ELIZABETH, NJ–Following the trip to Linden High School for the 4:30 PM game from the Monday/Wednesday Division of the 2011 Linden Summer League, GMC Hoops headed north on Route 1-9 to the Dunn Center in Elizabeth to see action from the Monday/Wednesday Division of the Elizabeth Summer League. The Sayreville Bombers were in action against the Moore Catholic Mavericks in one of the three 6:00 PM games. Sayreville jumped out to a 22-14 second quarter lead before Moore Catholic responded with a 14-2 tear to end the first half for a 28-24 lead at intermission. The Mavericks then put together a 16-4 tear to open the fourth quarter for a 59-44 lead en route to a 63-55 victory.
Moore Catholic Cashes In On Turnovers And Second Chances To Defeat Sayreville, 63-55
The Sayreville Bombers are a squad with solid guard play. With the likes of Cody Van Note, Joe Saitta, Corey Taite, and Danny Wojcik, the Bombers have plenty of firepower in the backcourt. However, unlike past seasons, Sayreville is relatively small in the frontcourt. For this upcoming season, rebounding will be a big key. In its game against Moore Catholic on Wednesday evening, the Bombers jumped out to a 22-14 lead midway through the first quarter, but then gave way to a 14-2 tear to end the first half.
Over the first 5:24 of the third period, Sayreville hung in with the Mavericks from Staten Island. During that stretch, the Bombers were within two points on six different occasions, within a point once, and tied the game once. However, Sayreville was unable to get closer as Moore Catholic scored four of the final seven points of the third, and 16 of the first 20 points of the fourth to take a 59-44 lead with 3:34 to go. The Bombers attempted to rally with an 11-2 spurt over the next 3:08 to close within six at 61-55, but it was too little, too late as the Mavericks came away with the 63-55 win.
For the game, Moore Catholic got its 63 points on 28 field goals and two threes and a 5 of 14 effort from the foul line. Meanwhile, Sayreville scored its 55 points on 19 field goals including four threes, and 13 of 18 from the charity stripe. However, despite outscoring its Staten Island foe by a margin of 12-6 from beyond the arc, and 13-5 at the free throw line, Sayreville was done in by turnovers and rebounding. Moore Catholic grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, and scored 16 second chance points while getting 23 points off Bomber turnovers.
Sayreville had a balanced scoring attack led by diminutive point guard, Corey Taite. The soon to be sophomore led the way with 15 points on five field goals including a three, and 4 of 6 from the foul line. Taite also collected 2 assists, 2 steals, and a charge. Forward, Trey Johnson chipped in with 13 points on four field goals including a three pointer and 4 of 5 from the foul line. Johnson also picked up an assist and a charge. Saitta added 11 points on four field goals including two treys and one of two from the foul line. Saitta also picked up two assists and a steal.
Over the first 25:24 of this contest, there were three lead changes and three ties while neither team had a lead bigger than 9 points. Sayreville led by nine on a couple of occasions in the first quarter, and led by eight midway through the second. Moore Catholic led by as many as four during the stretch. The Mavericks led for 20:50 of the contest while the Bombers led for 17:39. The game was tied for only 1:31. Sayreville appeared to be on its way to a solid victory when it scored 15 of the game’s first 21 points, and led 17-8 after one period.
Little by little though, Moore Catholic began to chip away at the deficit. The Mavericks scored 6 of the first 11 points of the second period to pull within eight at the 5:25 mark. Then, the Staten Island team closed out the first half with 14 of the last 16 points to take a four point lead into the intermission. Over the last 10:46 of the opening half, Moore Catholic outscored Sayreville by a margin of 22-9 to take the two possession advantage into the brief break. The second half saw the Bombers rally by scoring six of the first eight points of the third quarter to knot the game at 30-30 with 8:51 left in the period.
However, Sayreville wasn’t able to take the lead, and was never able to knot the game again. Over a span of 15:17, the Mavericks surged away from the Bombers with a 29-14 showing to take a 15 point lead late in the game. Taite helped Sayreville end the game with a more respectable score by scoring 7 points down the stretch along with a steal.