St. Joseph’s Defeats Amboy In Semis And Hillside In Final To Win League Title
COLONIA, NJ–After a long day at work, GMC Hoops traveled over to Colonia High School again to take in the Championship Game of the playoffs at the 2010 Colonia JV Summer League. In the semifinals, second seeded St. Joseph’s defeated a sixth seeded Perth Amboy team that scored one of the bigger upsets of the tournament by defeating third seeded Roselle I. Meanwhile, fourth seeded Hillside scored an upset of its own by defeating top seeded Piscataway. In the final, St. Joseph’s used a 14-3 run at the start of the second half to pull away from a three point halftime lead en route to a 52-37 victory over Hillside.
Semifinal Results
The semifinal round of games were played earlier in the day with St. Joseph’s improving to 9-2 on the summer with a victory over Perth Amboy while Hillside improved to 10-2 with a victory over Piscataway. The Chiefs had earned the top seed, but had to hang on in the first round against St. Mary’s of Elizabeth. Perth Amboy ended the summer at 6-6 after winning in its first two playoff games over Colonia I (29-17) and Roselle I (37-35) while P-Way, which had a first round bye, ended the season at 9-3.
St. Joe’s Stifles Hillside In Second Half To Win, 52-37
GMC Hoops arrived at this game just as the first half was ending. St. Joseph’s took a 26-23 lead into the intermission, but then started the second half with a 14-3 spurt to take a 40-27 lead with 11:15 remaining en route to a 52-37 victory over Hillside. The Junior Falcons outscored the Junior Comets by a 26-14 margin over the final 20 minutes to get the win. Tom Cicalese (8 points) and Salman Hasan (7 points) combined for 58 percent of St. Joe’s scoring down in the game’s final 20 minutes to help the Junior Falcons win their first Colonia JV Summer League title since 2007.
The Falcons went to work right away to start the second half as Cicalese, who also picked up two steals and two assists in the final period, passed to Hasan for a three pointer from the right corner for a 29-23 lead at the 19:24 mark. Hasan then came up with a nice play on defense with a blocked shot, and then converted it into points as he released for the outlet pass, and went in for the layup, and a 31-23 lead with 18:06 remaining. Following a Hillside timeout with 17:41 to go, the Junior Falcons had a chance to score again when Brian Fitzpatrick stole an errant pass, and passed ahead to Cicalese for a layup attempt that drew a foul, but Cicalese missed the front end of a one and one with 17:16 to go. Cicalese would eventually go to the line again at the 15:35 mark, and make one of two from the charity stripe for a 32-23 lead.
Hillside, which was scoreless for the first 5:06 of the second half, finally got on the board thanks to a three pointer from the top of the key at the 14:54 mark for a 32-26 St. Joe’s lead. The Junior Falcons would get those points back though thanks to a three pointer by Cicalese as he drew contact (no foul called) at the 14:38 mark for a 35-26 edge. Fitzpatrick then found incoming freshmen, Mike Allen for a baseline jumper from the left side for a 37-26 lead. Hillside had a chance to trim the deficit, but missed the front end of a one and one at the 13:12 mark, and despite getting the offensive board, the Junior Comets were unable to cash it in. Cicalese then swiped a steal and drove in for a layup attempt that drew a foul, and produced a one of two showing from the line, and made the score, 38-26 with 12:36 to go.
Rob Ciragi got into the act when he picked up a steal, and passed to Hasan for a layup, and a 40-26 lead with 11:15 remaining. Hillside then got on the board again with its first points in 4:04 on a one of two effort from the foul line for a 40-27 Junior Falcon advantage with 10:50 left. Following a St. Joe’s turnover at the 10:16 mark, Hillside sank a three pointer from the left wing at the 9:40 mark for a 40-30 Junior Falcon lead. A little more than a half minute later, incoming freshman, Mike Cintron scored on a layup for a 42-30 St. Joe’s lead at the 9:03 mark. Hillside would score the next three points as the Junior Comets made one of two from the line at the 8:07 mark, and then fought through traffic on a drive from the right wing for a layup, and a 42-33 lead. St. Joe’s got back on the board as Steve Taraska found Cicalese for a layup, and a 44-33 lead with 5:50 to go.
Cicalese tried to return the favor when he swiped a steal, and drove to the basket. He tried to do the unselfish thing by passing to Taraska for a layup, but the pass went behind Taraska, and out of bounds with 5:11 remaining. Hillside then made two free throws to close the gap to 44-35 with 4:14 left, but Cicalese put together a nice drive and dish to a teammate for a layup, and a 46-35 lead. The Junior Falcons then closed out the game with six of the final eight points including a Fitzpatrick layup at the 1:47 mark to wrap up the Championship with a 52-37 win. With the victory, St. Joseph’s finished the summer at 10-2 while Hillside concluded its season at 10-3.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph’s (10-2) | 26 | 26 | 52 |
| Hillside (10-3) | 23 | 14 | 37 |
GMC Hoops would like to thank Colonia JV and assistant coach, Brian O’Lone for providing information on this league.