ALLENTOWN, NJ–On Friday, GMC Hoops saw 12 of the 16 games from the first day of the 2009 Summer Prime Time Shootout. This is the second straight year the site is covering the event, and third time ever. Below are brief capsules of each of the twelve games covered.
Game #1–West Windsor-Plainsboro South vs. Allentown
In a battle of two teams from the Colonial Valley Conference, the game was tied at 19-19 with three minutes to go in the first half. Allentown then made one of two from the line at the 2:16 mark, and then another two foul shots with 57.3 seconds to play in the half for a 22-19 lead. West Windsor-Plainsboro South, which won the Central Jersey Group IV State Tournament in 2008-09, closed out the first half with layups at the 37.3 second mark, and three seconds left to take a 23-22 halftime lead, but the Pirates were outscored 17-9 in the second half by the Redbirds as Allentown won, 39-32.
Game #2–West Windsor-Plainsboro North vs. Hightstown
In another game between schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, Hightstown had a 20-15 lead at the 17:53 mark of the second half, and then made a foul shot for a six point lead before the Northern Knights rallied with an 8-0 run over the next 2:53 to take a 23-21 lead over the Rams at the 15 minute mark. Hightstown scored four of the next six points including a one of two showing from the line, and a three pointer from the right wing for a 25-25 tie with 10:43 to play. Over the next 8:04, each team scored four points before West Windsor-Plainsboro North broke Hightstown’s press and the tie with a floater that banked in for a 31-29 lead at the 2:39 mark. The Northern Knights made it an 8-0 run with a steal for a layup, and a jumper from the right side for a 37-29 lead with 1:30 to play before the Rams rallied with a 5-0 run including a three pointer to pull within three at 37-34 with 18.55 seconds left. However, after calling a timeout, Hightstown was unable to tie the game as the Rams missed two chances for three pointers including one at the buzzer from beyond midcourt that hit the backiron in the 37-34 loss.
Game #3–Ewing vs. Ridge
Despite the efforts of Ishaq Pitt (10 of 19 field goals and 2 of 5 from the line for 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), and taking a 26-18 lead at the half, the Ridge Red Devils fell to the Ewing Blue Devils by a final score of 40-39. Ridge fell prey to a 16-2 Ewing tear as the Red Devils went without a field goal for approximately eight and a half minutes. Trailing 34-28 with 8:42 left, Ridge rallied to take a 37-36 lead as Pitt played a role in all of the Red Devils points during the 9-2 spurt with 5 points and 2 assists. Ewing grabbed the lead back with a layup at the 2:02 mark, but Pitt answered with an offensive rebound and follow at the 43 second mark for a 39-38 lead. In a game that saw 11 lead changes and 2 ties, Ewing got the winning basket on a layup with 16 seconds left. Ridge had a chance to win, but turned the ball over in the waning moments. A more detailed summary will be forthcoming.
Game #4–Washington Township vs. Trenton
In case you were wondering after seeing the results posted from today’s action, I do not believe that this was Trenton that was playing in the game. There were players from West Windsor-Plainsboro North and West Windsor-Plainsboro South on the squad that was supposed to be Trenton. With that said, Washington Township had a field day as the Minutemen jumped out to a 51-13 lead with 12 minutes to go, and finished the contest with a 30-10 surge for an 81-23 victory.
Game #5–Paul VI vs. Bordentown
Paul VI jumped out to a 48-26 lead with 12 minutes to play, and despite being outscored 13-7 by the Terriers the rest of the way, it still came away with the 55-39 victory.
Game #6–Rancocas Valley vs. Princeton
The 2008 Group IV Champions and top seed in the 2009 South Jersey Group IV State Tournament had a tough time against a game Princeton squad. After the game was tied at 9-9 early on, the Red Devils embarked on a 7-0 run to take a 16-9 lead. The Little Tigers, which lost to Neptune in the Central Jersey Group III Championship this past season, scored the next four points to pull within three before Rancocas Valley ended the half with a bucket for an 18-13 lead at the break. The Red Devils started the second half with a score to lead by seven, but Princeton rallied back with a 14-7 spurt including two free throws to tie the game at 27-27 with 7:38 to go. The Little Tigers then took the lead with a pull-up jumper at the 6:04 mark for a 29-27 lead, but Rancocas Valley tied the contest again with a layup before Princeton called for time at the 5:45 mark. The Group III Elite Eight representative then took the lead with two free throws at the 3:49 mark. Rancocas Valley had a chance to tie things up at the 2:11 mark, but missed two free throws, and despite getting two offensive rebounds, it failed to score. The Red Devils would eventually tie with a hook shot at the 57.3 second mark, and after a timeout was called with 56.28 seconds remaining in regulation, they took the lead thanks to great anticipation on a steal that resulted in a layup to make the score 33-31 with 42.9 seconds left. Princeton forced the Devils to the line, where they missed the front end of a one and one with 3.25 seconds to go, but the Little Tigers couldn’t capitalize as the Devils got a steal to seal the win.
