ELIZABETH, NJ–On Thursday afternoon, GMC Hoops started its barnstorming trip across Union County with a trip out to the Dunn Center, and the 2011 Elizabeth Summer League. It was the first trip out to EHS this summer, and the site had a chance to see two GMC teams in action as St. Joseph’s took on St. Mary’s of Elizabeth, and Carteret battled Cranford. The Hilltoppers of St. Mary’s jumped out to a 9-0 lead, and led by as many as 19 in the second half before winning by the score of 49-38. Meanwhile, the Ramblers trailed Cranford by nine midway through the third quarter, but rallied with a 22-9 tear the rest of the way to come up with a hard fought, 38-34 victory.
Carteret Storms Back To Defeat Cranford, 38-34
Jumped out to a 10-5 first quarter lead. Â Cranford jumped to within three with a bucket early in the second, but then the Ramblers scored the next three points before they called a timeout with 4:32 to go in the first half. Â The Cougars scored four of the next six points over a span of 3:22 to pull within 15-11 at the 1:10 mark. Â
Cranford opened up the second half with a 14-1 tear over the first 6:44 for a 25-16 lead. Â The Ramblers then ended the quarter with an 8-2 spurt to close the gap to three points at 27-24 heading into the fourth. Â CHS started the fourth with a score before Cranford came back with a one of two showing from the line for a 28-26 lead with 7:15 to play.
After Cranford hit a jumper at the 6:30 mark for a 30-26 lead. Â Rolston sank a three pointer from the top of the key to narrow the deficit to 30-29 with 6:16 to go. Â Carteret got another score to go ahead for the first time since early in the second half before the Cougars made one of two from the line to tie the game up at 31-31 with 4:32 left.
The Ramblers then scored the next five over a span of 2:32 including a three point play at the 2:00 mark for a 36-31 lead. Â Cranford battled back though with three of the next four points including a free throw with 29 seconds left. Â The Cougars then almost got a steal at the 26 second mark, and got a theft, but couldn’t convert it as they missed the layup attempt with 20 seconds to go.
Carteret was then fouled, but missed the front end of a one and one. Â The Ramblers got the offensive board though, and Tanveer Dosanjh was fouled, and made one of two free throws for a 38-34 lead with 10 seconds left. Â Cranford missed a three pointer as time was running out and Dosanjh got the rebound to wrap up the win. Â Carteret closed the game with a 22-9 surge over the last 13:16.
Fast Start Propels St. Mary’s Past St. Joseph’s, 49-38
The featured game for GMC Hoops at Elizabeth on Thursday was the contest between St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s of Elizabeth. While the Falcons didn’t have the likes of Quenton DeCosey, Danny Brix, Jimbo Long, James Ziemba, and some of the familiar faces that we have seen this summer, they still had plenty of fight in their game against the Hilltoppers.
St. Mary’s of Elizabeth got off to a fast start by scoring the first nine points of the game over a span of the initial two minutes, and led 14-2 midway through the first quarter. However, the Falcons, led by the likes of Salman Hasan and Brian Fitzpatrick refused to go down easily. After the Hilltoppers scored seven of the first nine points of the third quarter to take a commanding 36-17 lead, St. Joe’s embarked on a 11-2 tear over a span of 5:20 to pull within 38-28 at the 7:30 mark of the fourth.
Unfortunately, the Falcons were unable to get any closer. St. Mary’s scored seven unanswered points over a span of 3:27 to take a 47-30 lead with a little more than four minutes remaining en route to a 49-38 victory. St. Joseph’s had an uphill battle to fight after only getting two field goals and one of two from the foul line in the opening period. The second period was much better from a productivity standpoint with three field goals including two threes, and two free throws in the frame. St. Mary’s opened the second with a tip in for a 19-5 lead, but the Falcons answered with an 8-2 run over a span 2:22 including threes by Fitzpatrick and Hasan and a layup by Owen McCleod to narrow the deficit to single digits.
Stopping the Falcons newly found momentum though, St. Mary’s didn’t allow a field goal over the final 6:56 while putting together an 8-2 run for a 29-15 halftime lead. The only points that St. Joseph had during the stretch was two free throws with three seconds to go in the first half. St. Joe’s got its 15 points on five field goals including two three pointers, and 3 of 4 from the foul line. The scoring difficulties continued for St. Joseph’s, which didn’t get its first points of the second half until McCleod hit a jumper from just inside the top of the key with 3:50 to go in the period as St. Mary’s began the third with another 7-2 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 36-17 at the 2:50 mark of the third.
After being limited to just a field goal and two free throws over a span of 13:06, the Falcons offense came back to life with 11 of the next 13 points to end the third quarter and start the fourth. Hasan spearheaded the charge with three treys while McCleod added a bucket to cap the run. Hasan ended the game with 14 points on five field goals including four three point baskets. Fitzpatrick chipped in with 8 points on two threes and two free throws while McCleod added 6 points on three field goals. For the game, St. Joseph’s had 13 field goals including 6 three pointers, and 6 of 8 from the foul line.
Leading only 38-28 with 7:30 to play, St. Mary’s put the game away with a 9-2 spurt over a span of just under three and a half minutes for a 47-30 lead. The Elizabeth school’s run included a layup at the 7:10 mark, a basket at the 6:00 mark, a three pointer at the 5:02 mark, and then another basket at the 4:03 mark. The Hilltoppers finished with 21 field goals including two threes, and a 5 of 10 effort from the foul line.
GMC Hoops plans to be back out at Elizabeth next Wednesday.