GMC Hoops Summary–GMCT Round of 16–#17 Old Bridge @ #1 St. Joseph’s

February 21, 2014 Greg Machos Old Bridge Hoops, St. Joseph's Hoops 0

By Anthony Colucci, St. Joseph’s Beat Writer

St. Joe’s Surges Past Old Bridge to Elite 8

A year ago to the date, St. Joe’s met Old Bridge in the GMC Tournament with a trip to the GMC Finals on the line, which the Falcons won 75-50 to set the stage for an epic, historic showdown with East Brunswick. From the first quarter, St. Joe’s overwhelmed the Knights en route to a 75-50 win, and tonight was no different.
 
The now 21-2 Falcons cruised to a 99-48 win over Old Bridge behind the dynamic play of seniors Karl Towns and Marques Townes.
 
Early on, the Knights looked to be keeping up with St. Joe’s for the second time in a week and even led 11-10 at one point after a Kola Adeleye three pointer with 3:55 left in the first quarter. Towns and Drews traded baskets before St. Joe’s went on an 11-0 run to end the quarter.
 
Townes started the run off with seven straight points off a three pointer, a field goal and a fastbreak dunk. Following an Old Bridge turnover, Wade Baldwin dunked in transition to add to his 15 point performance. Townes then added another basket to give the Falcons a 24-13 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
 
“We just emphasized pushing the ball and get the tempo running,” Townes said after his 27 point night. “We wanted to make a statement after Sunday’s game and get our momentum going heading into counties and states.”
 
The Townes-led Falcons remained hot in the second quarter, scoring another seven points before Old Bridge could finally break through as St. Joe’s took a 53-30 lead into the half. Drews scored 10 of his 28 points- tying Towns for the game high total- to keep the deficit respectable.
 
The Falcons rolled through the third quarter, limiting the Knights to only six points while putting up 28 of their own behind the sharpshooting and SportsCenter Top 10 nominee dunks of Towns and Townes.

St. Joe’s now advances to the Elite 8 of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament this Sunday where they will meet Cinderella story #24 South Amboy. Old Bridge will have a 12 day layover before its state tournament begins against Trenton.