Colonia JV Summer League–August 2, 2010

Piscataway And Hillside Advance To Semifinals

COLONIA, NJ–After a long day at work, GMC Hoops traveled over to Colonia High School to take in the final two games of the night in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs at the 2010 Colonia JV Summer League. Top seeded Piscataway, which got a first round bye, took on ninth seeded St. Mary’s, an opening round winner over Roselle II while in the nightcap, fourth seeded Hillside took on fifth seeded Colonia II. The Junior Comets also got a first round by while the Junior Patriots defeated Cardinal McCarrick II in the first round.

Piscataway Hangs On To Advance To Final Four, 41-38

The Piscataway Junior Chiefs had a bit of a struggle in this one against a St. Mary’s team that was looking to score another upset. P-Way led by a score of 34-30 with 1:57 to go, and after a score by the Junior Hilltoppers to close the gap to two points with just under a minute remaining, the Junior Chiefs scored the next four points to take a 40-32 lead with under a half minute to play. St. Mary’s of Elizabeth got a huge break when a player was fouled on a three point attempt, and made all three of his free throws to close the gap to 40-36 with 16.4 seconds left.

On the ensuing inbounds, the Junior Hilltoppers were able to force a five second call, and the converted the turnover on a layup with 7.6 seconds left for a 40-38 Piscataway lead. However, the Junior Chiefs wouldn’t let the Elizabeth school get closer with one of two free throws at the 4.4 second mark to wrap up the 41-38 victory. With the win, Piscataway improved to 9-2, and advanced to the semifinals to face fourth seeded Hillside, which defeated Colonia II in another Elite Eight matchup. St. Mary’s finished the summer at 4-7.

Second Half Tear Helps Hillside Advance, 35-14

In the nightcap game, the Junior Comets of Hillside, the fourth seeded team in this tournament used an 18-4 tear in the second half to pull away from a 17-10 halftime lead for a 35-14 victory over fifth seeded Colonia II. Hillside scored 18 points off of 18 Colonia II turnovers while adding 10 second chance points en route to the victory. For the game, the Junior Comets made 17 of 53 shots for 32 percent, but limited Colonia II to just 5 of 39 shots for 13 percent. Colonia got more points from beyond the arc (6-0) and at the line (2-1), but it wasn’t enough to overcome the huge disadvantage in points off turnovers (18-0) and second chance points (10-0). In other statistical areas, Hillside had the edge in rebounds (40-30) including a 16-7 advantage in offensive boards, turnovers (8-18), assists (8-4), steals (10-3), and blocks (5-0). Neither team drew a charge.

Both teams got off to a slow start offensively as neither squad scored for the first 2:21 until Hillside scored on a floater at the 17:39 mark after missing its first three shots. The Junior Comets had a chance to go up even further, but following a steal for a layup attempt that drew a foul, they were unable to make the front end of a one and one at the 15:25 mark. Colonia II, which missed its first nine shots of the contest, finally got on the board at the 14 minute mark with a steal for a layin to tie the score at 2-2. Hillside would take the lead again with a field goal a minute later for a 4-2 score, but Colonia eventually went back in front for its first and only lead of the game on a three pointer at the 11:45 mark for a 5-4 score. The next 4:17 saw the Junior Comets take control of the game for good with an 9-0 run.

Hillside sparked the run with a steal that led to a layup at the 11:02 mark for a 6-5 lead. The Union County score followed that up with a conventional three point play at the 10:27 mark for a 9-5 lead. The Junior Comets scored four of their points off of turnovers up to this point in the game. Following a Colonia II timeout at the 9:42 mark, Hillside scored the next four points including two offensive rebounds and a putback at the 7:28 mark for a 13-5 lead. Colonia II ended a scoring drought of 5:24 when a player was fouled on a three point attempt, and made two of three from the charity stripe for a 13-7 Junior Comets lead at the 6:21 mark. Neither team would score for the next 4:27 before Hillside connected on a jumper from the right wing for a 15-7 lead at the 1:54 mark.

On its next possession, Colonia II closed the gap to five with a three pointer from the left wing that banked in for a 15-10 score with a minute and a half to go in the first half. Hillside then added another score to go into the intermission with a 17-10 lead. At the break, the Junior Comets were only 8 of 28 from the floor, but they limited the Junior Patriots to just 3 of 20 shooting, and forced nine turnovers that resulted in 10 of their points. Hillside also got four second chance points. Despite all of that, Colonia II wasn’t out of the game. They were still in striking distance. However, the start of the second half would change that as Hillside put toget a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach. Over the first 3:18 of the second period, the Junior Comets increased its lead to 17 points thanks to eight points scored off Colonia turnovers.

Colonia would finally get on the board before calling timeout with 12:24 left. However, Hillside scored six unanswered points over the next 10:02 to take a commanding 33-12 lead. The Junior Comets wound up winning by a 35-14 score. With the victory, Hillside improved to 9-2 on the summer, and advanced to the semifinals against Piscataway, a winner over St. Mary’s in another quarterfinal. Colonia II finished the season at 7-4.

GMC Hoops was back out at the Colonia JV Summer League on Tuesday to catch the Championship Game.