JERSEY CITY, NJ–In the third quarterfinal of the day at the 2015 Hamilton Park Summer League, 7th seeded Old Bridge took on 2nd seeded St. Anthony’s. Old Bridge battled throughout. The Knights got four first quarter points including an alleyoop dunk by Kyle Paris to tie the Friars at 6-6. Then, Connor Romano opened the second period with a three for a 9-6 lead, but St. Anthony’s took over the game with a 13-0 run for a 19-9 lead before C.J. Santoro fired in a trey before the half to close the gap to 19-12. In the second half, the Knights continued to scrap with threes from Romano and Stephen Strom to highlight a 15-11 rally that closed the gap to 30-24 early in the fourth, but the Friars closed the game on a 15-4 tear to finish off the 45-28 victory. Romano ended up with 12 points while Strom finished with 8. Below are game notes from the action:
First Quarter
3:14–STA–timeout with score tied at 3-3. Most of scoring occurred in first minute as Kyle Paris scored off a putback of a layup attempt off a steal by Connor Romano and Jagan Mosely fired in a three for the Friars.
1:58–OB–Romano fouled and makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 4-3 lead.
1:45–STA–three point play for a 6-4 lead.
0:26–OB–Romano lob pass to Kyle Paris for alleyoop dunk for a 6-6 tie.
0:00–Score tied at 6-6 after Friars block Romano layup attempt off the drive.
Second Quarter
7:32–OB–takes a 9-6 lead on a three from the left wing by Romano.
7:05–STA–Mosely fouled on dunk attempt and makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 9-7 OB lead.
4:19–OB–timeout after 5-0 STA run capped by three from right corner for. A 12-9 lead.
2:49–STA–fouled and makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 13-9 lead.
1:58–STA–steal for an easy layup and a 15-9 lead.
48.9–STA–steal for layup and a 17-9 lead.
20.2–STA–fouled and makes both FTs for a 19-9 lead.
4.0–OB–C.J. Santoro fires in a three from the right corner for a 19-12 STA lead. Ends 13-0 STA run.
0.0–STA–heave off Mark, but leads 19-12 at the half.
Third Quarter
5:54–OB–opens half with first three points including a drive into the paint for a layup by Romano for a 19-15 STA lead.
5:24–OB–calls timeout after a 5-0 STA run for a 24-15 lead.
4:25–OB–ends 7-0 STA run with a three from the left side off a kickout by Stephen Strom for a 26-18 STA lead.
2:29–OB–Romano pulls up for jumper from about right foul line extended for a 28-20 STA lead.
0:00–STA leads 28-21.
Fourth Quarter
7:06–OB–gets three pointer from the right wing by Romano to answer STA score for a 30-24 STA lead.
4:06–STA–fouled but misses both FTs. On a 6-0 run though for a 36-24
3:36–STA–draws charge on Romano.
2:48–STA–layup for 8-0 run and a 38-24 lead.
1:23–OB–calls timeout after STA scores on transition layup for a 40-24 lead.
40.0–STA–Mosley three point play for a 5-2 run and a 45-26 lead.
11.0–STA–kick violation
7.4–OB–Strom fouled and makes both FTs for a 45-28 STA lead.
0.0–STA–runs out the clock for a 45-28 win.
NOTE: Due to the late start of this game at Hamilton Park (7:30 PM), GMC Hoops was unable to get over to Monroe for the semifinals of the 2015 Monroe Sports Center Summer League held on Monday night. GMC Hoops apologizes to the Monroe, North Brunswick, and Spotswood folks for that, and plans to be out at MSC on Wednesday for the consolation and championship.