We've just archived the summaries on several scrimmages that we covered in the pre-season, the three games seen at the 2006 Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic at Seton Hall University on December 17th, the Freshmen and JV Games of the Week, Freshmen and JV Roundups, and all the summaries for the month of December, 2006 in the summaries archive.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 28, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--Gene Haley Memorial Tourney--Championship

Cafiero And Cougars Win Shooting Duel Over Holmes And Edison, 57-52

By Greg Machos
December 28, 2006

EDISON, NJ--This year's Gene Haley Memorial Tournament seemed to have games with tremendous first quarter performances. Montgomery's effort in the opening quarter of its Championship Game with Edison was no exception, led by senior forward, Nick Cafiero, who went 6 of 7 from the field including four three pointers for 16 points in the first half, the Cougars from Somerset County and the Delaware East Division of the Skyland Conference, connected on 7 of its first 9 shots to take a 17-6 lead while Edison made five turnovers in the first 5:02 of the game. However, behind the exploits of Barry Holmes, who was just about as equally scorching from the floor, Edison mounted a 20-2 explosion over a 6:31 span that included a 15-0 second quarter tear to actually take the lead back at 26-19 before senior forward, Walter Rockhill converted a traditional three point play to make it 26-22 at the 4:27 mark of the second. Holmes was 6 of 8 from the field including three treys besides making both of his attempts at the line for 17 first half points.

However, while Edison focused on Cafiero, Montgomery got help on the inside as 6'4" center, Josh Schneider came alive in the second half, and ended up with 7 of 15 field goals and 8 of 10 free throws for a game high 22 points while grabbing seven rebounds, swiping two steals, and handing out an assist to give the Cougars its first ever Haley Tourney title, 57-52 over the Eagles on Thursday afternoon at Edison High School. The third time was the charm for Montgomery, which lost to Carteret in 2004's title tilt, 46-38, and then lost to Edison last year, 52-40. Cafiero ended up with eight field goals in ten attempts from the floor including four threes for 80 percent, and 20 points while collecting two assists, two steals, and a rebound. Kevin Tarca chipped in with 4 of 8 shooting from the field including a three pointer for nine points as well as three assists, and three steals. Walter Rockhill went one of three from the field and two of three at the line for four points along with five rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Junior forward, Connor Paladino rounded out the Cougar scoring with a field goal for two points along with three assists, a steal, and a rebound.

Also playing, but not scoring for Montgomery were junior forward, Chris Garcia, who did a solid job on the boards and hustling for seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals despite missing all five of his shot attempts from the floor, and two free throws at the line, and junior guard, Matt Kovacs, who went 0 of 3 from the field. Meanwhile, Holmes ended up going cold in the second half making only one of five from the floor over the final two periods while missing two key free throws down the stretch. Nevertheless, the junior guard, who has played with more and more confidence since his game winning effort against St. Joseph's a week earlier, and pumped in 16 points in an opening round victory over Carteret, still ended up with a team high 19 points along with five rebounds and a blocked shot. Senior forward, Mike Campbell, was also hot from the field with a perfect five of five showing for ten points while handing out two assists and blocking two shots. However, Campbell failed to get one rebound and sat out much of the last portion of the fourth quarter.

Zach Manfre went four of ten from the floor including a three pointer for 9 points while handing out seen assists, getting four steals, grabbing two rebounds, and blocking a shot. Terry Roland, who put in a solid effort against the Ramblers on Wednesday, had some struggles from the floor with a 2 of 7 showing for four points while collecting three rebounds, an assist, and a blocked shot. Josh Williams (2 of 3 FGs for four points, three steals, two assists, and a rebound) and Quenta McDonald (2 of 2 FGs including a three pointer for five points) rounded out the scoring for the Eagles. Junior forwards Ron Lordi (two assists and a rebound) and Nathan Otokiti (0 of 2 FGs and 0 of 1 FTs, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal), and sophomore guard, Erik Janz (an assist and a steal) all played for Edison, but didn't score. This contest along with Monroe's game against Susan Wagner at the St. Joseph's Tournament, and Colonia's double-overtime win over East Brunswick on December 23rd, are probably the best games seen by this web site so far this season. Both teams shot the ball extremely well for the most part.

For the game, Montgomery, which was 13 of 24 in the first half for 54.2 percent, but only 6 of 15 following its 7 of 9 start, ended up going 21 of 45 including five threes for 46.7 percent while making 10 of 15 attempts at the line for 66.7 percent. On the other side of the ledger, Edison went 22 of 42 including six three pointers for 52.4 percent while making only two of five at the foul line for 40 percent. Obviously with how hot Edison shot from the floor, Montgomery's foul shooting proved to be a key difference. The Eagles had edges in turnovers (17-19), threes (6-5), assists (19-14), and blocks (9-0) while the Cougars held advantages in rebounding (19-15), steals (11-9), and won three of the four quarters in terms of scoring. Despite seven first quarter turnovers, Edison still managed to make five of eight shot attempts, and then followed that up with an eight of twelve showing from the field in the second for a 13 of 20 effort including five threes in the first half for a blistering 65 percent, but it only got the Eagles a one point, 33-32 halftime lead.

Then, in the second half, Edison was limited to just one three while Holmes had none. The Eagles went 9 of 22 from the floor for just 40.9 percent while Montgomery went equally as cold going just 8 of 21 for 38.1 percent from the field. However, the Cougars only had six second half turnovers while forcing eight, and made 9 of 12 shots from the charity stripe to get the edge over the final two periods for the win. There were a total of five lead changes and two ties in this game including four lead changes and a tie over a span of 6:36 from the end of the second quarter to the middle of the third when the Cougars began showing signs of pulling away. After Edison had taken its 26-19 lead, Montgomery didn't collapse. Rather, the Cougars fought right back with a 9-2 spurt over the next three minutes to knot the game at 28-28 with 1:27 left in the first half. After Rockhill's traditional three play with just under four and a half remaining in the first half, Cafiero struck again for two more treys to cap the rally. Edison would take the halftime lead with five of the final nine points including a three pointer by Manfre for a 33-32 score.

The third quarter saw a nip and tuck affair for the first 5:09 as Schneider gave Montgomery a one point, 34-33 lead only to see Edison take it right back on a layup by Campbell from Manfre to make it 35-34 with 7:12 to play in the period. The Eagles pushed its lead up to three on another basket by Campbell from Manfre before the Cougars came back with a score of their own on a layup by Schneider from Paladino at the 5:19 mark to make it 37-36. Edison could have taken a three point lead again, but Holmes missed a pair at the line with 4:44 left in the frame, and then Montgomery took the lead for good on another score inside by Schneider to make it 38-37 at the 2:51 mark. Cafiero then rebounded a Roland miss at the other end on the next Edison possession, and returned back down the floor for a layup, and a 40-37 lead with 2:36 remaining in the stanza. Manfre then hit on a jumper from left wing to make it 40-39 with 58.1 left in the third, but the Cougars ended up with a 42-41 advantage going into the fourth as both defenses tightened in the lowest scoring period of the game.

The final period opened with Montgomery scoring six of the first eight points as Schnieder made a couple field goals, and then grabbed three offensive rebounds before being fouled and making two free throws for a 48-43 Cougar lead at the 5:46 mark. The Cougars pushed the lead up to seven at 50-43 before Terry Roland made a jumper from the left side off an assist by manfre for a 50-45 score with 3:54 left in the contest. It was here that Montgomery had some troubles at the foul line, going 2 of 6 at the charity stripe over a 1:13 span, but Edison couldn't take advantage despite a score in the paint by Quenta McDonald, and the Cougars held on to its five point lead at 54-49 with just 46.7 seconds remaining. Edison had a couple chances to go to the line and cut into the deficit, but Otokiti missed a front end of a one and one at the 39.9 second mark, and McDonald did the same at the 25.9 second mark. Meanwhile, Schneider made three of four free throws in the final 37.8 seconds to help seal the 57-52 victory. With the loss Edison drops to 3-2 overall while Montgomery moves up to 4-2 on the season.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 28, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--Gene Haley Memorial Tourney--Consolation

Carteret Downs Kennedy To Surpass Last Year's Win Total, 68-55

By Greg Machos
December 28, 2006

EDISON, NJ--The Carteret Ramblers and J.F. Kennedy Mustangs squared off in the Consolation Game of the 2006 Gene Haley Memorial Tournament on Thursday morning at Edison High School. It was the second straight year that the two Greater Middlesex Conference schools squared off for third place. Last season, the Ramblers won their first game of the year with a 60-53 win over J.F.K. in the consolation. Then, Carteret followed that up with a solid, 60-34 victory over Piscataway Vo-Tech in a consolation of the Monroe Township Holiday Tournament. Those two victories would be the only ones in a forgetful 2-18 season. This season, Carteret entered the third-place game with two wins already on its pocket thanks to an upset of North Brunswick at home and a victory over Woodbridge on the road.

Meanwhile, things couldn't be any more difficult for Kennedy, which is trying to find a way to turn things around after a combined mark of 8-37 in their previous two campaigns. Despite the presence of a promising junior class led by the likes of forward Jelani Davis, the Mustangs have gone winless in their first four games, where they've given up an average of 82.3 points per game. In the opening round of the Haley Tourney, Kennedy was outscored by a combined total of 48-21 in thhe second and fourth quarters, and that proved to be the difference in a 78-42 loss to Montgomery of the Skyland Conference's Delaware East Division. In the other first round game, Carteret fell behind 19-2 to Edison in the first quarter on eleven turnovers, but fought back hard to pull within three in the latter portion of the third period before losing, 48-41.

This year's consolation game continued to show both teams going in opposite direcctions as the Ramblers outscored J.F. Kennedy in three of the four frames to win, 68-55. Carteret jumped out to a 32-22 halftime lead, and still led by eight going into the fourth period despite being outscored, 17-15 in the third. Other than the team high seventeen points registered by senior guard, Vinnie Marciano on four field goals, two threes, and three free throws, only one other Mustang scored in double figures. Meanwhile, for Carteret, which has given up an aveage of 51.8 points per game while scoring just 48.5 per game, had four players in double-figures including junior forward, Brian Williams, who scored a game high 19 points on seven field goals and five free throws while junior point guard Alvin Rodriguez chipped in with 15 points on five field goals, a three pointer, and two foul shots. Junior forward, Al Tampa added 12 points on four field goals, a three pointer, and a foul shot while sophomore forward Robert Jackson chipped in with five field goals for eight points.

With the win, Carteret, which was 2-18 overall last season, has already surpassed that win total, and is 3-2 overall and in conference play while Kennedy drops to 0-5 overall, and 0-4 in the GMC. The Ramblers also pick up two points in the GMC Hoops Trophy standings to tie J.P. Stevens with one point while the Mustangs are now tied for last place with Metuchen and St. Joseph's.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 28, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--Cardinal Classic--Consolation

Third Quarter Blitz Helps Spotswood Top Dayton, 58-38

By Greg Machos
December 28, 2006

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ--After traveling out to the 2006 Gene Haley Memorial Tournament at Edison High School to watch Carteret defeat J.F. Kennedy and Edison lose to Montgomery, GMC Hoops took a journey out to downtown New Brunswick to watch the 2006 Cardinal Classic, and one of the early season surprises in the Spotswood Chargers, face-off against Jonathan Dayton Regional of Springfield, which hails from the Mountain Valley Conference. The Bulldogs, which qualified for the state tournament just two short years ago under the direction of former coach Dave Nash, who played at Cardinal McCarrick when it was St. Mary's in the mid to late 1980s, has since hit on hard times.

Last season, Jonathan Dayton ended up going 9-14 including losses to Greater Middlesex Conference schools: Spotswood, South Amboy, Dunellen, Piscataway Vo-Tech, and Bishop Ahr. After failing to qualify in 2005-06, the Bulldogs have started off on the wrong foot in the new season with no wins in their first four games including an opening round loss to the host school, St. Peter's, which is another one of the big surprises in the GMC so far in 2006-07. Meanwhile, Spotswood is off to its best start since the 2003-04 season when they last qualified for the state tournament. So far in this young season, the Chargers have four wins in its first six games despite losing two of its last three including an opening round defeat to tourney favorite, Asbury Park, which was a late replacement for St. James Prep. Among the Charger victories was a stunning opening night win at Metuchen (57-47), and wins at home over Blue Division rivals Middlesex and Highland Park.

Arriving late in the first half, GMC Hoops sat to take the game in with 59.7 seconds left in the first half, and the score tied at 20-20. The Chargers had an opportunity to take the leadd with just under thirty seconds remaiining before the break, but Justin Carlson (three field goals for six points) failed to get a break as his layup attempt rolled out. However, a few moments later, teammate and sophomore guard, Ross Gerhart (two field goals and a three pointer for seven points) picked up Carlson with a three pointer from the right of the top of the key to make it 23-20, which is how it stood when both teams went to their respective locker rooms. Gerhart's trey not only proved to be decisive, but it also ignited a huge Spotswood surge that turned a tight game into a rout. The Chargers began to play like the team they've been capable of so far this season when the third got underway.

In the third period, Spotswood put together a 19-3 showing as senior guard, Bryan Osofsky (six three pointers, two field goals, and four foul shots for 26 points), connected on two threes for six third quarter points while Carlson got his six third period points the old fashioned way on three field goals. Zach Becker (two field goals and a free throw for five points) added a field goal and a one of two effort at the line for three points in the frame while Mike Hohman (one field goal for two points) and John Berner (two field goals and four free throws for six points) chipped in with two points each. Meanwhile, the Charger defense shut Dayton down and the rims tightened and acted as if they had lids on them for the Bulldogs. Jonathan Dayton didn't get a field goal for the entire span of the third period while making three of four foul shots in the final 1:14 of the stanza for its only points of the quarter. Punctuating Dayton's futility was a miss on a wide open breakaway layup attempt in the waning seconds by the Bulldogs.

Last season, Dayton had similar struggles against Spotswood in the 2005 Cardinal Classic. In the first half, the Bulldogs were held without a field goal for a span of 8:20, and then in the third, the Union County and Mountain Valley Conference school didn't get on the board until the 4:27 mark of the frame in a 58-49 loss. Spotswood, which actually had a 22-3 surge from the 20 second mark of the second quarter until the end of the third, opened the second half with a 16-0 blitz over the first 6:29 for a commanding 39-20 lead. Becker started the run with all three of his points in the period coming in the initial 1:44 of the frame to make it 26-20. Carlson then got into the act with an offensive rebound and putback to make it 28-20 at the 4:57 mark, and a drive through the left side of the key for a layup to make it 30-20 at the 4:10 mark. John Berner piled on with his only two points of the quarter on a pair of free throws at the 3:45 mark. Nearly forty seconds later, Berner got into the act again, but in a different way with a rebound and outlet pass for an assist on a Carlson layup that made it 34-20.

Carlson followed that up with a steal and assist on a Mike Hohman layup that made the score 36-20 at the 2:28 mark. Osofsky, who was selected to the Cardinal Classic All Tournament Team as well as the 2005-06 GMC Hoops All Perimeter Team, ended the outburst with a trey from the right side at the 1:31 mark that made the score, 39-20. Osofsky would later end the quarter scoring with another three or a 42-23 lead going into the fourth. The senior guard added some more perimeter scoring with another trey that capped a 12-4 run to start the fourth for a 54-27 advantage with 3:12 remaining. Up to this point in the fourth, Spotswood had outscored Dayton by a 34-7 margin over a span of 13:08 since the tail end of the first half. The Bulldog reserves did their part to make the game more respectable with an 11-4 spurt to close the contest as the Chargers won easily, 58-38 to earn third place in the holiday tourney, and raise its overall record to 5-2 on the year.

