NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled down to the Hoop Group Headquarters for the opening night of action in the fall league being held there. Two GMC teams in the league this year, Cardinal McCarrick and Old Bridge, were in action. McCarrick played first during the 8:00 PM hour as the Eagles took on St. John Vianney. Old Bridge followed with a contest against Freehold Township at 9:00 PM. East Brunswick played Neptune earlier in the evening.
McCarrick Rolls Past Vianney In Opener, 61-31
The Cardinal McCarrick Eagles have a new look to them this year. After the departure of Bob Turco from Monroe to take the head coaching job at Notre Dame, Ahmid Williams and Danny Brix followed suit with Brix heading to St. Joseph’s and Williams landing at McCarrick. Another change for the Eagles is Dana Raysor going back to St. Patrick’s after spending a year in South Amboy. Williams impact was immediate on the Eagles in its season opening game against St. John Vianney. The junior guard led the way to help McCarrick jump out to a 35-13 lead over the first 26:45 of the contest en route to an easy 61-31 victory.
The Eagles, which are being coached by former standout, Mike Garcia, who helped lead McCarrick to its first ever GMCT Championship in 2003, outscored the Lancers by a 26-18 margin the rest of the way in the landslide victory. Charlie Gorman contributed during the final 13:15 of the contest with 10 points on two three points and two field goals while Marques Townes added eight points. Jumanne McDaniel chipped in with 6 points, and Robert Nieves rounded out the scoring during the stretch with two points. GMC Hoops joined the action in the second half after traveling down to Neptune after leaving work at 7:30 PM.
With the Eagles already leading by a good deal at 35-13, Williams was on the bench by time the site arrived. Townes and Gorman, which played very well for McCarrick at the Rahway Summer League this past summer, picked up the scoring slack the rest of the way. Townes drove in a for a layup and a 37-13 lead with 13 minutes to go. Then, a little over a minute later, Mike Lewis passed to Gorman for a three pointer from the top of the key for a 40-13 advantage at the 11:50 mark. Vianney would get on the board with a score before McDaniel got an offensive rebound of a Lewis miss, and drew a foul that produced two free throws for a 42-15 lead with 10:48 remaining. The Lancers then connected on a baseline jumper from the right side for a 42-17 lead at the 8:58 mark.
Nieves got his only two points during this stretch with an offensive rebound and follow of his own miss for a 44-17 lead with 8:42 to play. After stopping SJV, the Eagles got the ball again to Gorman on the right side, and he dribbled to his right before pulling up for a jumper, and a 46-17 lead with exactly eight minutes to play. Gorman would score again a little more than a half minute later with a layup for a 48-17 lead at the 7:23 mark. Following a Vianney jumper that made the score, 48-19 at the 6:07 mark, Gorman got the Eagles on the board again with a three from the left wing at the 5:12 mark that made the score, 51-21. The Lancers would score five of the next seven points over a span of nearly two minutes before McDaniel connected on a short jumper for a 55-26 lead with 3:21 to play.
Townes then finished off the game with a steal and drive for a layup while being fouled for a traditional three point play at the 1:58 mark to put McCarrick up by 30 at 58-28, and then a layup off a Jeremy Cruz pass while being fouled for another three point play to make the final score, 61-31. With the victory, McCarrick begins its fall at 1-0 while St. John Vianney starts off at 0-1.
Old Bridge Pulls Away In Second Half To Defeat Freehold Township
.
It was the first time all off season that GMC Hoops saw the Knights in action. This is the first time that the site has seen Old Bridge down at the Hoop Group Headquarters since starting coverage of the leagues in Neptune five years ago. OBHS is the only GMC team competing in Division B of this particular fall league. Cardinal McCarrick and East Brunswick are competing in Division A. On this opening night, Old Bridge was taking on Freehold Township of the Shore Conference. It wasn’t pretty, but the Knights pulled away from a 12-11 halftime lead with a 34-12 second half surge for the 46-23 victory.
