GMC Hoops Summaries--Saturday, February 3, 2007
Local College Hoops

Middlesex County College Rolls Past Burlington County College, 76-58

By Greg Machos
February 3, 2007

EDISON, NJ--For the first time ever, GMC Hoops covered a college basketball game for the web site. Not to say that the idea hasn't been tossed around. Prior to the end of the fall season, the thought was considered about having summaries on college games involving former players in the GMC. So, when Middlesex County College assistant coach, Chris Tarver, gave an invitation to watch the Blue Colts this season, the concept became reality. On Saturday, Middlesex County College, which happens to be my alma mater (got an associates in Computer Science from there in 1993), hosted Burlington County College in a game that followed coverage of Edison's win over St. Peter's, and was prior to the start of the Bishop Ahr and Piscataway game. It is often said what a difference a year makes, and that couldn't be any more true for the Blue Colts.

Last year, Middlesex County College went 2-20 on the season. Following the departure of long time head coach, Matthew Shoban, MCC began to make big strides in upgrading its program. First, the school hired long time Hillside head coach, recent assistant coach at Division II Bloomfield College, and former three sports star at Piscataway, Corey Lowery. The first year coach at MCC, who played with the likes of John Celestand and Justin Bailey at Piscataway, infused the school with new talent including Hensley Charles from Hillside, Jessee Ciardello from Port Richmond in Staten Island, Jarred Sanders of Franklin, and Jasmine Rogers and Shaquir Johnson of St. Patrick's. This is in addition to Piscataway's Rodney Freeney, who decided to not attend Felician since the school didn't offer a scholarship, Juan De Los Santos of Perth Amboy Tech, Sean Ogunnoiki of Edison, Tim Wojcik of Sayreville, and Brian Hennessey of St. Joseph's.

The result has been an incredible turnaround. Coming into Saturday afternoon's contest against BCC, the Blue Colts were an amazing, 17-2, and ranked second in the country among the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Division III schools. The only two losses suffered by the school were against the County College of Morris on December 5, 2006 (97-87), and against Lackawanna College on January 13, 2007. Meanwhile, Burlington County College, entered the game with a 4-15 record. Middlesex won the game by eighteen, 76-58 despite some runs by BCC during the course of the game. MCC shot only 29 of 71 from the floor for 40.8 percent, and made only 6 of 26 from three point range for 23.1 percent, but made 12 of 17 free throws for 70.6 percent. The Blue Colts jumped out to a 35-21 lead as Charles dominated play with numerous offensive rebounds and putbacks while defensively, MCC forced BCC to use up much of the shot clock, and put up shots they didn't want to take.

The second half was much more competitive, but the home team still came out with a 41-37 advantage for the win. Rodney Freeney, who struggled for all of the first half, and part of the second, picked things up with 16 points in the second half on six field goals including two threes and a pair of free throws that completed two conventional three point plays. The freshman guard ended up with 18 for the game along with three rebounds, and an assist. Jasmine Rogers helped out with 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the field including two threes while handing out nine assists, grabbing five rebounds, and swiping four steals. Charles recorded a double-double with a 6 of 13 effort from the field and a 4 of 6 showing at the line for 16 points along with 14 boards. Sanders was 4 of 10 from the floor, and a perfect 4 of 4 at the line for 12 points along with four assists, a rebound, and a steal. In the first half, Middlesex got on the board first at the 18:16 mark as Charles netted a pair of foul shots. On a subsequent BCC offensive possession, Ciardello (2 points, 7 rebounds, and a steal) came up with a block that set up a layup by the Blue Colts at the other end to make it 4-0 with just under eighteen minutes to go in the first half. Ciardello then scored a layup off a penetration and dish by Rogers at the 16:46 mark to make it 6-2. Burlington County College cut the lead to 6-4, but MCC quickly retaliated with a score of its own to make it 8-4 at the 15:58 mark.