Meanwhile, in the Championship, St. Peter's was unable to continue its early season magic as the Cardinals lost its first game of the young season. Asbury Park jumped out to a 51-32 advantage, and held on to win, 62-50 for the title. The Cards are now 4-1 overall on the season, and returns to its Gold Division schedule when 2007 begins.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 28, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--Perth Amboy Vo-Tech Tourney--Consolation

Warren Tech Keeps E.B. Tech Winless With 54-29 Victory

By Greg Machos
December 28, 2006

PERTH AMBOY, NJ--It was nearly two years ago to the day that GMC Hoops last witnessed the Knights of Warren Tech battle East Brunswick Vo-Tech. On that occasion, Warren Tech traveled down to Middlesex County to take on the Tigers in a game E.B. Tech needed to win in order to keep hopes alive for a Central Jersey Group I Tournament berth. Back on that late January, 2005 day, East Brunswick Tech steamrolled the Knights in a runaway, 60-13, but failed to qualify for the states as the Tigers lost at South Amboy later in that week. In less than two short seasons, the tables have completely turned around despite the fact that neither team has started off well in 2006-07.

Entering Thursday afternoon's consolation game in the 2006 Perth Amboy Tech Tourney at Amboy Tech, neither team had been able to register a win on the season including losses in their respective first round games of the second annual tourney. Warren Tech was defeated soundly by the host school, Perth Amboy Vo-Tech, 64-42 while East Brunswick Tech lost in heartbreaking fashion by one point, 38-37, to Noor-Ul-Iman of Monmouth Junction, which won its first game ever. Things wouldn't get much better for E.B. Tech in the consolation either. The Tigers continue to search for its first win of the 2006-07 season as Warren Tech rolled to its first win in convincing fashion, 54-29. Paced by a game high 20 points on eight field goals, a three pointer, and a foul shot by Dion Aden and another 13 points from Ken Lambert on six field goals and a foul shot, the Knights jumped out to a seventeen point halftime lead as E.B. Tech was held to just ten first half points.

In the third quarter, Warren Tech increased its advantage with an 11-6 showing in a period that saw neither team score for the first 2:50. The Knights finally broke through the ice with a layup at the 5:10 mark to make the score, 29-10. The bucket opened the floodgates for Warren Tech as the team put together a 9-0 spurt to open the half for a 36-10 lead with a bit less than three and a half minutes to go in the third. Already in steep trouble at the half, East Brunswick Vo-Tech was unable to recover after that despite playing more respectably the rest of the way. Shortly after making the first field goal of the second half, the Knights came down the floor again for a three point play at the 4:48 mark. No scoring occurred for the next 1:11 until the Knights got a buckto make it 34-10 with 3:37 to go in the frame. On the very next E.B. Tech possession, Warren Tech got a steal, and made a nice assist to convert the Tiger turnover into a layup for a commanding 36-10 lead.

The Tigers, which dropped to 0-6 overall on the season with the loss, didn't get their first points of the second half until the 2:38 mark of the third period when they netted a pair of shots from the charity stripe to make it 36-12. It took even longer for E.B. Tech to get its first field goal. Outscoring Warren Tech by a 6-2 margin over the final three or so minutes of the third, the Tigers scored their first field goal of the second half with a little more than a minute and a half left in the stanza on a layup to make it 36-14. Starting the fourth and final period, East Brunswick Vo-Tech continued to try and climb back into the game despite the overwhelming odds against them. The Tigers scored five of the first seven poitns over the first 1:19 of the frame to make the score, 40-21. Sophomore point guard, Dillon DiGeronimo (a field goal and a free throw for three points), who had his share of struggles with turnovers, got on the board with one of two at the line to make it 40-17 at the 7:44 mark of the third. Brandon Morrison, who ended up with a team high 13 points on four field goals, a three pointer, and two free trows, netted two of his own at the foul line to make it 40-19 with 7:16 left in the period.

DiGeronimo closed out his scoring on the night when he connected for a jumper from the right win to make the score, 40-21. The Tigers also had several chances to make it closer, but missed on a pair of foul shots at the 7:20 mark, and several long range jumpers by Morrison rimmed out. Warren Tech finished the Tigers off with a 14-8 run over the final 6:41 for the lopsided twenty-five point win. With the loss, E.B. Tech drops to 0-6 while Warren Tech moves up to 1-4. Meanwhile, in the Championship, Perth Amboy Tech equaled its win total for all of last season with a blowout, 70-28 win over Noor-Ul-Iman, a team it had defeated a week earlier by a 56-26 count.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 27, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--St. Joseph's Tourney

Monroe Edges Susan Wagner With Strong Second Quarter, 56-53

By Greg Machos
December 27, 2006

METUCHEN, NJ--Leading by one going into the second quarter, the Monroe Falcons put together an 10-2 run to break away from a 17-17 tie at the 6:33 mark, and then closed out the first half with an 8-2 burst to cap a 21-12 second period showing for a 35-25 halftime lead. Although Susan Wagner of Staten Island rallied with a 19-12 showing in the third including a 17-2 tear for a 42-39 lead at the 2:30 mark, the resilient Falcons found a way to win with a 17-11 run over the final 9:59 to pull out a riveting three point, 56-53 victory over Susan Wagner in a battle of Falcons in the second game of an opening night tripleheader at the 2006 St. Joseph's Tournament at the New Bird Cage in Metuchen.

Monroe, which is looking more and more confident every game after starting the season with two close wins over South Plainfield and Lawrence on opening weekend, and then a double overtime loss at home to Sayreville, got a team high 13 points from senior guard, Shamil Graham, on five field goals in eight attempts and three of four from the foul line while grabbing four rebounds, handing out an assist, and drawing a charge. Mark Gulick had some struggles from the field going 4 of 12, but two of those made field goals were from beyond the arc to give him ten points on the night along with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Junior forward, Justin Mitchell helped out with 4 of 7 shooting for eight points along with five rebounds, two blocks, and an assist. Sophomore Steve Blish and junior Ivan Barreto also contributed in the winning effort.

Blish went 3 of 6 from the floor incluidng a three pointer while adding two of three from the charity stripe for nine points along with a rebound and an assist while Barreto connected on three of five from the floor, and a perfect four of four at the line for ten points while collecting four rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Senior center, James Pellino (0 of 2 FGs, two assists, a steal, charge, and a rebound) and junior forward Ryan Clark (0 of 1 FGs and 0 of 1 FTs, two assists, a steal, and an assist) also played, but didn't score. Meanwhile, for Susan Wagner, 6'4" junior forward, Wil Fonseca put on a dazzling display that included eight field goals and a free throw for a game high 17 points. Fonseca highlighted Wagner's third quarter rampage with a one handed dunk. Chipping in for Staten Island's version of the Falcons was senior guard, Joe Mujjalli, who scored 11 points on two field goals, a three pointer, and four foul shots. James Rogers added nine points including a three pointer to open the second half that got Susan Wagner going on its third quarter binge.

The Medley Brothers, Malcolm and Marcus combined to score fourteen points on six field goals and two free throws while senior forward Nick Curran rounded out the scoring for the losing team with a field goal for two points. For the game, Monroe made 17 field goals and three treys for a 20 of 46 showing from the field for 43.5 percent while Wagner, which had previously played in the Linden Summer League a couple seasons ago, made 20 field goals and two threes for a 22 of 52 performance for 42.3 percent. One of the big differences came at the foul line where the Purple Birds bested their feathered brethren from Staten Island. Monroe was 13 of 20 at the charity stripe for 65 percent while Wagner was just 7 of 12 for 58.3 percent. Turnovers were very close with Mornoe getting a slight edge (21-22), but Wagner cashed in Monroe's miscues to a tune of 20 points. The Falcons outrebounded Monroe 30-22 including twelve on the offensive boards that were converted into twelve second chance points.

Otherwise, Monroe held advantages in three pointers (3-2), assists (14-11), steals (5-4), and blocks (2-0) while charges were even at 2-2. Monroe's Purple Birds outscored Wagner in two of the four periods with the fourth ending up a 9-9 tie. Despite the statistical monopoly, Monroe Township had its struggles periodically in this one. In the first period, the Falcons from Middlesex County, went 0 of 5 from the field over the first 3:28 before getting a layup on a nice back door cut by Mahmoud, and a superb read and pass from Pellino to make the score 3-2 in favor of MTHS. Mahmoud had scored the first points of the game at the 7:49 mark with one of two from the line to make it 1-0. Monroe actually caught fire over the final 4:32 of the period by making 6 of 7 from the floor to go 6 of 12 overall including a three pointer for 50 percent. Meanwhile, Susan Wagner matched Monroe's shooting with a slightly better effort, going 6 of 11 from the floor including a three of its own for 54.5 percent.

Blish led Monroe, which only committed two turnovers in the first quarter, with a 2 of 4 field goal showing from the field including his team's only three in the frame for five points. Blish got his three pointer off an assist by Graham to end an 8-4 Wagner burst, and square the game at 10-10 with 48.5 seconds left in the period. Then, the birds of the Purple City closed out the stanza with four of the last seven points including a runner by Gulick to propel Monroe to the one point, 14-13 lead. The game, which actually saw seven lead changes and one tie in the first quarter alone, and ultimately had fourteen lead changes and six ties, saw its highest scoring quarter of the game as both teams combined to score 33 points in the second frame. However, Monroe got the majority of them with 21 to Wagner's 12. Wagner had actually taken a 15-14 lead in the opening minute of the period with a pair of free throws at the 7:08 mark before Gulick came back with his first three of the game to give the Purple Birds a two point, 17-15 lead. Wagner would tie it though on an offensive rebound and putback at the 6:33 mark.

At that point, the game turned in Monroe's favor as the Falcons put together a 20-8 tear over the final six and a half minutes to take a ten point, 35-25 lead going into the locker room. MTHS started the final first half push with an 10-2 spurt over a span of 3:20 to take a 27-19 lead with 3:13 to go before the intermission. Despite picking up its eighth team foul in the half, the Falcons got a pair of free throws from Ivan Barreto at the 5:14 mark following an offensive rebound by Justin Mitchell off his own missed free throw. Barreto then returned the favor by passing off to Mitchell for a layup as the junior forward was fouled, but he missed the bonus free throw, and the score stood at 23-19 in favor of Monroe. Shamil Graham got into the act with a drive for a layup, and then Mitchell went to work again on the offensive boards for a putback off a missed shot to make it an eight point lead.

Wagner scored the next four points to make it a 27-23 game, but Monroe then closed out the half with eight of the last ten points for a ten point, 35-25 halftime lead. The Purple Birds ended up connecting on 8 of 15 field goals including a three pointer for 53 percent while sinking four of seven at the line. The only blemish on Monroe's second quarter was the fact that it had committed nine turnovers in the frame. Nevertheless, Monroe made 14 of 27 from the field for 51.9 percent while Wagner, which was limited to just 4 of 15 shooting for 26.7 percent in the second, shot only 10 of 26 from the floor in the first half for 38.5 percent. Susan Wagner's saving grace was the fact that its team went 4 of 5 from the line, converted eight offensive rebounds into ten second chance points, and eleven Purple Bird turnovers into eight points. More importantly, Wagner was still within striking distance, and that wasn't all too bad considering how much it struggled to get consistent shooting.

Knowing the fact that they were still in the game, Susan Wagner's Falcons came out in the third quarter with a purpose. Helped out by nine more Monroe turnovers, which it promptly converted into twelve points, Wagner went on a 9-0 spurt following an opening score by Monroe for a twelve point lead. The Staten Island team's burst was set up by a three pointer from the left wing by James Rogers within the first minute and a half of the third period to make the score, 37-28. Wagner then crept closer with six more points off Monroe turnovers to make it a 37-34 game at the 5:02 mark. Staten Island's Falcons didn't stop there. Wagner put together an 8-2 spurt over the next 3:03 for a 42-39 lead before Shamil Graham stopped the bleeding with one of two from the line for a 42-40 Wagner lead with 1:59 remaining in the frame. The Purple Birds then picked things up again with a 7-2 spurt of their own including a pair of free throws by Barreto at the 25.7 second mark to tie it at 44-44, and then a three pointer from Gulick on the left wing off a Mahmoud assist to make it 47-44 as time expired in the third.

With the biggest lead of the game only being twelve points, much of the game was fairly nip and tuck, especially the fourth period. Monroe had the bigget lead of the final quarter at five when Gulick struck again for a long two pointer off another assist from Mahmoud for a 49-44 score at the 7:25 mark. But, Wagner, continued to fight back with a 7-2 burst of its own over the next 6:00 to knot the game up again at 51-51 with 1:25 left in regulation. Joe Mujjalli got things going with a pair of free throws at the 6:09 mark following a missed one and one attempt by Blish at the 6:28 mark. Then, Fonseca got into the act again with one of two free throws at the 5:27 mark to make it 49-47, and then a jumper from the right corner to tie the game at 49-49 with 4:32 remaining in regulation. But, Barreto, who hustled all game, and seemed to come up with a big play of some sort when Monroe needed it most, scored on a layup following a steal and assist by forward Ryan Clark to give the Falcons a two point, 51-49 lead. Wagner had a chance to tie at the 3:04 mark, but Fonseca misfired on a pair at the charity stripe, and the score stood at 51-49 in favor of Monroe.

But, the Falcons of Susan Wagner redeemed themselves on a later possession with an offensive rebound and putback to tie the game at 51-51 as Monroe subsequently called for time at the 2:11 mark. Shamil Graham had a chance to give the Purple Birds the lead, but missed the layup attempt, and Wagner got the ball, and called for time at the 1:25 mark. However, Wagner couldn't take the lead, and Graham was fouled after getting the rebound. The senior guard, who has had several double-doubles already this year, netted both ends of a one and one with 1:06 remaining to make it 53-51. Vinny Mahmoud followed that up with one of two from the line at the 39.4 second mark to make it a three point game at 54-51. On the very next possession, Wagner hurried down the floor, and scored on a layup to make it a 54-53 game with 28.6 seconds to play as the Staten Island squad called for a 30 second timeout. Following the stoppage, and later timeout by Monroe at the 21.1 second mark, Mahmoud went to the line again, and sank a pair to make it 56-53 with 7.7 seconds left in the contest.

Wagner had one more chance to tie and force overtime, but Graham put pressure on Mujjalli, who couldn't get a shot off an tried to pass the ball off to another player, but ended up throwing the ball away much to Graham's delight, and the Purple Birds survived with a 56-53 hard fought win. With the victory, Monroe has now won three straight, and raises its record to a pleasantly surprising 5-1 on the year while Susan Wagner drops to 3-5. MTHS will next take on St. Joseph's By The Sea before finishing up their portion of the round robin against Moore Catholic, which defeated Colonia earlier in the day, 36-28. Susan Wagner will take on Colonia next, and then finish up against the host school, St. Joseph's.

Colonia Shut Down In Fourth By Moore Catholic For First Loss, 36-28

By Greg Machos
December 27, 2006

METUCHEN, NJ--After outscoring their opponent from Staten Island in the middle two periods by a 22-15 margin, Colonia's offense was held to just a field goal in the final period by Moore Catholic to give the Mavericks a hard fought, 36-28 victory in the opening round of games in the inaugural St. Joseph's Tournament at the New Bird Cage in Metuchen on Wednesday afternoon. The Patriots could only manage one field goal on a jumper by sophomore, J.J. D'Amico off an assist by Brandon Hall at the three minute mark that cut Moore Catholic's lead to 31-28. Meanwhile, the Mavericks, which had actually been held to just a field goal themselves over a 10:48 span from early in the second quarter to the middle of the third, got a three pointer from J.C. Albano at the 4:12 mark of the third quarter to spark a game ending 20-8 surge for the win.

It was a hard fought defensive battle, in which both teams scrapped for every point that they could get. Moore Catholic jumped out to an 11-4 first quarter lead, and then got a three pointer from the top of the key to make the score, 14-4 within the first minute of the second, before Colonia embarked on a 16-2 tear for the rest of the half, and the first portion of the third period for a 20-16 lead. Brandon Hall, who seemed to be everywhere on both sides of the ball, sparked the run with a steal and assist on a Jeff Mentzel layup at the 6:24 mark of the second. Hall then followed that up with a steal for a layup at the six minute mark of the second that trimmed the Maverick advantage to just six points at 14-8. The junior point guard, who was named the Most Improved Player in the conference last season by this web site, almost got another assist as he passed into Mentzel again, but the junior forward was fouled, and made a pair of free throws to make it a four point game at 14-10 with 5:27 left in the half.

