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GMC Hoops Summaries--March 4, 2010
Week Eleven--East Brunswick/GMC JV Tourney

Junior Chiefs Fall To Hillsborough In Championship, 64-41

By Greg Machos
March 4, 2010

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ--Hillsborough seems to have a knack of knocking off the top seeds in this tournament. Last season, as an eight seed, the Junior Raiders from the Skyland Conference's Delaware East Division handed top seeded St. Joseph's its only loss of the season in the quarterfinals. This time around, second seeded Hillsborough waited until the championship to repeat the feat. After the score was tied at 5-5 after one period, the Junior Raiders outscored Piscataway in each of the final three periods. From the time that the score was tied at 7-7 early in the second period, Hillsborough outscored P-Way by a margin of 57-34 to come away with the 64-41 victory, and the championship of the 2010 East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament.

The Junior Raiders got their 64 points on 17 field goals, six three pointers, and 12 of 21 from the line. Hillsborough was actually 2 of 8 from the foul line in the first quarter, but made 10 of 13 the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Piscataway collected their 41 points on 15 field goals, a three, and 8 of 11 free throws. Sophomore Vik Singh led P-Way in defeat with 14 points on 6 field goals and 2 of 2 from the foul line. Donovan Kirkland chipped in with 8 points on four field goals while junior Anthony Greene (2 FGs for 4 points) and Kendall Marks (4 of 4 FTs) contributed with 4 points each. Five players each had two points to round out the scoring for P-Way including Devonte Smith (field goal), Evan VanKline (field goal), Greg Davis (field goal), Edgar Boehne (2 of 2 FTs), and Brandon Williamson (field goal).

Neither team got off to a good start as Hillsborough made a three pointer and two free throws in the first while Piscataway had a three and a field goal. The Junior Raiders were held to no field goals over the final 7:41 of the first while the Junior Chiefs didn't score a point in the last 6:53. In addition, the Chiefs picked up eight team fouls with under a minute to play in the period. Hillsborough jumped out to a 4-0 lead with just 19 seconds gone by before Piscataway got a three pointer, and then an offensive rebound and follow by Singh off a miss by Davis for a 5-4 lead at the 6:53 mark. The Junior Chiefs had a chance to increase their lead, but turned the ball over at the 6:20 mark. Hillsborough then had a chance to go ahead, but misfired on two foul shot attempts at the 5:44 mark.

After P-Way picked up its fourth team foul at the 5:19 mark, both teams continued their scoring droughts. The Junior Chiefs had another chance to increase its lead when Kirkland grabbed an offensive board, but Smith was called for traveling at the 3:48 mark. Hillsborough then missed a layup attempt at the 3:10 mark. Both teams seemed to be overanxious early on, and that was understandable due to the magnitude of the game. Piscataway, however, was beginning to get itself in foul trouble as Smith picked up his second personal at the 2:43 mark. Kirkland made a nice defensive play by drawing a charge at the 2:24 mark, and then got another offensive rebound, but it was all for naught as Greene was called for traveling this time at the 1:55 mark. Hillsborough couldn't take advantage either. The Junior Raiders had another chance to tie or take the lead, and they misfired on two free throws at the 1:43 mark.

Finally, Hillsborough tied the game at 5-5 when Williamson picked up his second foul for the Junior Chiefs, and it made one of two from the line with 1:14 left in the first. P-Way picked up its eighth team foul, and Hillsborough, now in the bonus, missed the front end of a one and one with 38 seconds to go in the first. Neither team scored the rest of the period, and the score remained tied at 5-5 going into the second. The slow start continued into the early second as both teams only had two points over the first 2:31 of the period. Hillsborough had a chance to go out in front when its big man blocked a shot by Boehne, but threw away the pass on the ensuing fast break opportunity. Finally though, the Junior Raiders went in front with an offensive rebound and putback off a missed three pointer at the 7:20 mark for a 7-5 lead. Boehne knotted the game back up at 7-7 when he made both of his free throws at the 6:46 mark.

The score remained tied despite a flurry of activity. Marks drove in for a PWay layup, but the shot was blocked by a Hillsborough defender. The Junior Raiders then came down the floor for a scoring chance that was blocked by Kirkland. The Junior Chiefs then came down, and missed two opportunities to score as Marks missed a layup, and Davis missed on the follow with 6:02 left in the half. Following a 30 second timeout at the 5:43 mark, Hillsborough began to take over with what was a 12-4 run over a 4:07 span. The spurt started with a putback at the 5:29 mark for a 9-7 lead. After Piscataway went into the bonus, and Kirkland missed the front end of a one and one at the 5:15 mark, Hillsborough increased its lead to three at 10-7 on a one of two showing from the charity stripe at the 4:35 mark. Piscataway then made its first field goal in 9:30 as Davis drove in for a layin that closed the gap to 10-9 at the 4:24 mark.

