NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops got out of work late, but still managed to get down to Rebounds to catch Monroe in action at the 2009 Hoop Group Headquarters High School Boys Spring League. Monroe, a late entry into the league, is the only team competing in this league from the Greater Middlesex Conference. Originally, there were no teams in the league from the GMC, but that changed when Red Bank Catholic backed out, and Monroe got in. The Falcons had to take a forefeit for their first week matchup against Manchester of Ocean County, but the Purple Birds were ready to even things up in week two despite a very formidable opponent in the form of Central Jersey Group I Champion, Asbury Park. After falling behind by a three point halftime margin (23-20), the Purple Birds rallied with a 36-30 surge in the second half for the 56-53 win.
After going through a number of years of mediocrity and decline, the Bishops, which hail from the Shore Conference, have returned to prominence with three straight trips to the CJ Group I Championship. In 2007, Asbury Park lost to Create Charter of Jersey City, which reached the Group I State Final before losing to Bloomfield Tech. Then, in 2008, the Bishops lost to another charter school, but this one was closer to home in the form of Academy Charter of Lake Como.
Meanwhile, the Purple Birds of Monroe enjoyed a tremendous season not just at the varsity level in 2008-09, but also at the JV and Freshmen levels as well. The varsity led the way with its second winningest season behind the 2006 team with a 21-7 record overall. The Falcons, like their 2005-06 brethren, also reached the GMCT Final Four. On top of that though, the Junior Varsity completed a solid campaign as well with a Championship in the East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament. The fourth seeded Junior Falcons defeated Cardinal McCarrick, 70-66 for the title. It was the third time this season that Monroe defeated McCarrick. Not to be left out, the Little Falcons of the Monroe Freshmen team also reached the Final Four of their tournament. Monroe finished fourth after losing to Bishop Ahr in the Consolation game of the 2009 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament.
On this night, Monroe had seven players make the trip to Rebounds including: Timmy Brix, Kenny Pace, Travis Dufner, Danny Brix, Ahmid Williams, Mike Walp, and Mike Mahmoud. GMC Hoops didn’t get out of work until 7:40 PM, and the trip to rebounds took about an hour or so. By the time, the site arrived, and got to the Nets Court, where the game was being played, there was not a lot of time left in the contest. With 3:17 to play, Monroe was holding a tenuous four point, 51-47 lead. Following a timeout, Monroe got a big play from Dufner, who helped spearhead the JV team’s run through the EB/GMC Tourney including a fine effort in a hard fought victory over eighth seeded Hillsborough. Dufner swiped a steal in the Asbury Park backcourt, and drove to the hoop for the layup, and a 53-47 edge with 2:51 to play.
Asbury Park wouldn’t go away easily though, and Monroe made some mistakes that gave the Bishops some signs of life. First the Falcons, coached by Tim Brix, Sr., a fixture at the Raritan Bay Summer Leagues, was compelled to call a timeout at the 2:15 mark in order to avoid a turnover. Unfortunately, the stoppage didn’t prevent Monroe from turning the ball over ultimately. With 1:33 to play, Dufner passed off to Ahmid Williams, coming off a fine freshman campaign that may earn him GMC Hoops Freshman of the Year Honors (although teammate and fellow frosh, Danny Brix may have something to say about that!), was called for traveling. On the very next possession, Asbury Park came down the floor, and scored a layup to pull within four at 53-49 at the 1:16 mark.
Two seconds later, Asbury Park forced Monroe to turn it over on the inbounds, and then the Bishops called timeout. Following the stoppage, Asbury Park closed to within two on a drive into the lane for a scoop shot that went in for a layup, and a 53-51 score with 1:10 remaining. On the ensuing Monroe possession, the Bishops playing with the urgency and desperation of a last second playoff game, picked up another steal, put together another fast break, and drew a foul on the floor at the 58.5 second mark. On the inbounds, the Bishops worked it around, but couldn’t get a good shot against the Purple Birds tough defense as a three point attempt from the left corner ended up being an air ball at the 45.4 second mark.
On the next Falcon possession, Dufner again played a pivotal role by making a nice pass to Danny Brix for the easy layup, and a 55-51 lead with only 39.6 seconds remaining. Appearing to have the game wrapped up, Monroe made things adventurous as Kenny Pace was called for a double-dribble at the 19.6 second mark. However, teammate Timmy Brix picked Pace up by drawing a crucial charge with 17.8 seconds left, and then put the game away with one of two from the line for a 56-51 lead with 12.5 ticks on the clock. Asbury Park would get a quick score inside in the waning moments, but it was too little, too late, in the 56-53 victory by the Purple Birds. Both teams are now 1-1 on the spring.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe (1-1) | 20 | 36 | 56 |
| Asbury Park (1-1) | 23 | 30 | 53 |