Linden Team Camp–June 15, 2011

LINDEN, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops finally got out to the 2011 Linden Summer League, and got a good dose of GMC action as the site managed to see both of the teams from the conference competing in the team camp this year. It was a big night for St. Joseph’s as they won both of their games including a 48-44 upset win over St. Anthony’s, and a 68-46 victory over Sayreville. In other action, Rutgers Prep defeated East Orange Campus, 61-42.

Rutgers Prep Buries East Orange Campus, 61-42

The Somerset County Runner-Up used the three point shooting from a variety of sources including former GMC standout, Greg Grippo to blitz the Essex county school.  The Argonauts jumped out to a 16-6 lead, and led at one point in the second period by a 22-10 margin before the Jaguars tried to fight back with a 20-17 surge over the next quarter, and a half to close the gap to 39-30.

However, things got bizarre as East Orange was cited for several technical fouls, and the Argos took advantage with several free throws to spark a 9-2 run to end the third quarter for a 48-32 lead.  Rutgers Prep continued to pour it on with another 9-2 spurt on several threes to open the fourth for an 18-4 surge that gave it a 58-34 lead midway through the period.

The Somerset County school, which fell to third ranked Gill-St. Bernards in the SCT Championship Game last February, coasted from there for a victory just by under 20 points. 

First Period Rampage Propels Falcons Past Bombers, 68-46

Building off the momentum of its earlier victory in the evening against state and national powerhouse, St. Anthony’s, the Falcons of St. Joseph’s went to work right away against a Sayreville team that started the game with three turnovers, and an 0 of 7 effort from the floor.

St. Joe’s took a 10-0 lead over the first 3:55 as Quenton DeCosey picked up where he left off in the last game, and scored six points including 4 of 4 from the foul line, and a two handed jam while Karim Awad and Danny Brix each added two points during the early run.  The spurt turned into a 17-0 onslaught as Brix made one of two from the line after being fouled on a layup attempt, and DeCosey went into his highlight reel repetoire for an alleyoop dunk off a lob pass by Awad at the 2:38 mark for a 13-0 lead, and then after a steal for a layup by Awad, he had another flush off an assist by Brix at the 1:45 mark to cap the 17-0 surge.

Sayreville eventually would get on the board with threes by Joe Saitta and Cody Van Note in the final 1:30, but when the dust settled, the Falcons starters were on the bench with a 23-6 cushion heading into the second period.  The Bombers were only 2 of 10 from the floor, and committed eight turnovers in the quarter.  On the other hand, St. Joseph’s had 8 field goals, and made 7 of 8 from the foul line. DeCosey had 10 points in the period including three two handed jams, and a perfect 4 of 4 from the foul line. He also had two steals and two assists in the frame. Brix added 7 points on three field goals and 1 of 2 from the foul line while picking up an assist and a steal. Awad had 4 points on a field goal and two foul shots. Ziemba added his putback to round out the scoring.

The reserves saw a good deal of action in the second period, but things remained the same as the Falcons started the frame with a 9-4 spurt to take a commanding 32-10 lead. The Bombers didn’t give up though to their credit. Sayreville finished the first half strong with a 10-4 spurt including a three pointer by Van Note, two free throws by Joe Saitta at the 1:33 mark, and two charity shots by Bryant Webb at the 2:16 mark that closed the gap to 36-20 at the intermission. In total, the Bombers had 14 points in the quarter on four field goals including two threes along with a 4 of 4 showing at the line. Sayreville had six field goals in the half including four threes.

St. Joe’s was actually outscored in the second with only 13 points in the frame on five field goals including the only three in the half by the Falcons. The Green Birds also had two free throws. Soon to be sophomore, Jake Dadika, led the charge in the period for the Falcons with 7 points on a three, layup, and two free throws. Jordan Tapia added two jumpers for four points, and Josh Hudson got a layup underneath to round out the second quarter scoring by St. Joseph’s. The Falcons had 13 field goals including one three, and went 9 of 12 from the charity stripe.

The starters for St. Joseph’s returned at the beginning of the second half, and opened things up again with a 14-2 tear over the first 5:11 to expand the lead to 50-22 at the 4:49 mark. Brix, who had 10 points in the stanza, spearheaded the spurt with 8 points including a three point play at the 9:14 mark, a three pointer at the 7:21 mark, and a drive for a layup at the 4:49 mark. DeCosey added a drive for a layup the 8:25 mark, and a score off an inbounds play for four points while Awad added a layup to also highlight the run. Sayreville again finished the period strong with an 9-4 spurt as Bryant Webb swiped a steal for a layup, handed out an assist on a three by Van Note, and then canned a jumper from the left side while Danny Wojcik netted two free throws to close the gap to 54-31 heading into the final period.

The Bombers built off the solid effort towards the end of the third by outscoring the Falcons by a slim 15-14 margin in the fourth. Soon to be junior, Salman Hasan paced St. Joe’s in the fourth with 7 points including a three along with a nice no look pass for an assist, and a steal. Josh Hudson chipped in with four points in the frame while a reserve added three points. Sayreville had three field goals and two threes from the floor while making 3 of 5 from the foul line. Saitta and Trey Johnson each had four points in the quarter while Wojcik added a layup for two points.

