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, blog entries, and all the summaries for the month of December, 2006, and the first week of January, 2007 in the summaries archive.

GMC Hoops Summaries--January 13, 2007
Fourth Week Of Action

South Brunswick Ends Up A Level Above McCarrick In Showdown, 63-41

By Greg Machos
January 13, 2007

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ--If there was any doubt that South Brunswick has been deserving of its top ranking in all the area polls this season, the convincing 63-41 win over second ranked Cardinal McCarrick erased all of that. Despite the fact that both teams already had played a common opponent in Lincoln High School from Hudson County in the 2006 Joe Silver Tournament at Hillside High School. McCarrick had lost to the Jersey City school, 62-59 in the first round while South Brunswick edged Lincoln in the Championship Game, 56-52. So, you would figure that this would be a close one especially since these were the two top teams in the conference going into the weekend showdown. However, Cardinal McCarrick was three of twelve from the floor and made eight turnovers in the opening period while South Brunswick jumped out to a 15-7 lead. The Vikings cruised from there forcing 26 turnovers and limiting the Eagles to just 16 of 50 shots from the floor for 32 percent in the twenty-two point win.

Cardinal McCarrick's senior sensation, Vince Rosario, who recently made a verbal commitment to FDU, and pumped in 44 points including nine three pointers against Metuchen, was held in check with just four field goals (all three pointers) on fourteen attempts from the floor for 12 points. Most telling though was the fact that the senior guard, who became the all time leading scorer at McCarrick following his effort against Metuchen, had no attempts at the foul line. As a matter of fact, the entire team only made four foul shot attempts going 3 of 4 for 75 percent. Meanwhile, teammate and junior forward, Mike Burwell, tied South Brunswick's Devon Young for game high with 15 points on seven of eighteen shooting and one of two at the line. Burwell also collected eight rebounds, two assists, and a block while Rosario picked up five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Only three other McCarrick players scored including Carlos Garcia (seven points, two rebounds, and an assist), who had seven points on three of four shooting including a trifecta, Julio Rosario (four points, two rebounds, two blocks, an assist, steal, and a charge), and Rolffi Canela (three points, two assists, a block, and a rebound).

Meanwhile, South Brunswick had seven players break into the scoring column including three that ended up in double figures. Leading the way was Young, who made 6 of 13 from the floor and 3 of 4 from the line for 15 points along with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a charge. Martin Soaries chipped in with 5 of 15 shooting and 2 of 2 at the line for 12 points while collecting 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and a charge. Twin brother Malcolm turned in a fine performance as well with 4 of 9 shooting and 3 of 3 from the foul line for 11 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, a block, and a charge. Ray Dasant made four of his eight shot attempts including a three pointer for nine points while picking up seven rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Mike Sobers came off the bench, and was a big boost, especially from the perimeter with two of his three field goals from beyond the arc for eight points along with a rebound while Vineesh Manchanda came up with 6 points on 2 of 4 shooting and 2 of 2 at the line to go along with 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Jordan Tiecher came in late, and netted a pair at the line and grab a rebound to round out the scoring in the win. Arman Wilson (0 of 2 FGs, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and two steals) and Brian Morgan (two rebounds and an assist) also played, but didn't score. On the McCarrick side of the ledger, Ricky McCutcheon (0 of 3 FGs, 6 rebounds, and an assist), Branten Widgeon (two assists, a rebound, and a steal), Sean Williams (0 of 1 FG), and Colin Romer (0 of 1 FG, a rebound, steal, and a charge) also played, but didn't score.

For the game, South Brunswick shot 24 of 58 including three treys from the floor for 41.4 percent while making 12 of 14 shots at the free throw line for 85.7 percent. The Vikes also made only 17 turnovers for the game although ten of them came in the second half when the game was pretty much out of reach. SBHS made more assists (19-12), steals (9-6), charges (4-2), rebounds (32-26), and fewer turnovers (17-26) in addition to better shooting and foul shooting. McCarrick held advantages in three pointers (6-3) and blocks (3-1). The Eagles were outscored in three of the four quarters while the final period ended in a 12-12 tie. Coming into this game, the Vikings allowed an average of 41.9 points per game while scoring 67.8 per contest. Meanwhile, McCarrick was coming in averaging 70.7 a game while yielding exactly 52 per matchup. South Brunswick jumped on McCarrick early with ten of the first twelve points as Rosario picked up two fouls on charges drawn by South Brunswick.

Thirty-five seconds into the contest, South Brunswick took the lead on an offensive rebound and putback by Ray Dasant that made the score, 2-0 at the 7:25 mark. Six seconds later, McCarrick had its first of three first half backcourt violations, but the Vikes weren't able to take advantage. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until the six minute mark before there was another score as Martin Soaries scored on an acrobatic move through the lane for a 4-0 lead. The Vikings made it 6-0 before Carlos Garcia got McCarrick on the board with a score at the 4:11 mark that made it 6-2. Dasant then hit a jumper from the right corner, and Malcolm Soaries followed that up with a pair of free throws to make it 10-2 with 2:48 to go in the first. Cardy Mac would bounce back as Garcia, who had all of the Eagles first period points, struck again with a three pointer, and then an offensive rebound and putback off a miss by sophomore Julio Rosario to make it a 10-7 game at the 1:16 mark. However, South Brunswick ended the frame with a 5-0 run including a field goal by Malcolm Soaries and a three by Dasant to make it a 15-7 game going into the second.

In the second, the Vikings increased their lead to 31-18 at halftime with a 16-11 showing. Malcolm Soaries began the period with one of two at the line for a 16-7 score at the 7:19 mark. Devon Young then got on the board with a basket as he was fouled, but he missed the bonus free throw for the conventional three point play to make the score, 18-7. Burwell then got his first points of the contest for McCarrick with an offensive rebound and putback that made the score, 18-9 at the 6:33 mark. South Brunswick increased the lead back to eleven with another score before Burwell scored again with one of two at the charity stripe to make it 20-10 at the 5:04 mark, and then a layup to make it 20-12. The Vikes retaliated though with a 5-0 mini-run that included a layup by Vineesh Manchanda and a three pointer by Sobers for a 25-12 lead as McCarrick head coach, Joe Lewis called for time at the 3:20 mark. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the timeout wasn't the tonic as the very next offensive possession resulted in the third backcourt violation of the half for McCarrick. Rosario didn't get his first points of the game until about the 2:30 mark when he drilled a three pointer that followed up a score at the other end by Young for a 27-15 SBHS advantage.

