SKILLMAN, NJ–On Thursday afternoon, GMC Hoops traveled out over to Montgomery High School to take in the final day of action at the second annual Montgomery Team Camp. The site saw all or part of four different games before heading out to the Monroe Sports Center for the final two days of action there. Two of the games involved South Brunswick, the only team from the GMC competing in the event. The Vikings went 2-0 on the day with victories of West Windsor-Plainsboro South (65-64), and Hunterdon Central (63-60). In other action Montgomery edged Notre Dame by the score of 38-37 while Hillsborough downed Hopewell Valley by the score of 71-64.
South Brunswick Edges West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 65-64
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Vikings led 65-62 with 9.2 seconds left. Â West Windsor-Plainsboro South inbounded the ball under their own basket to the right side of the floor. Â Dribbled along the sideline, and SBHS knocked the ball out of bounds. Â Problem was that the clock wasn’t running. Â Scorekeepers took 1.5 seconds off the clock. Â The Pirates inbounded the ball again, but in their offensive frontcourt this time. Â
WWPS managed to draw a foul with 3.5 seconds left, and made both free throws for a 65-64 SBHS lead. Â Pirates fouled the Vikings right away, and with 2.0 seconds to go, South Brunswick missed the front end of a one and one, but Mike Green got the offensive rebound. Â Clock wasn’t running again. Â South Brunswick fans in attendance became upset, and the scorer’s table ran out the clock for the 65-64 South Brunswick victory.
Montgomery Surges In Second Half To Defeat Notre Dame, 38-37
Montgomery took a 9-6 lead on a three pointer with less than nine minutes to go in the first half when Notre Dame responded with a three point play on its very next possession to tie the score at 9-9 with 8:00 to go in the first half. Â The conventional three point play sparked an 11-5 spurt to end the half for a 17-14 lead at the intermission.
The Irish then opened the second half with an 8-3 spurt over the first four minutes of the second half to take a 25-17 lead. Â In just 12 minutes, Notre Dame had turned a three point deficit into an eight point lead. Â Montgomery battled back though with six straight points over a 3:30 span to narrow the gap to two again at 25-23.
The Cougars then made it a tie game with another score at the 10:16 mark before the Irish drew a foul, and made one of two from the line at the 9:45 mark. Â Montgomery took its first lead since the 8:55 mark of the first half on its very next possession with a three pointer for a 28-26 lead at the 9:25 mark. Â Then, after getting a stop on the defensive end, Montgomery pulled up for another trey from the left side for a 31-26 lead as Notre Dame called for time with 8:58 left.
The home team then added another score to complete a 16-1 surge over a span of 8:30 before Notre Dame got on the board with two free throws at the 7:00 mark to close the gap to 33-28. Â The Irish then got another basket before Montgomery made one of two from the line, and added another score to go up by five again at 36-31. Â ND scored the next four points including a coast to coast drive for a layin with a minute and a half left to pull within one, but shot themselves in the foot with turnovers on back to back possessions.
The Irish didn’t let the Cougars take advantage though, and got a score before calling timeout with 21.5 seconds to go, and Montgomery now only leading by one at 38-37. Â The Cougars were able to hang on though for the one point win.
Hillsborough Fires Its Way Past Hopewell Valley, 71-64
GMC Hoops didn’t join the action in this one until the 8:21 mark of the first half, and Hopewell Valley leading by the score of 24-21. Â The Raiders responded with four straight points for a 25-24 lead before Hopewell Valley answered with a score on a jumper from the right side to go back in front, 26-25 at the 5:00 mark. Â
The Bulldogs then got a score in the paint for a three point lead at the 3:19 mark before Hillsborough got a layup to pull within one at the 28-27 with 2:39 to play in the half. Â The Raiders had a chance to go in front, but Hopewell drew a charge. Â The Mercer County school scored two of the next three points for a 30-28 lead when the Bulldogs were fouled, and then assessed a technical with 25.1 seconds remaining in the half. Â
Hillsborough made the technical foul shot while Hopewell Valley missed the two free throws. Â Following a timeout, the Bulldogs set up for a final shot of the half, and had a good possession that resulted in a jumper from the right side that went in and out. Â The Raiders then had a heave from about three quarters court that hit the backboard as time expired with Hopewell leading at the break, 30-28.
After the Bulldogs opened the half with a layup underneath, Hillsborough responded with a 9-0 run including two free throws, a tip in, and then a three pointer for a 37-32 led at the 19:30 mark. Â Hopewell Valley then answered with a follow off a blocked shot by the Raiders at the 19:13 mark. Â The Bulldogs fought back though with an 8-5 spurt over the next five minutes or so to pull within a basket before the Raiders struck for a three from the right baseline for a 45-40 lead as they called for time with 14:06 to go.
Over the next two plus minutes, Hillsborough increased its lead to nine with two more threes including one from the left wing at the 11:55 mark. Â The Raiders then scored seven more points including a three at the 10:30 mark for a 58-46 lead before Hopewell responded with a trey of its own at the 9:47 mark, and called timeout with the score at 58-49 in favor of the Raiders. Â Hillsborough went on from there to win the game by the score of 71-64 despite a 15-13 run the rest of the way by Hopewell Valley.
