The summaries of all the games played in December, first, second, third and fourth weeks of January, Freshman Game of the Week, Freshman Roundup, 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 19, 2007
East Brunswick/GMC JV Tourney--Quarterfinals

Sheehy, Fiorino, And Smith Lead Ahr To 2nd Straight Final Four, 67-57

By Greg Machos
February 19, 2007

PARLIN, NJ--For the second straight year, the Junior Trojans of Bishop Ahr have reached the Final Four of the East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament, and like last year, they accomplished the feat by going on the road to be a higher seeded team. If you recall, in the 2006 EB/GMC Tournament, BGA, the sixth seed, traveled to third seeded, and host school, East Brunswick, and defeated the Junior Bears to reach the semis. This year, fifth seeded Ahr went into the Bomb Shelter, and handed a Junior Bomber team that had won 19 games to earn the tourney’s fourth seed, a ten point, 67-57 loss. Sophomore Matt Sheehy led the way with a game high 17 points on six field goals, a three pointer, and two free throws while fellow soph, Matt Fiorino chipped in with a three pointer, two field goals, and 8 of 10 shooting at the foul line for 15 points.

Also helping out for Bishop Ahr was another sophomore, Jordan Smith, who was one of the heroes in the Junior Trojans opening round win versus St. Peter’s. Smith added to his 18 point performance against the Junior Cards with six field goals, and one of two from the line for 13 points. Tom Lancey, another member of Ahr’s talented sophomore class, contributed with four field goals and one of two free throws for nine points while Steven Grant did the same. Anthony Moreno went 4 of 4 at the foul line for all of his points, and Matt Melnick rounded out the BGA scoring with one field goal for two points. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ledger, junior Chris Robinson led the charge for Sayreville with 15 points on seven field goals and one of two from the foul line. David Finney chipped in with 14 points on four three pointers and a field goal.

Mike Greco added a three pointer, a field goal, and a perfect 4 of 4 showing at the charity stripe for nine points while sophomore forward, Glenn Cannon made four field goals and four of eight foul shots for 12 points. Junior Rashiem Clarke connected for a three pointer and a field goal for five points while point guard Robert Pizzi had a field goal for two points. The first half was mostly even with the Junior Trojans jumping out to a 22-17 first quarter lead only to have the Junior Bombers rally back with a 13-7 showing in the second to actually take a one point, 30-29 halftime edge. The third quarter proved to be the difference maker as Bishop Ahr put together a 16-8 effort that turned their one point deficit at the break into a seven point, 45-38 advantage going into the fourth. Arriving at the 4:05 mark of the third, GMC Hoops sat down with Ahr already ahead by eight, 42-34.

The Junior Trojans got another score from Grant to make it a 15-4 tear, and a 44-34 lead. However, Bishop Ahr would manage to get only one point the rest of the period while Robinson scored on a layup to make it 44-36, and a little while after that, Greco stole an errant inbounds pass by Grant, dished the ball underneath to Cannon for a layup as the youngster was fouled. Cannon missed the bonus free throw for the traditional three point play, and the score stood, 44-38 with 1:31 left in the third. Grant then rounded out the quarter with one of two at the line, and the score was 45-38 going into the fourth. Over the first 1:39 of the final frame, Ahr scored the first five points to take a 50-38 lead, and then after a Robinson layup made it 50-40 at the 6:21 mark, BGA scored six of the next nine points as Sheehy got a field goal, and handed out assists on two other scores by Fiorino and Smith on layups to make it 57-43 midway through the period. The next minute and a half or so saw the Junior Bombers try desperately to get back into the game with an 8-2 spurt that included a three point play on an offensive rebound and putback by Cannon at the 3:03 mark, and a nice spin move along the baseline by Greco at the 2:38 mark.

With just under two minutes to go, and Ahr now leading 59-51, Sheehy found Smith again for a score that once again made it a double digit lead for the Junior Trojans, but Finney retaliated with a three pointer at the 1:12 mark to make it 61-54. However, Sayreville couldn’t get any closer as Bishop Ahr closed the game with six of the last nine points for a 67-57 victory. The Junior Trojans, which are now 17-3 on the season, will take on top seeded South Brunswick in one of the two semifinals at East Brunswick on Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, Sayreville, which defeated Woodbridge in a thrilling overtime game, and was 13-1 at one point in the season, finishes up at 19-4.

