Good afternoon everyone. On Tuesday, GMC Hoops continued its college coverage with a game between Centenary College of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference and Berkeley College. For those, who aren’t aware, Centenary, which is one of the fastest growing colleges in New Jersey, is located up in Hackettstown in Warren County. I had never traveled up that way before. The only times I had ever been out that way at all was for trips in high school. Well, everything worked out ok as far as getting there without getting lost, and making it in time for the contest, but the route I selected to go to the game is not one that I will take again for a future night game involving the Cyclones. Using the directions off of the school’s athletics web site, I took Route 287 North to Route 78 West, and then to County Road 517 in Hunterdon County. County Road 517 also travels through Warren County, and takes you directly into the heart of Hackettstown as does Route 46 and Route 80.
First and foremost, I left the house after 6:00 PM, which for an 8:00 PM game in a place that I’ve never been to before was not a good idea. On top of that, I had to stop and get gas. The problems began when I got on the Route 78 West headed toward Easton, Pennsylvania. Getting on there at Exit 26, I didn’t have to travel far to get to the exit for County Road 517, but I had to endure a good deal of traffic. There has been a lot of construction going on that portion of the Interstate. Coming home from my job in Bedminster, I would usually see traffic backed up for miles at the Route 78 West exit so this wasn’t exactly a surprise. Thankfully, I was able to get off quickly at Exit 24 for County Road 517. Taking the road north, I traveled through a good portion of Hunterdon County and a lot of Warren County. The road wasn’t well lit at all, and it took many twists and turns. On top of that, I was going into a part of New Jersey that is perhaps the most mountainous. Thoughts did go through my head about turning back, and going home, but I had made a commitment to see the game so I continued onward.
After traveling this long and winding road, I finally reached some sort of civilization as I entered the outskirts of Hackettstown near the Hackettstown Mall. Much to my relief, I had arrived at Centenary College with about twenty minutes to go before the scheduled tip-off. Moreover, the women’s game was still playing with about nine minutes to go in the second half when I entered the gym. On the way home, I took a different route by taking Route 46 East to Route 206 South, and then to Route 287 South. I got home much quicker, and the trip was much less stressful. Overall, the trip was worth it though. Centenary’s Reeves Student and Recreation Center, which has undergone a facelift, looked superb, and the atmosphere was probably the best of all the colleges that I have gone to for games so far this season. Special thanks goes to Josh Huber, the Director of Sports Information at Centenary for providing me with information and stats, and the rest of the Centenary Athletics staff for their hospitality.