SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–After taking in a contest at the Rahway Summer League, GMC Hoops got back into the car, and took St. George Ave to Route 35, and then to County Road 514 before getting on to Route 9 South to end up at South Amboy Middle/High School to take in some rare Friday night action at the 2011 Raritan Bay Summer League.
Prior to entering the gym, GMC Hoops exchanged pleasantries with league co-directors Gary Lange and Tom Reilly, who wondered where we have been recently. The answer to that is so many leagues, and so little time. The web site is doing the best it can to share the wealth with 10 different spring and summer leagues as well as five team camps covered already this summer. Then, Lange brought to our attention a complaint from the folks at St. Stan’s for not getting much mention on the site this summer.
Unfortunately for St. Stan’s players, coaches, and fans, we haven’t had the opportunity to see them play this summer due to the busy nature of the summer coverage. However, we will try to see them including an Asterita or two in action soon. Finally, Lange offered a hot dog, which we turned down in favor of just having a Gatorade. Lange then added that business has been up since our recent article about the Lange Dogs being in decline. Both Lange and Reilly indicated that Lange has put together a new secret formula for his dogs.
Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but Sonic has recently opened up a couple new drive thru restaurants in the area including one by Menlo Park Mall off of Route 1. Could it be that Lange is taking a trip to Sonic in the late afternoon, and grabbing these new Lange Dogs? GMC Hoops is asking anyone with cell phone footage of Lange pulling into a local Sonic to e-mail it to us. Anyway, before we get carried away, there was a game to be covered at Raritan Bay on Friday night. The nightcap game was a battle from the 5th and 6th Grade Division as Roselle and East Brunswick went toe to toe in quite an entertaining game that wasn’t decided until the final seconds with Roselle winning 32-28.
Roselle Hangs On To Beat Pesky East Brunswick, 32-28
EB was giving up some size to Roselle, but it still gave the Running Rams plenty of fight in the nightcap game of the rare Friday night quadruple header at the South Amboy Middle/High School. Â GMC Hoops settled down late in the first half to see Roselle ahead 16-10 with about a minute and a half to go.
The Little Bear Cubs drew within four on a basket at the 1:15 mark, but then Roselle responded with a basket with 34 seconds to play in the half for an 18-12 lead. Â EB got the final points of the opening half with a jumper at the 9.0 second mark that closed the gap to 18-14 going into the intermission.
The young Running Rams came out strong early on in the second half only to have EB respond to make things tight again. Â After a scoring lull of a few minutes, Roselle reeled off six quick points to take a 24-14 lead with 14 minutes to go before East Brunswick began chipping away at the deficit.
After the Cubs got their first points of the second half, they netted a three pointer to draw within five at 24-19 midway through the period. Â EB added another score to pull within three, and had several more chances to score, but misfired on a pair of free throws, and missed a shot before making one of two from the line with 5:26 remaining for a 24-22 Roselle lead.
Following a Running Rams timeout at the 5:24 mark, Roselle inbounded the ball at half court, and drove in for a score only to have EB tie up the player, and force a jump ball to gain possession. Â The Bear Cubs then inbounded the ball, and struggled to get the ball beyond mid court before calling for a timeout of their own with 4:35 to play.
After the stoppage, East Brunswick tried to set up a play on the left side, but Roselle deflected a pass for the corner that then went off an EB player for a turnover with 4:26 left. Â The Rams then got a bucket with 3:46 remaining for a 26-22 lead. Â Over the next minute, the Cubs missed two jump shot attempts while Roselle got a layup for a 28-22 lead with 2:32 to go.
The Rams had another chance to score, but EB stole the ball, and then scored with two minutes to go for a 28-24 Roselle lead. Â The Union County team quickly replied though with a scoop shot layin at the 1:41 mark for a 30-24 lead. Â Trying to keep pace, East Brunswick scored a layin to pull within four again at 30-26 with about a minute and a half to go. Â Not playing disciplined basketball, Roselle was taking jump shots, and giving EB an opportunity to get back into the game.
The Bear Cubs took advantage with a long jumper from the right wing to close the gap to two at 30-28 before calling timeout with 53.2 seconds left. Â After East Brunswick got a much needed stop on defense by forcing a Roselle turnover with 39.3 seconds to go in regulation, the Bear Cubs just missed a jump shot attempt with 20.4 seconds to play. Â Forced to foul, EB gave a foul at the 12.8 second mark.
The Running Rams had a chance to put the game away, but missed a layup with 6.2 seconds to play, but maintained possession. Â Roselle then closed out the game by inbounding the ball to a wide open teammate underneath for a layup with 1.2 seconds left to wrap up the 32-28 victory.