MONROE, NJ–On Wednesday, GMC Hoops ventured out to the Monroe Sports Center for the first time ever to see the opening night of the inaugural Monroe Sports Center Fall League. The site caught the very end of the 7:30 PM round of games before watching J.F. Kennedy take on West Windsor-Plainsboro and South Amboy battle Robbinsville in the 8:30 PM round of games. Here are the results from all eight games played on Wednesday along with the week one standings. Special thanks to Spotswood head coach, and Monroe Sports Center’s director of basketball operations, Steve Mate for getting us the results.
West Windsor-Plainsboro Rolls Past Kennedy In Opener, 54-24
From time to time, GMC Hoops bumps into JFK head coach Chris Banos at a summer or fall league, and it always seems to be after his Mustangs take it on the chin. Banos always contends that his team always seems to do better when the site is not around. Add Kennedy’s opening night game to the list of growing evidence. Things started out positively for the Mustangs, but then quickly went downhill as West Windsor-Plainsboro embarked on a decisive 19-0 run over a span of just over nine minutes to turn a 6-6 tie into a 25-6 lead.
After Kennedy closed the first half with a 7-4 run to pull within sixteen at the break, West Windsor-Plainsboro opened the second half with an 8-0 spurt over the first 5:23 for a commanding 37-13 lead en route to an easy 54-24 victory. A.J. Pichalski opened the game with a layup at the 19:09 mark for a 2-0 lead, but WWP scored the next six points over a span of 2:02 before Jordan Toczynski drove in for a floater to close the gap to 6-4. The Mustangs would eventually tie things up at 6-6, but West Windsor would go ahead for good with a bucket at the 14:15 mark. The score would start a 19-0 avalanche that included two free throws at the 12:38 mark, a three pointer at the 6:35 mark, and another trey from the top of the key at the 5:12 mark.
JFK tried to make things respectable with a good finish to the first half, but West Windsor-Plainsboro went on the attack again to start the second half. The Mercer County team scored six straight points over the first 2:59 of the final period to take a 35-13 lead. It then made it an 8-0 run with a steal for a layup at the 14:37 mark for a 37-13 lead. WWP then closed out the game with a 17-11 showing including a block and a rebound that led to a breakaway layup at the other end for a 49-22 lead with 2:01 remaining en route to the 30 point victory. With the win, West Windsor-Plainsboro started the fall at 1-0 while Kennedy drops to 0-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Windsor-Plainsboro (1-0) | 29 | 25 | 54 |
| J.F. Kennedy (0-1) | 13 | 11 | 24 |
Zammit Leads Guvs To Victory With All Around Effort, 33-30
It wasn’t pretty, but the Guvs will take it. South Amboy edged Robbinsville in a battle between two Group I schools on opening night at the Monroe Sports Center Fall League. Neither team shot the ball very well. The Governors were only 12 of 44 from the floor including 4 of 15 from three point range while Robbinsville was 11 of 49 from the field including 3 of 14 from beyond the arc. Both teams also struggled from the foul line with South Amboy going 5 of 8 while Robbinsville was 5 of 11. Rebounding was even with both teams getting 35 boards, but Robbinsville had a slight edge on the offensive glass (12-10). South Amboy made the most of their second chances though with five second chance points versus only two for Robbinsville. Both teams had 17 turnovers, but the Ravens took advantage more with 11 points off of South Amboy turnovers.
In other statistical areas, South Amboy had more assists (9-5), but Robbinsville had more steals (10-7), and blocks (2-0). The Guv trio of Mike Zammit, Dustin DeVoe, and Aaron Radich were a combined 8 of 26 from the floor, but accounted for over two thirds of South Amboy’s scoring. Zammit also did well on the boards as he turned in a good all around effor with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. DeVoe led the Guvs with a team high 10 points along with two rebounds and a block while Radich chipped in with 4 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. The game was close throughout as South Amboy had chances to break the game open at a few points, but Robbinsville didn’t let the Guvs get away easily. There were only three lead changes and three ties throughout, but neither team had a lead bigger than six points. The Ravens only held the lead twice.
