ALLENTOWN, NJ–On Friday, GMC Hoops traveled over to Allentown High School in the Upper Freehold District of Monmouth County to take in the first day of action in the 2010 Summer Prime Time Shootout. This was the third straight summer that the site covered this event, and the fourth time since the site was launched back in 2000. The site was able to get the results on almost all the games on this day, and has more detailed info on nine of the contests. You can read them below.
Cherry Hill West vs. West Windsor-Plainsboro North
This game, which was played at 3:00 PM in the West Gym went down to the wire. The Knights of West Windsor-Plainsboro North, which opened the event by defeating the host school, Allentown in the opener at 1:00 PM (43-33), was tied with Cherry Hill West at 15-15 with about three minutes left in the first half before the Olympic Conference school went on an 8-0 run to take a 23-15 lead.
The Knights scored the last three points of the half to trail 23-18 at the break, and started the second half with a 20-16 showing to close the gap to one at 39-38 with just under four minutes to go. Cherry Hill West got some breathing room with a steal off an inbounds pass for a layup to take a 41-38 lead with 2:41 left, but West Windsor-Plainsboro North closed the game with a field goal at the 2:13 mark, and a steal of an inbounds pass, and dish for a layup with 54.5 seconds remaining to come away with the 42-41 victory. The Knights finished the first day at 2-0 while Cherry Hill West went 1-1.
Princeton vs. Burlington Township
This 3:00 PM game took place nearby in the East Gym, and there was a familiar face playing with the Little Tigers of Princeton. Tommy Soulias, who had played recently with Spotswood at the Hoop Group Summer League, was now with Princeton, and made an impact in this contest against the Falcons of Burlington Township.
The Little Tigers had a 20-11 lead with 3:29 left in the first half before Burlington Township rallied with a 10-2 spurt including a three pointer from the right wing at the 1:02 mark, a steal for a layup at the 37 second mark, a jumper off a steal with 28.6 seconds to go in the half, and a shot at the buzzer to close the gap to 22-21 at the intermission.
However, Soulias scored seven points during a 12-2 run to break away from a 28-23 lead to take a 40-25 advantage with 14:40 remaining. Burlington Township went on an 8-3 run at one point to close within 45-38 at the 10:45 mark, but could only get as close as six in a 50-44 Princeton victory. This would be the only game Princeton played on Friday as the Little Tigers played three contests on Sunday.
Ridge vs. Rutgers Prep
Edison transfer, Greg Grippo turned in a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds along with two steals and an assist to lead the Argonauts, but it was a last second three by a teammate that lifted Rutgers Prep past Ridge. The Devils, which got their only victory of the three days earlier in the afternoon when it edged Pennsbury of Pennsylvania (39-36) started off the game on the wrong foot by connecting on only 5 of 25 shots from the floor overall in the first half including just 2 of 13 from three. In addition, Ridge had a 10-4 edge in offensive rebounds in the opening period, but only scored two second chance points.
Trailing by only three at the half though, Ridge caught fire in the second half, especially from three by making 8 of 16 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Rutgers Prep made all six of their threes in the second half (6 of 13) while both teams combined for a total of 84 points in the final 20 minutes. With several minutes left in the game, the Argonauts trailed by a score of 48-44, but went on an 8-4 run including a three to tie the game at 52-52 with just over a minute to go. Ridge connected on a three for a 55-52 lead with 54.26 seconds to go. Rutgers Prep then made one of two from the line with 48.27 seconds left, and Grippo got a steal and called for time with 25.58 seconds remaining. The steal set the stage for the game winning three made from the right corner with less than ten seconds to go for the 56-55 win.
Ewing vs. Pennsbury
The Blue Devils of Ewing from Mercer County started out the shootout on a strong note when they took a 21-8 lead in the first half, and then coasted to a 59-36 victory over Pennsbury. Ewing ended up going 2-0 on the day, and finished up 4-0 in the three day event.
New Egypt vs. Notre Dame
This was the debut of former Monroe head coach, Bob Turco as the new boys basketball coach at Notre Dame in Lawrenceville. The contest was a signature Turco win in terms of the defensive effort by the Irish. Notre Dame held Division I prospect, Desmond Hubert to 10 points on the game including none in the first half.