A little more than 30 seconds later, Middlesex was on the attack again as Charles passed off an assist on a three pointer by Rogers to make it 11-4 at the 15:20 mark. The Barons from Burlington County then called a thirty second timeout at the 15:11 mark as coach Lenny Carmichael tried to get a change in strategy. The stoppage seemed to work as BCC cut into MCC's lead with a 4-0 run over the next 3:33 to close the gap to 11-8 with a little more than eleven and a half minutes remaining before halftime. However, the Blue Colts essentially put the game away with a decisive 16-2 tear over the next 5:43 to take a commanding 27-10 lead. Charles initiated the assault with an offensive rebound and putback off a miss by Ogunnoiki (10 points and 3 rebounds) at the 11:38 mark, and then De Los Santos (4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist) followed that up with a breakaway layup to make it 15-8 with 11:17 to go before the break. Middlesex then scored another bucket nearly a half minute later to push the margin to 17-8 with 10:48 to play in the half as BCC again called for time.

Following the timeout, Middlesex C.C. went back to work with an offensive rebound and putback by Charles at the 9:19 mark for a 19-8 lead. Then, Ciardello grabbed another offensive board and dished out an assist on a jumper by Rogers that made the score, 21-8 at the 8:27 mark. Freeney then made it a 12-0 run on a fast break opporunity set up by a nice outlet pass of a rebound to make it 23-8 at the 7:55 mark. Charles and Ogunnoiki then helped to finish things off with the 6'8" big man from Hillside netting one of two at the line with 7:06 to play in the half, and then the former Edison High standout drilling a three pointer from the left wing to give the Blue Colts their 17 point lead. Burlington County College made things respectable down the stretch with an 11-8 showing over the last 5:55 of the half to make it 35-21 at the intermission. The second half began much like the middle portion of the first half went with Middlesex charging out of the locker room with six straight points on a steal and layup by Rogers at the 19:33 mark, a short jumper by Ciardello at the 19:06 mark, and a steal and layup by Freeney at the 18:50 mark for a 41-21 lead.

Burlington County College would try to chip away at the deficit with the next four points over a span of 1:44 to cut the lead to 41-25, but MCC got a pair of free throws from Sanders at the 17:06 mark to make it a 43-25 advantage. The Barons then went on their best run of the contest with a 9-0 spurt over a span of 3:06 to cut the Middlesex lead to 43-34 with exactly 14:00 remaining in the game. Highlighting the rally was a three point play at the 14:44 mark that cut MCC's lead to ten at 43-33. But, that would be as close as the Burlington County school would get the rest of the way. Middlesex County College scored 13 of the next 15 points over a span of 3:34 to take a 56-36 lead with 10:26 to play. Two former GMC players accounted for 10 of the 13 points as Freeney keyed the run with a three point play at the 10:59 mark following a nice MCC break led by Rogers, and then a three pointer a little more than a half minute later while Ogunnoiki helped out with a trey at the 12:53 set up by his own offensive rebound off a second missed free throw. Rogers had the other three points on a three pointer off an assist by De Los Santos that got a kind bounce at the 13:42 mark.

BCC tried to cut back into the lead with the next four points to trim the margin to 56-40, but Freeney came back with an offensive rebound and putback at the 9:38 mark to push the Blue Colt lead to 58-40. The Barons scored another four points over the next 1:54 to make it a 58-44 MCC lead, but the home team put away the visitors with a 5-0 run capped by another Freeney three point play off an assist by Ogunnoiki to make the score, 63-44 with 6:20 to play. Burlington County College scored two thirds of the next 15 points to close to within fourteen again at 68-54, but once more, Freeney kept the Barons at arm's length with a trifecta from the left wing with 2:15 to play to make the score, 71-54. De Los Santos and Wojcik (2 points) got into the act toward the end as the former Perth Amboy Tech standout followed his own miss for a score at the 1:43 mark, and the former Sayreville player got into the scoring column with a baseline jumper to help round out the final 76-58 score.

With the victory, Middlesex County College improves to 18-2 on the season while Burlington County College drops to 4-16. You can check out the Blue Colts schedule to see what games they have on tap next at the MCC web site. Next game is home against County College of Morris on Tuesday night, February 6th at 7:00 PM.

