LINDEN, NJ–On Wednesday afternoon, GMC Hoops returned to Linden High School for the third time this summer to see the third day of action from the Monday/Wednesday Division of the 2011 Linden Summer League. The Colonia Patriots were back in action with a 5:30 PM game against Susan Wagner of Staten Island after Linden battled Point Pleasant Beach at 4:30 PM. Linden closed its game with a 7-0 run to defeat the Garnet Gulls of Point Beach by the score of 54-36 while Colonia used a 22-8 surge from the very end of the first half to a little more than a minute and a half remaining to take a seven point lead en route to a 32-28 victory.
Linden Shuts Down Point Beach Down The Stretch For Win, 54-36
GMC Hoops was behind schedule on its trip to Linden High School for action from the Monday/Wednesday Division of the 2011 Linden Summer League, but it didn’t matter since the Garnet Gulls were late arriving to the gym.
Linden got off to a strong start with an 11-4 run over the first 7:20, and led 17-9 with 6:31 remaining in the first half. Â However, despite being undermanned and undersized, Point Beach fought back with eight straight points including back to back threes by #11 for a 17-17 tie with 3:24 to go in the first half.
From that point on, the game was a tug of war between one of the smallest schools in the state, and one of the largest. Â Back and forth the two teams went with neither team having a lead bigger than three points for a span of 15:57 before Linden began to wear down its Shore Conference opponent with its persistent, tough defense, depth, and size.
Linden trailed 28-27 with just under 11 minutes to go in the game when it embarked on a 27-8 surge to close the game with a 54-36 win. Â After the Garnet Gulls pulled within one at 37-36 on a three pointer with 5:33 left, the Tigers went on a 17-0 tear to finish the game. Â LHS did it in all kinds of ways with putbacks, turnaround jumpers, fast break layups, and three pointers on offense while blocking three shots on defense down the stretch.
Early on, it looked like Linden was going to blow the game wide open. Â Since Point Beach didn’t get to the gym until just before 5:00 PM, the Garnet Gulls were unable to have much time to warm up. Â Conversely, Linden took advantage of the delay, and was more than ready to go when the contest tipped off. Â It showed as the Tigers made five field goals including a three over a span of over seven minutes to take a seven point lead.
Point Pleasant Beach slowly started to get itself going, but not before Linden scored six of the next 11 points over a span of just 2:09 to take a 17-9 lead. Â The Gulls, which have become a top program in Group I within just the past few years, scored eight straight points over the next 5:16 on back to back threes from #11 at the 5:14 and 4:28 marks, and then a basket and a foul to tie the score at 17-17 with 3:24 left in the first half.
Just under a minute later, Linden went back in front by the score of 19-17 on a putback at the 2:31 mark. Â Point Beach then drew a foul, and made a pair of foul shots with 1:45 to tie the game at 19-19. Â LHS took the lead into the locker room on a scoop shot with 26 seconds remaining in the half for the 21-19 score at the break. Â Point Pleasant Beach outscored Linden by a margin of 9-3 in points scored from beyond the arc while the Tigers had six second chance points in the first half.
After neither team scored for the first 1:20 of the second half, the Garnet Gulls took their first lead of the game at 22-21 on a three pointer from the left corner. Â Over the next 4:32, there were five lead changes and a tie. Â For the game, there were five led changes on three ties. Â Linden would take the lead for good on a pair of free throws with 10:08 to play. Â Moments later, the Tigers forced a five second call at the 9:50 mark. Â
On the ensuing Linden possession, the Tigers scored on a floater while drawing a foul, but missed the bonus free throw for a 31-28 lead with 9:27 remaining. Â The lead would vacillate between one and three points for the next 2:47 before Point Beach tied the game on a three pointer by #11 with 6:40 left. Â However, the Tigers proved to be too much in the end as they shut the Gulls down the rest of the way for a 54-36 win.
