PISCATAWAY, NJ–After being down at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania for the Hoop Group Elite Team Camp for much of the day, the site headed over to the RAC after dinner to see some of the Friday night games from the second Rutgers Team Camp of the summer. There were several teams from the GMC including: New Brunswick, Piscataway, and South Plainfield. In addition, there were other teams from around the Garden State including: Newark Central, Point Pleasant Boro, Immaculata, Ridge, Wayne Valley, and Pascack Valley. The site got to see all three teams from the conference in action as Piscataway battled Pascack Valley, South Plainfield took on Mahopac, and New Brunswick and Newark Central duked it out in a very competitive game.
Pascack Valley Defeats Piscataway, 44-36
While South Plainfield took on Mahopac on Court #3 in the same hour, Piscataway went at it with Pascack Valley over on Court #1. Since the site has seen a good deal of the Chiefs at the Linden Team Camp and the Rahway Summer League, it spent more time watching the Tigers, which hadn’t gotten a good look for much of the summer. Nevertheless, the site peeked over at Court #1 for this game, which actually got off to a late start. The contest was fairly close for the first 31 minutes with Pascack Valley tenuously holding a 29-28 edge with about eleven minutes to play.
The Indians, which finished up at 11-9 on the year including a first round loss to Passaic Valley in the 2010 North Jersey Section I Group III state tournament, then scored eight unanswered points over the next 5:04 including a three pointer at the 9:02 mark for a 37-28 lead with just under six minutes to go. Piscataway then scored eight of the next ten points to close the gap to three, but couldn’t get any closer.
Piscataway first got a three at the four minute mark that made the score, 37-31, and then Vik Singh drained a three from the left corner at the 3:04 mark for a 37-34 Pascack Valley lead. The Indians then broke the Chiefs pressure to score a layup for a 39-34 lead with 2:45 to go in the game before Tyjohn Young scored a basket while being fouled for a 39-36 score at the 2:05 mark. P-Way had a chance to get closer, but Pascack Valley drew a charge on Young at the 1:44 mark, and then put the game away with two free throws at both the 1:15 and 0:14 second marks, and a one of two showing from the line with six seconds to go for the 44-36 victory.
South Plainfield Hangs On To Defeat Mahopac, 42-40
While Piscataway and Pascack Valley were going at it in a late starting game on Court #1, GMC Hoops finally was able to get a good look at the South Plainfield Tigers, which were in action against Mahopac from New York. The Tigers were without their point guard, Troy McNair, but they still had the likes of Denzel Mensah, Sharif Ross, and Joe Skwiat in their lineup. The only other time, GMC Hoops saw the Tigers in action was against Dunellen in the Rahway Summer League on July 2nd. The Tigers took a bit of a hit with the losses of Owolo Benjamin, and Carlos Ruiz to graduation, but they still have some good size returning with Mensah (6’2″), Ross (6’5″) and Skwiat (6’0″). SPHS trailed early in this one, but put together a strong finish to the first half for a double digit lead, and then got some late foul shots by Skwiat to hang on for the 44-40 win.
GMC Hoops joined the action with Mahopac leading by a score of 3-0 at the 19:03 mark. Nearly two minutes later, the New York team called for time as South Plainfield got a score to draw within one at 3-2 with 17:13 to go in the first half. Ross then got going as he was fouled, and netted two free throws for a 4-3 lead with 17:02 to go in the half. Ross then got another score prior to a Tigers timeout with 16:38 left in the first half, and the score now 6-3 in favor of SP. Following the stoppage, Mahopac tied the game at 6-6 with a three pointer from the right wing with 16:23 left in the first half. Ross continued to work as he got an offensive rebound, and drew a foul on the follow that produced one of two from the line for a 7-6 score at the 15:24 mark. Mensah then got into the act with a reverse layup for a 9-6 lead at the 14:00 mark.
Mahopac then got a score to draw within one again, but Mensah set up a fast break basket by pulling down a rebound, driving upcourt, and dishing for a layup, and an 11-8 lead at the 13:17 mark. Ray Perez then got into the act with a field goal at the 11:58 mark for a 13-8 advantage. South Plainfield then ran the break well again for a bucket while being fouled, and a 16-8 lead with 9:03 to go in the half. The Tigers went up by ten as Ross made a nice pass to Skwiat for a layup, and a 18-8 lead with 7:31 to go in the half. Perez then led the break with a drive for a layup while being fouled that resulted in a traditional three point play, and a 21-8 lead at the 6:55 mark. Skwiat scored again on an offensive rebound and follow off a Ross miss to answer a three pointer by Mahopac for a 23-11 score at the 5:39 mark. SPHS closed out the first half with four of the last six points including a three pointer that banked in for a 27-13 advantage at the intermission.
Mahopac opened the second half with a short jumper at the 18:30 mark for a 27-15 South Plainfield lead. Ross then kicked out to a teammate for a short jumper from the left side, and a 29-15 lead with 16:31 to go in the half. Mahopac then scored the next five points including two free throws at the 15:57 mark, and a three with 14:47 to go to pull within nine at 29-20. Mensah scored the next three points on a nice post move at the 14:20 mark, and one of two free throws with 13:30 to play for a 32-20 advantage. Ross demonstrated a nice touch with a short jumper for a 34-20 lead with exactly twelve minutes to go in the half. Mahopac, which competes against the likes of Yorktown and Carmel during the regular season, scored five of the next six points over a span of 1:57 for a 36-25 Tigers lead with a little more than 10 minutes to play.