GMC Hoops Summaries--February 16, 2007
East Brunswick/GMC JV Tourney--First Round

Smith, Grant, And Sheehy Lead Ahr Past Junior Cards, 63-37

By Greg Machos
February 16, 2007

NORTH EDISON, NJ--A lot transpired this week for those who are attending, or have attended St. Peter's High School this past week. On Monday afternoon, faculty learned that the Diocese of Metuchen had decided to shut down the school effective at the end of this current school year due to several factors including decreasing enrollment and budget concerns. Nevertheless, the Junior Cardinals, which were defeated soundly at Dunellen a month earlier, played with tremendous heart in spite of the circumstances. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. After going on a 5-4 run to pull within two at 10-8 with 2:17 left in the first quarter, 27th seeded St. Peter's began to fall prey to sixth seeded Bishop Ahr's pressure, talent, and depth. The Junior Trojans closed out the quarter with the final four points, and then held the Junior Cardinals to 1 of 10 shooting while forcing twelve turnovers in a 15-2 tear that made the score, 29-10 at the half. From there, BGA went on a 22-9 third quarter run to take a 51-19 lead going into the fourth, and cruised from there to a 63-37 victory in a first round game of the East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament.

For the game, Ahr shot 26 of 58 from the field including a three pointer for 44.8 percent while going 10 of 21 at the foul line for 47.6 percent. On the other hand, St. Peter's was limited to 12 of 51 shooting for 23.5 percent while only making 10 of 25 at the charity stripe for 40 percent. The Junior Trojans held advantages in turnovers (26-28), rebounds (38-28), blocks (4-3), assists (21-5), and steals (12-11) while the Junior Cards held edges in three pointers (2-1) and charges (2-0). Bishop Ahr scored in double figures in each of the quarters including a 22 point outburst in the third while St. Peter's scored in single digits in three of the four periods. As a matter of fact, the Junior Cardinals scored nearly as many points in the fourth as they did in the previous three periods combined. Leading the way for BGA was sophomore, Jordan Smith, who made 6 of 13 shots including a three pointer, and went 5 of 7 at the foul line for a game high 18 points. Smith also collected two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Teammate, Steve Grant chipped in with 14 points on six field goals and two free throws while also picking up nine rebounds, four blocks, two assists, and a steal. However, the efforts of sophomore, Matt Sheehy, made much of it all possible. Entering the game off the bench late in the first period, Sheehy ended up with just 2 of 4 field goals for 4 points, but handed out eight assists, picked up three steals, and grabbed six rebounds.

Marcus Brown also came off the bench to provide a spark with 3 of 7 shooting and 2 of 4 at the line for 8 points as well as five rebounds, an assist, and a steal before leaving the game late with a shoulder injury. Anthony Moreno also chipped in with 3 of 5 shooting for 6 points along with 6 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Tom Lancey (1 of 2 FGs for 2 points and 4 rebounds) and Matt Fiorino (1 of 3 FGs for 2 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals). Matt Melnick didn't score, but got a rebound and an assist while reserves Dan Misdea (1 of 1 FG and 1 of 2 FTs for 3 points and a steal), Jack Hurley (2 of 3 FGs for 4 points), Kyle Quail (1 of 1 FG for 2 points, a rebound, and an assist) saw plenty of playiing time, and broke into the scoring column much to the home crowd's delight. Also playing, but not scoring were George O'Shaunessy (a rebound), Donyin Andeyna (0 of 1 FG and a rebound), Don LaPorta (an assist and two steals), C.J. Cruz (two assists and a rebound), Ryan Hohner as Bishop Ahr played all 15 of its players with nine getting into the scoring column. Meanwhile, for St. Peter's, 12 players got into the game for the Junior Cardinals with nine of them scoring. Leading the way was freshman, Jarell Montas, who made three of nine shots from the floor, and one of four at the line for a team high seven points along with four rebounds.

Bruce Vereen-Nealous helped out with two field goals including a three pointer along with one of two at the line for six points and a rebound. Chipping in was Kofi Bissah, who showed plenty of athletic ability and agility. While the diminutive reserve guard missed all six of his field goal attempts, he did go 5 of 10 at the foul line for five points along with four steals, two rebounds, and an assist, which were all well deserved for his hard work and unwillingness to quit. Johnnie Curry chipped in for the Junior Cards with two field goals for four points along with eight boards, a steal, and a blocked shot. Sophomore Michael Gilbert, who has seen time at the varsity level, scored five points on two field goals and a foul shot along with three rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Sophomore Israel Vargas, who has been battling a thigh bruise much of the season, made a three pointer for his only points along with a rebound and a steal. Freshman, Kyle Case also had three points on a field goal and a foul shot while collecting four rebounds, two charges, and a steal. Junior forward, Bryan Jackson, who like Gilbert has seen limited varsity action, had a field goal for two points along with two blocks, and a rebound. Anthony Lorenzo rounded out the scoring for St. Peter's with one of two at the line for one point along with a rebound and a steal.

