The summaries of all the games played in December, first, second, third, and fourth weeks of January, the first and second weeks of February, Freshman Game of the Week, JV Game of the Week, JV Roundup, and the Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic have not vanished, we have archived them. So, feel free to take a look if you have missed out on some of the action from earlier this year. We've also just archived the summaries on the several scrimmages that we covered in the pre-season. Check them out in our GMC Hoops Summary archive.

GMC Hoops Summaries--February 23, 2007
Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament--Championship

St. Joseph's (White) Wins First Ever Frosh Title, 53-48

By Greg Machos
February 23 , 2007

PERTH AMBOY, NJ—The fifth year of GMC Hoops coverage of freshmen basketball in the Greater Middlesex Conference came to its conclusion on Friday with the Championship Game of the 2007 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament. This year’s title tilt would feature ninth seeded, and hometown favorite Perth Amboy against the third seeded Little Falcons of St. Joseph’s (White). The Little Falcons, which make up a significant portion of a much heralded freshman class at St. Joseph’s, began the season in strong fashion with a 69-26 rout of South Brunswick’s freshmen team on opening day. Then, the team took off an arduous schedule that included the likes of Bayonne, Cardinal McCarrick, Elizabeth, St. Patrick’s, Roselle Catholic, Monsignor Farrell of Staten Island, Peddie, the Hun School, and Lawrenceville Prep. Despite that, the Little Falcons compiled a 20-3 record going into the final. Meanwhile, their opponent, the Panther cubs of Amboy faced a mostly GMC schedule, and put together a 15-6 mark including wins over eighth seeded Colonia in the first round, an upset over top seeded Monroe in the Quarterfinals, and another upset over fourth seeded Bishop Ahr semifinals, 62-53. In the other semi, St. Joseph’s (White) earned an opportunity to win its first ever Frosh Tourney title by defeating a seventh seeded Spotswood that knocked off second seeded Piscataway in its Quarterfinal game, 58-46.

Much to the delight of the home crowd, which was whipped into a frenzy much like those days when Jermaine Clark, Marcus Carty, and Brett Brown roamed the floor, or better yet, when Jose Urena, Ra-Shun Roberts, Ronald Snipes, and Adam Rivera were winning the last ever sectional crown for PAHS in 1993, the Panther Cubs gave the Little Falcons all it could handle before St. Joe’s prevailed, 53-48. Leading the way for St. Joseph’s (White) was forward, Matt Delaney, who made 5 of 9 shots from the floor, and 5 of 7 free throws for 15 points while collecting 7 rebounds, an assist, steal, and block. Jonathan Lee chipped in with five field goals in nine attempts as well for 10 points while picking up six rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Eric Peterson added twelve points on 4 of 9 shooting from the floor including two three pointers, and a perfect 2 of 2 at the line. Peterson also grabbed four rebounds, swiped two steals, and handed out an assist. The catalyst of it all though was the play of point guard, Dhaliwal Gaganjot, who not only made three of six shot attempts including a three pointer for seven points, but also dished out ten assists, grabbed eight rebounds, and had three steals. Nick Contino still managed to notch seven points despite only going 3 of 10 from the floor, and one of three at the line. Contino also handed out two assists while collecting a steal.

Rounding out the scoring for St. Joe’s was Jared DeBrizzi, who made his only field goal attempt for two points. Andrew Presnal, who was the start in St. Joe’s (White) huge opening day win over South Brunswick, also played, but didn’t score as he missed his only shot attempt. On the other side of the ledger, Jonathan Santano led the charge in Amboy’s losing effort with a scorcher of a day from the field by making nine of twelve shots along with both of his free throw attempts for a game high 20 points. The forward also picked up four rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Lamount Toomer chipped in with 4 of 10 shooting in addition to a perfect four of four at the foul line for 12 points along with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Brian Paulino added eight points on four of eleven shooting as well as three steals, and an assist. Domingo Rosario made two of seven shots including a three for five points as well as four rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Ariel Hilton rounded out the scoring with three points on one of two shooting from both the floor and the line while Simuel Williams made one of three shots while adding two assists and a rebound. Hilton also picked up two rebounds.

