GMC Hoops Summaries--Sunday, December 17, 2006
Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic

Grey Bees Pull Away In Second Half For 68-43 Win

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ--The first of the tripleheader of games covered by GMC Hoops in the 2006 Tip-Off Classic on Sunday, December 17th, featured two teams from Newark. St. Benedict's Prep under the guidance of Danny Hurley, son of St. Anthony's Coach, Bob Hurley, took on Newark Eastside of the Watchung Conference. The Grey Bees, which have always been a powerhouse program, have taken it even a step higher under Hurley with the likes of J.R. Smith going into the NBA, and Lance Thomas moving on to Duke.

This season is no exception. St. Benedict's Prep not only has the likes of Corey Stokes and Samardo Samuels, they also have former Colonia playmaker, Zach Rosen, who transferred over to the school this past summer. Meanwhile, for Newark Eastside, there are plenty of expectations this season with a Red Raider team that is expected to make noise during the season. The Red Raiders are led by Rutgers recruit, Corey Chandler while other players such as Alfry and Tommy Nina and Derek Miller round out an experienced group. The game was actually closer than the score indicated as Newark Eastside was within six with four and a half to go in the third quarter before St. Benedict's pulled away with a 33-14 surge to end the game for the 68-43 victory.

Samuels led the way for the Grey Bees with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor and 5 of 13 at the foul line. The 6'9" junior forward, also grabbed six rebounds while blocking two shots, and handing out an assist. Villanova bound senior, Corey Stokes had his struggles from the field, but made up for it at the foul line to end with 16 points. Stokes only connected on 3 of 10 from the field including a three, but netted nine of ten at the line while grabbing four rebounds, handing out three assists, and swiping two steals. Sophomore guard, Tamir Jackson chipped in with 11 points on four of eight shooting and three of four from the foul line while also collecting four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Despite being saddled with foul difficulties, Rosen made two of the four threes by St. Benedict's while making another field goal for eight points on 3 of 5 shooting while handing out three assists and collecting a rebound and a steal.

Greg Enchenique, another 6'9" forward, helped out with four points as the sophomore made one of two attempts from the field, and two of three at the line while pulling down five boards and blocking a shot. Junior reserve, Mark Robertson came in the game late and scored five points on a three pointer and a field goal while former St. Joseph's transfer Arnell Alexis got in the books with a field goal for two points. Rounding out the Grey Bee scoring was junior reserve guard, Dwan McMillan, who made two free throws for two points while handing out three assists, and also collecting a steal and a rebound. On the losing side of the ledger, Chandler led the way for the Red Raiders with 15 points on four of twenty field goal shooting, and 7 of 7 at the line while also picking up six rebounds, four steals, two blocked shots, and two assists.

Miller chipped in with 10 points on four of eight shooting includng two threes while also collecting three rebounds and a charge despite leaving the game at the 2:09 mark of the third quarter. Tommy Nina had six points on two of nine shooting from the floor, and 2 of 4 at the line while collecting three rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Brother Alfry Nina made one of three both from the floor and the line for three points while picking up two assists, a steal, and a rebound before fouling out at the 6:48 mark of the fourth quarter. Kyle Rosebure made two of four field goals for four points and grabbed two rebounds while freshman Mann had two field goals in three attempts including a three pointer. Three players: Brandon Braswell (an assist and a charge), junior Hassan Arbuvavakrr (a rebound, steal, and a block), and Justin Paterson (an assist and a steal) all played, but didn't score for Eastside. For the game, St. Benedict's got a slight edge in three pointers (4-3), a bigger one in assists (19-7), rebounds (25-18), free throws (22 of 34 for 64.7 percent vs. 10 of 15 for 66.7 percent), and field goals (19 of 41 for 46.3 percent vs. 15 of 51 for 29.4 percent). Meanwhile, Eastside had advantages in steals (9-8), charges (2-0), and turnovers (17-18). Both teams had three blocks each.

Despite winning three of the four quarters in addition to a significant statistical edge, St. Benedict's wasn't able to put away Eastside until the midway point of the third quarter when the Grey Bees put together a decisive 11-2 run for a 46-31 lead going into the fourth. Led by Chandler, the Red Raiders MVP for the game, outscored St. Benedict's Prep by a 20-18 margin over a twelve minute span following a 17-9 opening quarter showing by the Grey Bees. In that first quarter, St. Benedict's connected on six of twelve field goals including a three pointer and four of five free throws while limiting Eastside to just 4 of 12 field goals and one of two at the line. The Red Raiders also committed five turnovers while the Grey Bees just had three. The opening period effort by St. Benedict's was highlighted by a 12-2 run that included a three point play at the 3:45 mark by Samuels and a three pointer by Rosen. Samuels later added a monster two handed jam off an assist by McMillan at the 52.5 second mark that made the score, 16-6 in favor of St. Benedict's.

The second period saw Newark Eastside get the slight edge as Zach Rosen went to the bench with his third foul on an offensive charge drawn at the 2:53 mark with the Grey Bees leading by seven at 25-18. Rosen had picked up his second foul some 48 seconds earlier as the officials called it quite tightly not only in this game, but pretty much in all three contests covered. Stokes, who had 10 points in the first half on 2 of 7 field goals and 6 of 6 free throws, gave St. Benedict's another double digit lead early on in the second with a pair of foul shots at the 7:43 mark to make it 19-9. Eastside would make it interesting though with a 6-2 burst over the next 2:54 despite a steal off Chandler that went for a layup. The run was capped by a three pointer by Miller off an assist by Alfry Nina at the 4:49 mark that made the score, 21-15. However, Stokes came back with a baseline drive for a dunk off an assist by Jackson at the 4:00 mark, and then followed that up with a pair of free throws at the 3:24 mark for a nine point, 25-16 lead with 3:24 left in the half.

Eastside would go on a 4-0 run over the next 1:07 to trim the deficit to 25-20 before a pair of free throws by sophomore big man, Enchenique made it a 27-20 halftime lead for the Grey Bees. St. Benedict's shot better from the floor (8 of 20 for 40 percent vs. 7 of 25 for 28 percent) and from the line (10 of 13 for 76.9 percent vs. 5 of 8 for 62.5 percent). In addition, Eastside had more turnovers (9-7). Nevertheless, the Red Raiders were right in this one, and got as close as three point early in the third. Newark Eastside opened the half with six of the first eight points as Miller sank his second and final three of the game at the 7:30 mark, and then Chandler got a steal of Stokes, which he converted into a layup as he was fouled for a three point play, and a 29-26 St. Benedict's lead with 6:23 to go. However, the Watchung Conference school couldn't get any closer as the Grey Bees closed out the third quarter strong with a 17-5 surge for a commanding fifteen point lead.

With the win, St. Benedict's Prep improved to 4-0 on the season while Newark Eastside, which lost in its opener to rival Irvington, 43-37, drops to 0-2 on the young season. While Chandler earned MVP Honors for Eastside, Samuels did the same for St. Benedict's.

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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