ALLENTOWN, NJ–The final day of action took place at the 2011 Summer Prime Time Shootout at Allentown High School in the Upper Freehold District of Monmouth County on Sunday. GMC Hoops managed to overcome the traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike, and the rain to catch action from the final four contests of the day. One of the games involved Rutgers Prep and Franklin Township in a battle of Somerset, New Jersey while Ewing took on St. Peter’s Prep of Jersey City.
Rutgers Prep Uses 27-1 Surge To Roll Past Franklin, 56-26
It was a battle of Somerset when the Warriors of Franklin Township took on the Argonauts of Rutgers Prep in a battle of local bragging rights. Â The 8:00 PM game got started on time in the East Gym, and the teams dueled to a 4-4 tie at the 17:45 mark of the first half when GMC Hoops arrived to take in the action. Â
After getting the scores from earlier action in hthe West Gym, the site came back to see Rutgers Prep jump out in front 11-9 on a 7-5 run. Â The Argos then added a couple more scores to take a 15-9 lead before Franklin called for time at the 9:22 mark of the first half. Â The Warriors then scored three of the next five points to pull within five at 17-12 with 7:40 to go in the half.
Rutgers Prep wouldn’t let Franklin get any closer. Â The Argonauts closed the half with an 11-0 run including a three point play by Greg Grippo at the four minute mark, a basket and a foul by Matt Rennie at the three minute mark, one of two from the line by Grippo with 1:05 to go in the half, and then an offensive rebound that resulted in a jumper to cap the run for a 28-12 lead at the intermission.
Over the last ten minutes of the first half, Rutgers Prep outscored Franklin by a margin of 17-3 to take its 16 point lead into halftime. Â The second half saw the Argos blow the game open with the first eight points of the half, and a 16-1 tear over a span of the first eight minutes to take a 44-13 lead before Franklin scored its first field goal of the second half and called for time at the 11:54 mark with Rutgers Prep leading by 29. Â
Highlighting the run was a three pointer from the left wing by Mike Klinger, a layup by Rennie, two free throws by Grippo, and one of two technical foul shots. Â In a span of 15:46, the 2011 Somerset County Tournament runner-up put together a 27-1 onslaught. Â From there, Rutgers Prep played its reserves, and coasted. Â The Warriors tried to show some signs of life with a traditional three point play at the midpoint of the second half, but by that time, it was already too little, too late.
After the Warriors got another three points at the eight minute mark to pull within 46-21, Rutgers Prep’s reserves got a couple scores including a layup at the 5:30 mark for a 50-21 advantage. Â Franklin scored five straight points over a span of three minutes before Rutgers Prep connected on a three pointer from the left corner at the 1:19 mark for a 53-26 lead. Â The Argos then added another three from the left wing to close out the 56-26 rout over its neighborhood rival.
With the victory, Rutgers Prep, which defeated St. Peter’s Prep earlier in the day, finished up 2-0 on Sunday, and went 3-1 at the Summer Prime Time Shootout. Franklin, which also lost to Shabazz earlier on Sunday, ended up 0-2 for the day and 0-4 for the event.
Ewing Shuts Down St. Peter’s Prep In Second Half For Victory, 36-18
After losing handily to both St. Joseph’s on Saturday night, and St. Benedict’s on Sunday afternoon, Ewing continued to get up and battle by playing in the West Gym finale against St. Peter’s Prep of Jersey City. Â The Blue Devils didn’t back down in this one as they took a 20-11 lead at the half, and then scored four of the first five points for a 24-12 lead at the 17:03 mark of the second half.
The Marauders tried to fight back with three straight points including a layup at the 16 minute mark that closed the gap to 24-15, but Ewing came right back down for a transition layup to take a 26-15 lead, and then drew a foul on another scoring attempt at the 14:26 mark for one of two free throws, and a 27-15 lead. Â St. Peter’s Prep, which was held to one point, and no field goals over a span of 8:16, would get the next point before Ewing broke open the game with an 8-0 spurt over a span of 2:44.
The Blue Devils first got a layup at the 9:41 mark to spark the run. Â Then got another layup at the 8:10 mark, and netted two free throws after St. Peter’s Prep was called for a technical foul with 7:01 remaining. Â Ewing capped the run with a bucket off an inbounds at the 6:26 mark for a 35-16 lead. Â The Marauders finally got on the board with a layup at the 6:10 mark, and the Devils made one of two from the line prior to a St. Peter’s timeout with 4:55 to go in the game.
From there, Ewing just spread the floor and ran time off the clock for the 36-18 victory. Â THe Blue Devils outscored the Marauders by a 16-7 margin in the second half as they held the Jersey City school to just two field goals in the final 20 minutes of the contest. St. Peter’s Prep, which lost to Rutgers Prep ended up 0-2 on the day, and 1-3 over the three days of the event. Â Ewing went 1-1 on the day, and finished 1-3 also.
GMC Hoops will be posting video highlights from three of the four games it saw on Sunday soon.