For the game, the Little Falcons made 21 of 50 shots including three treys for exactly 42 percent while Perth Amboy shot slightly better going 21 of 49 including a trey for 42.9 percent. At the foul line, the Panther Cubs made seven of eight attempts for 87.5 percent while St. Joseph’s went 8 of 14 at the charity stripe for 57.1 percent. The Little Falcons had problems handling the basketball against Amboy’s defense with 22 turnovers versus only 16 by the Panther Cubs. In other stat departments, St. Joseph’s enjoyed edges in three pointers (3-1), rebounds (25-18), assists (15-9), and blocks (1-0) while Perth Amboy was able to stay in the game with an 11-8 edge in steals. The Little Falcons scored in double digits in all four periods while Amboy only did that in two. St. Joseph’s also outscored the Panther Cubs in three of the four periods. The first period was the lowest scoring stanza of the game with both teams combining for sixteen points as St. Joseph’s took a 10-6 lead. The Little Falcons of St. Joe’s White made only four of thirteen shots along with two of four free throw attempts while making four turnovers including one on each of their first three possessions. On the other hand, Amboy was worse going just 2 of 13 from the floor, but making both foul shot attempts, and only committing one turnover. Delaney and Lee each had four points to combine for 80 percent of the Little Falcon first period offense while Gaganjot pulled down five rebounds.

St. Joseph’s opened the scoring as Gaganjot found Lee for a layup to make it 2-0 at the 5:36 mark after neither team scored for nearly the first two and a half minutes of the game. Brian Paulino evened things up for Amboy, but St. Joe’s scored the next four points including a pair of free throws by Delaney to make it 6-2 at the 3:28 mark. Over the next thirty-nine seconds or so, Perth Amboy rallied back with four points of its own including a pair of free throws by Toomer at the 2:49 mark to tie things up at 6-6. The third seeded Little Falcons scored the last four points of the period to take a 10-6 lead, and could have made it more, but Lee came up empty at the foul line with 18.1 seconds left in the first so the score stood at 10-6 going into the second. Moving on to the second quarter, both teams picked up the pace significantly on their respective offensive ends. For the quarter, St. Joseph’s made six of seven shots including a three pointer while Perth Amboy connected on 7 of 9 field goal attempts. Despite seven turnovers for the frame, the Little Falcons made two of three at the foul line to garner the 15-14 edge in the stanza. St. Joseph’s went to work right away with a Delaney basket and a foul at the 7:52 mark. Although the forward missed the bonus charity shot, his team still held a 12-6 advantage. Shortly afterward, Peterson picked up a steal and went the other way for a layup to make it 14-6 at the 7:22 mark. St. Joseph’s would make it a 16-6 lead before Perth Amboy would rally back with a 10-0 tear to tie the game at 16-16. The Little Falcons, which committed seven more turnovers in the second, gave the Panther Cubs many transition and easy basket opportunities during the run.

St. Joe’s would recover though to the tune of a 9-0 spurt to retake control of the matchup with a 25-16 lead. Amboy, which shot 9 of 22 in the first half along with a two of two showing at the line, closed the half with the final four points including two foul shots by Santano at the 2:15 mark, and a score by Hilton from Michael Quezada at the 1:08 mark to make it 25-20 at the half. For the half, Lee (8 points), Delaney (7 points), and Peterson (6 points) accounted for 21 of St. Joseph’s 25 first half points, or 84 percent of the Little Falcon offense while Santano, Toomer, and Paulino accounted for 80 percent of Amboy’s offense. The third quarter began with St. Joe’s increasing its lead to double digits on a 6-0 run consisting of 1 of 2 free throws at the 7:22 mark by Contino to make it 26-20, a three pointer at the 5:45 mark by Gaganjot off an inbounds pass from Contino to make it 29-20, and a Gaganjot steal for a layup to make it 31-20 at the 5:30 mark. But, Perth Amboy would respond with six straight points of its own including two scores by Santano, and a layup by Paulino for a 31-26 St. Joe’s lead as the Little Falcons called for time at the 4:46 mark. Following the timeout, Perth Amboy closed the period with a 13-7 spurt including a steal and layup by Rosario for a 38-37 Little Falcon lead, and a rebound and assist by Santano on a layup by Paulino to give Amboy its first lead of the game at 39-38 going into the final period. St. Joseph’s turned the ball over six more times in the third contributing to the 19-7 Perth Amboy surge to end the third period. Trailing by one at the start of the fourth, the Little Falcons embarked on a 6-0 burst to retake the lead for good at 44-39. Gaganjot sparked the rally with a steal for a layup to make it 40-39 at the 6:49 mark. Gaganjot then followed that up with an assist on a Delaney layup, and then Peterson capped the rally with a steal for a layup that forced Amboy to call for a timeout at the 5:07 mark. Following the stoppage, St. Joe’s put Perth Amboy on the brink with an offensive rebound and putback by Delaney at the 3:58 mark to make it 46-39, and a Contino drive for a layup a little over a minute later to make it 48-39 at the 2:53 mark.