Mike Salvador, the hero of the Patriots' most recent win last Saturday over East Brunswick, connected with Joe LaSala for a turnaround jumper by the scrappy senior forward that made it a two point game at 14-12 with 3:21 left. Moore Catholic would close out the scoring with a field goal before getting a five second violation at the 18.3 second mark that prevented the Mavericks from taking an even bigger lead into the locker room. Picking up right were they left off to end the first half, the Pats began the third quarter with a 4-0 run capped by a D'Amico layup at the 6:30 mark that tied the game up at 16-16 as Moore Catholic called for time. Even though Hall, who fouled out in the second overtime of the East Brunswick game, picked up his third foul at the 5:55 mark of the third period, sophomore Nnamdi Usuwa drew a charge at the 5:52 mark to prevent Moore Catholic from getting on the board. Colonia then took the lead as Salvador dished to D'Amico for a jumper from the right wing that made the score, 18-16 with 5:02 left in the third.

The Patriots then took their biggest lead of the game at the 4:59 mark as Brenden Wagner passed off to Usuwa for a jumper from the left wing that made the score, 20-16. However, the prominent basketball program from Staten Island rallied behind Albano's three, and began to crash the offensive boards while blocking several Colonia shots to tie the game up going into the fourth. Following one of two free throws at the line at the 2:59 mark by Patriot senior forward, Bryant Androvich on a technical foul, Albano picked up a steal and converted it into a layup that tied the game at 21-21. Then, a Moore Catholic player got a huge blocked shot, which led to another Albano layup for the 23-21 lead at the 2:15 mark. Salvador responded with his only points of the game on a three pointer off an assist by Hall at the 1:22 mark to put Colonia back out in front, 24-23 as both teams combined for five lead changes and five ties over 9:38 of the final sixteen minutes of the contest.

Tyler Stradford then connected on one of two free throws at the one minute mark to knot the game at 24-24, but Colonia retook the lead with a score at the 42 second mark that made it 26-24. However, Moore Catholic caught a break on an air ball as nobody on the Patriots was there to box out and get the rebound, which helped the Mavericks tie the game at the buzzer much to the chagrin of first year Patriot coach, Chris Chiera. Neither team scored for the first 3:08 of the fourth before Moore Catholic converted a Colonia turnover into a layup at the 4:52 mark to take a 28-26 lead. The layup ignited a 10-2 game deciding run as the Mavericks came away with the eight point win to go 6-3 on the season while the Patriots lost their first game of the 2006-07 season, and are now 4-1.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 27, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--South Amboy Tourney

Rams Avoid Disaster In 50-49 Win Over Titans

By Greg Machos
December 27, 2006

SOUTH AMBOY, NJ--It was near disaster for South River. The Rams, which had begun the season with three losses in four games, appeared to have things back on track with a 13-6 showing in the first period, and then an 18-5 surge in the second frame for a twenty point, 31-11 lead at halftime in the opening round of the 2006 South Amboy Tournament. However, after turning the ball over on six of its first seven possessions, and not scoring at all during that span, South River went into a tailspin with 12 third quarter turnovers while Keansburg surged back into the contest with a 20-8 third quarter outburst to make the score, 39-31 going into the fourth.

Keansburg continued to pour it on with a 11-3 spurt to open the fourth to pull within one point at 43-42 on an offensive rebound and putback off a missed three point attempt with 2:58 remaining. However, the Titans, which hail from the Class B Central Division of the Shore Conference, could not climb all the way out of its hole. The Rams, which committed six more turnovers in the final frame for a total of 18 in the second half, managed to keep the lead as junior guard, Eric Seawright made one of two foul shots at the 2:51 mark for a 44-42 lead, and then senior guard, Tony Gomes, drove through the lane for a layup to make it a four point, 46-42 margin with 2:17 to play in regulation. Keansburg then committed two straight turnovers including one forced by Gomes that fell into the hands of Ram big man, Josh Williams, who was fouled and sank two of his four free throws over the final 23:15 of the contest for a six point, 48-42 lead with 1:36 left.

Keansburg, which missed qualifying for the state tournament last season after reaching the semifinals of the Central Jersey Group I Tourney in 2005, refused to throw in the towel though. Keansburg scored a bucket to make it a four point game before Seawright made another one of two at the charity stripe for a 49-44 lead at the 28.2 second mark, and then, inexplicably, the Titans got a huge break as they scored a layup while being fouled by Williams at the 20.9 second mark, but missed the bonus free throw to make the score, 49-46. Kwasi Bell then made one of two foul shots at the 15.9 second mark, and then Seawright got an offensive rebound on the second missed shot, and was fouled with 13.9 left. The junior guard missed both at the line, and Keansburg made a three pointer with 2.1 left, but the Titans were unable to stop the clock and the Rams escaped with the 50-49 win.

Arriving late to the game after the finish of the second game at the 2006 Gene Haley Memorial Tournament, I arrived in the gym with 7:15 to go in the second quarter with South River already leading 15-6. The Rams played perhaps its best quarter of basketball so far this season as they held the Titans to just two field goals and one of two free throws in the period while building up its largest lead of the game at the 37.9 second mark of the stanza as Williams made a nice pump fake, and banked in a shot to make it 31-9. Keansburg was actually held scoreless over a 3:02.1 span while South River ran off nine straight points. Mariano Rodriguez preceeded the Williams score with a three pointer from the left wing at the 1:53 mark for a 29-9 lead. In the quarter, the Rams connected on eight field goals including two threes for 18 points, which almost matched their scoring output for the entire second half.

In the third quarter, South River just simply sputtered on offense. However, despite the Rams' difficulties, Keansburg wasn't really able to take advantage until the final 4:07 of the period when the Titans scored 14 of the final 17 points, which brought a loud roar from the few Keansburg faithful that traveled up Route 35 to see their Titans play. Prior to that South River seemed to be reasserting its control with an 5-3 run that included a fast break layup by Gomes off an assist by Rodriguez at the 5:16 mark for a 33-12 lead, one of two free throws by Bell at the 4:54 mark, and an offensive rebound and scoop shot at the 4:33 mark for a seemingly commanding 36-15 lead. But the Titans responded with a 27-7 blitz over a span of 9:35 to pull within a single point as the game suddenly started slipping away from the Rams. Nevertheless, South River prevailed in the end to advance to the Championship Game.

The Rams will face Henry Hudson of Atlantic Highlands, which is making its first appearance in the tournament after playing in the East Brunswick Tech and Perth Amboy Tech Tournaments the past couple seasons. The Admirals, which won the E.B. Tech Tourney in 2004 and the P.A. Tech Tourney in 2005, defeated the host school, South Amboy in the opening round, 53-41. Keansburg will take on the Governors in the Consolation Game at 2:00 PM on Thursday while South River, which is now 2-3 overall on the season, will battle Henry Hudson at 6:00 PM.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 27, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--Gene Haley Memorial Tourney

Edison First Period Outburst Proves To Be Difference, 48-41

By Greg Machos
December 27, 2006

EDISON, NJ--Although Carteret outscored Edison in two of the three remaining quarters, and tied in the fourth, the Eagles only needed the first quarter to effectively put the Ramblers away. Edison shot 8 of 16 for 50 percent from the field while Carteret committed eleven first quarter turnovers that led to all of the Eagles nineteen first quarter points. In addition, the Ramblers shot only 2 of 11 from the floor for 18 percent as Edison took a 19-4 lead, and despite Carteret rallying to pull within three at 31-28 with 2:14 left in the third, the Eagles hung on for a 48-41 victory in the opening round of the 2006 Gene Haley Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at Edison High School.

Besides Carteret's first quarter woes, another factor hurt the Ramblers chances. Junior forward, Brian Williams, did not enter the game until the 6:15 mark of the third quarter, and ended up with 3 of 8 field goals plus one of two at the foul line for 7 points while also collecting two rebounds, two steals, a charge, and an assist. The Ramblers were led by both senior forward Anthony Basilici (4 of 9 field goals including a three pointer, and 1 of 3 free throws for 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal) and sophomore Robert Jackson (5 of 9 FGs and 2 of 4 FTs for a team high twelve points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist), who had a double-double. Al Tampa, a junior forward, had his struggles from the field, but still ended up with 5 points on two field goals including a three pointer along with five rebounds, five assists, and a block. Junior guard, Alvin Rodriguez (3 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a rebound), D.J. Murphy (2 points, a rebound, and a steal), and Eddie Aquirre (2 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist) rounded out the scoring for Carteret. Paul Budwal (a rebound) and Mike Miller (two rebounds, a steal, and a charge) also played, but didn't score.

For Edison, Barry Holmes, who helped the Eagles get the upset over St. Joseph's exactly a week ago this Wednesday, led the charge with 16 points on 4 of 10 field goals including a three pointer and a near perfect seen of eight from the free throw line while also collecting four rebounds and a steal. Senior center, Terry Roalnd chipped in with 12 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the floor along with six steals, a rebound, and an assist, Juniors Josh Williams (3 of 4 field goals for 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal) and Nathan Otokiti (3 of 7 field goals for 6 points, 4 rebounds, and a steal) each added six points. Zach Manfre (1 of 6 FGs and 2 FTs for 4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals), Shaarod Shuford (1 of 1 FGs for two points, two rebounds, and an assist), and Ron Lordi (1 of 5 FGs and 0 of 1 FTs for 2 points and 2 rebounds) rounded out the Edison scoring. Andy Hernandez (a rebound) and sophomore Erik Janz (a rebound and an assist) also played, but didn't score.

In the game, Edison held advantages in blocks (5-1), steals (12-10), assists (14-13), free throws (9 of 12 for 75 percent vs. 5 of 11 for 45 percent), and field goals (19 of 46 for 41.3 percent vs. 17 of 57 for 29.8 percent). Meanwhile Carteret held edges in three pointers (2-1), charges (2-0), and rebounds (30-28). Turnovers wound up being even as the Rambers settled down with 12 turnovers over the last three periods for a total of 23 turnovers to equal Edison, which had no turnovers over the first 4:47 of the game. At one point in the third quarter, Carteret actually had fewer turnovers than the home team. In the beginning, the Ramblers drew first blood for a 2-0 lead, but then they lost composure and the Eagles took full advantage. Within the first minute of the game, Alvin Rodriguez put Carteret on the board with a jumper from the right wing for the first points by either side in the contest. Those would be the only points for a while for the Ramblers as they began turning the ball over in bunches.

In just the first 2:43 of the game, Carteret had already made four miscues. Two more turnovers came soon afer that, and by the 4:49 mark, the Ramblers had six turnovers, and Edison was cashing them in to the tune of an 11-2 lead. Holmes, who went three of six from the field including a three pointer while hitting both his free throw attempts for nine points in the opening frame, already had five points on a field goal and three pointer. Meanwhile, Carteret's offense continued to sputter as Edison's was running at its optimum. The Eagles didn't have their first turnover of the game until the 3:13 mark, and increased their lead to fifteen as Holmes and Zach Manfre came up with back to back steals for layups to make it 17-2 at the 2:40 mark as Carteret first year head coach and former Rambler standout, Jose Rodriguez, called the team's second timeout of the stanza. Edison would push the lead to 19-2 before Carteret scored its first points in over six minutes to make it 19-4 going into the second. To the casual observer, it seemed that all was lost for Carteret, which was recently ranked tenth in a recent Home News-Tribune Top Ten. However, none of the Ramblers felt that way, and didn't give up.

After the Eagles started the second period with four of the first six points for a 23-6 lead at the 3:54 mark, Carteret finished out the first half with an 11-4 spurt to make it a ten point game (27-17) at the half. The Ramblers, which did a complete about face with only one turnover in the entire second quarter, got going with a Robert Jackson layup off an Anthony Basilici pass, and then Baslici, the quarterback of the Carteret football team, got into the scoring column himself with a three pointer. The final highlight of the run was an Al Tampa layup off an assist by Alvin Rodriguez to make it 27-17 at the break. Shooting 6 of 12 for 50 percent from the floor in the period, Carteret ended up connecting on 8 of 23 attempts for 34 percent in the first half. Meanwhile, Edison went in the opposite direction going 4 of 11 from the floor in the frame, and ended up 12 of 27 over the first two periods. The start of the second half saw Carteret pick up right where it left off before halftime as it continued to attempt to climb out of its massive first quarter hole. Over the first 6:22 of the third, the Ramblers scored eleven of the first fifteen points scored by both teams for a 22-8 surge over a 10:16 span to make it a ball game at 31-28 with 1:38 left in the stanza.

Carteret began the new half with a 7-2 spurt over a 2:28 span to make it 29-24. Basilici highlighted the early period rally with an offensive rebound off his own missed free throw, and scored on a baseline drive as he was fouled for a three point play at the 5:32 mark. Following a Terry Roland layup that made it 31-24, Al Tampa took in an assist from Brian Williams, and knocked down a three pointer for Carteret to make it a four point game at 31-27 with 3:26 remaining in the third. Williams then followed that up a minute and twelve seconds later with a steal off Roland for a layup attempt that he was fouled on. The Junior forward, who has improved a great deal since last season in terms of keeping his emotions in check, netted one of two at the charity stripe to make the score, 31-28 at the 2:14 mark. However, that would be as close as the Ramblers would get in this one. The early deficit was just too big to overcome as Edison rejuvenated itself with two blocked shots by Mike Campbell to preserve the three point lead at the 1:38 mark, and then scored the final four points of the frame. Ron Lordi capped the mini-run with the final points of the period on an offensive rebound and follow as he was fouled. The junior reserve missed the bonus free throw, but the score stood at 35-28 in favor of Edison going into the fourth.

The final period started out with both teams exchanging scores for an Eagle 37-30 lead as Carteret called for time with six minutes to play. Emerging from the timeout, the Ramblers stiffened on defense, and scored five of the next eight points to pull within five at 40-35 with 1:08 remaining as the White Division school called timeout again. However, Edison was able to pull out the win with an 8-6 showing down the stretch as Manfre netted his two free throws, and Holmes connected on two free throws of his own to make it a 44-37 game with 39.7 to play. The Eagles went on to win, 48-41, and advance to the Championship Game for the second straight season, where it will face a familiar title game foe in Montgomery. The Cougars, which downed JFK in their first round game, 78-46, is making its third straight finals appearance losing to Carteret (46-38) in 2004 and Edison (52-40) in 2005. With the victory, Edison is now 3-1 on the young season while Carteret drops to 2-2.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 27, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--Gene Haley Memorial Tourney

Montgomery Rolls Past J.F. Kennedy, 78-46

By Greg Machos
December 27, 2006

EDISON, NJ--The Montgomery Cougars used a 25-13 surge in the second quarter to break away from a 12-6 first quarter advantage in the opening round of the 2006 Gene Haley Memorial Tournament, and then closed out the Mustangs with a 23-8 outburst in the fourth period for a 78-46 victory over J.F. Kennedy, which is still searching for its first win after four games. Kennedy, which has now given up an average of 82.3 points per game through its first four contests, only managed to win one quarter, which was a 19-18 showing in the third period that trimmed the 37-19 halftime deficit to just 55-38 going into the fourth.

Montgomery, which hails from the Delaware East Division of the Skyland Conference, and missed out on making the state tournament in 2005-06 after making the cut in 2003, 2004, and 2005, held Kennedy to single digits in two of the four periods, the first and fourth. The Cougars, which competed during the fall at the TBSA Fall League, scored an average of 38 points per game in their first two games. J.F. Kennedy, which has gone a combined 8-37 the past two seasons including a 4-20 record in 2005-06 and a 4-17 mark in 2004-05, trailed 66-42 with 3:41 to go in the game when GMC Hoops arrived to cover the game between Edison and Carteret. Up to that point, Montgomery had outscored the Iselin school, 11-4 in the frame.