Defense Does It Again For Colonia In Victory Over Susan Wagner, 32-28
The second game of the day on Wednesday at Linden was between Susan Wagner and Colonia, the lone GMC team in the Monday/Wednesday Division of this league. Â These two teams were coming in as squads appeared headed in opposite directions of play last week.
Susan Wagner of Staten Island lost handily to St. Patrick’s last Wednesday in the 4:30 PM game while Colonia rallied in the second half behind Greg Jones and a superb defensive effort to defeat Chatham. Â However, on this day, Colonia would have its hands full with Wagner. Â The New York school played much better, particularly in the first half, and the Patriots were playing without Jones.
However, Colonia’s defense would again come to the rescue along with a solid third quarter effort from Jordan McDaniel. Â The soon to be senior scored eight points including a three pointer to open the second half, and spark a 16-6 showing in the third that turned a 16-12 halftime deficit to a 28-22 lead. Â The Patriots then led by as many as seven points down the stretch before Wagner got a couple late scores to round out the 32-28 Pats win.
Colonia held Wagner to just two points over the first 6:23 of the fourth to put together a decisive 26-9 surge over a span of 18:55 to take its biggest lead of the game. McDaniel had two points in the first period, three points in the second, eight in the third, and a free throw in the point to end up with a team high 14 points along with 3 steals, an assist, and a blocked shot. The Colonia swingman connected on five field goals including two threes while making 2 of 4 from the line. Soon to be junior, Trent Barneys chipped in with 10 points on three field goals including two threes while also making 2 of 4 from the line. The duo of McDaniel and Barneys accounted for 75 percent of Colonia’s scoring in this game.
For the game, Colonia got its 32 points on 11 field goals including four threes, and 6 of 10 from the foul line. Meanwhile, Susan Wagner got its 28 points on 10 field goals and 8 of 13 from the line. The Patriots outscored their Staten Island foes by a margin of 12-0 from beyond the arc while Wagner outscored Colonia by an 8-6 margin from the charity stripe. Wagner held the lead for 16:31 of the first 16:55 of the contest while Colonia led for the final 15:05. The game was tied for only 24 seconds. The Patriots only managed two field goals in the first period on a three from Barneys at the 4:39 mark, and then a layin by McDaniel with five seconds remaining in the frame.
Meanwhile, Susan Wagner led by as many as eight in the opening period as it connected on three field goals and 5 of 7 from the foul line including three free throws with 40 seconds left in the period. However, the tide began to turn in the second period as Colonia limited the Staten Island squad to just five points in the period including only one point over the last 1:51, and no field goals over the final 4:31 of the half. Barneys and McDaniel accounted for 11 of the Patriots 12 first half points. Colonia ended the half with a 6-1 spurt to pull within four at the intermission.Â
CHS then opened the second half with a 9-0 spurt including a three by McDaniel at the 7:38 mark, a putback at the 7:05 mark, a steal and score off the break by McDaniel at the 6:45 mark, and then a putback by Barneys at the 6:20 mark for a 21-16 lead. Wagner tried to battle back with scores at the 6:00 and the 5:40 marks to pull within one at 21-20. However, after a lull in the scoring of 2:25, the Patriots finished the third with a 7-2 run to take a 28-22 lead into the fourth. McDaniel contributed with a one of two showing from the line at the 3:15 mark, and a jumper from the elbow at the 2:14 mark while a teammate swiped a steal in the Wagner backcourt, and scored on a layup at the 1:44 mark. The Pats also got a score on a follow with 50 seconds to go in the period for a six point lead heading into the fourth.
Wagner outscored Colonia by a 6-4 margin in the fourth period as the Patriots only managed to score from the foul line with 4 of 6 free throws. However, the Pats were still able to hang on as the visitors from Staten Island trailed by as many as seven with 1:37 to go, and had two of its three field goals in the period come in the final minute of play.
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at the Linden Summer League on Thursday.