Following another Perth Amboy timeout at the 2:44 mark, the Panther Cubs roared back with seven of the next nine points including one of two free throws by Hilton, and an offensive rebound and putback by Santano for a 50-46 St. Joseph’s lead with 57.9 seconds to play. However, Amboy could only get as close as 51-48 after a Santano layup from Rosario with 13 seconds left. Despite a lot of stomping and banging on the bleachers by the rather large home crowd, Delaney calmly sank a pair of free throws at the 9.1 second mark to seal the 53-48 win. With the victory, St. Joseph’s (White) finishes the year at 21-3 while Perth Amboy ends its season at 15-7.

GMC Hoops Summaries--February 23, 2007
Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament--Consolation

Osofsky Leads Last Second Rally For Spotswood, 52-49

By Greg Machos
February 23 , 2007

PERTH AMBOY, NJ—In the first game of a final round doubleheader at the 2007 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament two division rivals squared off for third place. Fourth seeded Bishop Ahr, which reached the finals of last season’s tourney, took on seventh seeded and Blue Division rival, Spotswood in the Consolation game. The Young Chargers led by Tyler Osofsky, defeated tenth seeded Old Bridge and second seeded Piscataway before losing in the semifinals to the St. Joseph’s White team, 58-46. Osofsky, the younger brother of senior Bryan Osofsky, and alumnus Dan Osofsky (graduated in 2004), scored a team high 20 points to lead a Spotswood rally from a 40-35 deficit late in the third period for a 52-49 win. Trailing 49-47 with 34.4 seconds left, Spotswood scored the last five points all courtesy of Osofsky to emerge victorious. First, Osofsky, who saw some action with the Charger varsity during the fall at the 2006 HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic, scored on a layup with 22.4 seconds remaining to tie the game at 49-49. Then, Osofsky took a pass from teammate, Mike Liming, and scored on another layup as he was fouled for a three-point play with 1.9 left to seal the win. Bishop Ahr did put up a desperation heave, but it only hit backboard as time expired.

Leading the way in a losing cause for Ahr was forward Justin Peoples, who scored 21 points. The game was close throughout with the Young Chargers taking a17-15 lead after one, and increasing it to 30-26 at the half on a 13-11 second quarter showing. In the second half, there were a total of five lead changes and three ties while neither team had a lead bigger than five did. BGA did begin the second with a 10-2 tear over the first 3:45 to turn a four point deficit into a four point lead at 36-32 with 4:15 left in the third. The Little Trojans, which lost 62-53 to eighth seeded Perth Amboy in the semifinals, got going early in the third. Peoples passed off to Brandon Vitabile for a layup to make it 30-28 with just 17 seconds gone by in the third. Nearly a minute later, Bishop Ahr broke Spotswood’s pressure, and the result was a layup by Immanuel Krogmann off an assist by Vitabile to tie it at 30-30 with 6:51 still left in the period. The Young Chargers would retake the lead with their only basket of this early stretch, but BGA evened it up again with a layup by Peoples from Matt Bernocchi to make it 32-32 at the 5:44 mark.

