NORTH EDISON, NJ–The East Coast Conditioning Fall League is in its second year, and this was the first time that the site came down to cover the league. There are two divisions to this 12 team league. One division plays on Monday night, and the other plays on Wednesday night. GMC Hoops covered all three games on Wednesday night. In the 6:00 PM contest, Cardinal McCarrick defeated Westfield while in the 7:00 PM game, Piscataway jumped out to an early lead, and then hung on to defeat Woodbridge. Finally, in the 8:00 PM game, Bridgewater-Raritan surged to pull away from a 13-13 second quarter tie to defeat Governor Livingston.
McCarrick Pulls Away From Westfield In Fourth For Win, 67-55
On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops took a trip down to the East Coast Conditioning and Sports Performance Training Center in North Edison to take in some of the action for the first time this fall. Â Cardinal McCarrick is one of the teams in action from the GMC in this league, and was taking on Westfield in a clash that took place at 6:00 PM.
GMC Hoops joined the action with the Eagles leading by the score of 32-25 at the 8:19 mark of the third. Â The opponent rallied though with eight of the next dozen points including a three pointer that helped close the gap to 36-33 with 4:20 remaining in the third period. Â Marques Townes, who accounted for the only four points by McCarrick during the four minute stretch, drew a foul, and made one of two free throws at the 4:20 mark for a 37-33 lead.
On the next possession the opponent (Westfield) got a bucket with 3:20 remaining before Jumanne McDaniel netted a jumper from the free throw line for a 39-35 lead with 2:30 to play in the period. Â Westfield responded with another three from the left side to pull within one, but Robert Nunez and Mohammed Alli battled for an offensive rebound that led to a putback that gave the Eagles a three point lead. Â The Blue Devils ended the third with one of two free throws as time expired to make it a 41-39 score heading into the fourth.
Alli opened the fourth with a drive down the left lane for a layup and a 43-39 cushion at the 9:22 mark. Â McDaniel then got a rebound at the other end, and set up another score for a 45-39 lead with 8:59 left. Â The Eagles then capped the 6-0 start to the final frame with another stop that created a transition opportunity capped by a layin by Townes for a 47-39 lead as Westfield called for time with 8:33 to play. Â Following the timeout, the Blue Devils got a score, but Alli replied with a bucket as he was fouled for a traditional three point play, and a 50-41 advantage with 8:22 left.
McCarrick increased its lead a little less than two minutes later when McDaniel got the ball and handed off to Townes, who drove down the left side of the court for a layup, and a 52-41 score at the 6:30 mark. Â Westfield made a free throw, but the Eagles went up by fifteen on a jumper by McDaniel, and then a three point play by Townes at the 4:30 mark for a 57-42 lead. Â Over a span of eight minutes, Cardy Mac outscored Westfield by a margin of 18-4 to break open a close game.
From there, Cardinal McCarrick went on to win by the final score of 67-55.
Piscataway Hangs On To Defeat Woodbridge, 46-40
It was a renewal of an old GMC Red Division rivalry as Woodbridge took on Piscataway. Â Former Carteret and Rutgers standout, Keith Hughes was patrolling the sidelines for the Barrons, where his eldest son, Keith Hughes Jr., and his youngert son, both play. Â Woodbridge brought a lot of size to the table with not only the younger Hughes, but also Kyle Pearson, and a number of other players.
Piscataway was not intimidated though. Â Over the first 1:41 of the game, the Chiefs jumped out to an 8-0 lead. Â Marcus Freeney opened the scoring by getting amongst the trees for an offensive rebound and putback. Â Then Thaddeus Dalton added two more scores during the run. Â Woodbridge didn’t get on the board until the 6:22 mark with one of two free throws, but P-Way added two more scores before the Barrons called for time at the 5:30 mark.
Pearson drew a foul, and made one of two from the line at the 4:15 mark to close the gap to 12-2 Â P-Way lead, but the Chiefs went back on the attack when Jelani Jackson passed to Clarence Morris for a three pointer from the left corner for a 15-2 lead at the 3:33 mark of the first. Â A little less than a minute later, Terrence Hoover, who contributed a lot for P-Way at the Bound Brook Summer League, hit a short shot along the left baseline while being fouled for a three point play at the 2:39 mark, and an 18-2 lead.