Hubert actually scored seven of his points in the final 2:26. ND scored nine points off of twelve New Egypt turnovers, was 5 of 8 from beyond the arc in the first half, and 13 of 28 overall as it took a 31-19 lead on the virtues of a 24-9 surge over the final 15:45 of the period. The Irish lead grew to 40-21 with 15:55 to go when New Egypt put together a 24-7 surge to close the game, but ran out of time as Notre Dame hung on for the 47-45 victory.
Trenton Catholic vs. Roselle Catholic
Trenton Catholic lost a lot with the graduation of the likes of Dondre Whitmore, Frantz Massanet (Drexel), and Markese Tucker, but still have Khalid Lewis and Brandon Taylor returning from a squad that won the Tournament of Champions this past season. The Iron Mikes got off to a fast start in this contest with a 9-0 run in the first 6:07. Taylor and Lewis played key roles in the run as the former struck for a three pointer and a layup while the latter scored a layup. The Lions, which won the Elizabeth Summer League, and reached the finals of the playoffs there for each of the past two years, didn’t get there first points until they scored a field goal at the 13:09 mark.
However, the score sparked a 15-7 run over a span of 10:26 to pull within one at 16-15 with 2:43 remaining in the first half. However, Trenton Catholic made two free throws at the 1:54 mark, and got a layup as time was running out in the first half for a 20-15 lead. TCA outscored RCHS by a margin of 22-17 in the second half in a 42-32 victory. The Iron Mikes played only one game on Friday, but went on to go 3-1 over the three days with the only loss suffered to Baltimore City College (44-43) on Saturday.
Ewing vs. Paul VI
This was one of the more entertaining games of the day. It was a back and forth affair as Ewing jumped out to a 13-7 lead only to have Paul VI of Haddonfield respond with a 10-2 run over a span of 3:30 to take a 17-15 lead midway through the first half. The Blue Devils then closed out the half with 14-8 spurt to take a 29-25 lead at the intermission. The second half picked up right where the first ended with both teams continuing to go back and forth. Paul VI started the period with two threes for a 31-29 lead at the 17:50 mark.
After making one of two from the line for a 32-29 lead, Paul VI fell prey to an 8-0 Blue Devil run that included two threes for a 37-32 lead at the 14:58 mark. The Haddonfield school would respond with a 7-2 rally over the next 2:37 including a three pointer that tied the game at 39-39 with 12:21 to go. Ewing scored six of the next eight points on two threes to take a 45-41 lead with 10:52 to go. Paul VI drew within two, but couldn’t tie or go ahead as Ewing closed the game with an 18-14 run for the 63-57 victory. Paul VI ended up 0-2 on the day.
Cherry Hill East vs. Rutgers Prep
After losing to Rancocas Valley (58-43), Cherry Hill East performed a clinic in its 60-33 win over Rutgers Prep. Despite the efforts of Greg Grippo (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, an assist, and a block), the Argonauts gave way to a 25-5 surge after only trailing 9-7 with 11:15 to go in the first half. Cherry Hill East scored 12 points off of turnovers while connecting on 14 of 27 field goals including three of nine from long distance in the first half.
On the other hand, Rutgers Prep was limited to just 4 of 18 shooting from the floor including one of seven from three point land. The Camden County school executed the transition game very well, and even set up plays to score quickly following Argonaut scores. Rutgers Prep started the second half with a 5-0 run to close the gap to 34-17 with 17:50 to go, but Cherry Hill East went on a 14-1 spurt over a span of 8:37 to take a 48-18 lead en route to the easy win. Both teams went 1-1 on the day.
Notre Dame vs. Cherokee
It was another nailbiter for Bob Turco, but a familiar face helped him notch his second victory for Notre Dame. Ryan Germano, a Monroe resident, who attends and plays basketball at Notre Dame, missed several shots up close during the course of the game, but when it mattered, he was able to convert. Germano, who scored six points, swiped three steals, and handed out an assist in the first 12:50 of the contest, forced a steal, and drove in for a layup with 7.40 seconds to go for a 36-35 lead.
The Irish came up with a steal at the 1.34 second mark to prevent Cherokee from scoring, and pulled out the one point win. Defense again played a pivotal role for Notre Dame as they limited Cherokee to just 4 of 24 shooting from the floor in the first half. The Chiefs, which won the Group IV State Championship over Plainfield, and reached the T of C semifinals before losing to conference rival, Camden Catholic, a team that they defeated during the regular season, ended up 14 of 39 from the floor while the Irish were 15 of 37 from the floor, scored 11 points off Cherokee turnovers, and six second chance points.
More capsules from the second and third days of action will be posted shortly.