With its huge size advantage, and more athleticism, it seemed that the Little Trojans were finally beginning to wear Spotswood down. Krogmann gave BGA the lead with short jumpers from Darrius Griffin on back to back possessions at the 4:32 and 4:18 marks to make the score, 36-32 when Spotswood coach, Dale Rubino, called timeout with 4:15 left in the frame. Emerging from the stoppage, neither team would score for over a minute until Cody Leonard was fouled by Krogmann on a putback attempt that was blocked. Leonard made one of two from the line to make it 36-33 with exactly three minutes left in the third. Spotswood got some additional momentum moments later when James Pareti drew a charge on Peoples at the 2:52 mark, but the Young Chargers couldn’t take advantage. Bishop Ahr then pushed the lead back to five with a layup by Peoples off an assist by Irvin Torres at the 2:09 mark to make it 38-33. Almost fifty seconds after that, Spotswood got back on the board with an offensive rebound and follow by Liming off a missed jump shot by Osofsky to make it 38-35 with 1:20 left in the quarter.

BGA pushed the margin back to five when Vitabile found Peoples for a layup and the foul. Peoples missed the bonus for a traditional three-point play, and then Vick Napuano was unable to put back the offensive rebound so the score remained 40-35 with 30 seconds left. Osofsky, who had 14 of his 20 points in the first half, didn’t get on the board in the second half until the 4.1 second mark of the third. He would finally score on a layup to make it 40-37 entering the fourth and final period. The fourth quarter saw Spotswood rally to take the lead early on, lose it, and then regain it to win the contest in the end. After trailing 40-35 near the end of the third, the Young Chargers outscored their division rivals by a 17-9 margin to win the game. Thirteen seconds into the final period, Spotswood crept to within one when Tom Pareti passed off to Liming for a score to make it 40-39. Ahr responded with a score inside by Napuano off an assist by Griffin to make it a three-point lead again at 42-39 with 7:32 to play. Spotswood returned the favor with a score to pull within one again at 42-41 with 7:09 left as Bishop Ahr called for time. Apparently, the timeout wasn’t the tonic as Spotswood took its first lead since early in the third on two free throws by Liming to make it 43-42 at the 6:50 mark.

About a minute and twenty seconds later, James Pareti got a steal that resulted in another Young Charger score as Osofsky grabbed an offensive rebound and dished to Liming for a score to make it 45-42 with 5:31 left. Liming didn’t stop there either. He hustled to pick up a loose ball on a subsequent possession, and handed out an assist on a layup by James Pareti to make it a five point, 47-42 lead with a little under five minutes remaining. Against the ropes, Bishop Ahr fought back with a 7-0 spurt over the next 4:20 to take a two point lead with a little over a half minute left in the contest. Peoples sparked the rally with one of two free throws at the 4:42 mark to make it a 47-43 Spotswood lead. Neither team would score for the next two minutes including an 0 of 2 showing at the line by Osofsky at the 3:01 mark. However, Ahr ended the drought at the 2:42 mark when Griffin inbounded to Krogmann for a jumper in the key that made it 47-45.

Both teams then exchanged turnovers in a span of five seconds. After that, Torres was fouled on a layup attempt that produced a one of two effort at the foul line for a 47-46 Spotswood lead with 1:57 left in regulation. The Young Chargers then had a missed front end of a one and one by James Pareti at the 1:41 mark, and then a five second call against them at the 1:17 mark. Ahr then retook the lead as Peoples, who was fouled on the ensuing shot attempt, made a pair of charity shots for a 48-47 lead with 1:15 to play. Liming then missed another front end of a bonus at the 49.2 mark. The LittleTrojans called timeout at the 40.3 second mark, and then BGA concluded its run with a one of two showing at the line by Krogmann to make it 49-47 with 34.4 to play. However, on the missed second free throw, Griffin grabbed the offensive rebound, but missed the follow that would have made it a two-possession game. With new life, the Young Chargers, led by Osofsky’s late heroics, rallied to tie, and then win the game. With the victory, Spotswood ended its season at 15-4 while Bishop Ahr concluded theirs at 17-4.

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