Evans Is A Beast As ACS Surges From Behind For Win Over Hun, 71-54

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ--The much anticipated arrival of highly touted junior Tyreke "The Beast" Evans had to wait until early in the third quarter, but the nationally regarded guard didn't disappoint when he finally did get in. On his first three shots of the game, Evans made three pointers as he ended up with four in his limited action. Making six of his first nine shots and ending up with 18 points while collecting three steals, two rebounds, and an assist, Evans along with game MVP and Seton Hall bound Mike Glover, who himself had a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds, led American Christian of Aston, Pennsylvania to a 54-25 second half surge that not only awoke the Eagles from the dead, but also gave them the win easily, 71-54.

Glover, the younger brother of former St. John's standout, Anthony Glover, made 8 of 17 shots from the field and 3 of 5 at the line for his 19 points while also picking up a steal, charge, and block in addition to his exploits on the glass. Senior swingman, Marcus Relphorde chipped in with 6 of 15 shooting including two three pointers for 14 points while grabbing five rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Iona bound, Andre Tarver added 3 of 6 shooting from the field, and two of four at the line for 8 points along with five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Rounding out the Eagle scoring was former Franklin Township standout, Hamidu Rahman (1 of 5 field goals and 1 of 2 free throws for 2 points, 2 rebounds, a charge, and a block), who is now 6'11", UAB bound 7'0" center, Keenan Ellis (one of six from the floor for two points along with a rebound, assist, steal, and blocked shot), reserve guard, Khalil McDonald (1 of 7 field goals, a three pointer, 2 of 2 free throws for 5 points, 2 steals, and an assist), who played much of the first half in Evans' absence, and Michael Tuitt (1 of 4 free throws for a point, two assists, two steals, and a rebound).

Also playing in the contest for ACS were freshman George Harper (0 of 1 FGs), junior Mike Spivey (five assists, two rebounds, a steal, and a charge), Oscar Griffin (0 of 1 FGs, two assists, and a rebound), Blair Carter (0 of 1 FG), and D'Wayne Davis (0 of 2 FGs, a rebound, and an assist), but none of them scored. Meanwhile, for the Hun School based out of Princeton, junior forward Lance Goulbourne led the way with an MVP effort of his own. Goulbourne, who went 5 of 7 from the field in the first half including two dunks and a three pointer while going 2 of 4 at the line for 13 points along with 8 rebounds and an assist, ended up with a double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds along with two assists. Meanwhile, teammate and former Roselle Catholic standout, Idris Hilliard, who has committed to St. Joseph's next fall, ended up with five field goals in 13 attempts and 8 of 10 at the line for a team high 18 points after a 1 of 7 showing from the field in the first half. Hilliard also pulled down four rebounds in the loss.

Junior guard, Douglas Davis also chipped in with 6 of 13 from the field including a three pointer as well as 2 of 3 at the foul line for 15 points along with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Rounding out the scoring for the Raiders were Sean Pucciarelli (1 of 1 FGs for two points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 charges), Daniel Birch (1 of 2 field goals for two points and three rebounds), and John Hill (1 of 1 FGs for two points and a rebound). Junior point guard, Matt Florio (0 of 1 FGs, four rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block before fouling out in the fourth quarter) also played, but didn't score as well as Connor McManimon (a rebound, assist, and a block). The game was a tale of two different halves. As a matter of fact, it was more like two different quarters. The second quarter went to one extreme while the third was the exact opposite. If you took out these two periods, this game would have been much closer.

