SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops again traveled out to the 2008 Raritan Bay Summer League at the air conditioned South Amboy Middle/High School for the final two games of the evening. This marked the fourth night of action overall, and the second night of the second week of games on the season schedule. It was a full docket of contests with matchups starting at 5:30 PM. As of this time, the web site is still waiting for results from the 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM games. In the first game at 5:30 PM, a late entry to the league, Colts Neck rolled to a 25-10 victory over St. Stan’s of Sayreville in action from the 3rd and 4th Grade Divisions, and then in the second game at 6;30 PM, Monroe edged the Scarlet Nets by a 31-25 margin in a game from the 5th and 6th Grade Division. Like the previous three nights so far this summer, GMC Hoops arrived during the course of the third game of the evening, which on Wednesday was between Monroe and St. Stan’s of Sayreville from the 7th and 8th Grade Division. Following that, the web site got a little bit of high school action as the G-Force Stallions took on North Brunswick in the nightcap.
Monroe Roars Past St. Stan’s, 60-24
Unfortunately, this game wasn’t much of a contest as Mario Danza came up with 12 points in the second half, and 18 for the game while teammate Ryan Stolte added 14 points on 7 field goals including 12 in the opening half to lead Monroe to a lopsided 60-24 victory over St. Stan’s. The Purple Birds, which were also paced by the perimeter shooting of Chris Germano and D.J. Mascali, who came off the bench in the second half to net some threes, jumped out to a commanding 35-6 lead at the intermission. Then, in the final period of play, St. Stan’s played much more respectably and competitively despite being outscored 25-18.
Arriving with about a minute to go in the first half, Monroe was already leading by a score of 31-6. Moments later, the Purple Birdies came up with a field goal that made the score, 33-6 with about 45 seconds to go before the brief break. Stolte then capped the first half scoring with a layup that made it 35-6. He then had an opportunity to get another basket, and pad the already exorbitant lead when he intercepted a pass at his own foul line, and raced past everyone upcourt for a layup attempt that just missed with a second to go. In the first period of play, Stolte had 12 points on 6 field goals, Germano added 6 points on three field goals, and Danza chipped in with 6 points on 2 field goals, and 2 of 4 from the foul line to combine for over 60 percent of Monroe’s scoring in the half. As a team, Monroe made 16 field goals, and clicked on 3 of 6 at the charity stripe for its points while St. Stan’s just made 3 field goals from the floor, and was 0 of 7 from the foul line.
In the second half, Monroe picked up right where it left off with a 16-3 tear over the first 4:27 for an insurmountable 51-9 advantage. Anthony Gurrierro got things going within the first 57 seconds of the half with a nice pass ahead to Eigerd on the break for a layup that made it 37-6. A little more than a minute later, Gurrierro was at it again with another assist on a Danza layup that followed an earlier score for a 6-0 run, and a 41-6 lead with exactly 18:00 left to play. The Falcons then scored another basket before Danza got a steal, and rambled up the left side for a layup that made it a 10-3 run to start the half, and made the score, 45-9. St. Stan’s had gotten on the board earlier with a three pointer for its first points of the second half. Following a St. Stan’s timeout at the 17:22 mark, Monroe put together some nice passing on the left side that was capped off by a great kickout by Stolte to Germano for a three pointer that made the score, 48-9 with 16:32 left.
Almost exactly a minute afterward, Mascali hit the first of a couple threes when he connected for a trifecta from the top of the key that made the score, 51-9 at the 15:33 mark. Over the next five and a half minutes or so, St. Stan’s tried to make inroads on its huge deficit with a couple baskets for a 4-0 run that made it, 51-13, but Mascali quelled that with a trey that made the score, 54-13 with 9:45 left. St. Stan’s then closed things out with an 11-6 showing to round out the final 60-24 score. In the second half, Monroe made three treys, and 8 field goals while St. Stan’s clicked on 7 of its field goal attempts, and 3 of 4 from the foul line. For the game. The Falcons made 24 field goals, 3 treys, and 3 of 6 at the line for its 60 points while, St. Stan’s made 10 field goals including a three, and 3 of 11 free throws for its 24 points. With the victory, Monroe improves to 1-1 on the summer while St. Stan’s falls to 0-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe (1-1) | 35 | 25 | 60 |
| St. Stan’s (0-2) | 6 | 18 | 24 |
G-Force Stallions Even Up At .500 With Win Over North Brunswick, 58-38
After a fairly nip and tuck first half that saw North Brunswick take a 9-5 lead at one point thanks to seven unanswered points, the G-Force Stallions, which also have squads competing down in the 2008 Rebounds Spring League, took over with a 21-9 showing over the final 14:45 of the half to take a 26-18 lead en route to a 58-38 victory. The young Raiders, which were playing with only 6 guys, and also a bit younger than their counterparts, got ten points in the first half from soon to be freshman, Dillon Salva, who made two threes, and two field goals for his points. As a team, North Brunswick connected on five field goals, two threes, and 2 of 4 from the line for its 18 points. On the other hand, G-Force, which was paced by Woodbridge resident, Pablo Ozuna, who clicked on three field goals for six points, compiled its 26 points on 8 field goals, 2 threes, and 4 of 10 from the foul line.