Game #7–Lakewood vs. Cherry Hill West
This game was quite a barnburner. Cherry Hill West jumped out to the early lead with a 13-6 start, but Lakewood, with its up tempo style, and pressure defense, rallied with an 11-2 run to take a 17-15 lead with six minutes to play in the first half. Cherry Hill West responded though by scoring five straight points including a three pointer from the left wing for a 20-17 lead. Lakewood replied with a 6-0 burst to lead 23-20 before Cherry Hill West tied the game with a three pointer at the 3:49 mark of the first half. The Piners retook the lead at the 3:35 mark with a three pointer, and after the two teams exchanged scores for a 28-25 Lakewood lead, Cherry Hill West tied it again at 28-28 with a three pointer with two minutes to go in the half before Lakewood ended the opening period scoring with a basket for a 30-28 lead at the intermission. In the second half, Cherry Hill West outscored Lakewood 25-15 over the first 13 minutes for a 53-45 lead. The Piners got two quick scores to close the gap to four before Cherry Hill West connected on a three pointer at the 5:56 mark for a 56-49 lead. The trey sparked what would end up being a decisive 10-0 run for a 63-49 lead, and Cherry Hill West went on to win 69-57.
Game #8–Burlington Township vs. Ewing
Ewing ended up going 2-0 on the day with a victory over the Falcons of Burlington Township. The Blue Devils led 17-13 with 1:52 to play in the first half before Burlington Township, which was last seen by GMC Hoops in the 2004 Central Jersey Group II Tournament against New Brunswick, got a score with about a minute to go in the half before Ewing ended the first half scoring with a basket at the 36.3 second mark for a 19-15 lead at the intermission. The Blue Devils then made it an 8-0 run by scoring the first six points of the second half for a 25-15 lead before the Falcons got a layup with 13:30 to play. Ewing got a big break when Burlington Township was assessed a technical as well as a personal foul at the 13:11 mark. The Blue Devils took advantage by making 3 of 4 at the line for a 28-17 lead. Over the next 9:56, Burlington Township rallied with a 12-8 run to close the gap to 36-29 with 3:15 left. The Falcons then added a three pointer with 2:56 to go to pull within four, but couldn’t get any closer as Ewing ended the game with a 9-5 run for a 45-37 lead before Burlington Township got a three to round out the final 45-40 score.
Game #9–Princeton vs. Paul VI
Paul VI went 2-0 on the day with a 49-39 victory over Princeton. The team from South Jersey went back and forth for a while for the Little Tigers, but then took control with a 9-0 run for a 16-6 lead as Princeton called for time with 8:11 left. The Little Tigers made things interesting though with a 17-11 run over the next 9:46 to close the gap to 27-23 at the 18:25 mark of the second half. However, Paul VI kept Princeton at arm’s length with a 10-3 spurt over the next 6:01 including a three pointer from the left wing at the 12:24 mark for a 37-26 lead, and went on to win by ten.
Game #10–New Egypt vs. Rancocas Valley
Rancocas Valley went 2-0 on the day with another hard fought victory in a defensive battle. Despite the efforts of soon to be junior, Desmond Hubert, who had at least 6 blocked shots in the time that GMC Hoops was watching, New Egypt, a Central Jersey Group I Semifinalist in 2009, could not muster up enough offense to overcome the Red Devils. The score was tied at 9-9 at the 8:00 mark when Hubert came up with a two handed slam on the follow with 7:43 to go in the first half for an 11-9 New Egypt lead, but the Warriors didn’t get a field goal for the rest of the half, and the Red Devils closed the period with a 7-1 spurt for a 16-12 lead at the intermission. In the second half, the Warriors rallied with a 9-6 run over the first 5:17 to close to within a point before Rancocas Valley made a field goal to lead 24-21. Over the next 5:58, the Red Devils scored five of seven points for a 28-23 lead, added another field goal at the 5:00 mark, and went on to win, 33-23 as New Egypt only had two points over the last 14:43, and scored a total of three points in the 22:43 that GMC Hoops watched.
Game #11–Trenton vs. Cherry Hill West
This game featured the real Trenton Tornadoes as they jumped all over Cherry Hill West after a slow start. Cherry Hill West started the game with a 6-0 run, and after Trenton tied it at the 15:00 mark with six straight points, it went ahead again with a 5-0 burst that included a three pointer from the right wing for an 11-6 lead with 14:02 left in the first half. From that point on it was all Trenton as the Tornadoes ended the half with a 26-11 surge for a 32-22 halftime lead, and then they started the second half with a 17-10 run for a 49-32 lead with 3:46 left. Trenton went on to win 55-37.
Game #12–Lakewood vs. Burlington Township
The Falcons ended the day 0-2 while Lakewood evened up at 1-1 with a 52-46 victory. The Piners fell behind early as Burlington Township took an 11-7 lead with 10:04 to play in the first half. The Falcons added a foul line jumper at the 9:04 mark for a 13-7 advantage before Lakewood closed the half with a 20-14 effort to tie the contest at 27-27. The first ten minutes of the second half saw seven lead changes and one tie before Lakewood went on a 6-0 run that turned a 37-34 deficit into a 40-37 lead. The Piners maintained that lead over the next eight minutes as each team scored eight points each during the span for a 48-45 score. Free throws played a key role down the stretch as the Falcons went 1 of 7 while Lakewood went 2 of 4 during a 4-1 run for the 52-46 victory.