Hillsborough then got layups at the 3:07 and 2:38 marks for a 14-9 lead as P-Way called for time at the 2:33 mark. Following the timeout, Smith passed from the left corner back to Singh on the left wing for a jumper inside the arc, and a 14-11 Junior Raiders lead with 2:21 to play in the half. Hillsborough then went back up by five with a drive through traffic that made the score, 16-11. Piscataway then got in deeper trouble as Smith picked up his third foul at the 1:36 mark, and Hillsborough took advantage by making one of two from the line, and scoring on a putback of the missed second foul shot to cap the spurt, and lead 19-11. The Junior Raiders had a chance to go up by double digits, but Singh came up with a key block on the defensive end, and was eventually rewarded at the other end with a layup off a dish by Greene with 1:03 to go in the half. Hillsborough then netted two free throws after Greene picked up his second foul at the 55 second mark.

The Junior Raiders then went up by double digits for the first time in the game on a three pointer from the left corner with 14 seconds to play in the half before Williamson made a right handed layup along the left baseline for a 24-15 Hillsborough lead at the intermission. The Junior Raiders connected on six field goals, a three pointer, and 4 of 6 from the line in the second while the Junior Chiefs connected on four field goals and two of three from the line. At the half, Hillsborough had six field goals, two threes, and made 6 of 14 foul shots while Piscataway had five field goals, a three pointer, and two of three from the line. Singh led the way for P-Way with 6 points while Davis, Boehne, and Williamson each added two. The second half started out with Hillsborough scoring on a drive for a layup, and a 26-15 lead. Meanwhile, signs of frustration started to show on the Junior Chiefs as Kirkland picked up his second foul at the 6:23 mark.

Kirkland, who had six points on three field goals in the period, grabbed another offensive rebound and hit a fadeaway jumper on the follow to close the gap to 26-17 at the 5:49 mark. Hillsborough then went on an 11-4 run over the next 2:49 as it got three treys and a breakaway layup for a 37-21 lead. The spurt was ignited by a three pointer from the right side for a 29-17 lead at the 5:06 mark. After a layup by Kirkland off a dish by Singh at the 4:46 mark, and a Hillsborough timeout with 4:41 to go in the period, the Junior Raiders got a three pointer from the top of the key for a 32-19 lead with just under four minutes to play in the third. Marks netted two free throws for Piscataway at the 3:52 mark for a 32-21 Hillsborough lead before the Junior Raiders drew a third foul on Kirkland at the 3:30 mark, hit a three at the 3:18 mark, and scored on a breakway layup off a steal with exactly three minutes remaining in the period for a 16 point lead.

VanKline then got his only points of the game on a floater with 2:35 to go in the period for a 37-23 Hillsborough lead. The Somerset County school then got another three at the 2:17 mark for a 40-23 advantage. Kirkland missed two free throws at the line, but after an offensive rebound and miss by Smith, Kirkland got the offensive board, and put in the follow for a 40-25 Junior Raiders lead with 2:06 remaining in the third. Smith then ended the third period scoring with an offensive rebound and putback of his own to close the gap to 40-27 at the 1:11 mark. Hillsborough made four threes and two field goals in the period while P-Way made five field goals, and 2 of 4 free throws. The fourth started out with the Junior Raiders getting the first four points on a layup, and then two foul shots at the 7:21 mark for a 44-27 lead. Greene trimmed the deficit to fifteen on a floater at the 7:14 mark. Already in the bonus again, Hillsborough missed the front end of a one and one, but Boehne lost the ball out of bounds with 6:34 left.

Eleven seconds later, Boehne was assessed a technical foul, and Hillsborough took advantage with two free throws at the 6:23 mark for a 46-29 lead. Following a Piscataway timeout with 5:53 left, Smith dished to Kirkland for a layup, and a 46-31 Hillsborough lead with 5:47 to go. The Junior Raiders got another score to go up by seventeen again before Singh stepped to the line, and made two foul shots for a 48-33 score at the 5:18 mark. Hillsborough then got a score, and two free throws while Kirkland fouled out for P-Way at the 4:53 mark. Greene then scored on a post-up move down low at the 4:43 mark to make the score, 52-35. Desperately trying to get back into the game, Piscataway applied fullcourt pressure, but Hillsborough broke it for a layup, and a 54-35 lead with 4:35 to go. After Smith missed two free throws with 4:19 left, the Junior Raiders went on an 8-4 run including several easy layups off the press break for a 62-39 lead. Hillsborough and Piscataway then exchanged scores for a 64-41 final.

With the loss, Piscataway ends a still very successful season at 24-2. Both the Junior Chiefs and Hillsborough made two straight trips to the EB/GMC JV Tourney Final Four. Last year both teams lost in the semifinal round as Piscataway was defeated by Cardinal McCarrick (74-67), and Monroe defeated Hillsborough (63-59). This game marked the fourth time Piscataway's JV was covered by GMC Hoops, and the Junior Chiefs were 3-1 in those games including victories over Perth Amboy, St. Joseph's, and Carteret.