After an injury timeout, Ross connected on a foul line jumper as the Tigers did a fine job dissecting the Mahopac zone in the second half. However, the Indians wouldn’t be denied as they struck for a three pointer at the 7:55 mark, and one of two free throws with 7:29 to go for a 38-30 SPHS lead. Perez then netted a baseline jumper at the 6:47 mark, and Mensah made one of two from the line for a 41-30 lead with 5:45 to go. Against the ropes, Mahopac rallied again with a 10-1 run including a steal of Perez for a layup and foul that was converted into a traditional three point play, and a 41-33 South Plainfield lead with 3:31 left. Following another Tigers turnover at the 2:48 mark, Mahopac then connected on a three from the right wing to draw within five at 41-36 with 2:28 left. After a Mahopac timeout, the Indians got another score off a steal as they put in a follow off a miss for a 41-38 SPHS lead with just under two minutes to go.
After Skwiat made one of two from the foul line for a 42-38 Tigers lead at the 1:26 mark, Mahopac connected on another jumper that rattled in for a 42-40 score with 1:06 to go, but the Indians couldn’t get any closer as Skwiat finished off the 44-40 victory with two free throws at the 41 second mark.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Plainfield | 27 | 17 | 44 |
| Mahopac (NY) | 13 | 27 | 40 |
Newark Central Downs New Brunswick, 42-36
The nightcap game played at 8:45 PM was an entertaining one as two urban schools went at it in a very up-tempo contest. New Brunswick played a very good game for much of the first half, but ran out of gas as Newark Central surged to the lead at the intermission, and then went up by as many as nine in the second half en route to a 42-36 win. The Zebras did surprisingly well from the three point arc as they made 4 of 6 shots from long distance. However, Newark Central was able to match the scoring from three with a 4 of 11 effort, and scored seven points off of turnovers, and eight second chance points. For the game, New Brunswick was 13 of 23 from the floor overall including a 7 of 13 showing in the first half, and a 6 of 10 effort in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils went 15 of 32 overall, but made 7 of 14 shots in the second half after going 8 of 18 in the first twenty minutes. New Brunswick also went 5 of 7 from the charity stripe while Newark Central went 5 of 10. In other statistical departments, Newark Central outrebounded New Brunswick by a margin of 16-10 including a 10-3 showing on the offensive boards. NBHS had no second chance points on the game. The Blue Devils had fewer turnovers (6-8), but the Zebras had more assists (9-7), steals (3-2), and blocks (3-1). Both teams drew a charge in the contest as well. Both Jaquan Cook and Milton Pittman led New Brunswick with 11 points apiece as Cook made four of eight shots, and three of four from the line while also collecting four rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. Pittman went 4 of 6 from the floor including one of two from three point land, and made two free throws for his 11 points. He also picked up four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.
Fuquan Rogers also chipped in with 6 points on a two of two effort from beyond the arc along with two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Outside of that, New Brunswick only had eight points including two from Nyeem Coleman. Both teams offenses were better in the first half with the two teams combining for 44 points before the intermission. The game was off to a flying start as it went back and forth for the first 6:45 of the contest. Both teams played a very up tempo style, and seemed to have an answer for the other team’s score. However, Newark Central put together a 5-0 run over the next 1:45 including a layup at the 12 minute mark, and a three pointer from way beyond the left wing for a 17-10 lead with 11:30 to go in the first half. New Brunswick, which made each one of its first six shots of the game, answered with a 5-0 run including a Cook layup from Deon Perry, and a three pointer by Rogers off a kick by Cook for a 17-15 score at the nine minute mark as Newark Central called for time.
Two minutes later, New Brunswick, which also connected on its first three treys of the game, got a steal that was converted into a Cook layup to tie the game at 17-17 with seven minutes to go in the first half. The Zebras went out in front a little later as Cook drew a foul on the drive, and netted two free throws for a 19-17 score at the 5:33 mark. The Blue Devils battled back with an offensive rebound and follow of a missed shot to tie the game again at 19-19 with 3:30 to play in the half. Newark Central then had a chance to go ahead, but Gary Reeder drew a charge with 1:47 to go before the intermission. However, the Zebras couldn’t take advantage as Newark Central eventually went ahead again at 22-19 with a three from the right wing over Reeder at the 1:15 mark. Cook made one of two from the line to trim the deficit to two at 22-20 with 44 seconds to go in the half, but the Blue Devils got the final points of the half for a 24-20 advantage at the break.
The second half started positively for New Brunswick, which was only 7 of 17 from the floor over the final 29:00 of the game. The Zebras scored seven of the first ten points to tie the game at 27-27 with 15:57 to go. NBHS had a chance to go ahead, but Cook traveled at the 15:37 mark. Newark Central then went on a decisive 11-2 run over the next 10:44 for a 38-29 lead. The Devils sparked the run with a basket and foul at the 15:16 mark. The run continued with a three pointer from the top of the key with 14:28 to go for a 32-27 lead. Newark Central, which reached the Championship Game of the North Jersey Section II Group I State Tournament before losing to crosstown rival, and T of C Semifinalist, Newark University (61-60), scored six of the next eight points including a runner at the 4:53 mark for its biggest lead of the game. New Brunswick tried to rally with five of the next six points over a span of 3:45, but couldn’t get closer.
Pittman began the final New Brunswick rally with two free throws at the 2:44 mark, and then the Zebras got a basket and a foul with 1:09 left, but Newark Central came away with the hard fought, 42-36 victory.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newark Central | 24 | 18 | 42 |
| New Brunswick | 20 | 16 | 36 |
GMC Hoops thanks Dennis Gregory and the folks at Rutgers for their assistance and hospitality during its visit on Friday night.