South Brunswick finished up the first half with four of the last seven points for a 31-18 lead going into the intermission. At the half, the Eagles were only shooting 8 of 24 including a 5 of 12 effort in the second while South Brunswick shot 13 of 29 including a 7 of 13 showing in the second. The Eagles had sixteen turnovers at the half while the Vikings only had seven. The third period saw the home team pull away even more with a 20-11 effort as the Vikes took a commanding 51-29 lead. SBHS opened the frame with a 6-3 run for a 37-21 lead before Burwell got an offensive rebound and putback to make it a fourteen point game as the Eagles called timeout with 5:41 left in the third. South Brunswick then went on a 6-2 run over he next 2:48 as Burwell picked up his third personal on an offensive charge drawn by Manchanda at the 3:34 mark, and then Martin Soaries scored a layup on a steal and assist by Malcolm Soaries at the 2:53 mark that made it a twenty point game at 45-25. McCarrick would get a reverse layup by Julio Rosario off a Burwell assist at the 2:11 mark for a 45-27 SB lead, but the Vikings closed things out with another 6-2 run including a three point play by Young at the 14.1 second mark to give the Vikes a twenty-two point lead going into the final period.

From there, the reserves mostly played as the two teams each scored twelve in the final period for the 63-41 final. With the victory, South Brunswick remains undefeated at 11-0 overall, and 7-0 in conference play while McCarrick falls to 8-2 overall, and 7-1 in the GMC. Most importantly though, South Brunswick's win puts them in a totally different realm from the other teams in the Greater Middlesex Conference. Well, at this point in the season anyway. The reason for that is because you never know what might happen in the GMCT. Take for instance the great Perth Amboy team of 1992-93. The Panthers from that season appeared unbeatable going into the conference tourney. However, South Brunswick, which came in the tournament limping, stunned Amboy in the semifinals at the RAC before losing to St. Joseph's for the Falcons first ever county/conference championship. Fast forward to the 2003-04 season with the tremendous squad from South Plainfield that was 27-1. The Tigers rolled over many teams that year much like the Vikings have, but in that season's GMCT, SPHS struggled in the quarterfinals against Piscataway before escaping with an overtime win while almost giving up a large lead to St. Joseph's in the semis. Bottom line is that anything can happen once we get into conference and state tournament play.

GMC Hoops Summaries--January 12, 2007
Fourth Week Of Action

South Plainfield Wins Seventh Behind Santiago, 45-32

By Greg Machos
January 12, 2007

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ--In a game broadcasted on Central Jersey's 1450, WCTC, the Zebras of New Brunswick traveled to South Plainfield to take on the Tigers at the Anthony J. Cotoia Gymnasium on Friday night. The game was between two teams going in opposite directions so far this season. New Brunswick, which was ranked eighth in the GMC Hoops Pre-Season Top Ten, has really struggled with five losses in its last six games aftere winning its season opener in convincing fashion at Woodbridge. Several of those defeats included a 71-24 loss at the hands of defending Colonial Valley Conference Patriot Division Champs, Ewing of Mercer County in the opening round of the 2006 Red Devil/Blue Devil Tournament over the holidays , a recent 67-35 defeat to GMC White rival, North Brunswick at the Meadowlands, and a loss to Hunterdon Central in the consolation round of the same Red Devil/Blue Devil tourney. As of this week, HCHS, which competes in the Delaware West Division of the Skyland Conference still only has that one win on its season.

Perhaps the tremendous success of the football team, which includes the likes of Brandon Smith and Chauncey Whitten, has played a role since the football season didn't end until a week after basketball practices started. As a matter of fact, on the first day of practice, only fourteen players showed up for the Freshmen, JV, and Varsity teams combined. Add to that the fact that the Zebras have their third different head coach in four seasons, and there is some instability there. Whatever, the reason, the early season slide has put New Brunswick's chances of qualifying for this year's state tournament in serious jeopardy. Meanwhile, South Plainifield has turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the young season. Coming into Friday night's matchup, the Tigers were 6-3 overall on the season including a 6-1 mark in the GMC, and a 4-1 mark in the White Division. The three losses by SPHS have been by a combined total of 22 points while the six wins have been by an average of just 3.5 points per game. Of the nine games played so far this season by South Plainfield, only the loss to Westfield in the semifinals of the 2006 John "Butch" Kowal Tournament at Rahway High School during the holiday season was a game decided by ten points or more.

All the other contests involving South Plainfield have been decided by six points or less including a one point loss to Monroe on opening night, a three point victory over Woodbridge three nights later, a two point win at Sayreville one week later, a two point victory over J.P. Stevens in the first round of the Kowal tourney, a four point defeat to Scotch Plains in the Kowal third place consolation, and a two point win over North Brunswick last week. The key to South Plainfield's success has been the improved play of both senior guard, Shamai Santiago and senior forward, Opie Muse, who are two of the last remaining players from the Tigers most recent GMCT Championship in 2005. With a win in Friday night's game, South Plainfield would keep pace with Colonia for first place in the White Division going into the Martin Luther King Day showdown between the two rivals at Colonia High School. The first half of the GMC tilt, which was the fourth game broadcasted on WCTC this season so far, saw New Brunswick continue to struggle as key players, Brandon Smith and Marquis Hamm sat the bench in the first quarter, and were held scoreless in the second frame while the rest of the Zebra team combined to score in just single digits in the first half.

Although the Tigers didn't score a field goal in the entire second period, the did muster up three free throws to extend an 18-7 first quarter lead to a fourteen point advantage at half. New Brunswick managed to only score seven points in the first, and nothing in the second. Meanwhile, Shamai Santiago, who ended up with a game high 15 points on three field goals, two threes, and three foul shots, led the charge in the opening half for SPHS with ten points South Plainfield, which also made five of nine at the line over the first two periods, got additional help in the form of two points each from Muse, junior Benny Gibson, and sophomore Mike Burton. In the third quarter, the action picked up with both teams combining for slightly more points in the period than in the entire first half of play. South Plainfield managed to win the stanza to increase its lead to fifteen thanks to a last second three pointer by Burton that made the score, 36-21 going into the fourth. New Brunswick scored 14 points on six field goals and two foul shots while the Tigers got their 15 on four field goals, two threes, and one of two from the charity stripe.

Both Smith and Hamm got on the board in the third period after slow starts for the Zebras. Smith (9 points on two field goals, a three pointer, and two foul shots) scored six points on two traditional three point plays while Hamm (a team high ten points on five field goals) added six of his own on three field goals mostly set up by Smith. Devon Giles (two field goals for four points) got the only other points in the frame for the Zebras. On the other side of the ledger, the Tigers got four points on a putback and a layup from senior forward, Kyle Matthews, a three pointer each from both Santiago and Burton (five points on a field goal and a three pointer), field goals by Benny Gibson (two field goals for four points), and freshman Dontae Johnson (two field goals for four points), and one of two at the line from Muse (six points on two field goals and two foul shots). While the play went up a notch in the third, it didn't start out that way. Both teams continued the languid and error prone play that marred the second period with a series of turnovers, and missed shots for the first 1:14 before Smith got his first points of the contest on a conventional three point play at the 6:46 mark to make the score, 21-10 in favor of the Tigers. On the next Tiger possession, Gibson got his fourth point of the game with a hook shot that put SPHS on the board, and increased the lead to 23-10 at the 6:33 mark.