Over the next 1:48, the Cougars ran off eight straight points including a layup at the 2:59 mark, two free throws by senior forward Walter Rockhill at the 2:44 mark, an offensive rebound and putback by junior forward Connor Paladino at the 2:10 mark, and a fastbreak layup by Paladino at the 1:53 mark to give the Cougars their largest lead of the game at 74-42. Junior reserve guard, Jonathan Toczynski got a steal and layup at the 1:12 mark to end the Montgomery late game spree temporarily, and made the score, 74-44. However, the Cougars closed the game with a 4-2 run for a 23-8 outburst in the quarter. Junior guard, Brian Reilly scored the final points for Kennedy on a basket with 13.1 left while senior reserve guard, Mike Neri netted two free throws at the 2.1 mark to round out the final 78-46 score.

With the victory, Montgomery raises its record to 3-2 overall on the season, and will face Edison in the Championship for the second year in a row. The Eagles jumped out to a 19-2 lead on eleven first quarter turnovers by Carteret, and hung on to win by seven, 48-41. J.F. Kennedy will be facing the Ramblers in the consolation game for the second straight year. The Mustangs will square off against Carteret at 11:00 AM while Montgomery, which is looking for its first Haley Tourney title in three finals appearances, takes on the Eagles at 12:30 PM. In last year's Championship Game, Edison defeated the Somerset County squad, 52-40 to win its first tourney title since the 2000-01 season. Montgomery is playing in its third straight title game. Two years ago, the Cougars lost to Carteret, 46-38.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 27, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--Shello/Santy Tournament

Dunellen Pulls Away From Scrappy Manville, 63-46

By Greg Machos
December 27, 2006

DUNELLEN, NJ--It has been an intriguing season so far for the Dunellen Destroyers in 2006-07. Despite bringing up a JV squad that was 19-3 and advanced to the second round of the 2006 East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament, and playing well in a pre-season scrimmage against an Edison team that has gotten off to a fine start including a victory over St. Joseph's, Dunellen just sits at 2-2 oveall on the year with victories over Perth Amboy Tech and Hackettstown while losing to Union Catholic on opening night, and then to a suprising St. Peter's team a week later in New Brunswick. Wednesday night's game against Manville was a microcosm of th Destroyers up and down start in 2006-07. Dunellen had to overcome 23 turnovers for the game as well as a plethora of missed shots up close before finally pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 63-46 win in the opening round of the 2006 Shello/Santy Tournament that put it in the Championship Game for the third straight year.

Despite the near twenty point win, it was a far cry from what has taken place between these two teams in the past couple seasons in the opening round of the Shello/Santy Tournament. Two years ago, the Destroyers rolled past the Mustangs in a 81-46 win while last year was a bit more competitive, but still an easy win for Dunellen, 74-50. However, Manville, which is now a member of the Skyland Conference along with another tourney competitor, Bound Brook, showed that it is making inroads on turning things around with a much more competitive performance. The Mustangs, which reached the Championship Game of the Central Jersey Group I State Tournament before losing to Dunellen's Gold Division rival, Piscataway Vo-Tech in 2003, forced three Destroyer turnovers in the first 1:11 of the contest while jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first 1:43. Dunellen finally got themselves going in the quarter with a 17-11 showing over the last 5:57 to knot the game at 17-17 at the end of one despite eight team turnovers in the frame.

The enigmatic performance by the Destroyers even had the usually raucous D-Block student section rather tranquil and anxious for something to happen. In the opening quarter, Manville had seven field goals and three free throws while Dunellen did as well. After falling behind 6-0, the Destroyers ran off seven straight points over a two minute span including a T.J. Wenzel (two field goals and two free throws for six points) layup from Keith Lefchuck (five field goals and a free throw for 11 points) at the 5:57 mark, one of two free throws by Lefchuck at the 5:24 mark, a Mike Bartilotti (eight field goals for 16 points) score following two offensive rebounds at the 4:18 mark and a Lefchuck jumper off a pass from Wenzel at the 3:57 mark that gave Dunellen its first lead at 7-6. Over the next 51 seconds, Manville answered Dunellen's charge with the next four points on a jumper from the right corner at the 3:40 mark, and then a layup at the 3:06 mark for a 10-7 advantage.

The Destroyers then wrestled the lead back on a pair of free throws by Jim Schleppenbach (two field goals and seven free throws for 11 points) at the 2:52 mark to make it 10-9, a bank shot by Wenzel off another feed by Lefchuck for an 11-10 lead with 2:19 left in the quarter, and a jumper by Schleppenbach to cap the 6-0 run for a 13-10 lead with about two minutes left in the first. Manville wouldn't go away without a fight though. The Mustangs got a crucial three point play from Brian Rock (two field goals, a three pointer, and a free throw for eight points) at the 1:30 mark to knot things up again at 13-13, and a little less than a minute later, after Dunellen had retaken the lead, brother Tommy Rock (two field goals and a free throw for five points) made a basket as he was fouled to tie the game up at 17-17. The Mustangs would have a chance to take the lead going into the second, but Brian Rocked missed a pair of foul shots with 21.8 seconds remaining, and the score stayed tied at 17-17 going into the second.

All in all, there were eight lead changes and five ties in the first half including four lead changes and two ties in the first 5:06 of the second before Dunellen closed the half with a 4-2 run to cap a 10-2 tear for a 29-25 lead at the intermission. The Destroyers managed to get out in front at the half despite continued turnover problems. Dunellen had eight more in the second for a total of 16 in the opening half. Dunellen's half ending surge couldn't have come at a better time. Manville had a 23-19 lead at one point in the second as the Destroyers were held scorelesss for a span of 3:28 before senior power forward, Lim Beltran (three field goals and five free throws for 11 points) made a pair at the foul line to make the score, 23-21 with 3:44 remaining before the break. Brock Mundy (two field goals and three free throws for seven points) then followed that up with an offensive rebound and putback to tie the game at 23-23 with 3:12 to go before halftime. Dunellen took the lead shortly after when Manville's Kyle Sopko (one field goal for two points) missed both at the charity stripe, and Schleppenbach grabbed the rebound and went down the floor for a layup attempt in which he was fouled on.

The junior point guard, who played an integral part to the Junior Destroyers success in 2005-06, proceeed to make both foul shots for the Destroyers first lead since the two minute mark of the first quarter. One factor that prevented the Mustangs from taking full advantage of Dunellen's miscues was a below par performance at the foul line. Manville made just four of eight shots at the line in the second quarter, and just 6 of 13 in the first half. After a Mike Knitowski (three field goals, five free throws, and two threes for a game high 17 points) trey at the 7:45 mark of the third quarter that pulled Manville to within one at 29-28, the Destroyers embarked on an 11-3 spurt over the next 5:33 to take a nine point, 40-31 lead. Beltran played a pivotal role in the run with five points on three of four free throws and a layup at the 3:26 mark off an assist by Schleppenbach. Knitowski, who scored eight of his 17 points in the third, did his best to keep the Mustangs in the game with a free throw at the 5:56 mark, a steal off Schleppenbach for a layup at the 4:07 mark, an assist on a three pointer from Brian Rock at the 1:57 mark and a pair of free throws at the 1:05 mark to make it a six point game, 42-36.

Although it lost Wenzel to his fifth foul at the 4:59 mark, Dunellen still managed to end up the third with the final three points for a 45-36 lead, and began the fourth with seven of the first ten points for a 52-39 lead at the 6:03 mark. Once again, Knitowski tried to get his team back in the game with a three pointer at the 5:50 mark to pull the Mustangs to within ten at 52-42, but that would be as close as Manville would get. The Destroyers closed out the game with an 11-4 run capped by a pair of free thorws at the 1:46 mark by Beltran for a 61-46 lead. Dunellen went on to win by seventeen to move over .500 for the first time this season at 3-2. Meanwhile, Manville is still searching for its first win of the season at 0-5. The Destroyers will take on Middlesex in the final on Friday night. The Blue Jays defeated Bound Brook in their opening round matchup by a score of 57-53. This marks the third straight year that the Blue Jays and Destroyers will play for the title.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 26, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--Roselle Park Tourney

Johnson Regional Stuns Metuchen In Overtime, 47-46

By Greg Machos
December 26, 2006

ROSELLE PARK, NJ--For the past two years, the Metuchen Bulldogs have reigned as the Champion of the Roselle Park Tournament. In 2004, the Bulldogs made a statement by winning the tournament with victories over Johnson Regional and Hanover Park. Then, in 2005, the Bulldogs did the same thing again to win the tournament although Hanover Park almost made a monumental comeback in the Championship Game. So, after winning two straight games to get back up to .500 following tough losses to Spotswood and Bishop Ahr to start the 2006-07 season, Metuchen had to feel good going into the holidays.

However, following a difficult 47-46 loss to Johnson Regional of Clark in the opening round of the 2006 Roselle Park Tournament, the Bulldogs find themselves on this evening after Christmas back to a game under .500, and more importantly deprived of much needed momentum heading towards the new year and the return to conference play. Metuchen had an opportunity to close the game out in regulation, but a couple ill-advised shots down the stretch, and a wild final minute that culminated with a Anthony Castaldo (5 FGs, three pointer, and 3 FTs for 16 points) steal off of an errant lob pass by Lamar Nichols (5 FGs, and a three pointer for 13 points) for a game tying layup with eight seconds left in regulation, and the Bulldogs found themselves playing in overtime. Earlier in the fourth, Metuchen had taken the lead on a three pointer by Nichols at the five minute mark, and then increased the margin to four on one of two foul shots and an off balanced layup by DeJuan Miller (5 FGs and 8 FTs for a game high 18 points) made it 40-36 with 3:36 remaining in the contest.

However, the Bulldogs, which were outscored by an 18-10 margin over the final 12:36 of regulation, were held scoreless over the final 3:36 while the Crusaders chipped away, and ultimately forced the extra session. In the added frame, Johnson Regional quickly took the lead after both teams exchanged turnovers in the first 27 seconds of overtime. The Crusaders moved out in front on a layup at the 3:31 mark that made the score, 42-40. Metuchen tried to respond right back with a score of its own, but Corey Preston (FG and three pointer for 5 points) misfired on a jumper, and then Lamar Nichols, who grabbed the offensive rebound, had his shot blocked by a Johnson Regional player. Sebastian Szynwelski (one field goal for two points) fouled that Crusader player, who went on to make a pair at the charity stripe for a 44-40 lead with 3:06 remaining in overtime. A similar sequence occurred on the following Bulldog possession as Preston missed another jumper, which was rebounded by Szynwelski, but Nichols missed a subsequent shot, and Szynwelski fouled again.

Unable to take advantage, Johnson Regional missed the front end of the one and one with 2:24 to play, and Metuchen stormed back down the floor with a score on a Phil Lewis (a field goal for 2 points) penetration and dish to Nichols for a layup that rolled in to make it 44-42 at the 2:09 mark. The Cruaders then got a pair of free throws from Steve Cancelliere (4 points) at the 1:53 mark to make the score 46-42, and then one of two at the line at the 1:20 mark following a layup by Chris Pisano at the 1:38 mark to make it a three point game at 47-44. A bit more than twenty seconds later, Lewis attacked the 2-3 zone defense deployed by the Crusaders to put up a jumper in the key that had a kind bounce for a score that made it 47-46. After all the tumult that had transpired, the Bulldogs still had an opportunity to win the contest. Following a Johnson Regional timeout with 0:39 left in overtime, the Crusaders missed a pair of foul shots at the 0:09 mark, but the Bulldogs couldn't pull out the win as a last second shot attempt by Lewis fell short, and the Mountain Valley Conference school came away with a hard fought, 47-46 win.

Johnson Regional, which made 14 field goals, three treys, and ten foul shots for its 47 points, jumped out to an early 14-10 lead at the end of one quarter, and maintained a slim one point, 20-19 advantage going into the halftime break despite only scoring six second quarter points. However, Metuchen, which only scored in double figures in two of the five periods played, put together its best quarter of the matchup with a 15-11 showing that catapulted the Bulldogs to a 34-31 lead going into the final period. Arriving at the 5:17 mark of the third, I realized that Metuchen had already taken a two point, 24-22 lead. Metuchen then added a bucket to make it a four point advantage at 26-22 with 4:36 to go in the stanza as the Crusaders called for time. Following the timeout, Johnson nailed a three pointer that made it a one point game at 26-25 with 4:25 to play in the period.

DeJuan Miller helped the Bulldogs push the lead back to three with an offensive rebound and putback at the 3:38 mark, but Metuchen gave it right back with a defensive breakdown that resulted in an easy basket for Johnson Regional at the 3:19 mark to make it a one point margin again at 28-27. However, the Bulldogs closed out the third quarter with six of the last ten points including a steal and a dunk by Nichols to help make it a three point, 34-31 lead going into the fourth. Metuchen could have made the margin even greater, but Miller was called for an offensive foul on a fierce drive to the hoop shortly after Nichols score. With the victory, the Crusaders raised their record to .500 at 2-2 overall while Metuchen dropped to 2-3 on the season matching the loss total for the entire 2005-06 season, which brought the school its first GMC Blue Division title since 1987, and first GMCT title game appearance since 1988.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 26, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--John "Butch" Kowal Tourney

Muse Comes Up Big For Tigers In Win Over Stevens, 46-44

By Greg Machos
December 26, 2006

RAHWAY, NJ--After a first half that saw South Plainfield only muster 12 points on 5 of 22 shooting from the field for 22.7 percent, the Tigers woke up with a 34-20 showing in the second half that included a 22-14 effort in the third period, and a 12-6 edge in the fourth to propel them to a 46-44 opening round victory over J.P. Stevens in the 2006 John "Butch" Kowal Tournament at Rahway High School. Opie Muse led the change with a double-double of 18 points on 6 of 14 field goals and 6 of 8 at the foul line and 12 rebounds along with four assists, three steals, and three blocks for the victors. One of the three blocks came at a pivotal moment that decided the game. With four seconds remaining, Muse blocked a scoring attempt by Stevens sophomore, Kenny Bland (10 points on 3 of 10 FGs and 4 of 4 FTs along with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block).

Prior to that, Muse, who scored 13 of his 18 points over the final two periods, netted two free throws at the 36 second mark to give the Tigers a two point lead. J.P. Stevens, which defeated South Plainfield in the opening round of the Kowal Tournament last season, 40-34, had several chances late to either tie or win the game including a long shot at the buzzer by sophomore, Nick Pol (0 of 4 FGs, 4 rebounds, and an assist), that hit back iron as time ran out. At one point early in the second half, South Plainfield trailed 26-12 after Bland made a pair of free throws at the 7:08 mark, but the Tigers finished strong with a 34-18 surge to pull out the win. First, the Tigers, which scored more points in the third quarter than the entire first half, embarked on a 15-7 sput that was highlighted by several key plays to put them back in the game at 33-27 with 2:02 remaining in the period.

Shamai Santiago (5 of 14 field goals including three treys for 13 points along with 6 rebounds, 5 steals, and an assist) and Muse ignited the rally with layups that helped close the gap to ten at 28-18 before Stevens got a score to make it 30-18 with 4:08 left in the frame. Then, after the Hawks pushed the lead back to fourteen at 32-18, Muse passed off to fellow senior Danny Hubner for a foul line jumper that made the score, 32-20 with 3:28 left in the third. Following a pair of free throws at the 3:06 mark by Muse, the Tigers came up with a crucial play of the game. On an inbounds play by JPS, Shamai Santiago showed some great hustle to steal the inbounds pass in the Hawks backcourt, and race to the basket for the layup to make it an eight point, 32-24 Stevens lead with 2:44 remaining in the period.

Danny McCreesh (1 of 5 FGs including a three and 0 of 1 FTs for 3 points, 4 assists, and a rebound) then got into the act with a three pointer that capped the run before the Hawks Alex Cacoilo (1 of 8 FGs including a three pointer, and 1 of 2 FTs for 4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks) made one of two at the charity stripe to make the score, 33-27. Cacoilo and Santiago then added threes while Muse scored another field goal to make it a 36-34 Hawk lead before Bland netted a pair of free throws at the 30 second mark to make it 38-34 going into the fourth and final period of play. The Tigers ended up with nine field goals including two threes, and 2 of 2 free throws while turning it over only once after having 16 in the opening half alone. In the fourth, the Tigers opened things up with a 9-2 spurt to take a 43-40 lead with 2:45 remaining. Sophomore Mike Burton sparked the final assault with a nice quick move to the basket for a layup that pulled South Plainfield to within two at 38-36 with 7:03 to play.

