BRANCHBURG, NJ–On Sunday night, GMC Hoops returned to Raritan Valley Community College for week seven action from the second annual Immaculata Fall League. The site got to see the tail end of the fourth game between Bishop Ahr and Watchung Hills that started at 7:00 PM. The Warriors defeated the Trojans by six to get their third win of the fall. Then, in the final game of the night being held at 8:00 PM, Hillsborough took on South Plainfield in a renewal of an old Mid-State Conference rivalry. Hillsborough had its hands full with SPHS in the first half, but like Franklin did against the Tigers in the season opener, the Raiders rolled in the second half for the victory. See some of the results from the week seven games.
Raiders Surge Past Tigers In Second Half For Fifth Straight, 57-38
For the second time this fall, GMC Hoops got a peek at the South Plainfield Tigers, which were facing off against an old foe from decades past in Hillsborough. The Raiders were on a hot streak though with four straight wins after losing its first two by close margins to start the fall. This game had a similar feel to the season opener for SPHS. The Tigers hung with Hillsborough for the first 27 minutes of the contest, but then gave way to a decisive 19-2 tear over a span of just 4:25, and ended up losing its sixth game of the fall in seven outings by the score of 57-38. There were five lead changes and one tie in the contest, and four of those lead changes came in the first five minutes of the second half. Neither team had a lead bigger than six points over the first 27 minutes of the contest.
For the game, South Plainfield only shot 15 of 46 from the floor for just under 33 percent including 4 of 12 from long distance while making only 4 of 10 from the foul line. Meanwhile, Hillsborough made 22 of 61 shots, but was only 3 of 21 from beyond the arc, and 10 of 20 from the foul line. The keys to this game were turnovers and rebounds. In both departments, the Raiders had an edge. Hillsborough won the turnover battle (17-20), and took advantage with 18 points off of SP miscues while the Tigers scored 13 points off of Raider mistakes. On the boards, the Somerset County team outrebounded South Plainfield by a margin of 42-25 including a 20-7 advantage on the offensive boards. The Raiders took advantage of those extra opportunities with an 11-2 showing in second chance points.
Leading the way in a losing cause for South Plainfield was junior forward, Joe Skwiat, who had a team high 16 points. All of his points came in the first half of play when he went 6 of 9 from the floor including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. However, in the second half Skwiat was quiet as Hillsborough clamped down on him defensively. Skwiat went 0 of 6 from the floor in the second half. He ended up with 5 rebounds and 3 steals as well. The Raiders also did a solid job of shutting down senior forward, Denzel Mensah, who only scored two points in the game, and got his only field goal with 10:30 remaining in the contest. Mensah did put up big numbers though in other areas with 12 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 steals, and an assist in the loss. Fellow senior, Bryant Rosario, did better offensively than he did against Franklin with 13 points along with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, a block, and a charge. Ray Perez helped round out the scoring with 2 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first half. South Plainfield was only 8 of 23 from the floor for 35 percent including 3 of 9 from downtown. Outside of Skwiat, the Tigers were only 2 of 14 from the floor in the first 22 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, Hillsborough went only 8 of 30 from the field including a 1 of 9 showing from beyond the arc. The Raiders were 5 of 10 from the line while SPHS was only 1 of 7. The Tigers did take advantage of turnovers though by scoring 11 points off nine Raider turnovers. Hillsborough did likewise off SP mistakes with 9 points off 9 turnovers. Skwiat opened the game with a three pointer for a 3-0 lead at the 20:30 mark. The Tigers, which limited Hillsborough to 0 of 6 shooting from the floor over the first 3:35, and then drew a charge on the Raiders before HHS called for time with 18:25 left in the first half.
Following the timeout, Hillsborough got on the board with a steal for a layup at the 18:13 mark to close the gap to 3-2. Mensah then handed out an assist in the form of a dump off pass to Skwiat for a layup, and a 5-2 lead at the 16:50 mark. On the Raiders next possession, they pulled within one again on an offensive rebound and putback at the 16:15 mark. Then, the Tigers got sloppy, and Hillsborough took advantage. Over a span of 1:40, the Raiders added seven more points off of five SP turnovers for a 9-0 run to take an 11-5 lead with 14:35 to play in the first half. HHS had a chance to go up even further, but misfired on two free throws at the 13:48 mark. Skwiat, who scored the Tigers first 12 points, then connected on his second three of the game from the top of the key to close the gap to 11-8 with 12:37 to go in the first half.