Muse then followed that up with his one of two effort at the foul line for his third point of the game that made it 24-10 a little more than a minute later. The Tigers then took their biggest lead of the game on a three pointer from the right corner by Santiago off a pass from Muse to make it 27-10 with about five minutes to go in the period. New Brunswick quickly brought the deficit back down to twelve as Hamm scored his first points of the game on a field goal, and shortly afterward, Smith got his second and final traditional three point play of the period to make the score, 27-15 in favor of SPHS with four minutes still remaining in the stanza. From that point, until the waning seconds of the third, the Tiger led fluctuated between 12 and 14 points as Matthews and Hamm exchanged scores while Gibson went 0 of 2 at the foul line to put SPHS at 6 of 13 for 46 percent from the charity stripe through three quarters. Dontae Johnson scored a layup off an assist by senior reserve guard, Danny McCreesh (four points on a three pointer and a foul shot) to make it 33-19 with less than two minutes left in the third, but the Zebras came back with a score from Giles with less than a minute left to pull within a dozen again at 33-21.

As time was running out in the third, Burton, a diminutive, but quick guard, hoisted a trifecta that beat the buzzer to make the score, 36-21 after three. At the beginning of teh fourth, SPHS reclaimed its largest lead of the game as Johnson scored on the inside again, but Smith retaliated with a three pointer for his final points of the contest, and New Brunswick got another field goal to pull the Zebras to within twelve at 38-26 as Tiger head coach, Bill Schulte, called for time at the 6:20 mark of the final period. Following the timeout, SPHS pushed the margin back up to thirteen on another one of two at the line by Muse for a 39-26 score with about 5:50 to go in the matchup. After that, SPHS slowed things down, and both teams drew even the rest of the way with six points each as the Tigers went on to win, 45-32. With the victory, South Plainfield moves up to 7-3 overall, and 5-1 in divisional play while New Brunswick drops to 2-6 overall and 2-4 in the GMC White. See more details on this particular game from our SPHS Volunteer in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere as well as the complete WCTC season schedule. Also, during the season, you can listen to games broadcasted on WCTC online. Just go to the web site, and click on the listen live button.

GMC Hoops Summaries--January 9, 2007
Fourth Week Of Action

St. Joseph's Surges To Victory Over P-Way Behind Rennard, 56-49

By Greg Machos
January 9, 2007

METUCHEN, NJ--For the third time this season, GMC Hoops took in a game involving the St. Joseph's Falcons. The first two times, the Falcons ended up on the wrong side of the score with losses to South Brunswick on opening night and Edison less than a week later. As a matter of fact, St. Joe's began the year, 0-3, when you throw in a tough four point loss to Bayonne, which has been one of the premier teams in Hudson County the past several years. However, like the Junior Varsity squad, which won its ninth in a row after losing its first two games of the season by defeating Piscataway in the first half of the GMC Hoops JV/Varsity Doubleheader, St. Joseph's has rebounded, and gradually picked up momentum with a strong showing in the school's holiday tournament and with a recent win at Colonia over this past weekend.

Meanwhile, Piscataway is making strides itself so far this season. Already passing last year's win total for the season with a victory over Franklin on Saturday afternoon, 33-29, the Chiefs entered the matchup ranked seventh in both the Home News-Tribune and GMC Hoops Top Ten. Piscataway has started the season with five wins in its first eight games with the only losses coming to top Central Jersey teams such as South Brunswick, Bridgewater, and Immaculata. Both teams have tremendous defenses, but have had their share of struggles on offense. Coming into the matchup, St. Joseph's had allowed an average of 41.8 points per game while Piscataway allowed an average of 42.4. On the flip side though the Falcons have scored an average of 52.2 per game while the Chiefs have generated an average of 44.4 per contest. So, coming into this matchup, the thought of this being another defensive scrum was definitely considered. And in that regard, the two teams didn't disappoint. Both squads combined for 47 turnovers while Piscataway was held to single digits in the first and final periods. Meanwhile, St. Joseph's shot just 14 of 38 from the floor for 36.8 percent.

However, the Falcons took advantage of the fact that Piscataway racked up a ton of team fouls in both halves, and had both their key big men, J.D. Griggs and Tristan Benjamin, foul out late in the fourth quarter. Consequently, St. Joseph's marched to the free throw line, and made 27 of 38 for 71.1 percent while the Chiefs only made 6 of 15 for a meager 40 percent. Freshman guard, Steve Rennard led the foul shooting parade with 10 of 12 at the charity stripe to go along with three field goals for a game high 16 points on the night. The Falcons also had three other players score in double figures including senior center, Darrell Carroll, who went 10 of 18 at the charity stripe to add to his two field goals for 14 points, Paul Konopacki, who went 7 of 9 from the floor for 14 points, and Lamar Fisher, who sank five of six at the line to go along with a field goal and a three pointer for a ten point effort. Although, Piscataway had a balanced attack with one player, Brian Waluk, scoring a team high seven points, six players (James White, Omar Smith, J.D. Griggs, Tristan Benjamin, Joel Crayton, and Soeke Lumor) scoring six points each, and freshman, Wayne Newsome adding four, the Chiefs ran out of gas as St. Joe's won its seventh straight with a 20-6 surge over the final 6:38 for a 56-49 victory.

For the game, Piscataway outshot St. Joseph's making more attempts and for a higher percentage. The Chiefs made 21 of 49 attempts from the floor including a three pointer for 42.9 percent. P-Way also had a distinct rebounding edge thanks to its size advantage, 26-17. However, the Falcons had more blocks (6-3), charges (1-0), steals (12-9), assists (14-13), and fewer turnovers while three pointers were even (1-1). Trailing 25-19 at the half, St. Joe's, which went just 6 of 16 from the field including a three along with 6 of 7 at the line, and 15 turnovers over the first two periods, outscored Piscataway by a 37-24 margin in the second half. Much of that came, of course, at the foul line with the Falcons going 21 of 31 over the final two quarters of play while shooting 8 of 22 from the floor. Meanwhile, St. Joseph's switched to a zone defense, and forced Piscataway to struggle from the perimeter while getting nothing much on the interior. The Chiefs ended up going just 9 of 22 in the second half after making 12 of 27 in the first half. Another key was the fact that St. Joe's just had six second half turnovers while forcing fourteen on Piscataway.

Five players only scored for St. Joseph's while nine broke into the scoring column for Piscataway. Besides his game high 16 points, Rennard also contributed with three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Carroll added four rebounds, three blocks, an assist, steal, and charge to his 14 points while Fisher collected six steals, three rebounds, and three assists. Kyan Hines, who was the only other person to score for the Falcons had two points on 2 of 2 at the free throw line while picking up two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. Konopacki chipped in with four rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Taurin Wheeler (two assists and a rebound) and Andrew Colon also played, but didn't score. Meanwhile, for Piscataway, Waluk added four rebounds, two assists, and a steal to his team high seven points while James White did a fine job of defending and orchestrating the offense as best as he could with five assists, five steals, two rebounds and a block in addition to his six points. Omar Smith added three rebounds to his six points while J.D. Griggs collected four rebounds, two blocks, and a steal in addition to his six.