Pearson made two free throws from the line, and then the Barrons drew another foul for one of two free throws, and an 18-5 P-Way lead after one. Woodbridge had no field goals in the quarter, and made 5 of 8 from the foul line. Â Pearson accounted for four of the points as Piscataway’s defense made it very difficult for the Barrons to get going offensively. Â Vik Singh opened up the second period with a layup, and a 20-5 lead before Hughes gave Woodbridge its first field goal of the contest for a 20-7 Chiefs lead at the 9:20 mark. Â
The Barrons finally got a spark when Pearson took a pass and threw down a two handed dunk while being fouled for a three point play, and a 20-10 P-Way lead. Â Keith Hughes then swatted away two shots while Woodbridge scored again to pull within eight points midway through the second quarter. Â The Barrons couldn’t get any closer over the final five minutes of the first half as the Chiefs locked down on defense, and got one of two from the line by Hoover, and two free throws each by Freeney and Jelani Jackson for a 25-12 lead.
Pearson helped the Barrons get going again with a three pointer along with another two free throws, but the Chiefs made one of two from the line and Singh flushed home a one handed jam as time ran out in the first half for a 28-17 P-Way advantage at the intermission. Â The Barrons outscored the Chiefs by a 12-10 margin in the second. Â The third period began with Woodbridge slowing the Chiefs down while getting scores from Hughes and Pearson, and then two free throws by Hughes at the 5:01 mark for a 31-23 P-Way lead. Â Woodbridge continued to apply the pressure as Pearson scored again down low to pull within six as Piscataway was out of sorts on offense.
The Chiefs held a tenuous 31-25 edge heading into the fourth quarter after the Barrons limited P-Way to just three points in the frame including nine over the final nine minutes or so. Â Over the middle two periods, Woodbridge outscored Piscataway by a margin of 20-13. Â The points continued to be hard to come by over the first two and a half minutes of the fourth. Â The Chiefs got the only points during the span on a fast break layup by Jackson after Pearson was unable to connect from three point range. Â After a Piscataway timeout at the 7:27 mark, Hughes drew a foul, and made one of two foul shots for a 33-26 score.
P-Way got themselves going again when Dalton made a nice pass underneath to Jackson for a layup, and a 35-26 lead with 6:15 to go. Â The two teams then exchanged baskets as Hughes scored from the left side and Jackson answered to a layup of his own for a 37-28 score. Â Pearson then added a layup, and Hughes got a basket while being fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 37-32 score with three minutes to play. Â Freeney banked in a floater for a huge shot, but Pearson responded with a three from the right wing for a 39-35 score with two minutes to go.
Things got testy with 1:16 to go when Vik Singh was fouled. Â Words began to be exchanged between players on both teams, and a brawl almost ensued a couple of times, but the coaches on both teams as well as Linden’s coach Phil Colicchio, and some parents were able to keep things from getting out of control. Â Singh then made two free throws for a 43-37 lead. Â Â After Woodbridge made one of two from the line at the 1:04 mark, Jackson was cited for a double dribble with just under a minute to play. Â The Barrons big men then attacked the glass for a putback to pull within three.
Freeney made one of two from the line at the 16.4 second mark, and then Singh closed out the game with two foul shots with 2.4 seconds remaining to round out the hard fought, 46-40 victory.
Bridgewater-Raritan Surges To Defeat Governor Livingston
The Highlanders from GL gave it a good fight in the first half. Â The score was tied at 7-7 after one, and 13-13 midway through the second before the Panthers of Bridgewater-Raritan began to pull away with a 6-0 run to eventually take a 19-15 lead at the half. Â However, it was a 22-11 surge in the third quarter capped by three straight threes that turned a 32-25 advantage into a 41-26 lead moving into the fourth that put the game away.
Bridgewater, which looks to be more competitive in Somerset County and the Skyland Conference’s Delaware Division with their solid guard play, didn’t stop there either with three more treys and a conventional three point play to finish off what was a 23-1 surge to take a 55-26 lead en route to a 57-39 victory. Â GMC Hoops will be back out at this league next week.