Trailing 14-10 at the end of one period, Hun embarked on an 18-0 outburst to end the first half to turn a 17-11 second quarter deficit into a 29-17 halftime lead. American Christian managed only one field goal in the entire period and that was a McDonald three pointer at about the seven minute mark. The Eagles were simply dreadful in the period as they were 1-11 from the floor, and 0 of 1 at the foul line while making seven turnovers. The highlight, or lowlight of this quarter of woe for ACS occurred at the 4:23 mark when Ellis missed a dunk that brought the ridicule of the crowd. Add that to the 5 of 17 effort from the floor in the opening period, and American Chrstian shot 6 of 28 overall from the field for just 21.4 percent and committed nine turnovers. To put it in short, the team desperately needed "The Beast". Meanwhile, the Raiders, which were a modest 4 of 9 from the floor in the first quarter along with 2 of 2 at the charity stripe, and five turnovers, made only 5 of 11 in the second, but netted 8 of 12 from the line while making five more turnovers. The result was a 19-3 whitewash of a stanza as Hun catapulted to the lead, 29-17.

However, in the third quarter, the pendulum swung dramatically in the opoosite direction as Evans entered the game at the 7:42 mark of the third and went to work. The junior sensation canned a three pointer at the 7:12 mark ended what turned out to be a 21-0 Hun surge for a 32-20 lead. ACS began to apply full court pressure, and when Evans struck again for three off a Spivey assist at the 5:26 mark, it was suddenly a game again at 34-27 as the Eagles were on a 10-2 tear. The tear would turn into a gaping hole was Evans picked Goulbourne's pocket, and drained another one from beyond the arc to make it a six point, 36-30 Hun lead at the 4:43 mark. Andre Tarver then followed that up with a conventional three point play that made the score, 36-33 with 4:25 left in the period. Glover, who had been hustling all game, got into the act with three offensive rebounds that culminated with a bucket that knotted the game for the first time since the 3:10 mark of the second period.

Already on a 19-7 surge, American Christian wasn't through as it outscored Hun, 12-2 over the final 3:51 for a 31-9 showing in the period. Evans collected two more scores including a steal and a layup for a 40-36 lead, and then Glover netted three of four free throws to push the margin up to seven at the 43-36 with 2:13 remaining in the frame. Hun ended up with 13 turnovers in the quarter, which overshadowed a good shooting effort of 67 percent. ACS was only 50 percent from the floor, but in 24 attempts including four threes. The Eagles, which got a 5 of 9 shooting effort from Evans for 13 points, also added four of eight from the line. ACS then opened the fourth with a 13-5 spurt over the first 3:17 for a commanding 61-43 lead, and never looked back as they won easily, 71-54. It was the sixth win in eight games for American Christian while Hun dropped to 4-3 overall on the season.

Second Half Surge Propels Seton Hall Prep Past Iron Hills Rival Columbia, 53-38

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ--In a game that showcased two of the top guards in Essex County, Seton Hall Prep fell behind, 24-18 in the first half, but shut Iron Hills Conference rival, Columbia of Maplewood down with a 35-14 showing in the second half for a 53-38 victory in the final game of day two of the 2006 Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic at Seton Hall University. Junior 6'3" guard, Ashton Gibbs of Scotch Plains, struggled from the field overall with 7 of 21 shooting including two threes for 33 percent, but made all four of his foul shots for 20 points along with three rebounds, two assists, and a steal to gain MVP honors for his team. Meawnhile, Columbia's junior guard counterpart, Jameel Grace struggled just as mightily from the floor going 8 of 23 including a three pointer for 34.8 percent as well as one of two at the line for 18 points while collecting five rebounds, four assists, and a steal to earn MVP honors for the Cougars.

Columbia, which competed in the 2006 HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic at Plainfield High School at the beginning of the school year, and finished second to Plainfield in both the regular season and playoffs, scored in single digits in three of the four periods while Seton Hall Prep, which GMC Hoops witnessed in a recent scrimmage against East Brunswick, scored in double figures in each of the last three quarters of play. For the game, Seton Hall Prep shot 16 of 53 including four threes for a paltry 30.2 percent while Columbia struggled just as much with a 16 of 50 effort from the field including two threes for 32 percent. Besides having a slight edge in trifectas, Seton Hall Prep, which only committed eight turnovers on the game, fared much better at the line going 17 of 25 at the charity stripe for 68 percent while Columbia, which handled the ball fairly well too with just 12 miscues, made only four of five for 80 percent. Columbia held advantages in rebounding (30-26), blocks (4-3), and charges (1-0) while Seton Hall Prep had edges in threes (4-2), turnovers (8-12), free throws made (17-4), assists (11-7), and steals (5-3).

