bound Brook, the site took in the game between Middlesex and Bridgewater during the 8:00 PM hour. This game had been originally scheduled for June 24th, but complications after the graduation at Bound Brook High School forced the game to be rescheduled. Middlesex was actually playing its second game of the day. Earlier, at 6:00 PM, the Blue Jays faced off against Union Catholic, and won. With a victory, Middlesex would lock up the sixth seed and face off against Somerville in the opening round of the playoffs that were scheduled to get underway on Monday.
It was a battle of big against small. Middlesex, a Group II school was facing off against Bridgewater, a Group IV school. The Blue Jays had been through this before though. On opening night, they played another Group IV school in Hunterdon Central. Then, on July 8th, MHS battled another big school in Franklin. The Jays have been competitive in this league despite being one of the smaller schools in it along with Bound Brook and Manville. Head coach Brian Feath has coached his kids well, and the Jays benefited with a hard fought win to finish the regular season at .500 in this league. Middlesex jumped out to a 17-9 lead late in the first half, and led 33-22 with 3:30 left before Bridgewater rallied with a 10-0 run that just came up short as the Jays posted a 33-32 victory.
John Santoro led the way for the Blue Jays with 10 points on two field goals and a three pointer along with 3 of 4 from the foul line. Santoro also handed out five assists while pulling down five boards and swiping a steal. Meanwhile, for Bridgewater, Derek Beck led the way in a losing effort with 10 points on 5 of 11 shooting and pulled down 9 rebounds while handing out 3 assists, blocking 3 shots, and swiping a steal. Andrew Ortelli also chipped in with 5 points, a rebound, and an assist. Middlesex outscored Bridgewater by a margin of 18-13 in the first half, and the Panthers outscored the Jays by a 19-15 margin in the second half. The Blue Jays controlled much of the game as they held the lead for approximately 39 of the 40 minutes. There were only two lead changes throughout.
For the game, Middlesex shot 13 of 40 from the floor for only 33 percent including 2 of 13 from long distance. However, the Jays limited Bridgewater to just 14 of 43 from the field for 33 percent as well. The Panthers also went 2 of 14 from beyond the arc. So the shooting stats pretty much mirrored how the score ended up. Middlesex got the edge at the line by making 5 of 13 while Bridgewater was just 2 of 4. Turnovers were even at 9-9 while Middlesex had the edge in rebounds (23-18) including offensive boards (6-4). Bridgewater had more assists (11-8) and blocks (5-0) while steals were even (2-2). Neither team drew a charge. Bridgewater scored more points off of turnovers (8-7) while both teams had the same amount of second chance points.
In the first half, Middlesex was 6 of 19 from the floor including two of five from three point range while making two of six from the line and committing four turnovers. Meanwhile, Bridgewater connected on 6 of 20 shots, but was 0 of 4 from long distance, and only one of two from the line while making five turnovers. Santoro had eight of his points in the first half on 3 of 6 shooting from the floor including one of two from three point range. He also made one of two from the line while handing out three assists. Two of those assists came in the first 3:21 of the contest as the Jays jumped out to a 4-2 lead. Santoro then connected on his only three of the game at the 14:17 mark for a 7-2 lead. A little over a minute later, Santoro stepped up to the line and netted one of two for an 8-2 lead as he factored in all of the Middlesex scoring to this point.
Bridgewater, which started the game shooting 1 of 12 from the foul line, tried to get back into the contest with one of two from the line at the ten minute mark, and a hook shot at the 8:20 mark to pull within three at 8-5. With momentum turning against them, the Blue Jays were forced to call timeout in order to avoid a five second call on the inbounds with 7:19 to go in the half. Middlesex recovered though, and made two foul shots to go ahead again by five at 10-5 with just under seven minutes to go in the half. Santoro then got going with a drive for a pull-up jumper from the foul line at the 5:42 mark for a 12-7 lead, a drive from the left side for a layup and a 14-7 lead with four minutes left. Santoro, who factored in 15 of the first 17 Middlesex points of the game, and 83 percent of Middlesex’s offense in the first half, kicked out to a teammate for a three pointer from the right wing, and a 17-9 Blue Jay lead at the two minute mark.
Bridgewater would get a score before David Schenck (3 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist) stepped up to the line, and made one of two for an 18-11 lead with 1:10 to go. The Panthers then closed out the half with another score to trail by five going into the intermission. Bridgewater-Raritan would then start off the second half with the first four points including a jumper off the dribble from the right side by Ortelli at the 18:36 mark to close the gap to 18-17. Beck then followed up with a flush off a nice feed for the Panthers only lead of the game at 19-18, but Middlesex took the lead back by ending the Bridgewater 8-0 run with two offensive rebounds and a follow for a 20-19 score with 16:42 left. The Jays then added four more points as Santoro was fouled by Ortelli, and made a pair of charity shots, and then Middlesex went up by a score of 24-19 on a field goal at the 14:29 mark.
The Jays lead went up to seven as Santoro penetrated and dished to Schenck for a jumper from the right baseline, and a 26-19 score. MHS added a free throw for a 9-0 run, and a 27-19 lead before the Panthers got their first three of the game in eleven attempts on a shot from the left side that closed the gap to 27-22 with 10:33 to go. The Blue Jays then scored the next six points including a jumper from the right wing at the 5:38 mark, and a short jumper off an assist by Santoro at the 3:30 mark for a 33-22 lead. Backed into a corner, Bridgewater rallied with a 10-0 tear to close the game. The Panthers scored four points in thirty-four seconds to pull within seven at 33-26 as Middlesex called for time. Bridgewater continued to put the pressure on, and it produced dividends as it made one of two at the line to trim the deficit to six at 33-27 with 1:31 remaining.
Schenck had a chance to give Middlesex a bigger cushion, but misfired on two foul shots with 1:16 to go. Ortelli then connected on a three pointer before the Panthers called for time with 1:07 remaining. Schenck missed the front end of a one and one with 37.4 seconds remaining, and Beck scored on a reverse layup at the other end with 17.1 seconds to go to pull Bridgewater within one. MHS then gave the Panthers more life by missing another front end of a one and one with 9.4 seconds to go, but Bridgewater missed on a last second shot attempt as it grazed the front of the rim as time expired. With the 33-32 victory, Middlesex improved to 4-4 on the summer while Bridgewater dropped to 3-5. The Blue Jays open the playoffs against Somerville while seventh seeded Bridgewater face second seeded Franklin.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex (4-4) | 18 | 15 | 33 |
| Bridgewater (3-5) | 13 | 19 | 32 |
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Bound Brook next week for the playoffs.