Greeen Helps Vikings Hang On To Edge Hunterdon Central, 63-60
On Thursday afternoon, GMC Hoops dealt with the traffic, and managed to get out to Montgomery High School in Skillman for the final day of action at the second annual Montgomery Team Camp. Â Twelve teams are participating in this camp including South Brunswick, the lone GMC team in the event.
Last summer, the site didn’t see the Vikings at all as they competed over in the Mercer County CYO Summer League in West Windsor-Plainsboro.  As a matter of fact, the site didn’t see SBHS at all in the off-season until midway through the fall  league at the Monroe Sports Center.
The site managed to capture the final moments of the first game involving the Vikings, which was a 65-64 victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro South. Â Up to this point, it has been a roller coaster week for the Vikes with two losses on Monday, two wins over Montgomery and Immaculata on Tuesday, and then another two defeats on Wednesday to Watchung Hills and Hillsborough, two of the top teams in the camp thus far.
The first half was a closely contested period between the Vikings and Hunterdon Central. Â Over the first 14:33, neither team had a lead bigger than five points while there were three lead changes and seven ties. Â The Red Devils had leads of 4-0 and 21-17 while the Vikings had a 26-21 lead. Â There were plenty of swings in momentum as HCHS had a 6-0 run to turn a 12-8 deficit into a 14-12 lead while SBHS had a 9-0 run that turned a 21-17 deficit into a 26-21 advantage.
Hunterdon Central would close to within a field goal at 26-24 with 5:27 to go in the opening half, but led by the play of Mike Green, South Brunswick withstood the charge to take a seven point lead at 31-24, and held on for a two point, 37-35 advantage at the intermission. Green connected on five field goals and one of three from the line for 11 first half points along with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and two steals. As a team, South Brunswick connected on 14 field goals including two three pointers, and made 7 of 9 from the foul line in the first half. Meanwhile, the Red Devils connected on 13 field goals including a three pointer while making 8 of 9 from the foul line. So, as you can see, the game was fairly close in the first half. The Vikings earned the edge at the intermission thanks to a 6-3 edge in points from beyond the arc.
You will sometimes hear the saying at halftime by a basketball analyst or commentator on TV that the first few minutes of the second half will determine the outcome of the entire game. This game was a perfect example. South Brunswick took control of the contest with a 10-0 run over the first 5:14 of the second half to take the biggest lead of the game up to this point at 47-35. The Vikes opened up the scoring with a three pointer at the 21:40 mark, and ended up with three field goals including the half opening trey, and sank 3 of 4 from the line to highlight the run. Green contributed to the run with two free throws for a 43-35 lead at the 19:36 mark, and a steal off some great hustling back on defense at the 16:12 mark.
Following a Hunterdon Central timeout at the 13:31, the Red Devils, which didn’t score its first points of the second half until a three pointer at the 14:23 mark, began to chip away at the deficit. Over the next 2:35, HCHS scored 7 of the next 9 points to close the gap to 51-45 with 10:56 to play. South Brunswick’s only points during a stretch of 3:50 came on a baseline drive from the right side for a lauyup at the 12 minute mark for a 51-41 lead. Meanwhile, the Devils got a layup at the 13:15 mark, and a drive through the middle for a layin at the 11:45 mark in addition to a 3 of 4 effort from the foul line.
South Brunswick regained control of the contest for a bit with the next four points over a span of 1:53 to take a 55-45 lead. The Vikings connected on a three pointer from the right side off a kickout on the break at the 9:51 mark, and then scored on a layup off an inbounds play at the 9:03 mark for a double digit advantage. Hunterdon Central wouldn’t go away though as it brought the deficit back down to six by scoring six of the next eight points over a span of 5:57 for a 57-51 SBHS lead. The Red Devils sank a baseline jumper from the left side at the 8:27 mark, a layup off a loose ball at the 5:42 mark, and another layup off a pass at the 3:06 mark.
The Devils cut into the deficit even more with five of the next six points over a span of 1:59 to pull within a basket at 58-56. HCHS got an offensive rebound, and scored on a floater at the 2:15 mark, and then after a one of two showing at the line by SBHS at the 1:45 mark, the Devils struck for a three pointer from the left wing at the 1:07 mark for a two point Vikings lead. South Brunswick wouldn’t let Hunterdon Central get any closer as it made 5 of 7 from the foul line over the final minute and change to seal the 63-60 victory.
Green had only four points and a field goal in the second half, but still came up with 15 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists for the game. South Brunswick as a team made 22 field goals including three treys, and connected on 16 of 23 from the foul line. Meanwhile, Hunterdon Central made 22 field goals including four treys, and clicked on 12 of 15 from the foul line. The Devils outscored the Vikings by a 12-9 margin from beyond the arc including a 9-3 showing in the second half. SBHS went 9 of 14 from the line in the final period of play while HCHS went just 4 of 6.