Moments later, on Hillsborough’s very next possession, the Raiders struck for a three of their own from the top of the key for a 14-8 lead at the 12:23 mark. HHS then forced a turnover as a player drew a charge on Mensah at the 12:04 mark, but Rosario forced a turnover with 11:47 to play in the half, and Skwiat made his third and final three of the game on a shot from the left corner with 11:13 remaining in the half to pull the Tigers within three again at 14-11. Skwiat then added a one of two showing from the line at the 10:32 mark for a 14-12 Hillsborough lead. Fifty-five seconds after that, Hillsborough got back on the board with an inbounds underneath for a layup, and a 16-12 edge with 9:37 remaining in the first half. Perez got his only points of the game with a layup that made it a two point game again at 16-14 with 8:45 to go in the opening half.
Hillsborough got into the bonus a short time later, and made two foul shots for an 18-14 lead with 8:30 left before halftime. SPHS would score the next four including a steal for a layup by Skwiat as he was fouled. Even though the junior missed the bonus free throw, he had helped the Tigers tie the game at 18-18 with exactly six minutes to go in the half. South Plainfield had a chance to take the lead when it got two offensive rebounds, and drew a foul on the follow at the 4:09 mark. However, the visitors from Middlesex County came up empty on the two free throw attempts. The Tigers got another chance to score, but the Raiders swiped a steal, and proceeded to make a layin while being fouled. HHS missed the bonus free throw, but still led 20-18 with 3:15 to go in the first half.
A little more than a minute later, Perez got to the line with a chance to tie, but he missed both foul shots, and the Tigers were called for an over the back foul. Hillsborough then made both ends of the bonus for a 22-18 lead with 1:34 to go in the half. Skwiat then closed out the first half scoring with a steal for a layup with 35 seconds to play in the period for a 22-20 Hillsborough lead at the intermission. The second half began with the Raiders missing a chance to go up by four after swiping a steal off a Perez pass, and then drawing a foul on a drive for a layup. Hillsborough missed both free throws at the 21:20 mark. Rosario then struck for a three pointer, his only one of the game to give SPHS a 23-22 lead at the 20:15 mark. On its next possession, the Raiders took the lead back with an offensive rebound that led to a dish for a reverse layup, and a 24-23 score at the 19:30 mark.
Rosario replied though with a layup at the 18:20 mark for a 25-24 lead. It would be the last time that the Tigers would have the lead. Once again it was turnovers by SP that fueled the decisive run of the game. Hillsborough scored six straight points on three layups as South Plainfield had already committed five turnovers in the second half, and now trailed 30-25. The Raiders then got an offensive rebound, drew a foul, and made one of two from the line for a 7-0 run, and a 31-25 lead with 15:45 remaining. Rosario, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, drove in from the right wing for a layup to close the gap to four at 31-27 with 15:30 to play. It would be the closest the Tigers would be for the remainder of the contest. Hillsborough then struck for two straight threes. One trey was from the left side at the 15:15 mark for a 34-27 lead, and the other was from the left corner at the 14:30 mark for a 37-27 lead.
The Raiders began to pour it on now like they have had during this winning streak. Hillsborough drew another charge on Mensah at the 14:13 mark, and then grabbed two offensive rebounds that led to a drive for a layup, and a 39-27 lead with 13:30 remaining. Seconds later, SP coach and former player, Teddy Skwiat, called for time at the 13:27 mark. Unfortunately, the timeout wasn’t the tonic as HHS scored another layup at the 12:35 mark to make it a 17-2 tear. The Raiders added another score for a 43-27 lead before Mensah got his only field goal of the game on an offensive rebound and follow with 10:30 to go in the half for a 43-29 lead. Hillsborough then scored 8 of the next 12 points for a 51-33 lead with 7:40 left. Rosario scored all four SP points on layups. The Raiders then edged the Tigers 6-5 the rest of the way for the 57-38 victory. With the win, Hillsborough won its fifth straight to improve to 5-2 while South Plainfield fell to 1-6.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough (5-2) | 22 | 35 | 57 |
| South Plainfield (1-6) | 20 | 18 | 38 |
GMC Hoops will be back out at the Immaculata Fall League on Sunday night, November 14th, with a final trip to IHS for the last week of action in this year’s league.