Robbinsville opened the scoring with a basket for a 2-0 lead before DeVoe connected on a three pointer for a 3-2 Guvs edge. The Ravens then tied the score with one of two from the line at the 16:26 mark before the Guvs scored five straight points including a Zammit three pointer from the top of the key off a kickout at the 14:30 mark, and a drive and dish by Radich for a layup at the 12:04 mark for an 8-3 lead as Robbinsville called for time. At this point, both teams were a combined 4 of 16 from the floor, but the Guvs were a perfect 2 of 2 from three point range. Neither team would score for the next 2:13 before the Ravens made two from the foul line for an 8-5 South Amboy lead. The Governors got the next score to go back up by five, but Robbinsville countered with a nice pass for a layup before calling another timeout at the 4:06 mark with the score 10-7 in favor of South Amboy.
The Guvs, which had gone into a 1 of 9 slump over a span of 7:58, got going again when Zammit scored on an offensive rebound and follow off a Nick Kales (2 rebounds and an assist) miss, and then Kyle Krzyzanowski (3 points and 3 rebounds) got another offensive rebound off a Kales miss, and drew a foul that produced a one of two showing from the foul line for South Amboy’s biggest lead of the game at 13-7 with 1:44 to go in the half. The Ravens fought back though with one of two from the line at the 1:15 mark, and then forced a steal off of Zammit that led to an offensive rebound and follow in the waning moments of the opening half for a 13-10 South Amboy lead at the intermission. At the break, South Amboy was only 5 of 24 from the floor including 2 of 7 from three point land, but Robbinsville shot worse by going 3 of 28 from th efloor including 0 of 6 from long distance. Zammit led the Guvs with 5 points and 7 rebounds in the first half.
The Ravens opened the second half by capping a 6-0 run with their first three pointer of the game at the 19 minute mark after catching a break by getting the ball out of bounds following a missed one and one at the 19:26 mark. There would be a scoring lull for the next 2:45 before DeVoe connected on his second three pointer of the game for a 16-13 lead at the 16:15 mark. Just under a minute later, Robbinsville drew within one on a pump fake for a layup that made the score, 16-15 at the 15:20 mark. Radich gave the Guvs some breathing room with a short jumper from the right side for an 18-15 lead at the 14:55 mark, and DeVoe then followed with a nice up and under move for a layup, and a 20-15 lead at the 14:07 mark. South Amboy had a chance to go up even further, but missed a one and one at the line with 13:14 left. The Ravens then rallied with seven straight points over the next 4:45 including a three pointer and a jumper to take its first lead since the beginning of the game at 22-20 with 8:29 to go.
Robbinsville had a chance to go up by more, but Radich swiped a steal, drove down court, and handed out an assist on a layup by Steve Herdman (3 points) as he was fouled for a conventional three point play, and a 23-22 lead with 7:55 remaining. The Ravens would tie the game again at 23-23 by sinking one of two from the line with 7:07 left in regulation, but the Guvs used good ball movement including an assist by Kales on a three pointer by Zammit to take a 26-23 lead at the 5:20 mark. The basket sparked a decisive 7-2 run by South Amboy over a span of 3:40 to take a 30-25 lead. Highlighting the rest of the run were two offensive rebounds and a follow, and then a nice feed by Zammit to Krzyzanowski for a layup at the 1:30 mark for the five point advantage. The Ravens wouldn’t go away though with a three pointer from the right wing with 38 seconds to go for a 30-28 Governors lead. However, the Mercer County school wouldn’t get closer.
DeVoe made two free throws at the 25.6 second mark, and then after Robbinsville put in a layup and called a timeout with 17.1 remaining, Zammit made one of two from the line for a 33-30 lead with 14.5 seconds to play. Robbinsville had a shot to tie, but the Ravens three point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark, and South Amboy came away with the three point win. With the victory, South Amboy started the fall at 1-0 while Robbsinville fell to 0-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Amboy (1-0) | 13 | 20 | 33 |
| Robbinsville (0-1) | 10 | 20 | 30 |
GMC Hoops would take two weeks off from the MSC Fall League, but would return on October 6th for more action.