SOMERVILLE, NJ–On Sunday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to Immaculata High School again to take in the final two games of the five game set there from the fourth week of action in the second annual Immaculata Fall League. Both of the games that the site saw on this night involved teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference as Middlesex battled Hillsborough in the 7:00 PM game while Immaculata hosted Bishop Ahr in the 8:00 PM nightcap. Both GMC teams took it on the chin as the conference continued to struggle against Skyland Conference foes in this league. There were ten games in all played on Sunday with the other five taking place over at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg. Check out the results from week four as well as the standings as of the end of play on October 10th.
Hillsborough Defeats Middlesex For 2nd Straight, 47-35
After starting off the fall with two tough losses, the Hillsborough Raiders have gotten back up to the .500 level. The Raiders pulled off their second straight win by defeating Middlesex, 47-35 in the 7:00 PM game at Immaculata High School on Sunday night. The Skyland Conference school had a 35-24 lead over the Blue Jays when GMC Hoops arrived with 10:30 to go in the second half. The Raiders then connected on a three pointer at the 10:10 mark for a 38-24 lead, and swiped a steal moments later for a layup, and a 40-24 advantage with 10:05 to play. Middlesex tried to get back into the contest with a three pointer that made the score 40-27, but Hillsborough got one of two from the line at the 8:58 mark, and two free throws at the 7:27 mark for a 43-27 lead.
The Blue Jays continued to play with a lot of heart like they have had all off-season long. David Schenck tried to get MHS going with a baseline jumper from the left baseline at the 6:58 mark to close the gap to 43-29. The Jays then got an offensive rebound off a Chris Winkleman miss, and scored off a spin move on the follow for a 43-31 Hillsborough lead with 6:32 remaining. The Raiders wouldn’t let Middlesex get any closer though with two free throws on its next possession at the 5:37 mark. John Santoro, who was battling in the second half, fought through a trap to draw a foul, but missed the front end of a one and one at the 5:02 mark. He redeemed himself a little less than a minute later when he grabbed a rebound, pushed the ball upcourt, and sank a pull-up jumper to get Middlesex within a dozen again at 45-33 with 4:04 remaining.
Middlesex just couldn’t get over that 12 point hump though. The Raiders made two free throws with 1:46 left for a 47-33 lead, and the Jays scored the final points by getting a loose ball underneath for a layup, and a 47-35 final score. With the victory, Hillsborough improved to 2-2 on the fall while Middlesex remained winless at 0-4.
Immaculata Downs Ahr With 2nd Half Surge, 62-45
The finale of the evening pitted two teams from Non-Public A against one another as the Spartans of Immaculata hosted the Trojans of Bishop Ahr. It was our first look at BGA this fall. The last time GMC Hoops saw Ahr in action was at the East Brunswick Team Camp in June, and the Trojans did well. On Sunday night, Ahr was playing short handed with the likes of Rashad and Roger Kilgore both playing football along with Kenny Virden while Ryan Blakely wasn’t feeling well. Blakely was still on the bench supporting the team though. Pat Widdoss and Dan LaBella did their part to help the Trojans be competitive in this one, and for the better part of 23 minutes, BGA was right there with Immaculata.
With 16:59 remaining, Bishop Ahr only trailed by five at 38-33, but the Spartans pulled away with a 24-12 surge to come up with the 62-45 victory. For the game, Immaculata shot 25 of 53 from the floor for 47 percent while Bishop Ahr was limited to 17 of 39 from the field for 44 percent. Both teams were comparable from three point range with the Trojans going 3 of 11 while the Spartans were only 2 of 11. Both teams were also similar at the line with Immaculata sinking 10 of 15 from the charity stripe while Ahr made 8 of 14. IHS won the turnover battle (9-13), and made the most of the opportunities with an 11-4 edge in points off turnovers. The Spartans also outrebounded the Trojans by a margin of 25-18. Offensive boards were even (8-8), but the home team had more second chance points (4-2). Immaculata also had more assists (16-10) and steals (6-3) while Bishop Ahr had more blocks (3-2) and charges (1-0).
