SOMERVILLE, NJ–On Sunday night, GMC Hoops traveled down to the Immaculate Conception School right down the street from Immaculata High School in Somerville after work to see action from the opening night of games in the second annual Immaculata Fall League. The site saw two games, and both involved teams from the GMC. In the first contest, Middlesex took on West Windsor-Plainsboro South while South Plainfield faced off against Franklin in the second.
West Windsor-Plainsboro South Cruises Past Middlesex, 58-31
In the first of our doubleheader on Sunday night at Immaculate Conception School, the Blue Jays of Middlesex battled the Pirates of West Windsor-Plainsboro South. The Pirates, which went through a year of transition last fall, look to be one of the most improve teams in the league this year. The Jays, which were coached on this night by former MHS standout and 2009 graduate, Ryan Farley, were one of two GMC teams that returned to play in the Immaculata Fall League this year (St. Joe’s being the other). West Windsor-Plainsboro South just about doubled up Middlesex in the first half by taking a 33-17 lead at the intermission.
The Pirates, which won the Central Jersey Group IV State Tournament two years ago after defeating Sayreville in the semifinals, started the second half with a 6-0 run including a layup at the 18:30 mark, and another layup with 17:22 remaining for a 39-17 lead. Nearly a minute later, Middlesex finally got on the board when Connor Bogus grabbed an offensive rebound, and kicked out to a teammate for a three pointer from the right wing that made the score 39-20 at the 16:33 mark. The Jays had a chance to get closer, but West Windsor-Plainsboro South swiped a steal for a layup, and a 41-20 lead with 14:08 to go in the first half.
Chris Winkleman got Middlesex on the board again with a three pointer from the left wing for a 41-23 WWPS lead at the 12:38 mark. Again, the Jays had a chance to get closer, but missed a couple of foul shots with 12:04 to go in the game. The Pirates took advantage a little more than a minute later with an offensive rebound and follow for a 43-23 lead at the 10:50 mark. MHS continued to battle by getting a field goal at the 10:38 mark. The bucket sparked a 7-1 spurt over the next 3:52 to make a 10-3 run over a span of 7:22 to pull within 44-30 with 6:46 left. Highlighting the run was a steal for a layup at the 8:19 mark, one of two from the line by Dave Schenck at the 7:57 mark, and then a short pull-up jumper off the dribble by Schenck to pull the Jays within 14 with less than seven minutes to go.
Unfortunately, the Blue Jays couldn’t get closer. West Windsor-Plainsboro closed the game with a 14-1 run including a floater off the glass to bank in at the 4:50 mark, and a layup set up by a nice extra pass off the offensive set at the 4:15 mark en route to a 58-31 victory. With the victory, West Windsor-Plainsboro South started the fall at 1-0 while Middlesex began the season at 0-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Windsor-Plainsboro South (1-0) | 33 | 25 | 58 |
| Middlesex (0-1) | 17 | 14 | 31 |
Second Half Tear Propels Franklin Past South Plainfield, 53-46
In a game that had plenty of emotion right from the start, South Plainfield held its own against a more athletic Franklin squad for the first 25 minutes of the game. The Warriors were very animated and loud before the start of the game while the Tigers were very business like. The calm demeanor helped SPHS for over half of this game against an old foe from the now extinct Mid-State Conference. However, the Somerset County and Skyland Conference Delaware East Division school embarked on a decisive 21-2 surge over a span of just under ten minutes to take a 50-31 lead with little more than five minutes left, and then withstood a 15-3 rally by the Tigers for a 53-46 win.
For the game, the Tigers shot 20 of 51 from the floor for 39 percent including 3 of 10 from beyond the arc. Franklin was held to just 22 of 68 shooting for 32 percent including just 2 of 14 from three point range. However, the Warriors outrebounded the Tigers by a margin of 41-35 including a 25-11 advantage on the offensive glass. FHS also forced SPHS to commit 20 turnovers versus ten of their own. These two factors combined for the bulk of the Warrior scoring as Franklin scored 19 second chance points, and 21 points off of South Plainfield turnovers. Both teams didn’t shoot well from the line with the Tigers going 3 of 11 from the charity stripe while the Warriors went only 7 of 17.
