BRANCHBURG, NJ–This past Sunday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to Raritan Valley Community College for only the second time ever to see action from the second annual Immaculata Fall League. The site got to see the tail end of the fourth game between South Plainfield and Immaculata that started at 7:00 PM. The Spartans won handily by a score of 71-35. Then, in the final game of the night being held at 8:00 PM, Piscataway was facing off against Hillsborough. The Raiders would win their third straight game with another solid team effort in a 76-55 victory over the Chiefs. See the results from all the week five games as well as the standings through the end of play on October 17th. The GMC is now a combined 7-19 versus Skyland Conference schools so far this fall.
Hillsborough Rolls To Third Straight, 76-55
It was the first time since the final night of the Summer Prime Time Shootout that we saw the Chiefs in action. Entering the contest, Piscataway was 1-3 on the fall, but coming off a 72-61 victory over Bridgewater last week. Meanwhile, Hillsborough, which started the fall at 0-2, was looking to win its third straight. The Raiders would do that despite a sluggish start. Piscataway, which was not playing with a full roster since the likes of Tajae Sharpe, Kendall Marks, and Temi Adebayo are playing on the gridiron this fall, shot well from inside the arc, but was only 4 of 20 from three. The Chiefs also had trouble with turnovers as Hillsborough forced 17 of them, and converted 11 of those opportunities for 22 points. In addition, the Raiders outrebounded P-Way by a 37-26 margin including a 16-11 edge on the offensive glass that resulted in an 18-6 advantage in second chance points. The result was a 76-55 victory for Hillsborough.
For the game, the Chiefs were 24 of 58 from the floor for 41 percent while the Raiders shot 32 of 66 for 48 percent. Hillsborough had their struggles too from three point range (3 of 15), but made 9 of 15 from the line while Piscataway was just 3 of 10. Besides winning the battle on the boards, the Raiders also won the turnover battle (14-17), had more assists (20-12), steals (13-11), and charges (1-0). Both teams had three blocked shots. Senior Anthony Greene led the Chiefs in a losing cause with 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the floor including a three pointer while also making 2 of 4 from the line, and collecting 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal. Vik Singh chipped in with 9 points on 4 of 7 shooting including a three, and also collected 4 rebounds and a steal. Greg Davis also added 9 points including 2 of 4 from three point range, and picked up 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block.
Hillsborough got off to a fast start by making all of its first three shots including a three pointer for a 17-2 lead with just 1:22 gone by in the contest. Piscataway responded though with a 7-0 run including a steal and assist by Greene on a Singh layup, and a steal for a dunk by Singh for an 8-7 lead with 19:03 to go in the first half. Davis capped the run by taking a pass from Greene, and drawing a foul that produced a one of two showing from the foul line for a 9-7 lead at the 18:31 mark. Hillsborough drove in for a layup at the 17:04 mark to tie the score at 9-9, but the Chiefs answered with four straight points including a drive for a layup by Greene at the 15:55 mark, and a drive for another layup by Jelani Jackson (4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist) at the 15:32 mark for a 13-9 lead. P-Way had a chance to go up by six, but David White came up empty in two attempts from the foul line with 14:12 to go in the first half.
Hillsborough answered by scoring six of the next eight points including an unconventional four point play. First, the Raiders got a steal for a layup while being fouled. On the missed bonus free throw, the Somerset County school got the offensive rebound and put in the follow at the 11:38 mark for a 15-15 tie. The Raiders then made it an 8-2 run with two foul shots for a 17-15 lead at the 10:06 mark. Just under a minute and a half later, Hillsborough came back down again with a score on a baseline jumper from the right side for a 10-2 run, and a 19-15 lead. The Raiders, which reached the finals of the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament before losing to Plainfield this past season, added a steal for a layup, and a lob pass for another bucket to make it a 14-5 tear over a span of 6:48 to take a 23-18 lead as the Chiefs called for time at the 6:44 mark.
Following the Chiefs timeout, the Raiders scored seven of the next nine points including one of two from the line at the 4:54 mark, nice passing for a layup a short time later, and then a steal for a layup at the 3:12 mark for a 30-20 lead. Hillsborough then capped the first half action with a flip pass that somehow got through the Piscataway defense for a layup, and a 37-25 lead at the intermission. The Raiders shot 16 of 34 in the first half while Piscataway was only 11 of 28 from the floor. Greene was one of the bright spots for P-Way with 9 points on 4 of 5 shooting along with 2 rebounds, a steal, and an assist. Things didn’t start off well at all for the Chiefs in the second half as Hillsborough went right back to work with two offensive rebounds and a follow for a three point play, and a 40-25 lead with 21:18 remaining. Both teams went back and fourth over the next 4:43 as each squad scored ten for a 50-35 Raider advantage.
The Chiefs tried to get back into the game when Greene passed to Davis for a three pointer from the left wing to pull within a dozen at 50-38 with just under 16 minutes to play. Greene then added two free throws at the 14:45 mark to reply to a three by Hillsborough for a 53-40 score. Following a Piscataway timeout with 13:48 to go, and the Raiders leading 55-42, the Chiefs pulled within single digits with four straight points including a steal by Davis that resulted in a layup at the 12:59 mark for a 55-46 Hillsborough lead. Unfortunately, P-Way wasn’t able to get any closer. The Raiders, which outscored the Chiefs by a 21-9 margin the rest of the way, scored 7 of the next 11 points for a 62-48 lead with 9:05 left, and after a White jumper at the 7:12 mark, outhustled Piscataway for a steal and layup for a 66-52 lead with 5:25 left. Hillsborough went on to win by the final of 76-55 to improve to 3-2 on the fall while Piscataway dropped to 1-4.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough (3-2) | 37 | 39 | 76 |
| Piscataway (1-4) | 25 | 30 | 55 |
GMC Hoops will be back out at Immaculata High School on Sunday night for week six action from this league.