For the game, OBHS shot only 17 of 47 from the floor for 36 percent including 2 of 10 from three point range. However, the Knights also limited Freehold Township to 9 of 44 shooting for just 20 percent including 3 of 16 from beyond the arc. The Patriots actually shot better in the second half despite being outscored considerably. At the line, Old Bridge was 10 of 14 while Freehold Township was 0 of 5. Turnovers were even with Freehold getting a slight edge (18-19). However, Old Bridge did a better job taking advantage of these extra opportunities by scoring nine points off Freehold turnovers while the Patriots only scored five points off of Knights miscues. OBHS dominated the boards in the form of a 37-20 advantage including an 11-7 edge on the offensive glass. The Knights took advantage of those second chances as well with 9 second chance points versus none for the Patriots.
In other statistical areas, Old Bridge had more assists (8-7), steals (13-4), and blocks (2-0). Neither team drew a charge. Leading the way for the Knights was sophomore forward, Sultan Aminu, who struggled somewhat shooting wise, but still compiled a double-double of 13 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, an assist, and a block. Junior forward Isaiah Velez chipped in with 7 points on 3 of 7 shooting along with 7 rebounds and a steal in the win. The first half wasn’t a pretty one for either team. Old Bridge shot just 4 of 25 from the floor in the first half including 0 of 5 from beyond the arc while Freehold Township was just as bad going 5 of 28 from the field including one of ten from long distance. The Knights had 11 turnovers while the Patriots had 7.
The first 4:41 was particularly dreadful as both teams combined to shoot 1 of 14 from the floor with Freehold Township (1 of 6 FGs) leading 2-0 at the 15:19 mark. The offensive malaise continued for another 5:36 as Old Bridge was 0 of 12 from the floor, and committed nine turnovers by the 9:43 mark while Freehold Township was 1 of 15 with four turnovers. Aminu, who collected 6 points and 8 rebounds in the first half, got things going for the Knights with two rebounds and a follow while being fouled for a three point play, and a 3-2 lead with just under nine minutes left in the first half. A little less than a minute and a half later, Aminu was back at the line to make one of two foul shots for a 4-2 lead, but the Patriots went back out in front with a three pointer from the right wing at the 6:40 mark for a 5-4 edge. FTHS then drove in for a layin, and a 7-4 lead at the 6:01 mark
Freehold Township had a chance to go up by five, but misfired on two free throws at the 4:30 mark. Old Bridge then got within one on an offensive rebound and follow for a 7-6 score at the 3:48 mark. Nearly a minute later, the Knights went ahead again with two free throws that made the score, 8-7 at the 2:52 mark. The Patriots would get a score to go back ahead by one before Aminu got hold of a deflection, and sank a jumper to put OBHS back ahead, 10-9. The Knights drove in for a layin at the 1:22 mark that made the score, 12-9 before Freehold Township ended the half with a layup at the 20 second mark for the 12-11 score at the intermission. In the second half, Old Bridge picked things up offensively by clicking on 13 of 22 from the floor while the Patriots were limited to 4 of 16 from the field. Aminu was 3 of 4 from the floor and made a foul shot for 7 second half points.
The Knights opened the second half with a 9-2 run over the first 5:20 to take a 21-13 lead. Highlighting the run was the play by Aminu at both ends of the floor during one sequence. First, he blocked a shot, and then he took the rebound, drove downcourt, and put in a layin as he was fouled for a conventional three point play, and a 17-11 lead at the 16:47 mark. Velez, who scored all seven of his points in the second half, then got his first field goal of the game with a drive for a layin, and an eight point lead at the 14:40 mark after the Patriots got their first points of the second half on a jumper. OBHS then scored six of the next 10 points over a span of 6:34 including one of two free throws at the 8:06 mark for a 27-17 lead. The Knights then connected on a three pointer from the right wing for a 30-17 advantage as Freehold Township called for time.
The timeout wasn’t the tonic for the Monmouth County school as Old Bridge closed the game with a 16-6 spurt including a steal and slam by Aminu with 30 seconds left for the 46-23 victory. With the win, the Knights started off the fall at 1-0 while Freehold Township started out at 0-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Bridge (1-0) | 12 | 34 | 46 |
| Freehold Township (0-1) | 11 | 12 | 23 |
GMC Hoops was back out at the Hoop Group Headquarters on September 20th to see East Brunswick in action against St. Rose of Belmar, and Old Bridge against Manasquan.