Brix ended up leading St. Joe’s with 17 points while DeCosey chipped in with 14. Both Hasan and Dadika chipped in with seven while Hudson, Tapia, and Awad added 6 points. Ziemba finished with two. For Sayreville, Saitta finished with a team high 13 points while Van Note added 9 and Bryant Webb and Johnson chipped in with 6 each. Wojcik contributed with four. St. Joe’s tallied their 68 points on 27 field goals including three treys while making 11 of 19 from the line. Sayreville ended up getting its 46 points on 15 field goals including seven threes, and 9 of 11 from the line.

Fourth Quarter Spurt Helps St. Joe’s Knock Off St. Anthony’s 48-44

In the first and only trip to the 2011 Linden Team Camp, GMC Hoops picked a good day to go as St. Joseph’s took on St. Anthony’s in the 6:00 PM game at the Linden P.A.L., and then played Sayreville at the Recreation Center at 8:00 PM.

Playing the Friars can be a very daunting task, especially since they are coming off an undefeated season, and won the Tournament of Champions.  Despite losing Rutgers bound, Myles Mack, St. Anthony’s still has plenty of firepower returning including Kyle Anderson and Jerome Frink.  So, the Friars are poised for another long state playoff run.

However, St. Joseph’s is coming off a banner season as well with its second straight GMC Tournament Championship, and looking to become the first team to three-peat at the MCT/GMCT since the St. Peter’s Cardinals of the early 1980s.  The Falcons also have a lot returning for 2011-12 with the likes of Quenton DeCosey, Danny Brix, Jimbo Long, and James Ziemba among others.

The Falcons came out a bit tentative, but  St. Anthony’s playing without Anderson, was a bit out of sync, and couldn’t take advantage early on.  Jimbo Long then intercepted a pass, and shielded a St. Anthony’s defender as he drove in for the layup at the 6:53 mark, Danny Brix then drew a charge, and that got the team from Metuchen going with a 17-4 surge over the next 7:58 to take an eleven point lead early on in the second quarter.

Karim Awad spearheaded the early charge for the Falcons with seven of the team’s 13 first quarter points.  Long, Ziemba, and DeCosey each added two.  Awad had a three from the right side at the 3:19 mark for a 7-3 lead, a steal for a layup at the 2:43 mark for a 9-3 lead, and then a breakaway layup off an upcourt pass by Brix with 31 seconds to go in the period for an 11-6 lead.  DeCosey had no field goals in the first period, and didn’t get on the board until the final seconds when he drew a foul, and made two foul shots for the 13-6 edge.

St. Joe’s had five field goals including a three along with two foul shots in the first period while limiting St. Anthony’s to just one field goal, a three pointer by Frink, who had four of his team’s points in the period, and three foul shots.  Danny Brix, who had four assists in addition to his charge, and a steal, helped continue the St. Joe’s charge in the second period with assists on layups by Awad and Jalen Gilmore for the surprising 17-6 lead.  However, the early advantage wouldn’t last as St. Anthony’s gradually cut into the deficit, and actually took the lead a little more than midway through the fourth.

Over a span of 22:57 the Friars turned up the heat defensively with a ton of pressure that resulted in a 31-17 surge that gave them a 37-34 edge with just under six minutes to go.  However, the Falcons showed great resilience with a decisive 13-5 tear over a span of 5:44 to take a 47-42 lead with just 14 seconds remaining.  The Falcons started the comeback with great passing as DeCosey skip passed to Awad, wh then touch passed to Ziemba for a short baseline jumper at the 4:01 mark.

Following a one of two showing from the line by Frink for a 38-36 lead with 3:05  to go, and a missed three attempt by Long at the 2:09 mark, DeCosey came up with the play of the game as he picked off a pass, and drove upcourt ahead of Frink for a two handed jam as he was fouled by Frink for a conventional three point play, and a 39-38 lead with 1:39 left.  Ziemba then caught a deflected pass at the 1:20 mark, and Long cashed that in with two free throws with 1:05 left.

After Frink scored on a layup with 40 seconds remaining in regulation to close the gap again to one at 41-40, DeCosey drew a foul, and made two free throws for a 43-40 edge at the 35 second mark.  The Friars made two of their own from the line with 16 seconds left for a 43-42 St. Joe’s lead.  Following a Falcons timeout, DeCosey was intentionally fouled with 15 seconds to go, and made two free throws for a 45-42 lead.  Long then added two charity shots at the 14 second mark, and DeCosey made one of two with eight seconds to go to round out the 48-44 final.

For the game, DeCosey scored a team high 20 points for the Falcons.  The soon to be senior swingman scored two points in the first period, seven in the second quarter, one point in the third, and 10 points in the fourth.  He only had three field goals in the contest, but made 14 of 16 from the line for the Falcons.  St. Joseph’s had only three points in the third quarter on a field goal and one of two from the line.  Awad had 9 points on four field goals including a three while Long chipped in with 8 points on two field goals and 4 of 4 from the line.  Ziemba chipped in with two field goals for four points while Brix added 3 points.  Gilmore chipped in with 2 while another reserve added a bucket.

St. Joseph’s connected on 14 field goals including a three, and made 19 of 22 from the foul line.  St. Anthony’s got a solid effort from Frink, who had 4 points in the first, 5 points in the second, 2 points in the third, and 5 in the fourth for 16 points.  The soon to be senior forward connected on six field goals including two threes while also making 2 of 4 from the charity stripe.  Overall, the Friars connected on 13 field goals including the two threes by Frink, and made 16 of 22 free throws.

GMC Hoops thanks Marty Luc for providing information on this team camp.