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GMC Hoops Summaries--January 19, 2012
JV Game Of The Week--Week Five

McMullen, Manne, And Summerer Lift EB Over P-Way, 47-37

By Greg Machos
January 19, 2012

PISCATAWAY, NJ--Two of the top JV programs in the GMC year in and year out met on Thursday as fierce Red Division rivals, East Brunswick and Piscataway squared off in the GMC Hoops JV Game of the Week. This was the third time that EB's JV was seen this year while it was the first time for P-Way's Junior Varsity squad. Led by junior Clarence Morris, the Junior Chiefs had the upper hand throughout much of the first half, but the Junior Bears, led by Pat McMullen took charge late in the second period, and pulled away in the third for a 47-37 victory.

Trailing 22-19 after a reverse layup by Piscataway at the 3:29 mark of the second period, East Brunswick closed the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 28-24 lead at the intermission. Then, after the Junior Chiefs opened the third period with the first four points to tie the score at 28-28, EB finished out the frame with a 10-2 spurt over the last 3:08 for a 38-30 lead heading into the fourth period. From there, P-Way, which only had 13 points in the second half, was only able to get as close as seven points midway through the final stanza.

McMullen led the way to victory for EB with 9 points in the second half, and 14 for the game. The junior guard fired in two three pointers in just 33 seconds to give the Junior Bears the lead for good. Morris equaled McMullen for game high, but after scoring 10 points in the first half including eight in the first period, the junior was limited to just two field goals by the East Brunswick defense. Owen Summerer scored 6 of his 8 points in the game in the second quarter when the Junior Bears outscored the Junior Chiefs by a 19-11 margin to turn a four point first quarter deficit into a four point edge at the intermission.

Joey Genco and Mike Manne also contributed with six points. Genco fired in two threes within the first minute or so of the second period to quickly put EB up by one. Manne scored four of his points in the final minute of the third including a putback with 0.8 seconds left to cap the period scoring and give the visitors an eight point lead. Not to be lost in the shuffle was Alex Fitzgerald, who hustled, and found ways to make plays. For the game, Fitzgerald collected 7 points, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Five of his points came in the second including a putback of a missed shot by Summerer with 1.5 seconds left in the first half for the four point edge at halftime.

Jamari Stephenson chipped in for the Junior Chiefs in a losing cause with 7 points while Elorm Lumor added 4 points. Marinus Tavernier contributed with 3 points. P-Way jumped out to the early lead with the first five points of the game as Morris swiped a steal, and went in for a layup at the 7:35 mark followed by a three pointer from the left side by Rachid Schimou at the 6:38 mark. Summerer got EB on the board with a foul line jumper at the 6:21 mark, and then the Junior Bears pulled within one as Carl Taylor picked up a steal, and went in for a layup nine seconds later. Morris put P-Way back up by three when he dribbled through traffic along the left baseline for a layup with 5:11 to go in the frame.

East Brunswick had a couple chances to score over the next minute or so, but failed to convert as Piscataway went up by the score of 9-4 on two free throws from Morris at the 4:13 mark. The Junior Bears didn't end their scoring drought of over three and a half minutes until Taylor got the long carom off a missed three, and passed to McMullen for a three pointer from the right wing, and a 9-7 P-Way lead with a little more than two and a half minutes remaining in the first. The Junior Chiefs would take a four point lead into the second though by scoring four of the last six points of the frame including a layup by Stephenson at the 2:02 mark, and a bank shot high off the glass by Morris with under a half minute remaining for the 13-9 lead.

The second quarter began with a 8-2 for EB, and Genco was a big put of that besides knocking in two threes from the left side in the first 1:05 of the quarter, he also had a steal off a deflection that led to a putback by Manne for a 17-14 lead with 5:33 to go in the half. P-Way stormed back though with the next six points including a Tavernier layup at the 5:13 mark, two free throws by Stephenson at the 4:34 mark, and a layup by Joe Hines with 4:09 to go in the half for a 20-17 lead. Summerer got the Junior Bears back within one on a putback off a miss by Manne, but Schimou replied promptly with a reverse layup for a 22-19 lead with just under three and a half minutes to go in the first half.

Taking command of the contest, EB scored 9 of the last 11 points in less than three minutes. Summerer started the run with a putback off a missed jumper by Genco at the 2:55 mark. Fitzgerald then made a nice no look pass to Summerer on the left elbow for a jumper and a 23-22 lead at the 1:50 mark. Morris responded with the only points by the Junior Chiefs during this stretch with a bucket off a scoop shot from the right side at the 1:38 mark, but Fitzgerald scored the last five points of the half including a three from the right wing off a kick out by Summerer at the 1:02 mark, and then his tip-in with time running out in the fist half for a 28-24 lead at the intermission. Piscataway started out fast like it did in the first quarter at the open of the second half, but once again, EB gradually took over, and for good this time.

P-Way got a layup from Lumor following an offensive rebound by Stephenson at the 7:16 mark, and then Morris scored a putback off a miss by Stephenson after Morris swiped a steal to help set up his score for a 28-28 tie with 5:02 remaining. Neither team would score for the almost the next two minutes before McMullen drained a three from the left side at the 3:08 mark for a 31-28 EB lead. After stopping the Junior Chiefs at the other end, the Junior Bears went up by six as Fitzgerald passed back to McMullen for another trey from well beyond the arc, and a 34-28 advantage with 2:35 remaining in the period. The scoring stopped again for a little more than a minute and a half before Manne scored on a layup at the one minute mark.

Lumor got those points back with a follow at the 27 second mark, but for the second period in a row, EB got momentum going into the fourth thanks to a tap in by Manne with 0.8 seconds remaining in the stanza for a 38-30 lead. The Junior Chiefs got within seven points on several occasions in the fourth including the 6:54 mark after Stephenson made one of two free throws for a 38-31 EB lead, a layup by David Claybrook at the 6:14 mark for a 40-33 EB lead, and a layup by Morris to make the score 42-35 with under four and a half minutes to play. P-Way couldn't get any closer though as Fitzgerald made both ends of the bonus at the 2:25 mark, and McMullen made one of two from the line with 1:34 left to help wrap up the victory. View the play-by-play from the contest in the blog.

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