Tristan Benjamin, who is only a sophomore, chipped in with three rebounds to go along with his six points while Joel Crayton collected four assists and two rebounds in addition to his six. Soeke Lumor provided some spark off the bench with five rebounds besides his six points to round out Piscataway's six players with six. Freshman Wayne Newsome, who was quite animated, enthusiastic, and vocal during his stints in the contest, ended up with four points and three rebounds, and could have been a seventh P-Way player with six points, but missed two bonus free throws that would have given him two traditional three point plays. Mike Woodall rounded out the scoring for the Chiefs with two points along with two assists and two steals. Thomas Bennett also played for Piscataway, but didn't score. The Chiefs had good shooting from the likes of Smith, Griggs, Lumor, and Newsome, which were a combined 11 of 13 from the floor for 84.6 percent. The rest of the squad was only 10 of 36 for 27.8 percent. Meanwhile, Konopacki and Lamar Fisher combined for 9 of 13 from the field for 69.2 percent while the rest of the Falcons were a paltry 5 of 25 from the floor for 20 percent.

The first quarter was all even as both teams scored eight points each. St. Joseph's made three of seven field goal attempts and two of three at the line for its eight while Piscataway made four of ten from the floor for its eight. Each team also had eight turnovers in the frame. Caroll started things off with a free throw at the 7:43 mark, but the second shot was wiped out as the officials called a lane violation on Fisher to keep the score, 1-0, in favor of the Falcons. The Chiefs then took the lead on a score by Benjamin off of a feed by White to make it 2-1. Piscataway had a chance to add to that lead at the 5:59 mark when Benjamin gave a nice back door look to a cutting Waluk, but the pass went off the junior guard's foot, and out of bounds. The Chiefs would come back though to increase its lead. A little more than a minute later, Griggs made it a three point, 4-1 lead with an offensive rebound and putback. On a subsequent possession, the Falcons responded with a back door play of their own as Carroll got the ball in the high post, and fed a cutting Rennard for a layup that made it 4-3 at the 4:40 mark.

The Rennard layup sparked a 7-0 run by St. Joseph's as Fisher followed the score with a baseline penetration and dish to Konopacki for a layup that made it 5-4 at the 3:59 mark. Then, the senior swingman took a pass from Rennard, and scored on a layup after the freshman made one of two free throws to make it an 8-4 Falcon lead with 2:13 left in the frame. The Chiefs rallied to close out the first with a 4-0 run over the final 1:13 to tie the score at eight going into the second. Omar Smith got P-Way within two at 8-6 when he took a pass from Woodall, and scored a layup, and then Lumor got into the act with a layup of his own off another assist from Woodall to tie it up. The second period saw Piscataway gain the halftime advantage with a 17-11 showing as the Chiefs made 8 of 17 shots from the floor and one of three at the foul line while St. Joe's only made three of nine from the field, and four of four at the line. P-Way also committed fewer blunders with four turnovers while the Falcons added another seven. In a game that saw eight lead changes and four ties including six lead swings and three ties in the opening half, Piscataway appeared to take control for the next two periods or so.

At the 7:26 mark of the second, Joel Crayton gave Piscataway its first lead since 4-3 at the 4:40 mark of the first with one of two free throws that made the score, 9-8. The Falcons replied with a Fisher three pointer from the left wing that was set up by a pass from Hines at the 7:10 mark to take an 11-9 lead. Piscataway charged back with the next four points including an offensive rebound and putback by Smith to give the Chiefs a 13-11 lead with 5:13 left in the half. P-Way would build the lead to four at 17-13 before Konopacki struck again for a layup to make it a two point game at 17-15 as the Chiefs called for a thirty second timeout at the 3:19 mark. St. Joseph's had to call a thirty second timeout of its own at the 2:45 mark in order to avoid a five second call. Following the timeout, Carroll tied things up again with a pair of free throws at the 2:09 mark to make the score 17-17. Newsome gave Piscataway a spark with an offensive rebound and putback as he was fouled. Although the freshman sensation missed the bonus free throw, he sparked an 8-2 half ending spurt for the six point lead at the break. Lumor got back to back offensive rebounds and putbacks to make it a 23-17 Chief lead at the 44.7 mark, and then after two foul shots by Rennard at the 39.2 second mark, White dished to Woodall for a shot in the lane that went in with 15.5 left before intermission to make it 25-19 at the half.

The third quarter saw St. Joseph's linger around, and actually cut into the Piscataway lead a bit with a 17-15 showing. Darrell Carroll led the way with nine of his points in the stanza on 7 of 11 free throws and his first field goal of the game. Carroll's first field goal actually was a three pointplay at the 2:54 mark that pulled the Falcons within two at 34-32. Lamar Fisher added two pairs of free throws for four points while Rennard added two foul shots and Konopacki scored a layup to account for all the St. Joe's scoring. Meanwhile, Waluk had all seven of his points in the frame as he keyed a 7-0 spurt by the Chiefs midway through the period with a three point play at the 5:59 mark off a steal and assist by White, and then another score at the 5:22 mark following another steal by the athletic junior point guard to make it a 32-23 Piscataway lead. But, the home team began to chip away with a pair of free throws at the 4:58 mark by Rennard to make it 32-25, and then two straight successful trips to the charity stripe by Fisher to make it 34-29 at the 3:16 mark. More ominously was the fact that the Chiefs already had eight team fouls in the half.

Following Carroll's three point play, Crayton got four of his six points in the quarter on two field goals while Carroll made a couple more pairs of shots from the line to make it a two point game at 38-36 with 56.4 left in the period. Newsome then struck again for a basket as he was fouled by Carroll, but once more, he missed the bonus free throw so the score stood at 40-36 entering the final frame of play. At the start of the fourth, Piscataway seemed poised to get that one big win that could make a statement to the rest of the GMC saying that Chief basketball is back. P-Way scored the first three points of the quarter on one of two efforts at the line by Benjamin at the 7:36 mark, White at the 7:33 mark, and Benjamin again at the 6:38 mark. However, the tide began to turn as St. Joseph's limited the Chiefs to just a field goal, a three pointer, and one of two at the line the rest of the way while the Falcons went 10 of 14 at the line, and made five field goals (all layups) including three by Konopacki. St. Joe's got seven points from Rennard on five of six at the line, and a field goal, six points from Konopacki on his three field goals, four from Carroll on 2 of 6 at the line along with a field goal, two free throws by Hines, and one of two at the charity stripe from Fisher.

