SOMERVILLE, NJ–On Sunday night, GMC Hoops returned to Immaculata High School for week six action from the second annual Immaculata Fall League. The site got to see the tail end of the fourth game between Bishop Ahr and Hillsborough that started at 7:00 PM. The Raiders defeated the Trojans by the score of 66-42 to get their fourth straight win after beginning the fall at 0-2. Then, in the final game of the night being held at 8:00 PM, St. Joseph’s-White battled Immaculata. St. Joe’s-White, one of the two Falcons squads in this league in 2010, evened its record at 3-3 with a 56-42 decision over the Spartans, which had their four game winning streak snapped. See the results from all the week five games as well as the standings and team stats through the end of play on October 24th.
Long Lifts Falcons Past Spartans, 56-42
After Bishop Ahr fell to a red hot Hillsborough squad in the 7:00 PM game, St. Joseph’s-White took on Immaculata in the night cap. The Spartans had been playing well also. After losing its opener to the other Falcon squad, St. Joseph’s-Green (45-29), Immaculata had won four straight including lopsided wins over Middlesex (76-58), Bishop Ahr (62-45), and South Plainfield (71-35). The Falcons would put a stop to that though with a solid team effort as four different players scored in double figures to lead the way in a 56-42 victory. Sophomore guard, Jimbo Long turned in a solid effort to spearhead the attack with a team high 19 points on 6 of 13 shooting including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc while also making all three of his foul shots.
Long also collected 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in the win while junior forward, Quenton DeCosey chipped in with 15 points on 3 of 7 shooting from the field, and 9 of 13 from the foul line. Sophomore center, James Ziemba continues to gradually improve and come into his own with 10 points including a perfect 8 of 8 from the foul line, and 7 rebounds. Monroe transfer and junior, Danny Brix also had 10 points along with 4 rebounds. The Falcon quartet accounted for 54 of the team’s 56 points. The only other scoring came from senior forward, Kevin Waitikovich (2 points and 2 rebounds). Ace Sudah (2 assists and 2 steals), Jalen Gilmore (a steal), and Jake Dadika also played, but didn’t score. Luke Best had 16 points and 3 rebounds in a losing cause for Immaculata, which was without the services of guard, Darien McDuffie.
For the game, St. Joseph’s-White shot 15 of 36 from the field for 42 percent including 5 of 9 from three point land while clicking on 21 of 26 from the charity stripe. On the other side of the ledger, the home team Spartans were 16 of 38 from the floor for also 42 percent, but went 4 of 16 from beyond the arc, and only 6 of 8 from the foul line. The Falcons also won the turnover battle (8-12), and score more points off of miscues (14-7). St. Joseph’s-White also controlled the glass with a 26-18 overall edge in rebounding including an 8-4 advantage on the offensive glass. The Falcons also benefited from the offensive boards with an 8-4 edge in second chance points. In other statistical departments, St. Joe’s-White had more steals (9-4) and blocks (2-1) while Immaculata had a slight edge in assists (10-9). The difference in this game was pretty much the first half with the Falcons leading by a dozen at the intermission (25-13).
St. Joe’s-White jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first 4:28 of the contest. Brix got the assignment to guard Best early on, and he went to work right away by getting into the passing lane for a steal, and driving upcourt for a layup attempt that drew a foul, and produced one of two from the line. Ziemba then followed that with his only field goal of the game on an offensive rebound and follow. A little while later, Long struck for his first three pointer of the game, and then DeCosey fed Ziemba down low, and the big man drew a foul that produced two free throws for the six point lead at the 17:32 mark of the first half. The Falcons held that advantage over the next 1:46 before Immaculata called for time at the 15:46 mark. Up to this point, the Spartans were only 1 of 6 from the floor, and made three turnovers. Meanwhile, St. Joe’s was 2 of 5 from the floor including a three, and made 3 of 4 free throws while only committing two miscues.
The timeout appeared to be the tonic for IHS as Best hit the first of his four threes on a shot from the right side at the 14:57 mark for an 8-5 Falcon edge. DeCosey then got on the board with his first field goal of the game as he posted up down low on the left side, and drove in for a layup, and a 10-5 lead with 14:15 to go in the first half. The Falcons then went up by eight 45 seconds later as Brix took a pass from Long at the top of the key, and swished a three for a 13-5 score with 13:30 to go in the first half. Immaculata continued to struggle to get points while St. Joe’s-White increased its advantage. With 10:46 to play in the opening half, DeCosey was able to draw a foul, and net two free throws for a 15-5 lead. Best responded with two free throws of his own for a 15-7 score at the 10:11 mark.
Almost two minutes went by before another score when DeCosey stepped to the line again with two free throws at the 8:39 mark for a 17-7 lead. The Spartans, which didn’t have a field goal for 9:40, finally got on the board again before St. Joe’s called for time with 5:17 remaining in the first half. Immaculata tried to chip away at the lead as Best hit another three for a 5-0 run to close the gap to 17-12 while DeCosey misfired on two foul shots at the 5:04 mark. The junior Falcon forward would get to the line again a little more than a minute later, and make one of two from the charity stripe for an 18-12 lead. IHS made one of two from the foul line also with 3:15 to go before the intermission, but the Falcons closed the opening half with a 7-0 run all by Long including two free throws at the 2:30 mark, hit a three pointer, and then got a steal for a layup to make the score, 25-13 at the break.
Long had 10 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and an assist after one half while DeCosey added seven more points as the two accounted for 68 percent of St. Joseph’s scoring. On the other side, Immaculata was 4 of 15 from the floor including 2 of 10 from three point range. Best had 8 of his team’s 13 points. The second half started out much like the first half ended for St. Joe’s with the Falcons scoring 9 of the first 15 points over a span of 4:11 to take a 34-19 lead. Long opened the half with his third three of the game while DeCosey and Ziemba followed up with two free throws each before DeCosey scored on an offensive rebound and putback. The Spartans didn’t quit though as they put together their best run of the game in the form of a 9-2 spurt over a span of 3:59 before DeCosey put an end to the uprising with two charity shots at the 13:50 mark for a 38-28 lead.
Immaculata continued to attempt to climb back into the game with a 12-8 run over a span of 8:51 as Best drained two threes. Ziemba went 4 of 4 from the line during this stretch, and DeCosey added two more foul shots for a 46-40 Falcon lead with just under five minutes to go. A minute later though, DeCosey came up with a big play as he sank a short baseline jumper from the left side as he was fouled. Although he missed the bonus foul shot, DeCosey’s basket sparked a 10-2 spurt to close the game for the 56-42 victory. With the win, St. Joe’s-White evened its record at 3-3 on the fall while Immaculata fell to 4-2 with both losses coming to the two Falcon squads in the league.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph’s-White (3-3) | 25 | 31 | 56 |
| Immaculata (4-2) | 13 | 29 | 42 |
GMC Hoops was back out at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg this past Sunday night (November 7th) to take in the seventh week of action from the Immaculata Fall League. A summary on that action will be posted shortly.