GMC Hoops Summary–Horn Law Group Downs Seaview Jeep in 2OT, 118-15

Pacius and Willman Help HLG Overcome Early Deficit to Win in Double OT

WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops took a trip to the Jersey Shore and Wall Township High School to take in a doubleheader at the Jersey Shore Basketball League.  Both games went to overtime, and all the action didn’t end until minutes before 11:00 PM.  The first contest, between Seaview Jeep and Horn Law Group was a thriller.  Seaview Jeep, which had three former GMC standouts in the lineup, jumped out to a 17-9 first quarter lead, and increased it to 26-13, but Horn Law Group turned the tables, and took over the game until late in the third quarter.

From the latter stages of the third until the end of the game in the second overtime, the two teams went at it in a tug of war.  Horn Law Group led by as many as six with less than a minute and a half to go in the first overtime only to have Seaview Jeep rally to tie the game and force a second overtime.  In the second extra session, HLG fell behind on two free throws by Justin Robinson (27 points), but scored 7 of the next 9 points including two baskets by Bucknell’s Joe Willman for a 118-115 lead that Seaview was unable to overcome.  Willman ended up with 27 points while teammate Nate Pacius chipped in for Horn Law Group with a triple double of 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Monmouth University’s Josh James chipped in with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists for Seaview Jeep.  Arshon Artis led all scorers with a game high 34 points for Horn Law Group while CBA’s Matt McMullen, who plays college ball at Colgate, chipped in with 25 points in a losing cause for Seaview.  Former GMC standouts, Brandon Hall of Colonia, Jeff Adkins of Piscataway, and Tyler Harris of South River played well for Seaview.  The trio combined for 47 points.  Harris netted three treys for 9 points while Hall collected 16 points on 5 field goals including two threes and 4 of 6 from the foul line, and Adkins tallied 22 points on 8 field goals including a trey along with 5 of 7 from the foul line.

Seaview got off to a solid start with a 17-9 opening capped by a breakaway layup from Hall prior to Horn Law Group calling a timeout with 5:40 left in the first period.  Following the stoppage, Seaview increased its advantage to double digits as Harris connected on one of his three treys and McMullen added a traditional three point play as well as a trifecta of his own to highlight a 9-4 run that made the score 26-13 at the 3:47 mark.  HLG began to battle back though with an 11-6 run to end the opening period to trim the deficit to single digits at 32-24.  Ricky Stephens of Brookdale Community College helped cap the run with a three pointer towards the end of the frame.  Horn Law Group continued to build on the momentum at the end of the first with a 9-2 spurt to open the second capped by a two handed flush on the follow by Artis for a 34-33 Seaview lead with eight minutes to play in the first half.

After Seaview got a score to go back up by three, Horn Law Group tied the game at 36-36 on a three pointer before Seaview Jeep called for a timeout at the 7:14 mark.  The game went back and forth for the rest of the half.  Seaview capped an 11-10 run with a three pointer at the 3:00 mark for a 47-46 lead.  HLG bounced back though with an 8-5 run capped by a layup from the right low block by Artis for a 54-52 lead at the 1:13 mark.  Seaview grabbed the lead back before the half as McMullen netted two free throws with 15 seconds remaining for a 57-56 score at the intermission.  The second half began with Horn Law Group opening the third with a 15-5 tear over the first 5:18 of the frame sparked by a three point play from Willman at the 9:45 mark.  

Trailing 71-62, Seaview rallied by scoring 15 of the next 20 points over the ensuing 2:51 including a three by Harris to ignite the run, and two layups by Adkins to take a 77-76 lead with 1:51 left in the stanza.  HLG finished the frame by scoring 4 of the next 6 points including a short jumper by Brookdale’s Pacius in the waning moments of the third for an 80-79 lead.  Seaview began the fourth with the first six points on back to back threes by McMullen at the 9:05 and 8:36 marks.  Horn Law Group rebounded by putting together a 10-4 spurt over the next 3:28 including a deep three from the right wing by Red Bank’s Will Sanborn and a layup by Artis to close the gap to 90-89 with a little more than five minutes left in regulation.

Seaview Jeep scored 4 of the next 6 points for a 94-91 lead before a timeout was called at the 3:18 mark, but HLG responded with a 7-2 burst including buckets by Willman and Artis for a 98-96 lead with two minutes to play in regulation.  Seaview would battle back to retake the lead on a goaltend by Artis with 39 seconds left, and after two missed free throws by Horn Law Group with 31 seconds remaining, Adkins skied for the rebound and drew a foul that resulted in 1 of 2 from the line with 29 seconds left for a 100-98 lead.  HLG took advantage of the missed second free throw though, and got a layup from Pacius with 20 seconds to play for a 100-100 tie at the end of regulation.  In the first overtime, Horn Law Group scored 9 of the first 12 points including layups by Pacius at the 1:59 and 1:24 marks, but HLG still couldn’t put Seaview away.

In a wild final 1:24 of the first overtime, Seaview Jeep battled back again by scoring 8 of the last 10 points including a three by Robinson at the 45 second mark, one of two free throws by both Adkins with 25 seconds left and McMullen with 19 seconds left after Hall swiped a steal in the HLG backcourt to set up McMullen.  Seaview got the first points of the second overtime on two free throws by Robinson at the 2:15 mark, but Horn Law Group scored 7 of the next 9 points including two scores by Willman for an 118-115 lead with 10 seconds to play.  Seaview Jeep had a chance to tie the game.  After it nearly turned over the ball with one second left, Seaview inbounded the ball to McMullen, who tried to put up a three attempt, but his shot was blocked as the horn sounded.  The shot actually went off after the buzzer sounded.  With the win, the Horn Law Group improved to 5-0 on the summer while Seaview dropped to 2-3.