Widdoss led the Trojans in a losing cause with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor including a three pointer along with 3 of 5 from the foul line. Widdoss also added 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. LaBella chipped in with 8 points on 4 of 5 shooting while also collecting a rebound, assist, steal, and charge. Darien McDuffie helped led the way for the winners with 13 points on 5 of 11 shooting from the floor and 2 of 2 from the line along with 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block. Luke Best chipped in with 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Ahr started off strong with a 13-9 lead with 16:23 to go in the first half after putting together a 7-0 run to take an 11-7 edge at the 17:45 mark. However, Immaculata took control of the game for good with a baseline jumper by McDuffie at the 13:26 mark after a three pointer by Best for a 16-13 lead. The Trojans would only get as close as two points after that as the Spartans ended the half with a 12-4 run for a 32-22 advantage at the intermission.
Immaculata, which went 12 of 22 from the floor in the first half, helped open the scoring with a three point play at the 20:14 mark for a 5-2 lead. Widdoss then responded with a fadeaway at the 19:56 mark for a 5-4 advantage. After the Spartans got a score to go back up by three, LaBella passed to Widdoss for a three pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 7-7 with 19 minutes remaining in the first half. LaBella then capped the 7-0 run with a steal for a layup at the 17:45 mark for a four point Ahr lead as the Spartans called for time. Following the IHS timeout, the Somerville school would get a score to pull within two before LaBella connected on a foul line jumper at the 16:23 mark for a 13-9 BGA lead. McDuffie then sank two free throws on the next Spartan possession, and best connected on a three to give Immaculata a 14-13 lead before McDuffie sank a baseline jumper for a three point advantage with less than thirteen and a half minutes to go in the first half.
McDuffie then capped the decisive 9-0 run with a steal for a layin at the 13:15 mark for an 18-13 lead. Ahr hung tough for a bit with one of two free throws at the 12:39 mark, a jumper by LaBella from the right wing at the 11:40 mark, and two foul shots at the 10:38 mark to pull within two at 20-18. The Trojans wouldn’t get any closer though. Immaculata closed the half with 12 of the final 16 points including a steal that led to an offensive rebound and follow at the 9:50 mark for a 24-18 lead, and then another three points for a 27-20 lead before the Trojans got a steal and assist on a Widdoss layup at the 7:16 mark for a 27-22 Spartan edge. A few minutes later though Widdoss picked up his second foul, and BGA went scoreless for the rest of the half as Immaculata went into the intermission leading by ten. Ahr shot fairly well in the first half going 10 of 20 from the floor including a combined 7 of 11 by Widdoss and LaBella for 68 percent of the Ahr scoring.
In the second half, the Trojans again started strong with an 11-6 run over the first 3:01 to cut the deficit in half at 38-33. Widdoss opened things up with an offensive rebound and follow at the 19:01 mark to pull BGA within seven at 36-29. LaBella then drew a charge at the 18:50 mark, and converted the turnover with a layup at the 18:31 mark for a 36-31 score. Immaculata got a layup for a 38-31 lead, and Ahr turned the ball over with 17:32 remaining, but the visitors from North Edison got a stop on the defensive end, and Widdoss grabbed two offensive rebounds, and put in the follow at the other end for a 38-33 Immaculata lead with just under seventeen minutes to play. Bishop Ahr would get no closer after that. The Spartans scored five of the next seven points including a three pointer from the left corner by McDuffie at the 13:20 mark for a 43-35 lead. Then, after Widdoss sank two free throws to pull Ahr within six, McDuffie scored on a layup at the 12:20 mark for a 45-37 lead.
The Spartans followed the McDuffie score with six of the next eight points including a basket and a foul at the 7:18 mark, and then an offensive rebound and follow off a missed three by McDuffie at the 6:43 mark for a 51-39 lead as BGA called for time. Immaculata came out of the timeout with continued purpose as it scored five of the next eight points for a 56-42 lead with 4:50 remaining as Ahr called time again. The Spartans then closed the game with six of the final nine points for a 62-45 victory. With the win, Immaculata has won three straight since losing to St. Joseph’s-Green in their opener (45-29), and is now 3-1 while Bishop Ahr, which defeated North Hunterdon in week two (60-58), and lost to West Windsor-Plainsboro South by six last week, fell to 1-3.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immaculata (3-1) | 32 | 30 | 62 |
| Bishop Ahr (1-3) | 24 | 21 | 45 |
GMC Hoops was back out at the Immaculata Fall League on Sunday night, October 17th, with its first appearance at Raritan Valley Community College to see the Piscataway Chiefs for the first time this fall against Hillsborough.