COLONIA, NJ–On Wednesday, GMC Hoops returned to Colonia Middle School to see two of the four quarterfinal games from the playoffs in the 2011 Colonia JV Summer League. The first matchup was between fifth seeded Cardinal McCarrick II and fourth seeded Hillside at 5:00 PM while the second followed at 6:00 PM between eighth seeded Colonia and top seeded St. Mary’s of Elizabeth.
Huge First Half Propels Cardinal McCarrick II Past Hillside Into Semis, 47-28
On Tuesday, the Quarterfinal round of the 2011 Colonia JV Summer League took place at Colonia Middle School with a set of four more games. Â The first game of this elite eight quadrupleheader was between fifth seeded Cardinal McCarrick II, which defeated 12th seeded Piscataway I in the opening round on Monday.
The Junior Eagles was squaring off against fourth seeded Hillside, which had a first round bye. Â GMC Hoops didn’t arrive until late in the first half, and by that time, Cardy Mac had a surprising two to one advantage at 27-14. Â McCarrick then scored the final seven points of the half for a 34-14 lead at the intermission.
Leading the way in the 7-0 spurt to end the half was Jason Williams, who scored a basket at the 1:30 mark. Â Aaron Lewis capped a 12 point first half as well as the spurt with a three pointer from the left wing with ten seconds to go for the 20 point lead at the intermission. Â The start of the second half was more of the same for the Junior Eagles.
Over the first 4:52 of the second half, Cardinal McCarrick outscored Hillside by a 9-4 margin to take a 43-18 lead. Â Lewis scored four of the points with a layup off a steal at the 18:51 mark, and then a baseline drive for a layin at the 17:55 mark. Â Lewis ended the game with 16 points for the Junior Eagles. Â
Hillside outscored McCarrick by a 14-13 margin over the final 20 minutes. Â The Junior Comets from Union County made seven field goals while the Junior Eagles had six. Â However, Cardy Mac had a three in the second half, and two threes over the final 22 minutes. Â Hillside also had more steals (6-4) and points off turnovers (6-4) in the second half. Â
Williams as well as Anthony Payne played well for the Junior Eagles. Â Williams added another bucket late while playing very well on the boards. Â With the victory, Cardinal McCarrick II improved to 6-3 on the summer, and advance to the semifinal round against top seeded St. Mary’s of Elizabeth while Hillside ended the season at 4-4.
Second Half Spurt Lifts Top Seeded St. Mary’s Over Colonia, 44-39
The second game of the quarterfinal quadrupleheader in the 2011 Colonia JV Summer League playoffs on Wednesday night was between eighth seeded Colonia and top seeded St. Mary’s of Elizabeth. Â The Junior Patriots advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating ninth seeded South Plainfield in the opening round on Tuesday night, 41-38. Â Meanwhile, the Junior Hilltoppers had a first round bye.
The Elizabeth school showed some rust early on while Colonia appeared to have benefited from being tested in the opening round by South Plainfield. Â Over the first 13:32, the Junior Pats jumped out to a 17-9 lead. Â However, the Junior Hilltoppers closed out the first half with a 13-0 run for a 22-17 edge at the intermission as they applied a trapping defense that Colonia had trouble with.
CHS responded with a 9-0 spurt over a span of four minutes to start the second half for a 26-22 lead. Â The Junior Patriots continued to lead by three at 33-30 with 12:43 remaining. Â However, St. Mary’s was able to advance thanks to a decisive 11-0 spurt over a span of 10:36 to take a 41-33 led with 2:07 left, and hung on for the 44-39 victory. Â There were four lead changes and seven ties in the contest while both teams enjoyed eight point leads.
The game was tied for 10:02 while Colonia held the lead for 13:42. Â St. Mary’s held the edge for the other 16:16. Â The Junior Hilltoppers got its 44 points on 16 field goals including four threes while also making 8 of 10 from the foul line. Â The Junior Patriots scored its 39 points on 15 field goals including two threes while making 7 of 11 from the foul line. Â Turnovers were the key statistic in this game. Â St. Mary’s forced 19 Colonia turnovers including 17 steals, and converted the miscues into 21 points.
CHS forced some turnovers as well with 13 including ten steals, and scored 13 points off those mistakes. Â The Junior Hilltoppers enjoyed a 12-6 edge in points scored from beyond the arc, and an 8-7 edge in points scored from the foul line. Â Both teams had eight second chance points and two blocks while Colonia drew the only charge in the contest. Â Over the last 26:09 of the game, St. Mary’s outscored Colonia by a margin of 35-22 for the win.
The game went back and forth a bit early on with five ties over the first eleven plus minutes. Â Colonia didn’t have its first lead until the 13:14 mark. Â However, the Junior Pats took control of the contest with an 8-0 run over a span of just 2:04 to take a 17-9 lead with 6:28 to go in the first half. Â Against the ropes, the Junior Hilltoppers responded by not allowing a point the rest of the way en route to retaking the lead on a three pointer with 17 seconds to go in the half, and going into the brief intermission with a 22-17 lead.
After both teams were scoreless for nearly a minute, Colonia put together its best run of the game with nine unanswered points over a span of 3:01 to take a four point lead. Â The spurt started on a score down low at the 19:01 mark for a 22-19 St. Mary’s lead. Â Less than a half minute later, Colonia tied the game at 22-22 on a three pointer from the left wing, and then took a 26-22 lead with two free throws at the 18:09 mark, and a jumper with 16 minutes to go after drawing a charge moments earlier.
The Junior Hilltoppers chipped away at the deficit a little bit, but Colonia was still able to maintain the lead for over the next three minutes. Â St. Mary’s would eventually overtake Colonia though by holding the Junior Pats scoreless for eleven minutes. Â The Elizabeth school started the rally with two free throws at the 11:42 mark, and took the lead for good with a steal for a layup at the 10:28 mark. Â After not scoring itself for 5:33, St. Mary’s was able to cap the decisive run with a three pointer from the left wing at the 2:07 mark for a 41-33 advantage.
Colonia tried to battle back by breaking its scoring drought with a putback at the 1:43 mark, and swiping a steal for a layup with 1:33 remaining for a 41-37 St. Mary’s lead. Â The Junior Patriots then fouled to force the Junior Hilltoppers to the line, and the strategy almost worked, but St. Mary’s outhustled CHS for the offensive rebound and saved it off a Colonia player to keep possession with 1:09 left. Â Thirteen seconds later, the Junior Hilltoppers put the game away with a short shot for a 43-37 lead.
With the victory, St. Mary’s improved to 7-1 on the summer and advanced to the semifinals on Thursday against fifth seeded Cardinal McCarrick while Colonia finished its summer at 5-5.