Then, over the next 2:39, both teams exchanged scores as Stevens got its only field goal of the period while Burton came up with a steal and a short jumper to keep the Tigers within two at 40-38 with 4:24 to play as the Hawks called for time. After the timeout, SPHS tied things up as junior forward, Benny Gibson (1 of 4 FGs for 2 points, 3 steals, and 2 assists) connected on his only field goal of the game to make it 40-40 with 3:40 left. Nearly a minute later, Santiago struck for his final three and field goal of the game to give South Plainfield its first lead of the contest at 43-40 with 2:45 remaining. Sophomore Myles Reuben (4 of 13 FGs including a three pointer, and 5 of 5 FTs for 14 points, 10 rebounds, an assist, steal, and block), who had four of the six points in the final period canned a pair at the foul line to pull JPS to within one at 43-42 with 2:38 to play. Fifty-two seconds later, after another Hawk timeout with 2:11 to play, Reuben netted two more from the line to give JPS its last lead of the game at 46-44 with 1:46 left.

At that point, Muse took over. The senior forward and three year varsity player, who played with reckless abandon in the second half, first came up with one of two at the line to tie the game at 44-44 with 1:13 to play. Thirty-seven seconds later, Muse got to the line again, and this time, sank both foul shots to give South Plainfield a 46-44 lead. McCreesh had a chance to put the game away, but missed the front end of a one and one with 11 seconds left that the Hawks rebounded to call timeout with ten ticks left on the clock. JPS set up a final play that broke South Plainfield's pressure and got the ball into the hands of Bland, who scored 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his first varsity game for Stevens in a 70-62 victory over the weekend against J.F. Kennedy. Bland went up for a layup, but Muse swatted it into the stands bringing a loud roar out of the folks in the Earl Walter Gymnasium at Rahway High School. J.P. Stevens still had a chance for one final shot, and got it into the hands of a reliable shooter in Pol, who sank a clutch three on opening weekend against Wardlaw. Pol's shot was on the mark, but too long as the Tigers emerged victorious, 46-44.

One of the key factors in the game was turnovers. Both teams combined for 48 on the game including 32 alone in the first half. However, South Plainfield did a better job of protecting the ball with three second half turnovers while forcing 13 by the Hawks. The Tigers also did a solid job of limiting the Hawks to very little in the way of shooting success in the second half. After a first half that saw JPS go 11 of 21 from the floor for 52.4 percent, SPHS held Stevens to just 5 of 27 from the field over the final two periods for 18.5 percent. As a team, J.P. Stevens went 16 of 48 overall for 33 percent, but much of that was attributed to the triumverate of Patrick Lem (6 of 8 FGs for 12 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist), Reuben, and Bland, who combined for 13 of 31 field goals including a three pointer for 41.9 percent as well as a perfect 9 of 9 from the foul line for 36 of the 44 points, or 81.8 percent of the offense. The rest of the Hawks went a combined 3 of 17 from the field for 17.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the Tigers, which ended up shooting 18 of 53 for 34 percent, went 13 of 31 in the second half for 41.9 percent. South Plainfield ended up with more field goals (18-16), threes (4-2), blocks (5-4), steals (16-6), and fewer turnovers (19-29) while J.P. Stevens was better at the line (10 of 11 for 90.9 percent vs. 6 of 9 for 66.7 percent), more assists (15-13), and rebounds (33-28). The Hawks outscored the Tigers in the first two periods while South Plainfield outscored JPS in each of the final two periods. SPHS had only three field goals in the first period and two in the second while J.P. Stevens was a blistering 6 of 7 from the field in the opening period including a perfect four of four by Lem for eight of his twelve points. Bland had the other two buckets for the Hawks along with two assiss, two rebounds, and a block. With the win, the Tigers advance to the semifinals to take on Westfield, which defeated St. Peter's Prep of Jersey City in another defensive struggle, 35-32. South Plainfield is off to its best start in two years at 3-1 overall, and in conference while Stevens drops to 2-3 overall, and 2-2 in the GMC.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 26, 2006
Holiday Tournaments--John "Butch" Kowal Tourney

Westfield Wins An Ugly One Over St. Peter's Prep, 35-32

By Greg Machos
December 26, 2006

RAHWAY, NJ--It was a defensive scrum to put it mildly. Previously undefeated St. Peter's Prep from Hudson County, was held scoreless in a second quarter that saw only five total points, and went 4 of 19 from the field and 0 of 4 at the foul line while committing nine turnovers as the Blue Devils of Westfield, which hail from Union County and the Watchung Conference, went up 14-8, and led by as many as a dozen with 2:31 to go on their way to a 35-32 victory over the Marauders in the opening round of the 2006 John "Butch" Kowal Tournament at Rahway High School.

Led by Mike Venezia (2 of 8 FGs including a three pointer, and 6 of 8 from the line for 11 points, 4 assists, three steals, and three rebounds), Westfield forced 19 St. Peter's Prep turnovers, which they converted into 12 points including nine in the first half to take the early six point lead. The Marauders shot just 12 of 43 from the field including a three pointer for 27.9 percent while going 7 of 14 at the foul line for 50 pecent. Meanwhile, Westfield only managed to fare a little bit better going 11 of 37 for 29.7 percent, but made more threes (3-1) and performed better at the charity stripe with a 10 of 15 effort for 66.7 percent. St. Peter's Prep actualy had more rebounds (22-19), more steals (11-8), and more charges (2-0) while Westfield held edges in assists (10-9). Both teams had one blocked shot. Although the Blue Devils scored in single digits in three of the four quarters, and were outscored by the Marauders in each of the final two periods, they found a way to win this defensive slugfest.

Westfield got the early jump in the first quarter as Venezia opened the game with a three pointer and the Blue Devils got a field goal off another St. Peter's Prep turnover for a 5-2 lead with 4:58 remaining in the opening frame. St. Peter's Prep, which is located in Jersey City, closed out the first quarter with an 8-4 run as the Marauders went 4 of 13 from the field for 30.8 percent while missing both free throw opportunities. Westfield didn't fare much better going cold after the quick start, and ending up 4 of 11 from the floor for 36.4 percent. However, Venezia's three pointer proved to be the difference up to this point as both teams combined for nine first period turnovers. The second period only got worse as St. Peter's couldn't buy a shot as it missed all eight of its attempts in the stanza while Westfield went just 2 of 11 from the floor in addition to 1 of 2 at the foul line to take a six point lead into the locker room.

Venezia got things going quickly again for the Blue Devils with a foul line jumper that was true at the 7:22 mark to make it a three point lead at 11-8. Up to this point, seven of Westfield's eleven points came as a result of St. Peter's Prep turnovers. Following two missed free throws by the Marauders at the 5:24 mark, Venezia struck again with one of two at the line with 4:57 to go before the break to make it a 12-8 game. By the time, the game approached the final minute of the first half, St. Peter's Prep's frustration over its anemic offensive effort boiled over as their head coach, Michael Kelly took his tie off, and threw it away much to the delight of a raucous Westfield student section as the Marauders called for time at the 1:19 mark with the Blue Devils now leading 14-8. The tactic, tie and all, didn't work, as St. Peter's Prep remained scoreless for the rest of the period, and Westfield went into the locker room up by six.

The second half saw St. Peter's Prep do a bit better with an 8 of 25 effort from the field for 32 percent while Westfield went 5 of 15 for 33 percent. Despite turning the ball over seven times, the Marauders pulled to within four on a 10-8 showing as they shot 4 of 13 from the floor for 30.8 percent while making two of four at the foul line for its ten points. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils shot better, but had fewer field goals going 3 of 8 for 37.5 percent in addition to a 2 of 4 effort at the line. Fans on both sides picked it up a notch as St. Peter's Prep opened the second half by scoring seven of the first ten points over the first 4:17 of the third to cut the Westfield advantage down to two at 17-15. From that point until nearly the end, both student sections were loud and raucous, which was quite a departure from the first half when Westfield stymied St. Peter's Prep. Following a Blue Devil timeout at the 3:43 mark, Westfield pushed the lead back up to three on a steal that was almost converted for a layup, but still ended up with a one of two showing at the line to make it 18-15 with 3:17 left in the frame.

St. Peter's Prep continued to creep closer with a steal for a layup at the 2:40 mark followed by a charge on Venezia at the 1:49 mark, and the score now reading 18-17 in favor of Westfield. The Marauders then actually tied the game at the 1:34 mark with one of two foul shots to make the score 18-18. However, the team from Jersey City was unable to take the lead as the Blue Devils ended the period with a 4-0 run including two free throws at the 20 second mark to make it 22-18 going into the fourth, and then began the final quarter with a 13-5 spurt highlighted three point play at the 5:45 mark, and a three pointer at the 4:15 mark to take a commanding 35-23 lead with 2:31 to play. The Maruaders mounted a valiant comeback effort with a 9-0 tear to end the contest, but it was too little, too late as the Blue Devils advanced to take on South Plainfield in the semifinals. With the win, Westfiled moves up to 2-1 on the year while St. Peter's Prep, which will take on J.P. Stevens in a consolation round game, drops to 3-1.

Scotch Plains Gets A Scare From Summit, But Prevails, 63-57

RAHWAY, NJ--Scotch Plains-Fanwood found itself in quite an unexpected struggle against former Watchung Conference foe, Summit in an opening round game of the 2006 John "Butch" Kowal Tournament. Following an opening night loss to Mendham, where the Hilltoppers only scored 21 points, it seemed like the Raiders would have an easy time of it especially after defeating North Jersey Section 2 Group III defending champion, Newark Shabazz the same night. However, that was not the case. After taking a one point, 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, Scotch Plains fell behind to the Hilltoppers from the Hills Division of the Iron Hills Conference by three at the half, 31-28 on the strength of an 18-13 showing in the second frame.

In the third quarter though, Scotch Plains rallied to tie the game, and then take a 42-40 lead late in the period. The Raiders finished the quarter scored six of the last eight points in the third to take a 48-42 lead going into the fourth. Summit then rallied with an 8-2 run of their own over the first 2:22 of the final frame to knot the game up again at 50-50 at the 5:38 mark. The Raiders took the lead back about a minute and a half later on one of two free throws that made the score, 51-50 with 4:13 remaining. Scotch Plains increased the lead to three at 53-50 before a Summit player was fouled on a three point attempt, and made all three foul shots to square the game once more at 53-53 with 3:11 to go. The Raiders reasserted their control with a 4-0 run over a span of 1:13 to take a 57-53 lead. The run was capped by a bank shot that provided a crucial four point cushion at the 1:58 mark.

The Raider lead fluctuated between two and four points over the next 1:37, but Summit couldn't get any closer. Following a Hilltopper score at the 21 second mark to pull within two at 59-57, Scotch Plains put the game away with two free throws at the 15 second mark to make it 61-57, and then another two foul shots to round out the final six point, 63-57 victory. Greg Bayard led all scorers with 26 points while teammate Brian Dougher chipped in with 15 for the winners while Travis Marchell had a team high 22 points in a losing cause for Summit. With the win, Scotch Plains raised its record to 2-1 overall while Summit fell to 1-2. More details on this game are available at the Courier-News web site.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 23, 2006
First Full Week Of Season

Patriots Edge Bears In 2OT On Salvador Jumper At 1.6, 57-55

By Greg Machos
December 23, 2006

COLONIA, NJ--On this day before the night before Christmas, a mouse might not have been stirring, but the scheduling gremlins were. Cardinal McCarrick at Bishop Ahr was the originally scheduled game at 1:00 PM on Saturday afternoon to be covered by this web site. However, the scheduling scrooges decided to change the time to 6:00 PM. As a result, GMC Hoops was forced to find an alternative.

Perhaps Santa told his elves that the site has worked really hard the past six plus years, and deserved something nice for the holidays. Whatever the reason, there couldn't have been a better game to see on Saturday, especially in light of some of the recent defensive struggles that have been witnessed. In a game that went double overtime, had eight lead changes and four ties over the final 19:30 of both regulation and overtime combined after East Brunswick had led throughout, and where neither team had a lead bigger than eight points, the third ranked Colonia Patriots did what all great teams do, and that's find a way to win.

With star junior point guard, Brandon Hall sitting on the bench after picking up his fifth foul earlier in the second extra session, Colonia still managed to pull out a thrilling double-overtime win on the heroics of senior reerve guard, Mike Salvador. First, Salvador, who saw quite a bit of action in this one due to Hall's foul woes as well as the struggles of sophomore guard, J.J. D'Amico, connected on a jumper from the right side at the 2:10 mark of the second overtime to give the Pats a two point, 55-53 lead. Then, after a Kevin Edmonds block on EB's Eric Eckhardt, and a subsequent score by the Bears' John McLaughlin off an inbounds lob pass to knot the game at 55-55 with 26.5 left in the extra session, Salvador took a side out of bounds pass in the Colonia backcourt from Edmonds, dribbled up the floor, got a step on East Brunswick's Jason henning to give him just enough room to fire up the game winning shot with 1.6 seconds to play as Colonia won, 57-55, in a battle of two 3-0 teams at Colonia High School.

Both teams had come in playing quite well although it was more expected at Colonia than EB this pre-season. Coming into opening weekend, the Patriots earned a number three ranking in the GMC Hoops and Home News-Tribune GMC Top Ten while the Bears had come in at number nine in the GMC Hoops Poll, and unranked in the other. However, prior to tip-off, THNT issued its latest weekly rankings with Colonia still third, but East Brunswick moving up to fifth. The Patriots started the season with two wins on the road at Carteret (52-36) and North Brunswick (44-37) while defeating New Brunswick in a defensive slugfest (49-37) at home earlier in the week. Meanwhile, the Bears opened the season with victories at home over Old Bridge (53-46) and Perth Amboy (62-52) while winning on the road at J.P. Stevens (52-41). Colonia entered the contest averaging 48.3 points per game while yielding just 36.7 points per game. On the other side, East Brunswick has been more offensive minded averaging 55.7 points per contest while giving up just 46.3.

In this game though, East Brunswick showed that it belonged exactly where it was in the latest polls despite losing its entire starting five and approximately 90 percent of its scoring from last season's GMCT and Central Jersey Group IV Elite Eight squad that finished 18-10. For the first 20:30, the Bears took it to the hometown team. Twice early on in the first half, EB held an eight piont advantage. Both teams struggled to get their offenses on track over the first two periods, but picked things up significantly in the third as each scored 20 points, which surpassed their first half scoring totals. From that point on, each team found a way to answer the other despite the solid defensive play. Although the defenses reasserted themselves in the final period of regulation, Colonia edged EB with a 12-11 showing that knotted the score at 49-49. The first overtime saw neither team score for the first 2:06 as both squads exchanged turnovers before John McLaughlin scored on an offensive rebound and putback to make the score, 51-49 with 1:54 left.

Colonia answered with the next four points as Salvador, who scored six of his eight points for the game over the span of the two extra sessions, knocked down a short jumper from the right corner off an assist by Hall at the 1:38 mark, and then following an East Brunswick timeout at the 1:20 mark, Edmonds scored off a feed by Nnamdi Usuwa with 41 seconds to go in the first extra period for a two point, 53-51 Patriot lead. The Patriots appeared to have the game won when Joe LaSala came up with a huge offensive charge on McLaughlin with 33 seconds left, but the home team couldn't quite put the game away. With a bit less than 24 seconds to go in the first overtime, Colonia threw the ball away out of bounds giving the Bears new life. With a chance to force another overtime, East Brunswick took full advantage as Travis Heilman passed off to McLaughlin for a score that squared the game at 53-53, and forced one more extra session.

