SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled out to the air conditioned confines of South Amboy Middle/High School after work to take in the nightcap game of a rare tripleheader in the 2008 Raritan Bay Summer League between two neighborhood rivals, the Parlin Pride and Sayreville Starz from the 7th and 8th Grade Division. The game demonstrated the tenacity between these two nearby foes as it had moments of contention and overflowing emotions. However, in the end, Parlin would prevail despite being limited to just 11 points in the second half with a 37-34 victory. The reason for just three games on this night was because there wasn’t a 5:30 PM game. Below were the other two results from Monday’s action. Special thanks to Gary Lange and Tom Reilly for providing the information.
- Corpus Christi over Union Catholic by 5 at 6:30 PM–High School Division
- Milltown Rangers 31–Scarlet Nets 29–5th and 6th Grade Division
At the scorer’s table besides Tom Reilly was Billy Lewis, the brother of Cardinal McCarrick head coach, Joe Lewis. It’s always good to see Billy since he’s always a lot of fun to be around. GMC Hoops joined the action in the finale at the 9:14 mark of the first half with the Parlin Pride already leading by a 12-10 margin. Neither team scored for about 1:45 before the Pride got on the board with a field goal at the 7:30 mark for a 14-10 lead. Around a minute and a half later, Danny Wojcik, the fiery younger brother of former Sayreville player, and current Starz coach, Tim Wojcik, drove in from the left side and drew contact that resulted in a foul. Unfortunately, for the younger Wojcik, he couldn’t cash in as he missed both charity shots at the 6:00 mark, and the score remained 14-10. Following a 30 second timeout by Parlin with 4:13 to play in the first half, and a scoring drought by both teams that lasted 2:10, the Pride got a layup at the 3:50 mark for a 16-10 lead.
Seven seconds later, Parlin came up with a steal, and converted that into two points with a layup at the other end for an 18-10 lead with 3:43 remaining in the first half. Fifty-four seconds afterward, Parlin pounded the offensive boards for two rebounds and a putback for an 8-0 run, and a 20-10 advantage. The Starz finally put an end to the Parlin run with a pair of foul shots at the 1:56 mark for a 20-12 Pride lead. Then, Parlin got another offensive rebound and putback while being fouled, and when it missed the bonus free throw, it attacked the glass again for another offensive board, and a 24-12 lead with 1:35 remaining. Sayreville then missed two foul shots at the one minute mark, but still managed to creep closer thanks to a 6-2 run capped by a deep three pointer on the right wing by Matt Martinez for a 26-18 Parlin Pride lead with 24.5 to go before the half. The trifecta was Martinez’s third of the half, and the score remained 26-18 at the half as Parlin clicked for 13 field goals while missing all three of its free throw attempts, and Sayreville connected on three treys and three field goals as well as a 3 of 8 showing at the foul line.
In the second half, Sayreville’s defense put the clamps down on Parlin, and scrapped with the Pride despite dealing with a significant height disadvantage. Danny Gotta, who drew four charges in the contest according to Billy Lewis, helped spearhead the defensive effort with his final charge drawn at the 19 minute mark of the second half. Parlin would come back though about 45 seconds later with a short jumper from the right side that put the Pride up by double digits again at 28-18 with 18:14 remaining. E.J. Perez had a chance to get Sayreville closer, but misfired on both free throw attempts at the 17:16 mark. Parlin then got a steal for a layup nearly two minutes later to equal its largest lead of the game at 30-18 with 15:20 to play. Perez replied exactly a minute later with a steal for a layup while drawing a foul for a three point play, and a 30-21 Parlin Pride lead with 14:20 left.
Following a 30 second timeout by the Pride at the 12:36 mark, Parlin got on the board with an offensive rebound and follow for a 32-21 lead with 11:43 to play. The Pride then grabbed a rebound off a missed Sayreville shot, and generated a fast break off it that culminated with a layup for the Pride’s biggest lead of the contest at 34-21 with 11:24 to play. From that point on though, the Starz got super stingy defensively, and rallied with a 13-3 spurt down the stretch to make it a ball game in the end. The run started with an offensive rebound off a missed three point attempt by Martinez, and resulted in a foul on the follow that produced a one of two showing from the free throw stripe for a 34-22 Parlin lead at the 10:27 mark. Martinez then fed Justin Luna for a layup that closed the gap to 34-24 with 9:31 to go. The Starz then forced an errant shot by the Pride that was rebounded by Gotta, who sent an outlet pass upcourt to Martinez for a layup, and a 34-26 lead with 9:13 remaining.
After Sayreville called a 30 second timeout with 8:35 to play, Perez went to work on the offensive glass for two offensive rebounds, and was fouled on the follow, which resulted in a one of two showing that made it 34-27 in favor of the Pride. Martinez then followed that up with a great pass ahead upcourt to Perez on the right side for a layup that made it 34-29 with 6:28 to go. Parlin stemmed the tide briefly with a jumper from the left wing for a 36-29 edge at the 6:07 mark, and then added one of two from the line with 5:09 to go for a 37-29 lead. The Starz then shut out the Pride the rest of the way, but had difficulty getting points themselves with only five in the final 5:09. Typifying the drought the Pride had down the stretch was one sequence when Parlin grabbed five offensive rebounds, but came away empty by first not getting a bucket, and then after drawing a foul, missing both foul shots with 2:15 left. Perez then made a circus shot for a layup from the left side for a 37-31 at the 1:54 mark.
After the Starz called a full timeout with 1:16 left, Luna connected on both his free throw attempts to pull his team within four at 37-33 with 52.2 seconds remaining. Sayreville clawed to within three by first drawing a charge, and ten going one of two from the line in the waning moments for a 37-34 Pride lead. Unfortunately for Sayreville fans, the Starz couldn’t get any closer as they ran out of time with the Parlin Pride winning by three. GMC Hoops hopes to be back out at the Raritan Bay Summer League next week.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parlin Pride | 26 | 11 | 37 |
| Sayreville Starz | 18 | 16 | 34 |