Also playing, but not scoring for the Cardinals were Mike Rosado (a steal), Troy Brown (two rebounds), and Donald Taylor (an assist and a steal). The game started out promisingly for the small parochial school from New Brunswick as its 2-1-2 zone defense thwarted Bishop Ahr for much of the opening period. Ahr had difficulty attacking it since entry passes inside were deflected, ones that got through brought a swarm of Junior Cards around the basketball, and shots taken from the perimeter by the Junior Trojan guards weren't falling. In total, Bishop Ahr was just 6 of 21 from the floor, and 2 of 2 at the foul line for its 14 points while committing five turnovers. However, St. Peter's shot themselves in the foot often with nine turnovers including several that were unforced. The Junior Cards just took nine shot attempts, and made three of them while going 2 of 4 at the line for their eight first period points. St. Peter's did actually draw first blood though as Gilbert was fouled going to the basket, and made one of two at the line for a 1-0 lead at the 6:24 mark. BGA actually missed its first four shots from the perimeter, and didn't get on the board until the 5:24 mark when Fiorino found Smith open on the right wing for a jumper to put the Junior Trojans ahead, 2-1.

Following a timeout several seconds later, St. Peter's went out in front again 3-2 before Smith, who went four of seven from the floor, and made two free throws for 10 points in the frame, sank his second field goal of the period off an assist by Lancey to make it 4-3 at the 4:44 mark. Grant followed that up with an offensive rebound and putback off a missed shot by Lancey to make it 6-3 at the 4:21 mark. But, the Junior Cards, who were actually much improved than the first time we saw them play back in January, continued to battle with a 5-4 run over the next 2:04 to close the gap to 10-8 with 2:17 left as Smith traveled. However, that would be as close as St. Peter's would get because Bishop Ahr finished the stanza with a 4-0 run including two more free throws by Smith at the 31.6 second mark, and that set the stage for the onslaught to come in the second. Early on in the second quarter, the Junior Cards kept hanging in there although BGA still held a six point lead. St. Peter's opened the quarter scoring on an offensive rebound and putback by Johnnie Curry to make it 14-10, but Ahr pushed the margin back to six as Fiorino stepped into a crease in the Junior Cardinal zone, and sank a short jumper to make it 16-10 as the Junior Trojans called for time at the 4:56 mark. Neither team would score for the next 34 seconds before Bissah got a steal and the Junior Cards called timeout.

At that point, Bishop Ahr began changing defensive tactics going to a 1-3-1 fullcourt trap, which forced many turnovers by St. Peter's at both midcourt, and in the Junior Cardinals backcourt. Over the final 4:22, BGA added to Fiorino's score with a 13-0 run to close out the half with a 15-0 tear and a 29-10 lead at the intermission. Forward, Marcus Brown, highlighted the spurt with two scores including a layup off an assist by Sheehy, and another off his own steal to make it 26-10 with 1:14 left in the half. Smith then made one of two at the line at the 1:08 mark, and then Sheehy ended the first half scoring with a layup off an assist by Brown to make it 29-10 as both teams went to their respective locker rooms. In the third quarter, Smith opened the second half with a three point play at the 7:37 mark to make it a 32-10 lead before St. Peter's ran off four straight points to make it 32-14. Grant then made one of two at the line to make the score, 33-14 at the 6:23 mark, and followed that up nearly two minutes later with a three point play that was set up by a great save from Smith to keep the ball in bounds. Now leading 40-15 with a little less than four and a half minutes remaining in the third, BGA closed out the quarter with an 11-4 spurt for a 51-19 lead, and it cruised from there for the 63-37 win, and advance to the second round against Monroe.

GMC Hoops Summaries--February 13, 2007
East Brunswick/GMC JV Tourney--First Round

Junior Tigers Roar To Victory Over South Amboy, 64-32

By Greg Machos
February 13, 2007

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ--Coming into the opening round of the 2007 East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament, the Junior Tigers of South Plainfield High School were starting to gel. After losing five of their first six games due to a number of injuries and illnesses, the Junior Tigers had won ten of their last thirteen, and allowing a little over 41 points per game. Meanwhile, the Junior Guvs of South Amboy had been seen twice by GMC Hoops during the course of the regular season with victories at Perth Amboy Tech (74-63) and St. Peter's (50-37) in back to back weeks. South Amboy's JV won the GMC Gold with a 14-6 mark coming into this game. On this day though, the hotter team prevailed as South Plainfield rolled to a 64-32 victory in the opening round of the JV tournament, and will face long time nemesis, Colonia, a team that handily defeated South River, 70-41, in the Round of 16. South Plainfield had three players with ten points including sophomores Tremaine Miller and Mike Muglia, and Aaron Wright.

