MONROE, NJ–On November 2nd, GMC Hoops returned to the Monroe Sports Center for the first time in a month to catch some action from the fall league there. The site had the chance to see a couple GMC teams in action as Spotswood took on Princeton, and Old Bridge battled Shore Regional. Both GMC squads were victorious.
Dadika And Soulias Propel Spotswood Past Princeton, 55-42
After being over at the East Coast Conditioning Fall League in North Edison earlier in the evening, GMC Hoops took the long trip down to the Monroe Sports Center to see the final two rounds of games there. Â The league is booked solid until the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Â So, despite missing several weeks of action, the site is still able to get good looks at the GMC teams playing here.
One of those teams is Spotswood, which dwas taking on Princeton in a 7:45 PM game on the Red Court. Â The contest marked the first time GMC Hoops has seen the Chargers in action this fall. Â Spotswood also has a new face on the squad in Jake Dadika, who transferred from St. Joseph’s in September. Â Earlier in the fall, Spotswood boys basketball coach, Steve Mate, who also serves as the Director of Basketball Operations at MSC, spoke very highly of Dadika, and was very enthusiastic about having him on the team.
Dadika will be a fine addition to the team, which already has one of the top scorers in the GMC in Tommy Soulias along with big man Ike Ejikeme, and talented juniors Jamal Lewis and Dalonte Grant. Â The Chargers also have Corey Brown, who is also a standout wide receiver on the school’s football team. Â GMC Hoops arrived at halftime with Spotswood already comfortably in front, 35-18. Â The Chargers got the first points of the second half before Princeton’s Little Tigers reeled off five unanswered to pull within 37-23.
Dadika got into the act with a jumper from the left baseline to make it a 39-23 lead. Â The Charger lead continued to go back and forth between 14 and 16 points for a bit as Dadika dished out an assist for a layup, and a 43-27 lead. Â Spotswood then added another score for a 45-28 lead before calling timeout at the 9:55 mark of the second half. Â Despite only having five players, Spotswood was able to control the game. Â After Princeton took a rebound of a missed three by Soulias for a fast break layup, Soulias netted threes at the 8:12 and 7:44 marks to increase the Charger advantage to 51-30.
Princeton didn’t give up though. Â Taking advantage of two traveling calls and two missed free throws, the Little Tigers reeled off six straight points to close within 51-36 at the 5:16 mark. Â Then, following two free throws by Spotswood at the 4:20 mark, Â Princeton connected on a three pointer from the left wing at the 2:45 mark to pull within 53-39. Â After Dadika scored a layup with 1:14 left, the Little Tigers hit another three, but it was too little, too late as the Chargers ran out the clock for the 55-42 win.
Drews, Aminu, and Velez Lead The Way As Knights Roll, 64-48
In the 8:45 PM game, GMC Hoops got a chance to see the Old Bridge Knights in action for the first time this fall. Â The Knights are looking to improve upon last year’s campaign, but it will prove to be difficult in the rough and tumble Red Division. Â The Knights have several key players returning from last year’s squad in Isaiah Velez, Sultan Aminu, and Tyler Drews.
On this night, Old Bridge was going up against Shore Regional from the Shore Conference. Â The Blue Devils are a much smaller school, but they have tremendous heart as proven by their victory in a consolation game of the 2010 Buc Classic against Woodbridge. Â Old Bridge also beat the Barrons in the tourney’s seventh place game a day later.
The Knights got off to a fast start in this one. Â After the two teams exchanged the lead several times, Old Bridge went on a 12-2 tear over a span of just 3:23 to take a 15-6 lead. Â Shore Regional tried to respond with a 5-4 flurry over the next 2:25 to narrow the deficit to 19-11 at the 11:20 mark, but then the Knights put together a solid stretch of basketball to take command of the game. Â Over a span of 5:45, OBHS outscored the Blue Devils by a margin of 18-2 to take a 35-13 lead with a little more than five and a half minutes remaining in the first half.
Anchored by the rebounding efforts of Velez, who had 10 boards alone in the first half, the Knights were able to get out in transition for easy layups and open threes, which both Aminu and Drews were happy to convert. Â The Knights would lose their concentration towards the end of the first half, and the Blue Devils took advantage with a 14-7 spurt over the final 5:35 of the opening period to trim the deficit to 42-27 at the intermission. Â Old Bridge started the second half strong again with a 6-3 run to take a 48-30 edge.
Aminu and Velez scored the first four points of the second half with a layup at the 19:42 mark, and a bank shot at the 19:25 mark for a 46-27 lead. Â After Shore Regional knocked in a three, Drews dished out an assist on a layup at the 17:03 mark for an 18 point lead. Â For the next 4:52, Shore made things interesting with a 10-4 spurt to close the gap to 52-40 with 12:11 to play. Â However, Velez and the Knights weren’t going to let the Blue Devils get any closer. Â Velez scored on back to back putbacks at the 9:40 and 9:18 marks to give Old Bridge a 56-40 lead.
After a three by Shore Regional at the 9:07 mark, OBHS went back to work with six unanswered points including a putback off a Velez miss at the 7:14 mark, a layup underneath at the 4:52 mark, and a transition layup by Drews at the 4:31 mark for a 62-43 lead.  The Devils, who were still outscored the Knights by a  22-21 margin in the second half, tried to make the score more respectable with one of two from the foul line at the 4:00 mark, a layup at the 1:44 mark, and a steal for another score at the 1:35 mark, but it wasn’t enough as Old Bridge went on to win by the score of 64-48.