Rebounds Spring League–April 28, 2008

NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, the second week of action took place at the 2008 Rebounds Spring League at the Rebounds facility. GMC Hoops took a trip down for the 8:00 PM game played between the lone GMC representative, East Brunswick, and its opponent from the Shore Conference, Point Pleasant Boro. Simultaneously, on a nearby court, Lakewood and Manasquan, two teams that won their opening night games on April 21st, were competing against each other in an early season showdown. In week one, East Brunswick overcame an 18 point deficit midway through the second half to pull out a last second victory over St. John Vianney of Holmdel while Manasquan notched its first win with a victory over the Mid-Jersey Heat. The main event of the night as far as the GMC was concerned saw EB continue to play hard and compete well with another solid effort despite losing to Point Pleasant Boro.

Lakewood Prevails Over Manasquan To Stay Unbeaten, 64-60

While East Brunswick was doing battle against Point Pleasant Boro on the Nets Court in other Division A action, Lakewood and Manasquan were squaring off over on the adjacent Sixers Court with the winner getting rewarded with a 2-0 start on the early Spring. In a game that was quite close throughout, GMC Hoops first picked up on the action with Manasquan leading by one at 25-24 with four minutes to go in the first half. Over the next 1:25, the Warriors added to their lead with a field goal for a three point, 27-24 advantage with 2:35 to go before the brief intermission. Seconds later, Manasquan increased its edge to four with a one of two showing at the line for a 28-24 score at the 2:27 mark. However, Lakewood battled back to take the lead with five straight points including a field goal at the 1:45 mark that made it 28-26 in favor of Manasquan, and then a three pointer from the left wing to take a 29-28 lead with about a minute left before halftime.

The Piners slight edge wouldn’t last though as the Warriors not only retook the lead, but the way in which they did it gave them a huge boost going into the half. With time running out in the first half, a Manasquan player got the ball to beyond midcourt on the Lakewood side, and put up an off-balance shot from about 35 feet under significant pressure that went in for a three pointer that made the score, 31-29 in favor of the Warriors going into the break. Starting off the second half on somewhat of a quiet note, neither team didn’t get on the board until a little more than a minute and a half into the new period when Lakewood clicked on another three pointer from the left side to regain the lead at 32-31 with 18:27 left in the contest. The Piners then increased their advantage by scoring five of the next eight points over a 2:27 span for a 37-34 lead at the 16:00 mark. Once again though, Manasquan fought back with 6 of the next 10 points including one of two free throws for a 37-35 Lakewood lead at the 15:38 mark, and then five of the next seven points to take a one point lead again at 40-39 with 13:30 to go.

Lakewood then came up with a mini-rally that included a 4-0 run for a 43-40 lead, but the Warriors again responded with a 6-1 spurt to take the lead back at 46-44 with approximately nine minutes to play in regulation. About a minute and twenty seconds later, the seesaw battle continued as Lakewood tied the game with a field goal to make the score, 46-46 at the 7:40 mark. Following up on that, the Piners then scored five of the next nine points over a span of 3:41 to take a one point, 51-50 edge with just under four minutes to play. Lakewood then added four more points including a pair of free throws at the 2:52 mark for a 55-50 lead. Manasquan continued to do its best to hang in there, and battle to the end. Over the next 1:51, the Warriors scored 6 of the next 10 points to close the gap to just three at 59-56, but the Piners came up with two free throws at the line for a 61-56 advantage.

On the next Manasquan possession, the Warriors were able to get on the board with a field goal that pulled them within three again at 61-58. However, with 35.6 seconds left, Lakewood stepped to the line again, and although it misfired on both free throw attempts, it managed to get the pivotal offensive board, and the Piners took advantage by getting fouled on another scoring opportunity at the 29.4 second mark that resulted in a pair of charity shots for a five point lead again at 63-58. A little more than twelve seconds later, Manasquan trimmed the deficit to three again on a turnaround jumper in the key that made the score 63-60 with 17.0 to play. Nearly two seconds later, the Warriors called for time to try and get the ball back for a chance to pull within one, or better yet tie. Unfortunately, after the timeout, Lakewood was able to draw a foul that resulted in one of two from the foul line for a 64-60 lead with 12.8 to go, and that was how the game ended.