It was quite a charged atmosphere in the CHS Gym as both schools had their respective cheering sections on hand for the contest. Like the two teams, the cheering sections fought each other tooth and nail with verbal volleys that countered the other's. However, nothing got out of control although Colonia's fans had the last say at the end when their team emerged victorious. Leading the way for Colonia in the scoring column was senior forward, Joe LaSala, who put together a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds in addition to a key charge in the first overtime. LaSala picked up his eleven points on four field goals and three free throws. Nnamdi Usuwa chipped in with 9 points on four field goals and a foul shot while three players: Salvador, Edmonds, and J.J. D'Amico each had eight points. Salvador connected on three field goals and two foul shots while both Edmonds and D'Amico each had four field goals.

Before fouling out with 3:33 left in the final overtime period played, Hall collected seven points on three field goals and a foul shot while handing out six assists and swiping seven steals. Senior reserves Bryant Androvich (a field goal), Sal McClain (a field goal), and Brenden Wagner (a field goal) rounded out the Patriot scoring with two points each. On the other side of the ledger, East Brunswick was led by a monster performance from McLaughlin. The senior forward did it all with three point shots from the perimeter, offensive rebounds and putbacks, and tip-ins off lob passes for 30 points on twelve field goals, a three pointer, and three free throws. McLaughlin, who saw some time last season as a reserve, accounted for 54.5 percent of his team's offense. Travis Heilman chipped in with nine points on a field goal, two threes, and a foul shot for nine points. Eric Eckhardt helped out with six points on three field goals, and Scott Stolzenberg added four points on two field goals. Steve Grossman had four points as well, but on four from the line while Andrew Golczewski rounded out the Bear scoring with two points on a field goal.

For the game, Colonia as a team got its 57 points on 25 field goals and seven foul shots while EB got its 55 on 19 field goals, three treys, and eight foul shots. Colonia actually outscored EB in three of the six quarters with two of the other three ending up in ties. Besides the scheduling change, another twist of fate came into play concerning the actual video footage of this contest. I had not intended to bring my camera with me, but I fell asleep a bit later than I had planned on Saturday morning, and got up about ten minutes before the scheduled tip-off. Beginning with last season, I had made up my mind to bring the camera along to games I knew I was going to be late to since it made no sense to track stats, and the video would make up for the lack of statistical analysis in the articles. Consequently, the camera came along for the ride, and an unexpected thriller of a game. Arriving some 35 to 40 minutes after the scheduled start, I was happy to see that I didn't miss much.

I sat down in the gym behind the Colonia bench with about 3:30 still left in the opening quarter, and East Brunswick ahead, 8-5. Within the first minute of my arrival, both teams exchanged turnovers including an over and back on LaSala at the 2:43 mark. McLaughlin then got going with a jumper from the right wing at the 2:05 mark to make it 10-5, and shortly afterward, a three point play on a layup off an assist by Steve Grossman as he was fouled with 1:45 to go in the frame. With EB now leading by eight at 13-5, Colonia needed to respond in order to keep the game from getting away. The Patriots got the last score of the opening period as Hall passed off to Edmonds for a layup with 1:02 left following a Salvador steal to make the score, 13-7 going into the second quarter of play. The Pats then began the second with another score as LaSala got a bucket in the lane to make it 13-9 with 7:40 left in the first half.

Colonia could have gotten closer, but Edmonds missed a dunk, and the Bears capitalized with a score to make it 15-9. Fifteen seconds after that, McLaughlin scored on an offensive rebound and putback off a Golczewski miss for another eight point lead at 17-9 with 5:35 to go before intermission. Colonia tightened things up again with a score to make it 17-11 as EB called timeout with just under five minutes left in the first half. The Patriots could have crept closer too, but Heilman blocked a McClain shot at the 4:18 mark, and then LaSala couldn't cash in on being fouled on a putback attempt as he missed a pair of free throws at the 4:05 mark. Heilman then converted one of two from the line at the other end to make it 18-11 with 3:54 to play in the half before the Patriots closed with a 6-0 run to go into the locker room down one at 18-17. Highlighting the late first half outburst was a jumper by D'Amico that got a friendly shooter's roll at the 3:27 mark, and a steal and spin move for a layup by Hall at the 3:02 mark.

Like a couple of other times in this opening half, Colonia also had chances down the stretch to take the lead. With 47.75 remaining before the break, Jason Henning managed to draw an offensive foul on Hall to keep the Bears in the lead at 18-17. The Patriots won the period, 10-5, with five field goals in the frame while the Bears only had two field goals and one of two from the line. At the start of the third quarter, McLaughlin went back to it with a three pointer from Golczewski at the 7:39 mark to make it 21-17. Then, following a layup by Usuwa that made the score, 21-19 at the 7:25 mark, McLaughlin took a pass from Eckhardt and scored again to make it 23-19 at the 7:05 mark. LaSala put the Pats within two again at 23-21 with 6:51 to go in the period before Heilman scored on a three pointer to give East Brunswick a 26-21 lead at the 6:29 mark. Colonia charged back with the next four points as D'Amico connected on another jumper at the 6:07 mark, and Hall followed that up with a layup that rolled around and in to make it 26-25 at the 5:01 mark of the third.

East Brunswick responded with a 4-0 run of its own over the next 34 seconds as Eckhardt scored on a layup at the 4:42 mark to make it 28-25, and then the senior forward got an assist on a McLaughlin score as he was fouled. McLaughlin would miss the bonus free throw, but the score now read, 30-27 in favor of the Bears. Colonia had been scoreless for exactly a minute and fifteen seconds before Hall rallied the troops with a jumper at the 3:46 mark to make it a three point game at 30-27. Salvador began to get into the act with a pair of free throws to spark a 6-2 run for a Patriot, 33-32 lead with 2:30 left in the period. EB responded once again with a little run of its own as the Bears scored the next four points on four from the charity stripe by Grossman including two at the 1:12 mark that made the score, 36-33 in favor of the Bears.

Colonia, which scored on eight field goals and four free throws in the frame, ended the quarter with a 4-2 run on a score by Edmonds from Salvador and an Androvich layup from Hall as time expired for a 38-37 East Brunswick lead heading into the fourth. At the beginning of the fourth and final period, Colonia took the lead as the Pats capped a 6-2 run with a Usuwa layup from Hall to make it 39-38 with 7:05 to go in regulation. East Brunswick wouldn't go away though. Coming back, EB got a score by Golczewski and a three pointer by Heilman to make it a 43-39 with 5:47 to go in the fourth. Hall then made one of two free throws to make it 43-40 at the 4:56 mark. The Bears seemed to have Colonia on the ropes with a bucket that made it a five point game at 45-40, but the Pats rallied back with four of their own including two free throws by LaSala that made the score, 45-44 with 4:28 to play. Once more, EB tried to put Colonia away with four straight points by Eckhardt that made it 49-44, but CHS came back again with four of its own on scores by LaSala and Usuwa that made it 49-48 at the 2:17 mark as the Bears called for time.

Following the stoppage, neither team scored for a minute and ten seconds before LaSala was fouled at the 1:07 mark. He then made one of two at the line to tie the game at 49-49. With a loud crowd on both sides going into a frenzy, Colonia had two chances to win the game in regulation. First, Usuwa got a steal off McLaughlin at the 38.09 mark where the Pats called a timeout. However, CHS couldn't take advantage as Hall turned the ball over at the 15.35 mark. East Brunswick had their one shot to win the game, but Heilman missed and the Bears fouled. With 3.97 seconds left, Colonia again called for time, but ultimately didn't get a shot off after the timeout as the two teams went into overtime, and into GMC Hoops lore with what turned out to be a classic game by two proud programs. With the victory, Colonia moves up to 4-0 overall while East Brunswick drops to 3-1. The Patriots will be competing in the 2006 St. Joseph's Tournament over the holiday break while the Bears will be playin in the 2006 Vaughn Stapleton Classic at Bridgewater.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 20, 2006
First Full Week Of Season

Holmes Lifts Eagles To Upset Over Fifth Ranked Falcons, 35-33

By Greg Machos
December 20, 2006

EDISON, NJ--Back in late November and early December when the season schedule was made, the game between Edison and St. Joseph's was picked because the Eagles were an up and coming program while the Falcons are a perennial power in the GMC Red and the GMCT every year. Edison has a solid junior class that, as freshmen, was seeded fourth in the 2005 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament, and reached the quarterfinal round before being upset by twelfth seed and Cinderella Story, South Brunswick, which reached the finals before losing to J.F. Kennedy. However, both teams started off on the wrong foot this season.

On opening night, St. Joseph's dropped the varsity nightcap of a Freshmen, JV, and Varsity Tripleheader covered by GMC Hoops as it lost to top ranked South Brunswick, 61-47. Then, on Monday night, the Falcons lost a tough one to Hudson County power, Bayonne, 63-59 while seventh ranked Piscataway blew into Edison and held the Eagles to just 26 points in a twenty point victory. So, coming into Wednesday night's matchup, both teams were looking to break into the winning column. At the beginning, things appeared as if St. Joe's was going to be the one to do that. Despite four turnovers in the first 1:37 of the contest, the Falcons jumped out to an early 9-0 lead at the 4:29 mark of the first quarter as freshman guard, Steve Rennard (two three pointers for six points) and senior swingman Lamar Fisher (a field goal and 1-2 free throws) combined for all the points.

However, following an Edison timeout, the Eagles clamped down defensively, and held St. Joseph's scoreless for the rest of the period as the Falcons ended up only shooting just 3 of 12 from the floor while committing nine turnovers. Edison, which trailed after one by five, 9-4, was off to as bad a start going 2 of 11 from the field while coughing up the basketball eight times. The opening period performance by both times would be an omen of things to come as both squads combined for 44 turnovers and 20 of 89 shooting from the floor for 22.5 percent. Edison gradually improved relative to their start, and with the help of junior guard, Barry Holmes, the Eagles upset the Falcons for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign, which is the last year Edison qualified for the state tournament.

Holmes connected on four of six shots in the first half as he scored all eight of his opening half points in the second quarter to spark a 10-5 showing that tied the game up at 14-14 at the intermission. In the third period, junior forward, Nathan Otokiti took a pass from fellow junior, Ron Lordi, and scored a field goal that gave Edison a 22-21 lead with less than two minutes to go in the third as the Eagles went on a 9-2 quarter ending spurt that propelled them to a 25-21 lead going into the fourth. Despite missing two free throws with 6.6 seconds left, Holmes made two at the line just a few seconds earlier that turned out to be the difference as a Taurin Wheeler jumper was off the mark as time expired giving Edison a two point, 35-33 victory over the fifth ranked Falcons at the Eagle's Nest in South Edison on Wednesday night.

Holmes ended up shooting 4 of 11 from the field, and 2 of 6 from the foul line for 10 points while picking up four rebounds and a huge block on a Nick Marquis jump shot attempt in the second half. Otokiti chipped in with three field goals in five attempts and one of one at the charity stripe for seven points along with five rebounds and two blocks. Lordi helped out with five points on two of four shooting, and one of two at the line while also collecting two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a charge. Mike Campbell made just 2 of 9 shots for his four points, but collected seven rebounds, five blocks, two steals, and an assist while helping make life miserable for St. Joseph's Darrell Carroll (1 of 9 FGs and 7 of 10 FTs for 9 points, 9 rebounds, two steals, two charges, and a block) before the Edison senior fouled out at the 1:59 mark of the fourth quarter.

Junior guard, Josh Williams didn't make his one shot attempt from the floor, but made three of four at the free throw line for his three points along with three rebounds, two charges, and an assist. Zach Manfre (0 of 8 FGs, 2 of 2 FTs for 2 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), Terry Roland (1 of 6 FGs for 2 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, and a charge) and sophomore Erik Janz (1 of 1 FGs for 2 points, 2 steals, and an assist) rounded out the Eagle scoring with two points apiece. Andy Hernandez got into the game for Edison, but didn't score. Meanwhile, for St. Joseph's, Steve Rennard struggled for the balance of the game from the floor after his solid start, but still managed to lead the way in a losing effort.

Rennard ended up going 3 of 10 from the field including those two early threes, and a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe for a game high 12 points along with three rebounds, three assiss, and three steals. Meanwhile, Lamar Fisher managed only two of four from the line over the final 24:29 of the game for 5 points on one of six shooting and three of six at the foul line along with three assists, two rebounds, and a blocked shot. Senior forward, Kyan Hines went 0 of 3 from the field, but made both of his free throw attempts for his only two points of the game along with two rebounds and an assist. Taurin Wheeler connected on a field goal with 8.1 seconds left for his only one of the game in eight attempts while going one of two at the line for three points along with two rebounds.

Nick Marquis hit a jumper early in the fourth quarter that tied the game up at 25-25 for his only field goal of the contest in five shot attempts for two points along with an assist and a steal. Andrew Colon (0 of 1 FGs), Ian Acampado (0 of 1 FGs), Kyle Elwood (a rebound), Paul Konopacki, and Andrew Sheehy all played for the Falcons, but didn't score. For the game, Edison went 13 of 46 from the floor for 28.3 percent, 9 of 16 at the foul line for 56.3 percent, and committed 25 turnovers. On the other side of the ledger, it was even uglier as St. Joseph's went 7 of 43 from the field for 16.3 percent, and made 19 turnovers. The one bright spot for the Falcons was a 17 of 24 effort at the line for 70.8 percent including Rennard's perfect effort, and 7 of 10 from Carroll, who didn't get his only field goal until the 28.8 second mark of the fourth quarter. Despite the fact that the game was dreadful in terms of its overall offensive play, it did provide its share of drama. Neither team had a lead bigger than nine points while there were six lead change and three ties over the final 17:35 of the contest.

Edison also had advantages in other key statistical areas including rebounding (32-20), blocks (8-2), charges (4-2), steals (7-6), and assists (9-6) in addition to better shooting. St. Joseph's only got an edge in three pointers (2-0), free throws (70.8 percent versus 56.3 percent), and turnovers (19-25). In addition, the Falcons scored in double figures in only one of the periods, which was the fourth and final quarter while Edison scored in double digits in each of the last three quarters. The Eagles didn't get their first field goal of the game until the 3:04 mark of the first period when senior forward, Terry Roland, got his only points of the game on an offensive rebound and putback to make it 9-2. Roland's bucket though sparked a 14-5 spurt over the final 11:04 of the first half that helped Edison knot the game up at 14-14 at the break.

After Roland picked up his second foul of the game at the 2:31 mark, and Caroll promptly missed both free throw attempts, the Eagles crept closer on a Nathan Otokiti jumper from the right corner off an assist by Zach Manfre to make it a five point game at 9-4 with just under a minute remaining in the opening frame. The score would remain that way going into the second period. Scoring problems continued for both teams as the second quarter got underway. Neither team didn't get on the board until the 5:29 mark of the stanza when Lamar Fisher netted one of two foul shots to make it 10-4. Following an Edison timeout at the 5:06 mark, Mike Campbell sparked an 8-2 tear on a bank shot off a feed from Manfre that made the score, 10-6 with 4:36 to go before the break. Barry Holmes took over from there with his four baskets including a layup at the 1:35 mark that tied the score at 12-12, and another drive to the basket that knotted the game at 14-14 with 26 seconds left in the first half.

The score remained tied at 14-14 as both teams went to their respective locker rooms. Edison held St. Joseph's to 1 of 11 shooting in the period while the Falcons made 3 of 4 at the line for their five points. At the same time, Edison clicked on five of eleven shots from the field. Darrell Carroll, who was actually scoreless in the first half, started to come to life in the third quarter. Both teams started out cold again in the first minute and a half of the third when Carroll, connected on one of two free throws to give the Falcons a 15-14 lead at the 6:32 mark. The senior forward, who had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a charge on opening night against South Brunswick, then struck again about a minute later with a pair of foul shots to push the lead to 17-14. Shortly after that, Carroll came up big on the defensive end with his second charge of the game drawn on Holmes at the 5:24 mark.