Only seven players broke into the scoring column for the Pirates, which are coming off a season where they reached the quarterfinals of the Tournament of Champions after winning yet another Non-Public A State Championship. Meanwhile, Columbia, which reached the Essex County Tournament Championship Game before losing to Group I State Champ, Bloomfield Tech, only had five get into the books. Of those seven Pirate players to score, only two managed to get double digit points. Besides Gibbs MVP effort, 6'4" senior forward, Ralph Jones managed to get ten points despite only making 2 of 14 shots from the floor, and 6 of 12 at the foul line. Jones also picked up six boards, two steals, a block, and an assist. Sophomore Jimmy Burke chipped in with 7 points on 2 of 4 shooting including a three pointer while knocking down both his free throw attempts. Burke also added four assists and two rebounds. Senior 6'4" forward, Jason Banzhaf connected on three of his four shots including a trey for seven points as well along with two rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot.

Junior forward, Alan Buzbee also helped out the Pirate cause with one of two from the floor and the line for three points while picking up two rebounds. Jordan Costner had some struggles as well with one of five shooting from the floor, and 0 of 2 from the line for two points while collecting five rebounds. Despite misfiring on all three of his shot attempts, Gary Wallace rounded out the Pirate scoring with four of four from the foul line for all his points while grabbing six rebounds, handing out four assists, picking up a steal, and blocking a shot. Meanwhile for Columbia, no player other than Grace scored in double figures on the evening. Junior Yvon Raymond scored six points on just 3 of 10 shooting while collecting six rebounds and a steal. Senior McDaniel Belony also chipped in with 6 points on 3 of 8 shooting while collecting ten rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. Junior Temes Borland connected for a three pointer in his four shot attempts as well as making both of his free throw attempts for five points while grabbing four rebounds and drawing a charge.

Rounding out the Cougar scoring was 6'5" senior center, Kazeem Are, who made one of three field goals while making his only shot attempt for three points along with four rebounds and three blocked shots. The game was actually more closer than the score indicated as Columbia wasn't as intimidated by Seton Hall Prep as in their previous meetings at the Tip-Off Classic including 2004 and 2005 when the Pirates soundly beat the Cougars. The team from Maplewood, which qualified for the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament, and walloped Woodbridge in the opening round, took it right to their conference rival from the very beginning. In the first quarter, Columbia and Seton Hall Prep scrapped to an 8-8 tie as the Pirates were downright awful from the floor shooting 3 of 15 field goals including a three pointer while making one of two at the line to account for their scoring while the Cougars were a bit better going 4 of 11 from the floor. Gibbs was actually 0 of 5 in the frame while Graces was 1 of 5 from the field. Belony provided a spark for Columbia with 2 of 3 shooting for four points and four rebounds.

The second quarter was the best showing the Cougars had the entire game was they won their only quarter with a 16-10 effort for a 24-18 halftime lead. Seton Hall Prep won both of the final two quarters while the first quarter was a tie as previously mentioned. Columbia was 7 of 16 in the period including a three pointer along with a free throw to account for all of its points while the Pirates had another 3 of 15 performance including a three in addition to a 3 of 9 showing at the foul line to account for their ten points in the frame. For the first half, Seton Hall Prep was astoundingly 6 of 30 from the field for 20 percent while going just 4 of 10 at the line for 40 percent. While Columbia was actually much better shooting 11 of 27 from the floor for 40.7 percent, it still had its share of trouble. Gibbs finally got off the schneid in the second with a 3 of 6 showing including a three pointer for seven points. He actually went 3 of 11 from the field to go along with a rebound and an assist in the first half.