Rennard got things started with one of two free throws to make it a six point game, and then Konopacki scored a layup off of an assist by the freshman, and Griggs scored a layup off a dish by White to make it 45-39. Rennard then cut the deficit to four again with a pair of foul shots at the 5:04 mark that made it 45-41. Fisher followed that up with one of two of his own from the line at the 4:51 mark to make it a three point P-Way lead. Some forty-five seconds later, Fisher rebounded to Konopacki, who passed to Rennard for a layup that pulled the Falcons within one with a bit over four minutes to play. Nearly thirty seconds after that, Fisher got the ball down to Carroll, who gave a pump fake, and scored his second field goal of the contest that gave St. Joseph's its first lead since the 7:10 mark of the second quarter at 46-45 with 3:37 to play. Hines added two from the line at the 3:18 mark to make it a three point game at 48-45, but Piscataway came right back with its only trifecta of the game from White to knot the game again at 48-48. The Falcons then took the lead for good as a strong drive through the right side of the lane by Konopacki gave St. Joe's a two point, 50-48 lead with 2:08 remaining.

Konopacki's score started an 8-1 final assault that put the Chiefs away as Griggs had already fouled out and Benjamin soon joined him on the bench. Although Carroll, missed six of eight shots at the line over the final 8:05 of the contest, he still hit two key free throws to make it a 52-49 advantage, and Rennard added two of his own at the 41.5 mark for a 54-49 lead. Konopacki then sealed the win with a layup from Hines at the 16 second mark for the final, 56-49 tally. With the victory, St. Joseph's has now won seven straight, and after being left for dead in week one of the season, the Falcons are suddenly creeping back into the overall picture not only in the GMC Red with a 3-2 divisional record, but a 4-2 conference mark, and a 7-3 record on the year. Meanwhile, Piscataway lost a chance to register a big win on the road, but showed that it has made tremendous progress in less than a season. The Chiefs drop to 5-4 overall and also 3-2 in divisional play.

GMC Hoops Summaries--January 8, 2007
Fourth Week Of Action

St. Peter's Second Quarter Surge Puts Away South Amboy, 47-34

By Greg Machos
January 8, 2007

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ--To summarize how crazy things have been in the Greater Middlesex Conference Gold Division so far in 2006-07, St. Peter's was hosting South Amboy on Monday night in New Brunswick for first place in a division that has been dominated in recent years by Dunellen, Piscataway Vo-Tech, and Perth Amboy Vo-Tech. The Cardinals have been an institution in Middlesex County High School basketball since the late 1960s when John Somogyi tore up the county with 3,310 career points, and led St. Peter's to the Middlesex County title in 1968. Next to Perth Amboy, Piscataway, Colonia, and St. Joseph's, St. Peter's is the most storied basketball program in the GMC with eight MCT/GMCT finals appearances, four titles, seven division titles over a span of ten seasons from 1988 to 1997, thirteen sectional championships and state finals appearances, and three state titles.

However, much like it did after John Somogyi left following the 1985 season, and when Glen Fleming was a senior at St. Peter's in the Cardinals inaugural season in the GMC, times have been lean at the once very proud school. The last GMCT Final Four appearance was in 1997 while the last elite eight berth was two years later in 1999. The Cards last made the state tournament in the 2003-04 season when it lost in the opening round of the Non-Public B South state tourney to St. Joseph's of Hammonton, 63-38. SPHS has made just two state tourney berths in the last six seasons. Nevertheless, there is a change blowing into the downtown area of New Brunswick this year though. The Cardinals, which won six games all of last year (6-17), had an opportunity to equal that with a victory over South Amboy, another surprising team in the GMC Gold. After a rare third place finish last year in the Gold Division, the Guvs started 2006-07 with six wins in their first seven games including a 3-0 mark in the GMC Gold for sole possession of first place.

The Governors, which last made the state tournament in the 2001-02 season with the likes of Nick Shaw, Dan Nuzzie, and Mario Choinski leading the way, have a good chance of returning to the dance this season if they continue to play the way they've been playing. South Amboy started 2007 very nicely with wins on the road at Perth Amboy Tech, and at home against East Brunswick Vo-Tech. The Guvs have been close to qualifying in recent years including 2002-03, 2004-05, and 2006-07. Although South Amboy was 8-15 in 2004-05, it lost a total of six games by a combined 42 points to the likes of Dunellen, South River, Metuchen, A.L. Johnson, Keansburg, and Piscataway Vo-Tech, which all qualified for either the Central Jersey Group I Tournament that year, or the Central Jersey Group II Tourney. The following season, last year, the Governors were 10-15, but were in the hunt for a berth up until a few days prior to the state tournament. A tough last second loss on the road at Timothy Christian in the middle of the season, and losses in four of its next five against the likes of Dunellen, Keansburg, Piscataway Vo-Tech, and David Brearley after that doomed the Guvs. Last year's schedule included nine teams that qualified for various state tournaments.

This year, both squads sport much more talented teams than in previous seasons. For St. Peter's, the Cardinals sport a front line of juniors Travis Evans and Justin Morgan, and sophomore Dominic Appiah while junior reserve Adrian Johnston provides some help off the bench. In addition, the backcourt is much better than in past years with Brandell Whitehead and Michael Gilbert. Meanwhile, South Amboy has a very good group of juniors led by Larry Lenahan, Colin Krzyzanowski, and Steve Poltritczky along with Mark Simko, who transferred in from Sayreville. On top of that, Brian Seres is one of the top players in the GMC Gold for the past several seasons. The Cards are a very athletic bunch with great leaping ability that translates into a lot of rebounds and blocked shots as well as plenty of scoring punch on the interior while the Governors sport more of a perimeter game, and up and down style with the likes of Lenahan providing some scrap and battles well underneath. However, on this night, St. Peter's would emerge as the better team with an 18-4 surge on the last 10:40 of the first half to defeat South Amboy, 47-34, and regain sole possession of first place in the Gold Division.

Led by the strong inside efforts of both Appiah, who went 5 of 10 from the field and 2 of 2 from the line for 12 points along with 6 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, and Evans, who went only 3 of 9 from the field including a two handed jam that brought the house down, but knocked down three of four at the line for 9 points while grabbing twelve rebounds, handing out four assists, blocking four shots, and picking up a steal, the Cards were too much for the Guvs. Justin Morgan made only 2 of 9 from the floor and 2 of 11 at the foul line for six points, but also had double digit rebounds with eleven while collecting three steals and two assists. Both Johnston and Whitehead added 3 of 5 shooting from the floor while Johnston made one of two from the charity stripe for seven points, four rebounds, and two steals. Whitehead ended up with six points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Jamie Hernandez (1 of 3 FGs for 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal), who saw limited action due to foul problems, Michael Gilbert (1 of 2 FGs and 1 of 2 FTs for three points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals), and Bryan Jackson (1 of 4 FGs and 0 of 2 FTs for 2 points and 2 rebounds) rounded out the scoring for the Cards.