With Carroll coming back to life, things seemed to be returning to normalcy for St. Joe's. However, Edison wouldn't go away quietly in this one. Mike Campbell got his final field goal of the game on a layup from Manfre that preceeded two free throws from Rennard for his first points of the second half to make the score, 19-16 with 3:43 left. Then, Roland came up with a charge of his own on Fisher at the 3:07 mark of the third that sparked a 4-0 Edison rally to take its first lead of the game at 20-19 before Carroll put the Falcons back on top with a pair of foul shots to make it 21-20 with 2:18 left in the period. The Eagles then closed out the quarter with the final five points as Otokiti scored a layup off a feed by Lordi for a 22-21 lead at the 1:21 mark, Josh Williams made one of two free throws at the 33.5 mark for a 23-21 lead, and then Raritan Bay Summer League alumnus, Erik Janz got a steal off Taurin Wheeler for a layup to make it a four point, 25-21 lead going into the fourth.

At the beginning of the final period, the Falcons made another push to tie the game. With the first 45 seconds or so of the fourth, St. Joseph's put together a 4-0 mini-run that consisted of two free throws by Rennard for his final points of the game to make it 25-23 at the 7:44 mark, and a jumper by Nick Marquis for his only field goal of the game to square the match up at 25-25. But, the Eagles would retake the lead with a bit more than seven minutes to go as Otokiti converted a traditional three point play that drove an unusually raucous Edison crowd into a frenzy as the score stood at 28-25 in favor of the Eagles. The Falcons tried to climb back to within one as Lamar Fisher went to the line at the 6:19 mark, but the former Sayreville transfer made only one of two at the charity stripe for his final point of the game, and Edison stayed in front, 28-26. Zach Manfre then got his only points of the contest on a pair of free throws at the 4:56 mark to make it a four point game at 30-26. Then, Lordi followed that up with a one of two effort at the line to make the score, 31-26 at the 3:04 mark after an earlier Edison timeout.

The lead would vacillate between three and five points as Carroll fouled Campbell out of the game, and sank a pair of charity shots at the 1:59 mark, and Josh Williams sank a pair of his own at the line to make it 33-28 with 57.3 to play. Taurin Wheeler got into the scoring column with one of two at the line with 43 seconds to play to make it 33-29, and then Carroll got his first and only field goal of the game as he scored off a well executed play by St. Joseph's that was initiated by a nice entry pass for an assist by Rennard to make it a two point, 33-31 Edison lead with under 30 seconds to go. Barry Holmes then sank a pair of foul shots with 22 seconds left to push the Eagle lead to four again at 35-31, but the Falcons came right back to pull within two on a short jumper by Wheeler from Fisher with 8.1 seconds left to make it 35-33. With no timeouts left, St. Joseph's had to foul Holmes with 6.6 left on the clock.

At that point, Edison appeared to go into a bit of early celebration, but Holmes would miss both free throws, and the Falcons got the rebound, and pushed the ball up the court for one last chance to tie it. Rennard got the ball to Wheeler on the right side for a last second shot from in front of the St. Joe's bench, but it was off the mark, and Edison pulled off the 35-33 upset much to the delight of their long suffering fans. With the victory, the Eagles even their record both overall and in divisional play at 1-1. Meanwhile, St. Joseph's drops to 0-3 overall on the season, and 0-2 in the GMC Red.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 19, 2006
First Full Week Of Season

Edmonds And Usuwa Lead Patriots Past Zebras In Defensive Slugfest, 49-37

By Greg Machos
December 19, 2006

COLONIA, NJ--It wasn't pretty, but the third ranked Colonia Patriots, and their first year head coach, Chris Chiera, will take it. Jumping out to a 10-0 lead on 5 of 7 shooting in the first 3:42 of the contest, Colonia shut out New Brunswick from the field (0-14 FGs) in the first quarter, and held a 12-3 advantage. Eighth ranked New Brunswick, which actually started the game with turnovers on each of its first three possessions, actually shot 5 of 32 from the floor for 15.6 percent in the first half while only making 4 of 15 at the foul line for 26.7 percent as Colonia led, 22-14. The Zebras would rally though with a 10-5 spurt to open the second half to pull within three at 27-24 with 3:06 to go in the period, but the Patriots pulled away from there for the victory with a 22-13 surge to end the game for the 49-37 victory.

It was truly a battle as both teams defenses controlled things throughout. Bodies were constantly going on the floor for loose balls while New Brunswick senior, Chauncey Whitten showed some hustle and intensity by going into the stands for a loose ball, and letting out a scream afterwards. However, Colonia executed better offensively, and made more shots, and that was the difference in the game. Led by the floor generalship of Brandon Hall (3 points on 1-7 FGs and 1-4 FTs, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals), the Pats made better plays in their offensive sets as they worked the ball around the perimeter well with passing, and had some nice looks for scores including a dunk by 6'8" center Kevin Edmonds in the first half. Edmonds ended up with 14 points on 6 of 11 field goals and a perfect 2 of 2 at the line while collecting three rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and two steals.

Nnamdi Usuwa, a sophomore forward, also had 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting while going 2 of 5 at the charity stripe. Usuwa recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals. Sophomore guard, J.J. D'Amico helped out with four of eight field goals including the game's only three pointer for nine points along with four rebounds and a block. Senior guard, Mike Salvadaor came up with three of four at the foul line late for three points while handing out a key assist, grabbing a rebound, and blocking a shot. Joe LaSala (2 of 4 FTs, four rebounds, two charges, and an assist), Sal McClain (1 of 1 FGs) and Junior forward Jeff Mentzel (1 of 3 FGs, 4 rebounds, and a block) rounded out the scoring for Colonia with two points each.

It was the first time that GMC Hoops saw New Brunswick since last year's meeting with the Patriots in the Quarterfinal round of the 2006 GMC Tournament, and the Zebras looked more out of sync offensively, but did play inspired on the boards and on the defensive end. Talented Junior, Brandon Hall, turned the ball over on the first three Zebra possessions, and had a tough night putting the ball in the basket going 6 of 21 from the field, and just 2 of 9 at the foul line, but still managed to collect a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds while handing out three assists, blocking three shots, and swiping four steals. Junior forward, Marquis Hamm chipped in with 4 of 10 shooting and 4 of 7 from the line for 12 points along with four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Chauncey Whitten, like Smith, also struggled from the floor with just 2 of 12 field goals and 0 of 4 free throws for four points while collecting nine rebounds and two steals.

Brian McCargo (1 of 3 FGs and 1 of 2 FTs for 3 points, a rebound, and a block), Chris Giles (1 of 2 FGs for 2 points and 4 rebounds), and Juan James (1 of 4 FGs for 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block) rounded out the scoring for New Brunswick, which ended up going 15 of 54 from the floor for 27.8 percent and just 7 of 22 at the charity stripe for 31.8 percent. On the other side of the ledger, Colonia cooled off somewhat after its 10-0 opening quarter flurry, but still managed to fare much better with a 19 of 45 effort from the field including a three pointer for 42.2 percent and 10 of 19 at the foul line for 52.6 percent. Behind Hall, the Pats had more assists (17-9) and fewer turnovers (23-25) while LaSala helped Colonia garner the edge in charges (2-0). New Brunswick did its damage on the boards with a 32-26 advantage, and with more steals (10-6). Both teams had five blocked shots apiece.

The Colonia Crazies were out in full force right from the opening tip, and it had an impact as New Brunswick was rattled in the opening minute. Smith turned the ball over on each of the Zebras first three possessions including a steal by Brandon Hall, which the Patriot guard tried to convert into a layup, but was fouled. First year New Brunswick coach, Jason Murdock called a thirty second timeout at the 7:01 mark with Hall at the line, and Colonia leading 4-0 on a jumper by Edmonds and an offensive rebound and putback by Usuwa. Hall would miss both foul shot attempts, but the Patriots continued to roll while Smith went 0 of 2 at the charity stripe himself at the 6:36 mark, and Marquis Hamm missed both his free throw attempts for the Zebras. With Colonia's faithful going wild, the Pats added three more scores including a short jumper by J.J. D'Amico off an assist by Usuwa that made it 10-0 as New Brunswick, which was 0 of 5 from the floor, and 0 of 4 at the line during this key stretch, called another timeout.

Colonia would get one more field goal the rest of the period (1-4 FGs) as D'Amico gave a nice feed to Jeff Mentzel for a layup at the 1:30 mark while New Brunswick finally got on the board with a pair of free throws by Hamm at the 36.68 mark, and one of two from the line by Smith at the 15.91 mark to make it 12-3 in favor of the defending GMCT Champs and GMC White Division Co-Champs going into the second quarter. New Brunswick seemed to settle down a little bit, and gradually got back into the game with a 21-15 showing over the next 11:06 to pull within three at 27-24 with a bit over three minutes left in the third quarter. Despite going 5 of 18 from the field in the second period, the Zebras forced the Patriots to turn the ball over 11 times in the first half, and crashed the boards to make the game interesting. New Brunswick, which lost to Colonia in the 2006 GMCT Quarters, 61-52, actually had quietly pulled to within three at 12-9 with 5:15 to go in the second period, but the Pats would awaken in time to keep the Zebras at bay.

Nnamdi Usuwa would catch Keviin Edmonds cutting through the lane to the basket with a nice pass that led to a one handed dunk by the 6'8" senior, which rocked the Colonia gym into a frenzy. Usuwa then grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed shot by J.J. D'Amico, and put it back in for a 16-11 lead with 3:22 remaining in the half. Brian McCargo then put the Zebras back to within four on one of two free throws with 3:20 to play before the break, but the Patriots pushed the margin back to eight going into the intermission with a 6-2 half closing flurry to make the score, 22-14. Things appeared to swing back into New Brunswick's favor in the beginning of the third quarter as the Zebras scored 10 of the first 15 points of the second half to make it a three point game. Brandon Smith played a big part in that with perhaps his best stretch of the game. Smith scored a layup off a feed by Juan James as he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw to make it 24-18 at the 6:05 mark of the third.

Following his first score of the new half, Smith grabbed an offensive rebound, and put it back in as he was again fouled, but once more, he missed the three point play opportunity, and the score stood 27-22 in favor of Colonia at the 3:29 mark. The junior point guard helped cap the rally with an assist to Marquis Hamm for a score that compelled Coach Chiera and his team to call a timeout at the 3:06 mark with the score, 27-24 in favor of the Patriots. After the timeout, the Pats held the Zebras scoreless for the rest of the period while getting a kind bounce on a pass from Bryant Androvich to J.J. D'Amico for a layup at the 1:59 mark. Then, following a 30 second Zebra timeout, Brandon Hall helped Colonia finish up the quarter with a nice lob pass on the side out of bounds to Kevin Edmonds for a tip-in, and a 31-24 advantage going into the fourth and final period of play. Hall would come up with another key play to help the Patriots pull away in the fourth.

In the beginning of the fourth quarter, New Brunswick pulled to within five again as Smith handed off another assist to James for a short jumper that made it 31-26 with 6:26 to go in the game, but Hall got a key steal off a New Brunswick player for a layup that was his first and only field goal of the game to make it 33-26 in favor of Colonia with 6:01 remaining. Nnamdi Usuwa followed that up with a pair of foul shots at the 5:17 mark, and then Hall struck again with another nice look to Edmond for a layup to answer a Zebra score, and keep the lead at nine, 37-28 with just under four minutes to go. The Patriots then made it a crushing 10-2 tear as D'Amico connected on a jumper from the left side off an assist by Salvador, and then Edmonds made a pair of free throws at the 2:09 mark to make it 41-28. Although New Brunswick outscored Colonia the rest of the way, 9-8, it wasn't enough as the Pats won, 49-37. With the victory, the Patriots remain undefeated, and in sole possession of first place in the GMC White at 2-0 while New Brunswick falls into a six team log jam for second place in divisional play at 1-1.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 18, 2006
First Full Week Of Season

Francisco Leads Ahr Team Effort To Beat Metuchen, 68-53

By Greg Machos
December 18, 2006

NORTH EDISON, NJ--Corey Francisco put in a solid double-double effort with 20 points and 17 rebounds along with seven assists, three steals, and a block while both junior forward Martese Street (5 of 5 FGs and 1 of 1 FTs for 11 points) and Dan Hurley (4 of 4 FGs and 1 of 1 FTs for 9 points) were perfect from the floor and foul line to lead fourth ranked Bishop Ahr to a big win over a sixth ranked Metuchen team that finds itself a surprising 0-2 after losing opening night to Spotswood at home, 57-47. The Trojans jumped out to a 31-20 halftime lead as they connected on 13 of 33 shots for 39.4 percent, and four of four at the line while holding Metuchen to just 7 of 24 shooting for 29.2 percent, and forced eleven first half turnovers.

However, the Bulldogs, which are the defending GMC Blue Champs, GMCT and CJ Group I runner-up, made a game of it in the third quarter as they put together some fullcourt pressure that made Ahr turn the ball over, and rush shots, particularly up close. The result was a 13-5 spurt to close to within three at 36-33. In the end though, that would be as close as Metuchen would get as BGA pulled away with a 13-6 run to end the third, and a 13-3 tear to open the fourth for a 26-9 second half surge that propelled them to a twenty point, 62-42 lead with 3:05 to go as it won, 68-53 in North Edison on Monday night. Mike Williamson overcame a slow shooting start (0-4 first quarter FGs) to end up with 12 points along with five assists, two steals, and a rebound to help in the winning cause while Billy Rooney, who was injured in the first half, returned to play in the second, and ended up with just two points, but orchestrated the offense quite well with five assists, two steals, and two rebounds.

Francisco did more than just score and rebound too. The senior, who is fast approaching Ahr's all time leading scorers mark held presently by Matt Golden (1990), also added four assists, three steals, and a blocked shot. Street added six rebounds, two steals, and an assist while Hurley, who came back to play this season after focusing on football the previous two years chipped in with five rebounds and an assist. Junior guard, Derek Figueredo pitched in also with five points on a three pointer and two free throws while grabbing two boards and picking up two steals. Senior forward, Zack Widdoss also chipped in with five points on two field goals and a free throw while also collecting four rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Rounding out the scoring for the Trojans were sophomore Matt Sheehy (2-2 FTs for two points), junior Kevin Uszenski (1-2 FTs for one point), and Dennis Cerami (1-2 FTs for a point). Justin Dewis, Jordan Madsen, Matt Fiorino also played, but didn't score.

For the Bulldogs of Metuchen, junior forward, DeJuan Miller led the way with 15 points on 6 of 17 shooting from the field along with 3 of 8 from the foul line while picking up eight rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and an assist. Teammate and senior point guard, Jon Brown chipped in with 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting including four three pointers while also collecting seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks, and a charge. Corey Preston was three of nine from the floor including two treys for eight points along with four assists and a steal while senior guard, Lamar Nichols was 2 of 11 from the field and 2 of 5 from the line for six points as well as eight rebounds, two assists, and a block. Freshman Evan Carberry (3 of 6 FGs for six points and a rebound, and a steal), Sebastian Szynwelski (1 of 2 FGs for 2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal), and Cody Preston (2-2 FTs for 2 points and a rebound) rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs while Chris Pisano (three rebounds and two assists) and Phil Lewis (two rebounds) also played, but didn't score.

Before I go on any further with this article, I must inform all of you, that the aforementioned statistics are definitely not 100 percent accurate. The reason for that is at halftime of this game, the pen I brought with me to the game to write down notes, ran out of ink. This was actually the second day in a row that has happened. At the Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic on Sunday, another pen I had ran out of ink at the half of the game played between Hun and American Christian. Luckily, I was able to get a pen from the folks at Seton Hall. On Monday night, I wasn't so lucky. Nevertheless, I pressed on and tried to do the best I could in light of the circumstances. So, my apologies for that. I made sure on Tuesday night that I had an extra pen for the Colonia-New Brunswick game. There are more details on this game in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere courtesy of our Bishop Ahr Volunteer, who happened to be at the game. Special thanks to him for his help.

