LINDEN, NJ–On Wednesday evening, GMC Hoops headed over to Linden High School to take in one of the four quarterfinal games in the 2008 Linden Summer Summer League playoffs. This game so happened to feature two teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference in Cardinal McCarrick and St. Joseph’s, and the Falcons looked very good despite being shorthanded. Leading by six at the half, St. Joe’s, which was without the services of soon to be junior guard, Steve Rennard, senior forward Gerard Lewis, and sophomore Robbie Ashamole, outscored McCarrick by six in the third to go up, 42-30, and never really looked back after that in a 56-46 victory to advance to the semifinals.
Nikko Vastola played a prominent role in not only this victory, but also the later win over Sayreville at the Elizabeth Summer League playoffs on Wednesday night at the Dunn Center. Following a three pointer by McCarrick’s Taylor Snider to pull his team to within two at the 5:01 mark, the Falcons closed out the third with a 12-2 tear for the dozen point lead heading into the fourth. GMC Hoops had quite a trip over to Linden on this Wednesday. There were numerous severe thunderstorms in the area that produced vivid lightning, and torrential rain. As a matter of fact, on the way back from the playoffs at the Elizabeth Summer League, the site ran into a lightning display with lightning flashes occurring about every 3 to 4 seconds. Flooding along the Route 1/9 corridor wasn’t too bad until you got into Route 1 by Ford Ave in Edison and Woodbridge.
The stormy weather coupled with the tasks of writing articles, forced GMC Hoops to end up arriving with 7:49 to go in the third quarter. Former Linden assistant coach, Marty Luc, was at the gym, and promptly introduced Greg Machos to new Linden assistant coach, Danny DelValle, who had recently played hoops at Kean University. St. Joseph’s was leading at this point, 28-22, and McCarrick would close the gap a bit with a 3-2 showing over the next 49 seconds to make the score, 30-25 at the seven minute mark. Eric Peterson then came up with a fine defensive play by stopping Branten Widgeon on the drive from the left side with a block at the 5:51 mark. Seven seconds later, the Falcons had a chance to go up by seven or more, but soon to be sophomore, Matt Wagner, misfired on a jumper from the right wing.
On a subsequent McCarrick possession, soon to be sophomore, Jeremy Cruz handed out an assist when he passed the ball back up top to Snider for a three pointer that cut the deficit to two at 30-28 with just over five minutes left in the third. Vastola then got going for the Falcons when he made a nice dish to Gagan Dhaliwal for a layup that made the score, 32-28 at the 4:32 mark. Dhaliwal then followed that up with a drive from the right side for a layup and a six point, 34-28 lead with 3:33 remaining. Dhaliwal then fed Vastola, who came off a nice screen on the inbounds, for a scoring chance that drew a foul, and produced two free throws for a 36-28 advantage with 2:13 remaining in the period. Three quarters of a minute later, Vastola, featuring his Mad Max Mohawk, grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, and proceeded down court for a pull-up jumper from the foul line for a ten point, 38-28 edge at the 1:28 mark.
The Falcons then added another layup for a 40-28 lead at the 1:01 mark before McCarrick soon to be junior guard, Craig Thomas drove through the middle for a layin that got a kind bounce for a 40-30 score with 49 seconds left in the third. However, St. Joseph’s would enter the fourth with a twelve point lead after Slay Sudah netted a pair of free throws for the 42-30 advantage. In the fourth, McCarrick got a field goal early to close the gap to ten again at 42-32 with nine minutes remaining. Neither team would score for about a minute, and a half before Wagner, the younger brother of St. Joe’s coach, Kevin Wagner, and former Colonia reserve, Brendan Wagner, drove to his right from the left wing for a layup as he was fouled. Although, the Falcon guard missed the bonus free throw for the conventional three point play, he still gave St. Joe’s its twelve point lead again at 44-32 with 7:34 to go.
A little more than a half minute later, Dhaliwal got himself in the scorebook again with a floate that hit the back of the rim just right so that it would roll in the bucket for a 46-32 lead with 6:57 to go. Cardinal McCarrick rallied a bit with seven straight points over the next 3:36 including a jump hook by Taylor Snider at the 6:41 mark, two free throws by Widgeon at the 4:52 mark, and then a Thomas three pointer off a kickout by Dominic Appiah to pull the Eagles to within seven at 46-39 with 3:21 to play. However, the momentum gained was thrown away quickly when St. Joseph’s came down on its very next possession, and got a three pointer from Peterson for a 49-39 lead at the 3:11 mark. Forty-one seconds later, Appiah stretched as far as he could to tap in a missed shot by Rob Olivieri to trim the deficit to single digits again at 49-41 with 2:30 to play.
St. Joseph’s then put the game away with four straight points including a short jumper in the key by Slay Sudah at the 1:52 mark, and then a layup and a foul by Vastola with 1:27 left. Although Vastola missed the bonus free throw, the Falcons led again by a dozen at 53-41. McCarrick would get an unconventional three point play in the form of one of two free throws from Appiah, and then on the missed second shot, and offensive rebound and follow by Widgeon for a 53-44 Falcon lead with 1:15 to go. Reserve Rob Gomulka helped close out the victory for the Falcons with an offensive rebound and putback as St. Joe’s came away with the 56-46 victory to advance to the semifinals on Thursday against top seeded St. Patrick’s, which defeated Immaculata, 59-38.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph’s (10-4) | 14 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 56 |
| Cardinal McCarrick (5-9) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 46 |