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GMC Hoops Summaries--Friday, June 25, 2004
Colonia JV Summer League--Week One

Franklin Survives While McCarrick and P-Way Win

It was Friday Night Basketball at Colonia High School as the 2004 Colonia JV Summer League had its second day of action with a set of four games. We were able to see three of them including a thrilling end to a very physical game between Franklin and Woodbridge. The first two games saw Piscataway and Cardinal McCarrick come up with double digit wins over J.F. Kennedy and South Plainfield respectively. Meanwhile, an earlier game was also played between South River and Middlesex.

Piscataway blazed out to a 34-20 halftime lead in the highest scoring game of the evening, and then went on a 12-5 run midway through the second half to take a commanding 48-31 lead with 4:46 to go before the Mustangs made a late run to close the gap to 52-41 with less than a minute to go. However, it was too little too late for Kennedy as the Chiefs rebounded from their opening loss to Franklin.

In the middle game of the tripleheader we saw, Cardinal McCarrick unveiled their run and gun style along with a tenacious defense that had bodies flying all over the place to take a 25-18 halftime lead, and then they pulled away late with a 12-6 run over the game's final 9:30 for a 44-33 victory over a South Plainfield squad that had won the GMC Freshman Tournament at Perth Amboy earlier this year.

In the finale, Woodbridge hung tough, and played surprisingly well against a Franklin team that literally suffocated Piscataway offensively in the opener. The Barrons did a great job finding open men cutting to the basket for layups, and often outhustled the Warriors particularly on the glass. In the end though, Franklin was able to hang on despite numerous chances in the final minute by Woodbridge to tie the game.

Starting with our first game, Piscataway held a double digit lead at the half as the Chiefs scored in the first half alone, double the amount of points they scored in their entire game against Franklin on Thursday. Kennedy tried to show some signs of life by cutting the lead to ten on a 6-2 spurt in the opening 3:15 of the second half. Piscataway responded though with an 8-5 edge to increase the lead to 44-31 with 12:37 remaining.

Then, both defenses took over as both teams combined for only four points over the next eight minutes or so with the Chiefs getting all four for a 48-31 lead with 4:46 left in the contest. JFK tried to make the game respectable with a 10-4 run to close the gap to 52-41 with under a minute remaining, but the Chiefs eventually came away with the 54-41 victory to even their record at 1-1 on the young summer season.

Next, the Eagles of Cardinal McCarrick took on South Plainfield. Early on, South Plainfield seemed to be in control as they took advantage of back door cuts to open up the game with a 4-2 lead with 16:11 remaining in the first half. However, Cardy Mac came back as their up tempo style began to wear down the Tigers. The Eagles put on a 7-3 run to make the score 9-7 with 13:25 to go in the half after a basket was made and the foul, but the free throw was missed preventing a three point play.

Despite a timeout by the Tigers with 11:30 left in the opening half, Cardinal McCarrick was still able to cling to their lead, and then add to it with a 6-2 run to make it 15-9 with 7:39 to go before intermission. With both teams really hustling, players were hitting the ground, and diving for loose balls at what seemed to be a record pace as the helter skelter, chaotic style of the Eagles put them in control of the contest. Over the next 7:15 or so, the Eagles increased their lead to double digits with a 10-5 burst for a 25-14 lead with just less than 27 seconds to go in the half.

South Plainfield would inch closer in the final half minute before halftime with a 4-0 run to make the score 25-18 at the break. The first eight minutes of the second half saw the game played fairly even as neither team could get the upper hand with McCarrick clinging to their seven point lead at 30-23 with twelve minutes remaining in the contest. South Plainfield then attempted to make their move with a couple baskets to pull within 30-27 at the 10:00 minute mark, but the Eagles pushed the lead back to five with a basket to make it 32-27 with 9:30 left.

The Eagles then took command of the game for good with two quick scores over the next 39 seconds for a 36-27 lead with 8:51 to play as South Plainfield called for time. The Tigers would creep closer with a 4-0 run in the next two and a half minutes or so, but Cardy Mac ended the contest on an 8-2 spurt to close out SP, and get the 44-33 victory. The Eagles played a game on Thursday, but as of this time, we don't know what the outcome was.

In the finale, both defenses were very physical as Woodbridge jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. Franklin came back with a 6-2 spurt to tie it up at 7-7 with 12:46 left before the break. For the rest of the half, and in fact, for the rest of the game, the two teams went back and forth in a see saw battle that saw Franklin got up by a few and Woodbridge come right back. Anyway, the Barrons took the rest of the half, but by a slim margin as they outscored Franklin, 10-9 over the final 12:46 of the half for a 17-16 lead.

Then, in the second half, the Warriors stepped things up, and took the lead with a 6-4 run to take a 22-21 lead with 17:44 to go. Franklin then extended the lead to 26-21 with four more points over the game's next 1:17, and forced Woodbridge to take a timeout with 16:27 left on the clock. Coming out of the timeout, Woodbridge went on an 8-3 burst in the next 4:20 to tie the game up at 29-29 with 12:07 left. The Barrons managed to do this by continuing to do a good job getting players cutting to the basket for scores while getting lots of second chance opportunities on the boards.

The next 3:50 of the game was controlled by Franklin, and from the 8:17 mark of the second half, the Warriors would never relinquish the lead they gained on a 4-0 run to make it 33-29. Woodbridge made a couple of attempts to get back in the contest, particularly over the game's final two minutes, but the closest they would get was 35-34 with 1:32 left to play. The Barrons did get a chance at a conventional three point play with 34.06 seconds left to play, but couldn't connect on the free throw, and despite getting the ball back, they were unable to tie it up as the Warriors stayed unbeaten at 2-0. See the latest standings and scores.

GMC Hoops Summaries--Thursday, June 24, 2004
Colonia JV Summer League--Opening Night

Bishop Ahr Cruises While Franklin Pulls Away For Victory

After Piscataway had opened the game with a 4-1 lead, the Franklin Warriors closed the first half scoring with a 14-6 spurt for a 15-10 halftime lead. Then, in the second half, Franklin allowed Piscataway to pull within three at 20-17 with less than three minutes remaining before the Warriors went on a 10-0 spurt to pull out a hard fought 30-17 victory over the Chiefs in opening night action at the Colonia Junior Varsity Summer League.

In a game that was marked by very physical defensive play, the Warriors used tremendous swarming defensive pressure in the first half to grab the lead, and then took advantage of numerous second chance opportunities and turnovers in the second half to come away with the victory. Meanwhile, in earlier action, Bishop Ahr opened their season with a very convincing 49-26 vitory over J.P. Stevens. Other games that were on the schedule for opening night were Cardinal McCarrick, which was making its first appearance in the league, taking on Spotswood, also making its first appearance, and in the nightcap, it was Colonia taking on South Brunswick. See the latest standings and scores.

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