Grace had eight points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in the opening half, but was only a bit better than Gibbs from the floor going 4 of 13 from the floor. Belony, who shot 3 of 5 from the field over the first two periods for six points, gave the Cougars plenty of energy in the first half. His six rebounds and his ability to run the floor in the opening half helped spearhead Columbia's effort. Meanwhile, Raymond chipped in with 2 of 5 field goals for four points and six rebounds. Combined the triumvirate of Grace, Raymond, and Belony were 9 of 24 in the opening half. The Cougars dominated the boards with a 20-12 rebounding advantage while holding a 3-1 edge in blocked shots. In the second half, Seton Hall Prep changed defensive strategy to stop Grace's penetration, and collapse on Belony and Raymond when they got the ball in the paint. The result was Belony going 0 of 3 and Raymond going 1 of 5 from the floor over the final two periods while Grace was 4 of 10. For the game, the Cougar trio were a combined 14 of 41 for 34.1 percent while accounting for 79 percent of Columbia's offense.

In the third quarter, Seton Hall Prep began to assert itself, and show that it was the better team as Banzhaf, who went two of three from the field including a three pointer for five points in the first half along with a steal and rebound, got a score off an assist by Wallace to make it a 24-20 score. Grace then made one of two free throws at the 6:52 mark to push the Cougar lead to 25-20. Things became more ominous for Columbia as Raymond picked up his third foul of the contest at the 5:49 mark of the third, and Gibbs cashed that in with a pair of foul shots to pull the Pirates within one at 25-24. Temes Boreland responded with a couple free throws of his own to increase Columbia's lead to 27-24 at the five and a half minute mark of the third. Neither team would score for the next minute or so before Gibbs plucked a steal off Raymond, and went in for a layup to make it a one point game at the 4:28 mark, and then Jones knocked in one of two free throws at the 3:52 mark to cap a 9-3 Pirate spurt to open the second half, and knot the game up at 27-27.

Seton Hall Prep, which is actually located in West Orange, took its first lead since the early first quarter as Wallace, who did a lot of the little things to keep the Pirates hanging around for much of the game before this rally, swiped a steal, and then passed off to Gibbs, who got the ball to Alan Buzbee for a layup at the 3:25 mark to make the score, 29-27. Following a Columbia thirty second timeout at the 3:04 mark, Raymond picked up his fourth foul at the 2:23 mark, and Jones cashed that in with a pair from the line to make it 31-27. Gibbs, who went 3 of 7 from the floor in the period, then netted a three pointer off an assist from Jimmy Burke for a 34-27 lead. Columbia fought back though as Grace, who went 2 of 5 from the floor in the frame, capped a 4-0 quarter ending run with a drive past Gibbs and through traffic for a tough layup to make it 34-31 going into the fourth. The Pirates were well on their way though with a 16-7 showing in the period. The final quarter saw Seton Hall Prep continue to pull away for the victory.

After an early score by Columbia to pull within one early on in the fourth, Ralph Jones, got his first field goal of the game (1 of 12 FGs at this point) to give Seton Hall Prep at 36-33 lead with 6:38 left in the contest. Jones then followed that up twelve seconds later with one of two free throws to make it 36-33. On the missed second shot by Jones, Wallace grabbed two offensive rebounds, and was fouled at the 6:21 mark. The senior guard promptly connected on both at the linie for a six point, 39-33 lead. The Cougars tried to stay within striking distance as Raymond got his only field goal of the second half off an assist by Grace for a 39-35 SHP lead with 6:04 to go as Columbia coach, Jerry Hill, called for time. Following that timeout, the Pirates went on a decisive 10-3 burst for a 13-5 run and a 49-38 lead with just under three minutes to go. Jones capped the run with a layup off an assist by Burke. Going to a 2-3 zone defense, Seton Hall Prep had a 35-14 surge in the second half for the 53-38 victory as Gibbs and Wallace closed out the game with a pair of free throws over the final 1:12. With the win, Seton Hall Prep is now 2-0 overall on the year while Columbia drops to 1-1.

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