The Junior Tigers jumped out to a 22-8 first quarter lead, but South Amboy hung tough early on with an 11-2 spurt at the start of the second period to pull within five at 24-19. Sophomore Tommy Reilly, helped the Junior Guv cause with eight points in the first half to key the run. However, that would be as close as the Junior Guvs would get as SPHS tossed a 26-0 shutdown for nearly a quarter and a half to take a 50-19 lead with 2:10 left in the third period. First, the Junior Tigers pulled away from their close advantage with a 12-0 tear to finish off the first half, and then started the second half with a 14-0 outburst as they held South Amboy to 1 of 13 shooting from the field, and 1 of 2 at the foul line for just three points in a 16-3 third quarter showing by the home team. In the fourth quarter, the reserves on both teams saw a good deal of playing time as South Amboy fared a bit better going 4 of 11 from the floor, but South Plainfield won that quarter as well, 12-10 for the thirty-two point victory. The Junior Tigers registered double digit scoring in every quarter including 22 points in the first while the Junior Guvs scored in single digits in two of the four periods.

Arriving at halftime, GMC Hoops sat down with South Plainfield leading by seventeen, 36-19 at the break. At the start of the third quarter, the Junior Tigers went right back to work as Miller found fellow sophomore, Kenny Lucky for a jumper from the right wing to make it 38-19 with just 29 seconds gone by in the frame. About a minute and fifteen seconds later, SPHS was on the board again as Muglia passed off to Wright for a layup to make it 40-19. Almost a minute after that, the home team, which did a nice job executing in transition the entire second half, got another bucket as Miller passed up to Lucky, who then dished to Wright for a layup to make it 42-19 with 5:22 to play in the period. At the 4:15 mark, the Junior Tigers made it an 8-0 run to start the second half, and a 20-0 surge since the middle of the second, when Lucky made a nice chest pass upcourt to Muglia for a layup, and a 44-19 lead. Moments later, South Amboy, which began the second half 0 for 6 from the floor, was compelled to call for a thirty second timeout. However, the stoppage wasn't the cure as South Plainfield continued its onslaught. Chris Fulton got into the act with an assist on another layup by Wright that made the score, 46-19 with a little over three minutes remaining in the third.

Over the next 53 seconds, South Plainfield got two more scores as Lucky picked up a steal and handed out an assist on a layup by Fulton to make it 48-19 at the 2:46 mark, and then Wright, who had eight of his ten points in the third quarter, scored on another layup at the 2:10 mark that made the score, 50-19. South Amboy, which was by now 0 of 11 from the floor, didn't get its first points of the second half until sophomore Matt Richmond made one of two at the charity stripe with 1:49 left in the third to make it a 50-20 South Plainfield lead. Fulton then answered that with a jumper from the left side to give the Junior Tigers a 52-20 at the 1:15 mark. The Junior Guvs finally got their first field goal of the second half on a jumper from the foul line by Reilly with 55 seconds to go in the third to make it 52-22 going into the fourth, and final period of play. The start of the fourth was much better than that of the third for South Amboy. Junior forward, Steven Poltritczky, stayed with a loose ball, and turned it into a nice play as he scored a basket to make it 52-24 with 7:36 remaining in the game.

Richmond then followed that up with a score as he was fouled, and then made the bonus free throw to make it 54-27 at the 6:33 mark after SPHS got an earlier score. South Plainfield then reeled off the next six points over a span of just 48 seconds to take a 60-27 lead. The mini-run included to well executed fast break plays capped first by a layup from Muglia off an assist by Fulton at the 6:06 mark, and then a layup by Fulton off a feed by Muglia as he returned the favor to make it a thirty-three point margin with just 5:45 to play. South Amboy would get another score, but Lucky would retaliate with a jumper from the left wing to make it 62-29 at the 4:04 mark. The Junior Guvs then got their final points of the game on a three pointer from the left wing by Reilly, who ended up with 13 on the game, at the 2:40 mark off an assist by freshman, Joe Charmello, to make it 62-32. Lucky then closed out the game scoring with a turnaround jumper in the right low block at the 2:11 mark to round out the final 64-32 score. For South Plainfield, it was the eleventh victory in the last fourteen games, which has made the Junior Tigers one of the biggest surprises of the season. "We've really surprised a lot of people," said SP's JV coach Bob Conway, "We were 1-5, and now stand 12-8."

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