Despite going 6 of 19 from the floor in the opening period including a three pointer by Francisco, BGA managed to grab a 15-10 lead as Metuchen didn't fare much better shooting 4 of 13 from the floor including two threes by Brown and Corey Preston. As a matter of fact, four of the Bulldogs seven shots made over the first two periods were threes, and they ended up with six for the game. Those threes helped Metuchen, which just shot 20 of 57 overall for 35.1 percent as well as 7 of 15 from the line for 46.7 percent, stay in the game until Ahr pulled away with its late surge. The Trojans, which ended up 27 of 57 from the field for 47.4 percent and 11 of 16 at the line for 68.8 percent, performed better in the second quarter with a 7 of 14 showing for 50 percent along with a perfect two of two at the line for its 16 points. Meanwhile, Metuchen continued to sputter with three shots made in eleven attempts from the field, and seven turnovers including five that came in the first 2:16 of the frame.

In the early part of the third quarter, the Bulldogs came out of the locker room at halftime with a purpose and a different strategy. Metuchen deployed full court pressure on the Trojans, and the change in tactics had an immediate benefit. While Ahr was rattled a bit by the defensive pressure, Metuchen capitalized with a couple threes and some other big plays to cut the deficit to 36-33 in the middle of the third. The Bulldog faithful, which got into their cars, and traveled the short distance over to BGA for the game, was right back into it after being dormant for much of the opening half. However, Bishop Ahr settled down, began breaking down the Bulldog pressure, and converting on their layup attempts. Ahr closed out the period with 13 of the last 19 points for a 49-39 lead, and then opened the final stanza with five of the first six points including another three by Francisco for a 54-40 lead.

Following a Metuchen timeout at the 5:16 mark, Bishop Ahr collected eight of the next ten points over a 2:10 span to put the game away at 62-42 with just over three minutes to play. At that point, both teams put in their reserves, and the Bulldogs made the score a bit more respectable with 11 of the final 17 points for the 68-53 Trojan win. Victorious, Bishop Ahr is now both 2-0 overall, and in the tough Blue Division so far this season while Metuchen, now 0-2 overall and in divisional play, faces an early must win situation at home when it encounters Middlesex on Thursday, December 21st.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 16, 2006
Opening Weekend

Cacoilo Rallies Hawks Past Rams In Non-Conference Tilt, 49-44

By Greg Machos
December 16, 2006

NORTH EDISON, NJ--It was the first time that GMC Hoops traveled to Wardlaw to watch a GMC team take on the Rams since the inaugural season of the web site. Wardlaw-Hartridge, a Prep school, competes in the Patriot Conference against the likes of Rutgers Prep, Ranney, Timothy Christian, and Pennington. As a matter of fact, the Rams won their opening game of the season over Pennington, and also won a conference game on Friday night when they defeated the Tigers of Timothy Christian at TCS behind 18 points from star forward, Corey Boland.

Despite the fact that Wardlaw went 9-18 in 2005-06, the school took on a big schedule that included two Christmas Tournaments: the 2005 Benny L. Towns Holiday Tournament at Piscataway Vo-Tech and the 2005 John "Butch" Kowal Holiday Tournament at Rahway High School. The Rams reached the Championship Game in the Towns Holiday Tournament, but lost badly to Monroe while encountering the likes of St. Peter's Prep, Scotch Plains, and Summit in the Kowal Tourney. In addition, the Rams also played Linden, Bloomfield Tech, and Roselle Catholic. Playing those top caliber teams seemed to have rubbed off on Wardlaw since it has won three of its first four games to start 2006-07.

Meanwhile, J.P. Stevens is looking to improve following its difficult 2005-06 campaign, where the Hawks went 5-19. JPS has a lot to look forward to this season with a good crop of sophomore talent coming up led by the likes of Myles Reuben, Nick Pol, and Kenny Bland, who was actually at Rutgers Prep as of a couple weeks ago, but recently returned to Stevens. As freshmen, Reuben, Pol, and Bland led the Little Hawks to an oustanding season with a 21-1 record, a perfect conference record (only loss was to North Hunterdon from the Skyland Conference), and a 2006 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament title. In addition, Stevens has a number of key players returning from last season including Alex Cacoilo and Patrick Lem.

Cacoilo had the hot hand on Saturday afternoon with 7 of 9 field goals including a three pointer, and 3 of 7 free throws for 18 points while also collecting four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. One of those steals came in the final minute when the junior point guard picked off an errant Wardlaw pass, and came down the floor for a layup attempt. Cacoilo missed the shot, but Reuben (2 of 10 FGs, two threes, and 1 of 2 FTs for 7 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a blocked shot) was there to grab a key offensive rebound and dished to Lem (4 of 8 FGs and 4 of 4 FTs for 12 points, 6 rebounds, an assist, steal, and block) for the deciding bucket that made it 46-44 with 46.8 seconds left. Stevens then held off a couple charges by the Rams, and got a pair of foul shots from Cacoilo at the 33.9 second mark, and one of two at the charity stripe from Reuben with 21.6 remaining to put the game away, and win the opener, 49-44.

For the game, J.P. Stevens shot 17 of 41 from the field including five three pointers for 41.5 percent while going 10 of 19 at the line for 52.6 percent. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ledger, Wardlaw, which was led by Boland (4 of 9 FGs for 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, an assist, and a steal) and Larry Oliver, connected on 17 of 47 from the field including three treys for 36.2 percent while making only 7 of 14 at the foul line for 50 percent. Although the Hawks had more turnovers (25-21), they held advantages in other key statistical areas including rebounds (30-17) and assists (14-12). Wardlaw held the edge in steals (6-4), blocks (5-3), and charges (2-0). Both teams won two quarters apiece with the Hawks winning the first and final periods while the Rams won the middle two.

Mike Rivers only went one of five from the floor and made one of two at the line for three points, but he contributed in a big way with six assists and four rebounds. Nick Pol (1-3 FGs, three pointer, and 1-2 FTs for 4 points and a rebound), only had four points, but three of them came at a critical moment in the fourth quarter. With 4:10 remaining, Wardlaw-Hartridge connected on a three pointer to make it 43-39 in favor of the Rams. On the very next possession, Pol answered with a three pointer from the left corner to pull Stevens back to within one at 43-42 with exactly four minutes to play. Matt Margon chipped in with one of two field goals for two points while collecting two rebounds, an assist, and a block. Danta Mickens rounded out the Hawk scoring with a three pointer on his only shot attempt while also grabbing two rebounds.

In the first quarter, JPS took an early 4-0 lead at the 5:58 mark as Cacoilo and Rivers opened the game with scores. Wardlaw responded with eight of the next ten points over a span of about a minute and a half to take an 8-6 lead before Myles Reuben canned a three pointer, and then came up with a steal that was cashed in by Patrick Lem, who rebounded Reuben's miss, and put it back in to cap a 5-0 run that made it 11-8 with 3:39 remaining in the frame as the Rams called for time. Stevens ultimately ended up leading 14-6 after one despite only shooting 6 of 16 from the floor and committing six turnovers. Part of the reason for that was the defensive effort, which held Wardlaw to just 3 of 8 from the field, and forced the Patriot Conference school to make ten turnovers.

Another part of the reason was Myles Reuben's defense on Boland. Reuben's size and athleticism countered Boland, who after a fast start, slowed down. Trailing by eight, Wardlaw tried to get going again with a 5-0 run to open the second. E.J. Blair (1 of 2 FGs, a rebound, and an assist), who played freshman ball at St. Joseph's two years ago, started things off with a layup to make it 14-8 at the 7:17 mark, and then the Rams got a three pointer to make it 14-11 with about 6:45 to play in the half. The Hawks then scored 12 of the next 18 points over a span of about four minutes to take a 26-17 lead before Wardlaw answered with four straight points that pulled it to within five with less than 26 seconds to play in the half. Patrick Lem then closed out the first half scoring with a pair of free throws at the 5.9 second mark to make it 28-21 in favor of JPS at the break.

The third quarter, which was the lowest scoring quarter in the game by both teams, saw J.P. Stevens score a 5-4 edge over the first 3:36 on an acrobatic reverse layup by Cacoilo, who had two field goals in the stanza, at the 4:24 mark. However, the Hawks went cold as they didn't score the rest of the way while the Rams, which had four field goals and a 2 of 2 showing at the foul line, closed out the period with the final six points for a tenuous 33-31 JPS advantage heading into the fourth. Wardlaw continued to mount the pressure with a halfcourt trap, and the Rams eventually forged ahead. Following a Matt Margon score from Reuben for a 35-31 lead, Wardlaw-Hartridge scored twelve of the next sixteen points to take a four point lead. Boland had four points during the run while Rams also connected for their final two threes of the contest.

However, Stevens managed to pull the win out as Pol's clutch jumper ignited a 10-1 tear to close out the game for the five point, 49-44 win. With the non-conference victory, J.P. Stevens opens the season at 1-0, and will move into its GMC Red schedule on Monday with a games against East Brunswick at home. Meanwhile, Wardlaw drops to 3-2 overall on the season. Oh, by the way, these two teams could meet again in the next two weeks as both the Hawks and the Rams are competing in the 2006 John "Butch" Kowal Tournament at Rahway High School. Both schools will play their opening round games on December 26th as Wardlaw will play at 3:00 PM while JPS will take on South Plainfield at 6:00 PM.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 15, 2006
Opening Night

Young And Soaries Twins Lead Vikings Past Falcons, 61-47

By Greg Machos
December 15, 2006

METUCHEN, NJ--Devon Young connected on 9 of 21 field goal attempts and made 2 of 4 free throws for 20 points to lead all scorers while also collecting eight rebounds, three steals, two assists, and a block, and teammate Martin Soaries chipped in with five field goals in fourteen attempts including a three pointer and made six of eight at the line for 17 points along with five assists and three steals to lead top ranked South Brunswick to a 61-47 opening night victory over fifth ranked St. Joseph's at the new Bird Cage in Metuchen. It was the third time in the past four seasons that South Brunswick has traveled to St. Joseph's, and came out with a win.

Malcolm Soaries, the twin brother of Martin, made four of seven shots and added a free throw for nine points while picking up five rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Brian Morgan came off the bench to score seven of his nine points in the second period as he made two of four from the field including a three while making all four of his shots at the line for nine points. Arman Wilson helped out with four points on two of four shooting while grabbing three rebounds and handing out an assist, and Vineesh Manchanda patrolled the middle for the Vikes with two points, two rebounds, two steals, and a block before fouling out late in the game. Ray Dasant didn't score, but he still contributed to the win with five rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a charge.

On the losing side of the ledger, St. Joseph's was led by senior center Darrell Carroll (17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a charge), who made five of his first six shots before getting into foul trouble in the second quarter, with 17 points on eight of twelve field goals while making one of two at the line. Teammate Lamar Fisher (14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a charge) went only four of fourteen from the floor, but was more successful at the line with a six of eight showing to chip in with 14 points. Freshman Steven Rennard debuted with five points including three of four at the line while also collecting two rebounds, an assist, steal, and charge. Kyan Hines connected on two of five from the field for four points while adding a rebound.

Junior Paul Konopacki made one of four from the floor and one of two at the line for three points while collecting three rebounds while Andrew Colon (1-3 FGs, 0-2 FTs for 2 points and 4 rebounds) and Taurin Wheeler (1-7 FGs, 0-1 FTs for 2 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal) rounded out the scoring for the Falcons. Nick Marquis also played coming off the bench, but didn't score as he misfired on both his shot attempts. Overall, South Brunswick shot 22 of 53 for 41.5 percent from the floor while converting 13 of 18 from the charity stripe for 72.2 percent. On St. Joe's side of the ledger, the Falcons struggled from the field overall going just 18 of 51 for 35.3 percent while faring better at the foul line with a 11 of 18 for 61.1 percent. On top of the shooting struggles, the Falcons committed 23 turnovers while South Brunswick had just five in the first half before ending up with 19 on the night.

Looking at the other statistics, the Vikings had more threes (2-0), assists (16-11), steals (12-5), and blocks (4-0) while the Falcons had more rebounds (29-27) and more charges (3-1). The game was quite close for the most part in the first half as St. Joe's deployed a 2-3 zone, and made things difficult for Young as got off to a bit of a slow start making only four of twelve shots in the first half. The pivotal moments of the game occurred in the second quarter when South Brunswick reserve, Brian Morgan was injected in the lineup, and Carroll drew his second foul of the game on Morgan at the 5:05 mark of the period. Up to that point, St. Joseph's hung tough with the Vikings going 6 of 12 from the floor in the opening period despite seven turnovers, and limiting South Brunswick to 6 of 13 shooting while causing three turnovers.

Morgan opened the second period scoring with a field goal to break the 12-12 first quarter tie, and then connected on a three pointer after Paul Konopacki tied the game at 14-14 with a nice spin move for a layup at the 7:15 mark. The Viking senior reserve, who shot very well in a recent scrimmage against Bridgewater, then made both his foul shots to give SBHS a tenuous three point, 21-18 lead. Although South Brunswick went 7 of 18 from the field in the second period, and went 13 of 31 from the floor in the first half for 41.9 percent, it managed to stay in control with a 29-25 halftime lead as it contained the Falcons to just 5 of 13 field goals in the second period, and forced three more turnovers. More importantly, when Carroll returned, his hot hand cooled somewhat shooting only 3 of 6 the rest of the way while South Brunswick shot a bit better over the final two periods going 10 of 22 from the field for 45.5 percent.

Coming out of the locker room at the start of the third quarter, South Brunswick put together what would be a decisive 8-0 spurt off four Falcon turnovers that consisted of three field goals including a one handed dunk by Young and a layup by Martin Soaries for a 37-25 lead as St. Joe's Head Coach, Dave Turco, was compelled to call a timeout at the 6:07 mark. The Falcons tried to bounce back with a 6-0 burst of their own, but Martin Soaries struck again with a key pair of free throws to end the rally, and push the Viking lead back to eight at 39-31 with 4:40 left in the third. Soaries then hit a the final three pointer of the night by South Brunswick to give the Vikes a 42-33 lead before the Falcons got a score to pull within seven as they called for time again at the 3:05 mark. After the timeout, and following Darrell Carroll's third foul at the 2:17 mark, Devon Young closed out the third period scoring with a floater that went in to make it a nine point, 44-35 lead going into the fourth.

The fourth period saw South Brunswick continue to pull away with a 17-12 showing for a 32-22 second half effort to give it the win. Despite turning the ball over nine times over the first 9:45 of the second half, the Vikings went on a 11-6 run over the first 5:43 of the quarter to take a 55-41 lead. Martin Soaries begin the final assault with one of two free throws at the 7:47 mark to make it 44-35. St. Joseph's got eight points from Lamar Fisher in the final frame including two free throws at the 6:54 mark that followed an earlier assist to Carroll for a score to make it 45-39. However, that would be as close as the Falcons would get as Ray Dasant dished off to Young for a basket and the foul for a three point play at the 5:59 mark to make it 48-39. Martin Soaries then added two free throws at the 4:35 mark after Carroll's fourth foul to make it 50-39, and brother Malcolm drove to the basket for another score to make it 52-39 at the 3:38 mark.

Following a pair of one of two showings at the line by Fisher in just a six second span to make it 52-41 with 2:41 left, the final nail in the coffin was hammered in by Malcolm Soaries as he picked up a steal, passed off to his brother Martin, who then passed back to him for a layup as he was fouled for a three point play that made it 55-41 with 2:17 to go. From there both teams scored six points each as the Vikings won the opener, 61-47. With the win, South Brunswick moves up to 1-0 overall and in division play while St. Joseph's drops to 0-1 both on the season, and in the Red Division. The varsity game was a nightcap of the first ever GMC Hoops Freshmen, JV, and Varsity Tripleheader. Earlier in the day, St. Joseph's Freshmen White team defeated SBHS, 69-26 in the GMC Hoops Freshmen Game of the Week, and then South Brunswick's JV won the middle game over the Junior Falcons, 53-37 in the GMC Hoops JV Game of the Week. Details on these two games will be out later. In the meantime, you can read capsules on them in the Freshmen and JV roundups.

 

RETURN TO THE GMC HOOPS HOME PAGE

If you are finished viewing the GMC Hoops Summaries, and would like to see other parts of the website.  Click below to return to the GMC Home Page.

Return to the GMC Hoops Home Page

If you have any questions about, or any suggestions for this website, please feel free to either fill out our guestbook, or contact me at gmachos@gmchoops.com.