Chipping in for G-Force was Mark Radil, who played freshman ball at St. Joseph’s. Radil added a field goal and a three pointer for 5 points while Jonathan Dayton Regional’s Kareem Jackson added a field goal, and 2 of 2 from the charity stripe for 4 points. In the second half, both teams increased their scoring output by combining for 52 points, but G-Force came up with the lion’s share to help it pull away to the 20 point win. The Stallions made 11 field goals as well as three treys, and one of two at the line for its 32 points while North Brunswick had 8 field goals including a three, and 3 of 6 from the foul line. Leading the charge in the final period of play was St. Patrick’s prospect, Seabrook, who ended up with 14 points on the night including three treys as well as a field goal for 12 second half points. For the game, the Stallions clicked for 19 field goals, 5 threes, and 5 of 12 from the foul line versus only 12 field goals, 3 treys, and 5 of 10 from the charity stripe. Salva, who has grown significantly since last summer, ended up with 2 threes and 3 treys for 12 points for the Raiders.
The game started out very competitively with a total of three lead changes and a tie over the first 6:55 of the contest. Neither team got on the board until about a minute in with G-Force took a 3-0 lead. Thirty seconds later, North Brunswick got a score that pulled it to within a point at 3-2 with 18:30 to go in the first half. The Stallions then had an opportunity to go back up by three points, but Radil misfired on a pair of foul shots at the 17:46 mark. Ozuna would pick up his teammate though with a score inside a little more than a half minute later for a 5-2 lead with 16:36 to go before the intermission. Then, the Raiders put together their most solid run of the game with seven straight points over a span of 1:51 to actually take a four point lead at 9-5. After a layup was scored at the 16:16 mark for a 5-4 G-Force lead, Salva netted a three pointer from well beyond the arc over on the left wing for a 7-5 lead with 15:28 to go before the intermission. Then, Salva scored again off a solid no look pass by Fortunato to make the score, 9-5 with 14:45 to play in the opening half.
Rallying back though, G-Force swiped a steal for an easy layup by Seabrook that made it a 4-0 run for the Stallions, and a 9-9 tie with inside 14 minutes to go in the first half. Then, following a North Brunswick timeout at the 13:55 mark, G-Force took the lead when Ozuna registered a bucket with a layin for a 6-0 run, and a 11-9 score at the 13:05 mark. Exactly a minute later, Ozuna struck again with a short shot from the right low block that made it an 8-0 run for a 13-9 advantage with 12:05 to go before the intermission. North Brunswick would get a three pointer from Salva again that closed the gap to one at 13-12, but Radil answered for G-Force with a trey from the left wing for a four point, 16-12 lead with 11:16 left in the first half. The Raiders got a bucket to trim the deficit in half before Bethea got one point back for G-Force with a one of two showing at the foul line that made it 17-14 at the 9:40 mark. Adding to their lead, the Stallions scored four more points to make it a 5-0 run, and a 21-14 lead before Salva connected on a short baseline jumper for a 21-16 score with 4:52 remaining before the brief break.
Nearly two full minutes went by before another score as Jackson netted his two free throws to increase G-Force’s advantage to seven at 23-16 with under three minutes to go in the half. North Brunswick then got its final points of the half on two free throws from Baldini that made the score, 23-18 at the two minute mark, but then G-Force closed out the half with three points to take an eight point lead into the short intermission. In the second half, the Stallions picked up right where it left off at the very end of the first period with a strong 21-7 surge over an 8:54 span following a half opening score by North Brunswick that blew the game open. Keying the surge was a 10-2 spurt highlighted by all three second half treys by Seabrook for a twenty point, 47-27 lead with 10:31 remaining.
North Brunswick was the first to strike in the second half with a steal for a layup from the right side at the 19:25 mark by Fortunato that made the score, 26-20. However, G-Force came right back with the next four points including an assist by Jackson on a layup by Davis as he was fouled, but he missed the bonus free throw, and the score remained 28-20 with 18:50 left in the game. Davis then followed that up with another score nearly two minutes later on a floater at the 17:05 mark that made it a ten point lead for G-Force, 30-20. Salva then got his only two points of the second half, and his final ones of the game on a baseline drive from the left side, and pivot for a turnaround jumper that closed the gap again to eight at 30-22 with 16:02 left. Seabrook then hit his first three pointer that pushed G-Force’s advantage back up to eleven at 33-22 before McIntosh netted one of two from the line for North Brunswick that made it a ten point game once more at 33-23 with 14:25 left.
G-Force then went on its binge that was fed by Seabrook’s propensity to make the perimeter shot, and that essentially blew the game wide open. Seabrook netted a three from the left wing following a score down low by McIntosh for a 40-25 lead with just under thirteen minutes to play. Tomasso then got into the act with a layup for a 42-25 lead that prompted head coach, Tom Salva to call for time with 12:35 left. The Stallions then scored six of the next nine points including another three by Seabrook with 10:31 to play, and a scoop shot by Radil at the 9:14 mark for a 49-28 lead. From there, G-Force was never threatened as it evened its record on the summer at 1-1 while North Brunswick dropped to 0-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-Force Stallions (1-1) | 26 | 32 | 58 |
| North Brunswick (0-1) | 18 | 20 | 38 |