Meanwhile for South Amboy, Larry Lenahan led the charge on this difficult and sometimes frustrating night for the Guvs. The junior forward collected a double-double of 10 points and 16 rebounds while adding two steals and an assist. Lenahan was just 4 of 13 from the floor and 2 of 4 from the line, but fought hard like he has in previous games. Mark Simko had a siimply dreadful game from the field going just 3 of 15 including two threes for eight points while collecting four rebounds, three steals, and a blocked shot. Colin Krzyzanowski chipped in with seven points on a paltry 3 of 14 shooting including a three while also picking up two rebounds, two steals, and a block. Mike DeJoy went one of six from the field with that one made shot being a trifecta for three points while Brian Seres (1 of 8 FGs and 0 of 2 FTs for 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, 2 charges, and a block), Rob Mehal (1 of 4 FGs for 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, and an assist), and sophomore Matt Richmond (1 of 1 FGs for 2 points and a steal) rounded out the scoring for the Governors. Pat Crowley (0 of 1 FG, a rebound, and a steal) and freshman Joe Charmello (0 of 2 FGs and 0 of 2 FTs, and an assist) also played, but didn't score for South Amboy.

For the game, the Cardinals shot 19 of 47 from the field for 40.4 percent while South Amboy was just 14 of 64 from the floor including four threes for 21.9 percent. St. Peter's also fared better at the line despite only going 9 of 23 on the night for 39.1 percent while the Guvs were just 2 of 8 for 25 percent. The visitors from South Amboy forced the Cards to commit 28 turnovers while making just 23, but the Governors simply couldn't take advantage as they scored in single digits in three of the four periods. The home team held statistical advantages in rebounds (45-32), blocked shots (8-5), and assists (11-8) while the visitors held edges in threes (4-0), charges (2-0), and steals (13-12). So while this game was actually fairly close in stats, the Cards wound up with the victory thanks to better shooting from the floor, more attempts at the line, and a large rebounding advantage. The Cardinals, which fell out of first place with a loss to Perth Amboy Tech at home on Friday night, thwarted the Guvs to such an extent that frustration began to boil over for South Amboy in the second half with technical fouls on Seres and Lenahan. Another key was the fact that Seres was hampered by foul trouble with three first half fouls, and his fourth at the 6:09 mark of the third.

Ironically, the opening quarter started out well for South Amboy although both teams struggled tremendously from the field. In the first period, the Governors managed to take an 8-5 lead despite making only 3 of 14 shots from the floor including a three pointer for 21.4 percent while netting one of two at the line for 50 percent. On the other hand, St. Peter's only was 2 of 10 for 20 percent from the field and just one of four at the line for 25 percent while committing six turnovers. South Amboy's saving grace was that it only had three miscues in the opening frame. Similar to last week's game against Amboy Tech, South Amboy jumped out to the early lead thanks to Lenahan, who followed an earlier score with one of two at the line to make it 3-0 at the 7:04 mark. Meanwhile, Seres drew two charges on St. Peter's players including one on Morgan at the 5:30 mark with the Guvs leading 5-2 as Lenahan got another offensive rebound and putback while Whitehead got the Cards on the board with a layup. The diminutive junior guard for St. Peter's would strike again for the Cardinals with an assist on a layup by Appiah to make it 5-4 before Mike DeJoy got his only field goal of the game on a three pointer to make it 8-4 with 2:41 to play in the frame.

South Amboy's lead and control of this game would be short lived. Adrian Johnston made one of two at the line with 1:27 to play in the first to make the score, 8-5 as the game moved to the second and decisive quarter of the contest. It was in this period that the Cardinal pressure became apparent, and the game took a chaotic turn for the best if your a St. Peter's fan and the worst if you're a South Amboy fan. The Governors, which were just 5 of 28 in the first half, only made 2 of 14 shots while going 0 of 2 at the foul line and committing seven turnovers. On the other side of the ledger, St. Peter's ended up having its best shooting quarter by making 7 of its 15 shot attempts while connecting on three of four at the foul line and making another six turnovers for a 17-4 showing that proved to be the difference in this one. The Cardinals opened the stanza with a 4-0 run over the first 1:31 to take its first lead of the game at 9-8 with 6:29 left in the half. Appiah scored first on an offensive rebound and putback, and then Evans followed that up with a coast to coast layup for the lead.

Morgan then added one of two at the line to make it a two point margin at 10-8 with 5:55 remaining before the intermission. South Amboy got its final tie of the game on a patented baseline jumper from Simko for the Guvs first field goal in 5:31 that knotted the game up at 10-10 as the Cards called for time at the 5:10 mark. Things spiraled out of control from there as St. Peter's went on a 12-0 rampage that was initiated by an offensive rebound and putback by Johnston for a 12-10 lead at the 3:05 mark, highlighted by a two handed slam by Evans, and finally capped by a pair of free throws from Appiah at the 1:20 mark for a 22-10 margin. South Amboy managed to close out the half with the final two points despite two missed foul shots by Seres at the 2.4 second mark. Lenahan came to the rescue with an offensive rebound and putback as time expired to make it a ten point lead for the Cardinals at the break. Although St. Peter's only shot 9 of 25 from the floor and made a dozen turnovers, it enjoyed a large rebounding edge of 21-13 in the first half. Appiah led the charge offensively for the Cards with eight first half points on 3 of 6 field goals and 2 of 2 free throws while also collecting three rebounds, a steal, and a block.

Despite only making two of six field goal attempts for four points, Evans still managed to make a significant impact with seven rebounds, two assists, and a block. Meanwhile, for South Amboy, Lenahan was the only bright spot with two of three field goals and one of two from the line for five points as well as five rebounds in the first half. Things didn't start out well in the third period either for the visitors as South Amboy didn't get their first field goal of the second half until the 5:14 mark when Lenahan passed off to Mehal for his only points of the game on a layup that made it 24-14 in favor of the Cards. At that point, the Guvs had only managed three field goals and six total points over a span of 13:26. Whitehead got the basket back for St. Peter's with a jumper off an assist by Evans to make it 26-14 with under five minutes left in the third. Simko then got the first of his two threes on the night off an assist by DeJoy to make it 26-17 with 4:20 left in the third. However, South Amboy couldn't quite get past that nine point margin as the Cardinals finished the frame with an 11-8 run for a twelve point, 37-25 lead going into the final period. Simko gave South Amboy its first points of the quarter with his final three of the game to make it 37-28 before Morgan got St. Peter's on the board with one of two at the line to make it a ten point lead with 4:50 remaining.

Appiah and Evans then finished off the Governors as the sophomore center grabbed two offensive rebounds and put it back in to make it 40-28 at the 4:32 mark, and Evans made a pair of free throws at the 3:08 mark for a 42-28 lead. While South Amboy finished out the game with six of the last eleven points, it was too little, too late as St. Peter's reclaimed first place with a 47-34 victory over the Guvs. With the win, the Cards are now 6-2 overall on the season and more importantly 4-1 in the GMC Gold while South Amboy drops to 6-2 and 3-1 in divisional play.