With the victory, Lakewood improved its record to 2-0 on the young season while Manasquan dropped to 1-1. Next week, the Piners will take on the NJ Shore Shots over on the Sixers court at 9:00 PM while the Warriors will do battle against Asbury Park over on the Celtics court at 7:00 PM. Prior to Monday night’s action both Asbury Park and the NJ Shore Shots were 0-1 on the spring.

Team 1 2 Total
Lakewood (2-0) 29 35 64
Manasquan (1-1) 31 29 60



Point Pleasant Boro Edges East Brunswick In Overtime, 52-51

The East Brunswick Bears may be .500 at 1-1 on the early spring here at Rebounds, but they have competed well enough to be 2-0. On the flip side they could easily be 0-2. EBHS has had moments where it has struggled such as the point early on in the second half last week against St. John Vianney of Holmdel when the Bears fell behind by as many as 18, or even on this night when they succumbed to a 13-0 tear late in the second half to Point Boro of Ocean County. Nevertheless, East Brunswick has managed each time to overcome the adversity to still make it a game in the end. Unfortunately, the second week encounter ended differently than it did on opening night as the Bears fell in overtime to the Panthers, 52-51 as junior Alec Mayo’s last second shot hit the front of the rim.

GMC Hoops did not arrive at the game until it was a bit more than halfway through the first half. With 8:03 to go in the opening period, the site sat down to see the Bears in front by a 22-13 margin. For the duration of the half, EB pretty much maintained that lead as it led by eight at the brief intermission, 28-20. Within about a half minute of arriving, Point Pleasant Boro went to the free throw stripe, and netted one of two free throws to cut the deficit to eight points at 22-14 with 7:30 left before halftime. Neither team would score for about a minute and a half before East Brunswick scored on a jumper from the right wing for a 24-14 lead at the 5:30 mark. On the next Point Boro possession, the Panthers connected on a short shot to bring the deficit down below double digits.

A little more than a half minute later, Point Pleasant Boro struck for a three pointer from the left corner to close to within five points at 24-19 with 4:29 to go before the half. There was no scoring for a bit more than a minute before EB junior guard, Dustin Schuld, grabbed an offensive rebound, and then kicked the ball out to fellow junior Kevin Johnson for a jumper that made the score 26-19 at the 3:25 mark. The Panthers eventually replied with one of two at the line for a 26-20 EB lead at the 2:38 mark. The Bears had a chance to go up by eight on its next possession, but Schuld misfired on a front end of a one and one with 2:24 left in the half. However, Nick Navara picked his teammate up when he handed out an assist on a jumper by a Bear teammate with 40 seconds left to create the 28-20 margin East Brunswick enjoyed at the break. In the second half, Point Pleasant Boro got on the board first with a three pointer from the left wing that closed the gap to five at 28-23 with just 27 seconds gone by in the period.

Alec Mayo then scored on a floater off the glass for a 30-23 EB lead with 19:06 to go in regulation when things got crazy with the scoreboard. On the next Point Boro possession, the Panthers scored a field goal that should have brought the deficit down to just five at 30-25, but the points were given to the Bears for a 32-23 lead. Eventually, the Panthers would get the points moments later, but the points weren’t taken off the board for EB. As a result, the score now stood at 32-25. A little while later, junior Mauro Tucci stepped to the line, and made two foul shots for a 34-25 lead at the 17:59 mark. Over the next two minutes, Point Pleasant Boro scored the next four points including a pair of free throws at the 16:00 mark to pull within fie at 34-29. On the next Bears possession, EB scored when it got an offensive rebound off a miss by Mayo, and put it back in to make the score, 36-29 with 15:30 to play in the second half. Forty-two seconds later, Point Boro had a basket negated thanks to a turnover at the 14:48 mark, and then almost a minute after that, Mayo clicked on two free throws that increased the Bear lead to 38-29 with inside fourteen minutes left in regulation.