In other statistical areas, Franklin had more assists (12-11), steals (13-7), and charges (1-0) while South Plainfield had more blocks (7-1). Denzel Mensah led the Tigers in a losing cause with a double double of 14 points and 11 rebounds as he shot 5 of 10 from the floor. Mensah could have had more points, but only went 3 of 10 from the line. The senior forward also collected 5 blocks, 4 assists, and a steal. Joe Skwiat chipped in with 12 points on 6 of 10 shooting along with 7 rebounds and a steal. Connor Gillis added 4 points and 8 rebounds along with a steal and blocked shot. Bryant Rosario contributed with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals while Ray Perez helped round out the rest of the scoring with 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
The first half was dead even on the scoreboard as the two teams, which grew to be fierce rivals during the Joe Thompson era at SPHS back in the early to mid 1980s, battled to a 23-23 tie. South Plainfield shot 10 of 25 from the floor including one of four from three point land while Franklin was 10 of 35 from the field including one of six from three point land. Both teams struggled at the line as the Tigers were 2 of 7 from the charity stripe while the Warriors were 2 of 11. Franklin enjoyed a 26-20 edge on the boards including a 16-7 advantage on the offensive glass. The Warriors took advantage of those offensive rebounds with a 10-2 edge in second chance points.
Franklin started off the festivities with a block of a Gillis shot at the 21:13 mark, and then the Warriors made one of two from the line for a 1-0 lead before Mensah fed Skwiat for a layup at the 19:30 mark for a 2-1 lead. FHS scored the next four points including a steal off an errant pass for a 5-2 lead with 18 minutes to go in the first half. On the Tigers next possession, Mensah was called for a five second violation with 17:43 to go in the half. South Plainfield did eventually get on the board again to pull within one at 5-4, but Franklin got a layup while being fouled, and led 7-4 after missing the bonus free throw at the 15:25 mark. A little over 45 seconds after that, Skwiat pulled the Tigers within one again at 7-6 on an offensive rebound and follo off a Mensah miss at the 14:38 mark.
The Warriors kept the Tigers at arm’s length with a scoop shot at the 13:45 mark for a 9-6 lead. Mensah had a chance to pull SPHS within one again by being fouled down low, but missed two foul shots at the 12:56 mark. Franklin then went up by five on a fake, and drive from the left wing for a layup and a foul for an 11-6 lead with 12:06 to go in the first half. Despite two more missed free throws by Mensah at the 10:13 mark, the Tigers did get another score to pull within three before the Warriors converted an unconventional three point play at the 9:03 mark on one of two at the line, and then an offensive rebound and follow for a 14-8 advantage. FHS added another score for a 16-8 lead before Mensah drove and dished to a teammate for a layup. The SPHS bucket sparked an 8-3 run over a span of 4:17 including a steal and drive for a layup by Rosario for a 19-16 Franklin lead at the 4:46 mark.
The Warriors would score four straight points for a 23-16 lead before the Tigers responded with a Perez three pointer, and then an assist on a layup by Skwiat that closed the gap to 23-21 with 35.6 seconds remaining in the half. Mensah then closed out the first half scoring by picking up a steal, driving to the basket, and drawing a foul that resulted in two free throws for the 23-23 tie at the intermission. The Tigers and Warriors went back and forth for the first 4:16 of the half as they exchanged baskets during a 6-6 stretch for a 29-29 tie. Skwiat highlighted the run for the Tigers with four of his team’s points. There was a lull in the scoring for 2:44 before Franklin took control for good by getting an offensive rebound for a three pointer, and a 32-29 lead with exactly 15 minutes to go. The trifecta started a decisive stretch of the game where the Warriors scored 21 of 23 points.
The avalanche began like they mostly do with a small snowball rolling down the hill in the form of two free throws by the Warriors after drawing a foul on Mensah at the 11:18 mark for a 34-29 lead. Franklin then forced a turnover that resulted in an offensive rebound and follow for a 36-29 lead at the ten minute mark. The Tigers would get a score, but FHS rallied with four more points including two free throws at the 7:53 mark for a 40-31 lead. South Plainfield, which was coached by Ted Skwiat, called timeout with 7:10 remaining. The stoppage wasn’t the tonic though as Franklin scored ten more points over the next 2:08 for its biggest lead of the game. The Warriors, which turned up the pressure with trapping defense, first got a steal that led to a layup, and a 42-31 with 6:44 remaining. Another steal led to an offensive rebound and follow at the 6:23 mark for a 44-31 lead.
Franklin then added another layup at the 5:32 mark, and another score before South Plainfield called another timeout now trailing 50-31 with 5:02 left. The Tigers showed a lot of fight down the stretch with a 15-3 rally, but it wasn’t enough as Franklin came away with the 53-46 victory. With the win, the Warriors started the fall at 1-0 while the Tigers begin at 0-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin (1-0) | 23 | 30 | 53 |
| South Plainfield (0-1) | 23 | 23 | 46 |
GMC Hoops was back out at Immaculata High School to see week two action from this league on September 26th including a contest between Franklin and St. Joe’s-White and another between old Mountain Valley Conference rivals, Middlesex and Immaculata.