Perth Amboy Vo-Tech Upends Somerset Vo-Tech, 57-52

By Greg Machos
January 8, 2007

PERTH AMBOY, NJ--Early in the second quarter, it seemed that the recent trend of Somerset Vo-Tech handling Perth Amboy Vo-Tech would continue. The Jaguars, which were 5-2 against the GMC Gold in 2005-06 after being winless the previous season, had a 24-9 lead with 5:24 left in the first half after going on a 15-2 tear over a span of 5:03 against an Amboy Tech squad that they had beaten in both of their meetings last season. In addition, the Patriots, which had recently come off a win at St. Peter's on Friday night, and a loss to South Amboy at home last Wednesday afternoon, were still a team trying to figure itself out. However, in this first game of the GMC Hoops Gold Division Tripleheader on Monday afternoon, Perth Amboy Vo-Tech looked within itself, and rallied behind the efforts of Jose Tavarez and Freddy Espinal to pull off an upset win over a team that qualified for the Central Jersey Group II State Tournament in 2006.

Over the final 21:24 of the contest, Perth Amboy Tech outscored the visitors from Bridgewater by a count of 48-28 including a 34-22 second half showing that propelled them to their sixth victory of the season, 57-52 over the Jaguars of Somerset Vo-Tech. The Patriots, which had already surpassed last year's win total with their upset of then first place St. Peter's on Friday night, got 20 points from Tavarez including 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals over the final 26:27 of the contest. Espinal, who really struggled against South Amboy last week, and had his difficulties early on in this one, found a way to get it together, and follow up his game winning heroices against the Cardinals with an 11 point effort including nine points in the final 9:26 of the game along with several key offensive rebounds and assists on other Amboy Tech scores. The senior center made three of five shots from the floor and three of three at the charity stripe for his nine fourth quarter points while picking up eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, a charge, and a steal over the final twenty-six and a half minutes of the contest.

Joe Bush led all scorers with a game high 22 points for Somerset Tech on six field goals, a three pointer, and seven foul shots. For the game, the Jaguars made 20 field goals, a three pointer, and nine foul shots while Amboy Tech connected for 19 field goals, two threes, and 13 from the line. Over the final twenty-six plus minutes of the contest, Somerset Vo-Tech shot 16 of 41 from the field including a three pointer for 39 percent while Perth Amboy Vo-Tech shot 16 of 49 from the floor including a three pointer for 32.7 percent. However, during that same span, the Patriots were an impressive 13 of 17 at the free throw line for 76.5 percent while Somerset Vo-Tech was only 8 of 15 for 53.3 percent, and in a close game such as this, that ended up being the difference. Turnovers also played a key role. As Amboy Tech's defense stymied the Jaguars, the team from Somerset County began to make mistakes. Somerset Vo-Tech ended up with 21 turnovers in the final three plus periods of action seen by GMC Hoops while Amboy Tech had 19.

Freshman guard, Joey Castro came up with eleven points on four field goals and three foul shots. But like his senior teammate, Espinal, Castro came up big in the final 26:27 of the contest with nine of his points arriving during that stretch along with three rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a blocked shot. Meanwhile, sophomore guard, Anthony Patterson showed plenty of energy and enthusiam despite some mistakes. Patterson ended up with three field goals in eight shot attempts for six points while collecting two blocked shots, a steal, and a rebound. David Laboriel helped out with one of three field goals and two of two at the line for four points along with four rebounds and two blocks. Senior Wilson Diez (1 of 5 FGs and 3 of 5 FTs) rounded out the Patriot scoring with 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists while fellow senior, Sandy Olivo (0 of 2 FGs, two assists, and a rebound) also played, but didn't score. Despite six offensive rebounds by the Jaguars that led two eight second chance points, and 16 points off Amboy Tech turnovers, the Pats managed to pull off their second big win in less than 72 hours.

Over the final three quarters, Perth Amboy Vo-Tech outscored Somerset Vo-Tech in each period, had more blocks (7-3), assists (12-8), fewer turnovers (19-21), and rebounds (30-26). Charges and three pointers were even during that three quarter plus span although Amboy Tech had a 2-1 edge in treys for the game. The Jaguars held the advantage in steals, which helped lead to six fast past break points. Another key stat in the second half was offensive rebounding. Somerset Vo-Tech had eight second chance points all coming in the final 10:27 of the first half off five offensive boards. In the second, the Jaguars only managed one offensive rebound for no second chance points. Meanwhile, Amboy Tech, led by Espinal, came up with five huge offensive rebounds over the final 10:19 that were all cashed in to the tune of eleven second chance points. The game was quite an entertaining one since Perth Amboy Tech's sense of urgency grew as the game went along. The Patriots, which won all three matchups two years ago in their drive toward a share of the Gold, and an appearance in the NJTAC final, were looking to get back on the right track against a team that turned the tables on them in 2005-06.

Arriving at the gym late due to traffic on 287 South near Exit 4 in South Plainfield on Wednesday afternoon, GMC Hoops sat down with 2:27 left in the first quarter and Somerset Vo-Tech already leading 9-7. The Jaguars then went on a 9-0 run to close out the frame for an 18-7 lead. Somerset Tech had four second chance points and four points off turnovers during the late opening quarter spurt. Things would get worse before they would get better for Amboy Tech as the Jaguars from Bridgewater opened the second stanza with six of the first eight points for a 15-2 tear in a 5:03 span that put them in command, 24-9 with 5:24 left in the first half. Backed into a corner, Perth Amboy Vo-Tech responded brilliantly with perhaps its best comeback performance since rallying to defeat Middlesex in the opening round of the 2005 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament in an overtime thriller, 67-64. Jose Tavarez sparked the rally with a field goal off an inbounds pass by Diez, and then a steal for a layup while being for a three point play to make it 24-16 in favor of the Jags at the 3:07 mark of the second.

Diez then got Amboy Tech closer with a pair of free throws at the 2:51 mark to trim the Jaguar lead to 24-18. Following a Somerset Tech score, Tavarez, who ended up with seven points in the frame, got his final field goal on a drive for a layup as he was fouled, but he missed the opportunity to convert the traditional three point play, and the score stood at 26-20 in favor of the Jaguars. Diez then made one of two at the charity stripe with 2:10 remaining for a 26-21 Somerset Vo-Tech lead, and then David Laboriel knocked in a pair from the line after a Jag score to make it 28-23 with 1:05 left in the half. With the momentum beginning to swing toward Perth Amboy Tech's favor, Somerset Tech stole the Patriots thunder by ending the half with a steal for a layup to make it 30-23 much to the chagrin of Amboy Tech coach, Artie Wachtel. Nevertheless, the Pats were starting to make a game of it, and that would continue in the second half.