At that point came the biggest swing of the game when Point Pleasant Boro used the next 6:20 to embark on a crucial 13-0 tear that not only got the Panthers back into the contest, but actually also gave them a four point lead. The spurt began quietly with a pair of free throws at the 12:11 mark followed by another pair some 34 seconds or so later that made the score, 38-33 with 11:27 remaining in the second half. East Brunswick had a chance to halt the then fledgling run at 4-0 when the Bears stepped to the line for a couple free throw attempts at the 10:35 mark. However, the Bears failed to capitalized as they missed both foul shots, and the score remained at 38-33. A little more than a minute and fifteen seconds later, the Panthers crept to within three on a drive from the left side for a layup that made the score, 38-35 with 9:16 to go in regulation. Then, the game was tied up about a little more than a minute later as Point Boro canned a three pointer from the left side that knotted the score at 38-38 with 8:10 to play in the second half.

After stopping East Brunswick on its next possession, Point Pleasant Boro took its first lead since GMC Hoops arrived a little more than halfway through the first half as the Panthers netted a three pointer from the right corner while drawing a foul for the unconventional four point play that catapulted them in front, 42-38 with 7:36 to go in the second half. About a half minute or so later, East Brunswick got a huge score as Nick Navara netted a jumper to close the gap to two again at 42-40 at the 7:04 mark. Neither team would score for nearly 3:15 before Point Boro connected on a short baseline jumper from the left side that widened its margin to four again at 44-40 with 3:50 to go in regulation. Then, on a subsequent, EB possession, Mayo made a nice play with a fine entry pass inside that led to a score in the paint for a 44-42 Panther lead at the 3:09 mark. However, on the Panthers next possession, they were able to get another field goal that put them back up by four points at 46-42 with 2:40 to go in the second half.

Fortunately for the Bears, they got a huge break when with under two minutes to play, Point Pleasant Boro committed a key turnover. Mayo then took advantage by connecting on a three pointer that followed a free throw, and tied the game at 46-46 with 1:25 left. The Bears then got a stop, and had a chance to win when they called timeout with 40.5 seconds to play in regulation. Following the timeout, East Brunswick set up a play, but when Schuld drove down the right side in the Bears frontcout, he threw the ball away on a kick out to Tucci in the left corner with 6.5 to go in the period, and the two teams then went to overtime tied at 46-46. In the extra session, Tucci came up with a huge defensive play just seconds in when he drew a charge on a Point Boro player at the 1:47 mark. Taking advantage, EB then took the lead as the Bears kicked out to Johnson for a jumper from the left side for a 48-46 advantage with 1:29 to play.

Scoring the next five points, Point Pleasant Boro retook the lead with a three pointer from the right wing that made it 49-48 at the 1:08 mark, and then another field goal with about 35 seconds to play for a three point, 51-48 lead. However, East Brunswick persisted, and tied the game up on a deep three by Navara with 11.3 seconds left for a 51-51 score. Moments later though, Point Boro took the lead for good by making one of two at the line for a 52-51 lead, and withstood a last second desperation three point attempt by Mayo with a second left for the one point victory. With the win, the Panthers improved to .500 at 1-1 while the Bears dropped to .500 at 1-1. Both teams will be back in action again next Monday when East Brunswick squares off against Neptune at 9:00 PM on the Celtics court while Point Pleasant Boro faces St. John Vianney at 8:00 PM on the Celtics court.

Team 1 2 Total
Point Pleasant Boro (1-1) 20 26 6 52
East Brunswick (1-1) 28 18 5 51