SOMERVILLE, NJ–On Sunday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to Immaculata High School to catch the nightcap game from Week 5 action in the 2016 Immaculata Fall League between St. Joseph’s and Hillsborough. The Falcons and Raiders were knotted at 11-11 before Joes went on an 8-0 run to take a 19-11 lead, and eventually led 23-16 at the half.
St. Joseph’s then opened the half by scoring 8 of the first 10 points for a 31-18 lead at the 17:51 mark. Letrell West highlighted the run with a three pointer. After Hillsborough got a three to bank in at the 17:30 mark, the Falcons scored 13 of the next 15 points including 8 points from Malachi Walker including a three pointer, putback, layup, and one of two fro the line, and another three by Granda for a commanding 44-23 lead.
From there, the Falcons led by as many as 26 points before winning the contest 61-37. With the victory, St. Joe’s improved to 3-2 on the fall, and moved into a six way tie for fourth place in the league along with fellow GMC Red Division rivals, East Brunswick and Piscataway. Below are game notes from the action:
First Half
15:09–Arrive–STJ leads 7-2.
12:04–HILLS–rallies to tie the game at 7-7 with a layup and a three pointer.
11:40–STJ–takes a 9-7 lead on a pair of free throw from Letrell West.
10:00–HILLS–scores 4 of the next 6 points to tie the score at 11-11.
5:13–STJ–goes on an 8-0 run including two threes and another bucket for a 19-11 lead. Mike Granda netted a trey during the run for the Falcons.
0:03–HILLS–sank a three to end a 4-2 STJ run including a jumper by West and a layup by Granda off a block by Malachi Walker for a 23-16 Joes lead.
0:00–STJ–heave from about three quarters court is off the mark, but still lead HILLS at the half, 23-16.
Second Half
17:51–STJ–now leads 31-18 after opening half on an 8-2 run including a three from the left corner by West and a putback by Malachi Walker for a 31-18 lead.
17:30–HILLS–banks in a three from the left side of the key for a 31-21 STJ lead.
10:15–STJ–now leads 44-23 after a 13-2 tear that included 8 points by Walker in the form of a three pointer, a putback, a layup, and one of two from the line, and a three by Granda.
4:04–STJ–now leads 55-31 after an 11-8 showing including two layups by West and a layup by Matt Crowley.
0:00–STJ–wins the game 61-37 after both teams scored 6 points each over the final four plus minutes to close out the game.