In the third quarter, which was the lowest scoring period of the game by both teams (combined 20 points scored), Amboy Tech drew even closer with a 12-8 edge to pull within three at 38-35 going into the fourth. Within the first 1:25 of the second half, the Patriots were within three as Tavarez and Patterson both clicked for field goals, and the Jaguar advantage had slipped to just 30-27 with 6:35 to go in the third. Somerset Vo-Tech would pull away briefly with a 6-4 run over the next 4:16, but Amboy Tech's Freddy Espinal got himself going for the stretch run with an offensive rebound and assist for a layup by Diez as he was fouled. Although the senior guard missed the bonus free throw, the Pats were now back to within three at 36-33 at the 2:19 mark. Following a Somerset Tech timeout at the 2:16 mark, Espinal struck again with an offensive rebound and putback to pull his team to within one at 36-35 with 1:26 to go in the frame. However, like the end of the first half, the Jaguars found a way to curb the momentum shift as Joe Bush kept his team ahead with a last second jumper for a 38-35 edge going into the fourth and final period of play.

The tension of the game and the intensity of both teams, particularly Amboy Tech, were raised a notch in the fourth period as there were five lead changes and three ties. Somerset Vo-Tech appeared to have Amboy Tech on the ropes with an apparently backbreaking 8-0 run over a span of just a minute and a half as Joe Bush appared to put the dagger in the hearts of Coach Wachtel and his squad with three free throws, a three pointer, and a steal for a layup to make it 50-43 with less than three and a half minutes to play. However, Perth Amboy Vo-Tech was determined to pull this game out, and refused to lose. The home team closed the game out with a game deciding 14-2 tear over the final 3:17 to pull the game out. The quarter began with Espinal blocking a shot, which led to a Castro bank shot as he was fouled for a three point play to knot the game up at 38-38 with 7:23 left. Then, following a steal and layup by Bush, who scored 12 of his team's 14 fourth quarter points, Espinal struck again with an offensive rebound and putback at the 6:34 mark to make it 40-40. The Jaguars took the lead again with steal that led to a jumper by Bush that made it 42-40 before Perth Amboy Vo-Tech came back with a three pointer by Tavarez off an assist by Olivo to make it 43-42 as the Patriots called timeout with 4:47 left in regulation.

Following the timeout, Bush went back to work for Jaguar head coach, Marvin Gordon, and his team. Fouled on a three point attempt at the 4:32 mark, Bush made all three of his foul shots to give Somerset Tech a 45-43 lead. Then, he followed that up with a three pointer, and a subsequent steal for a layup to put the Patriots in dire straits at 50-43. Once again though, Amboy Tech wouldn't got away, and Espinal was the biggest Rasputin of them all with an assist on a layup by Patterson to make the score, 50-45 with 3:17 left. The senior center then went to Patterson again for another assist on a layup, and then got a pivotal offensive rebound and putback as he was fouled for a three point play with 2:22 left and the scoreboard now reading Somerset Vo-Tech 52, Perth Amboy Tech 50. Nine seconds later, Espinal struck again with two from the foul line to square the contest up at 52-52, which compelled the stunned Jaguars to call for a 30 second timeout with 2:08 to play. Emerging from the timeout, the Pats closed out the game with the last five points starting with a turnover forced by Tavarez at the 1:46 mark that ultimately lead to yet another offensive rebound and putback by Espinal at the 1:28 mark that gave Amboy Tech the lead for good at 54-52.

Tavarez then followed the Espinal go-ahead basket with one of two at the line to make it 55-52, and Espinal grabbed the offensive board once more on the missed second free throw. However, Tavarez was called for traveling at the 1:10 mark, and then Patterson fouled out with 49.6 left so the game was still in doubt. Somerset Vo-Tech wasn't able to capitalize though as the Jags missed the front end of a one and one, and after another timeout by Amboy Tech at the 41.2 mark, the Patriots put the icing on this cake with two free throws by Castro with 9.3 seconds remaining to wrap up the thrilling 57-52 win. With the victory, Perth Amboy Tech moves up to 6-2 overall on the season while Somerset Tech drops to 4-3.

Dunellen Breezes Past E.B. Vo-Tech, 44-24

By Greg Machos
January 8, 2007

DUNELLEN, NJ--It may have not been pretty, but the Dunellen Destroyers continue to roll as they have now won seven straight with a 44-24 victory over GMC Gold rival, East Brunswick Vo-Tech at the Faber Gymnasium in Dunellen. Junior point guard, Jim Schleppenbach made four field goals and three free throws for a team high 11 points while Mike Bartilotti chipped in with three field goals and three foul shots for 9 points. Russell Canizzaro added seven points on a field goal, three pointer, and two free throws while three Destroyer players (T.J. Wenzel, Pedro Moncada, and Matt Cianfrone) contributed with two field goals for four points. Eric Roundtree (a field goal for two points) Keith Lefchuck (two free throws for two points) and Palka (a free throw for one point) rounded out the scoring for Dunellen while Aldrin Nubla, Brock Mundy, and Francisco all played, but didn't score for DHS.

Meanwhile, for East Brunswick Vo-Tech, which we last saw against Warren Tech in the consolation game of the Perth Amboy Vo-Tech Tournament, was led by Kevin Powell with a game high 12 points on four field goals, a three pointer, and a foul shot. Powell scored all five of the Tigers third quarter points in the final 3:53 of the frame as Dunellen increased its 25-13 halftime deficit with an 11-5 showing for a 36-18 lead going into the fourth. Al Rummel and Dillon DiGeronimo chipped in with three pointers for their only scores of the game while Pitti added six points on two treys. For the game, E.B. Tech scored half of its points on four three pointers while Dunellen just had one. However, the Destroyers had fifteen two point field goals versus just five for the Tigers and eleven foul shots while the visitors just had two. East Brunswick Vo-Tech scored in single digits in each quarter while Dunellen was held below ten points in only the fourth and final period.

Upon arrival, GMC Hoops discovered that Dunellen was in front by nineteen at 32-13 with 3:53 left in the third. The Destroyers, which were without the services of senior forward, Lim Beltran, were only leading 12-8 after one, and by an even dozen at 25-13 when the two squads went to their respective locker rooms at halftime. However, Dunellen opened the second half with a 7-0 run over the first 4:07 of the third, and then Powell single handedly led the Tigers to a 5-4 edge the rest of the way with a nice three pointer from the top of the key with 2:57 left in the frame to make it 32-16. Powell then added a jumper with 1:54 left in the period for a 32-18 Dunellen lead. T.J. Wenzel got two of his points on a rainbow jumper from the right baseline off an assist by Canizzaro for a 36-18 lead at the 1:12 mark of the third as the Destroyers went into the fourth with double the amount of points that E.B. Tech had.

In the fourth, the home team got the edge with an 8-6 showing for the twenty point, 44-24 victory. Dunellen, which defeated Manville in the last Destroyer game covered by GMC Hoops, is now 8-2 overall on the season, and tied for second with South Amboy in the Gold Division after the Governors lost to St. Peter's, 47-34 in New Brunswick. The Destroyers are also now tied with South Plainfield at the top of the GMC Hoops Trophy Standings. Meanwhile, East Brunswick Vo-Tech is still searching for its first win at 0-9 overall, and 0-5 in divisional play.

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.