The summaries of all the games played in first, second, third, and fourth, and fifth weeks of the Middlesex County College Summer League 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.
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South River Wins Championship As They Roll Past Falcons, 48-34 |
The South River Rams completed a remarkable run in the Middlesex County College Summer League Tournament by defeating previously unbeaten St. Joseph's, 48-34 in the Championship Game on Thursday night at MCC in Edison Led by Tournament MVP, Zyhiar Dotson, South River jumped out to a 23-5 lead in the first eighteen minutes of the contest, and never really looked back although the Falcons, who were coached by former Syracuse standout, Wendell Alexis, did attempt to come back with a 9-2 run over a 4:40 span in the second half to make it 41-30 with 6:20 remaining.
The Rams, which defeated the likes of Bishop Ahr and Edison, two of the top teams in the National Division, let alone the entire league, played St. Joseph's during the regular season during American Division play, and were soundly defeated. However, this time, South River was ready and aggressive as their defense smothered the younger Falcons, who mostly were made up of JV players.
Let's not take away anything from the Rams though as they quickly grew an 18 point lead with just two or three minutes to go in the half before St. Joseph's closed out the scoring with an 8-4 flurry to make it a 27-13 game at the break. In the second half, South River started things out with a shot that banked in for a 29-13 lead at the 18:53 mark of the second half. Over the next 5:23, St. Joseph's would cut the lead back down to 14 points on an 8-6 showing that made the score 35-21 in favor of South River.
The Falcons had a chance to cut the lead even further, but soon to be sophomore center, Joe LaSala came up with a blocked shot at the 11:41 mark of the second half to keep St. Joseph's at bay. Dan Kosko then followed up with a layup at the eleven minute mark to equal South River's biggest lead at 39-21. However, the Falcons came right back down the floor with a three pointer to cut the lead back down to fifteen at 39-24, and more importantly spark the 9-3 run that would be their last gasp of the game.
After Zyhiar Dotson collected an offensive rebound, and scored on a putback to make it 41-24 with 8:15 to play, St. Joe's went on a 6-0 burst over the next 1:55 to make it 41-30. The Falcons even had a chance to bring the lead under single digits for the first time since the very beginning of the game, but failed to capitalize. South River then responded with a huge score at the other end by Mary McGough to make it 43-30 with just 4:30 remaining. The Rams then closed out the game with a 5-4 run highlighted by 1 of 2 free throws by Dotson at the 1:25 mark, two more foul shots by Kosko at the 1:02 mark, and 1 of 2 free throws by Dotson at the 13.3 second mark to win 48-34.
This win is a huge win for the South River program as the hard work by the JV and Freshman teams over the past couple years may be finally paying dividends for new athletic director Carl Buffalino, and new head coach Mike DelAversano. The Rams, which made the state tournament this past season only to lose in the first round of the Central Jersey Group II playoffs to Shore Regional, finished the summer 10-2 overall while St. Joseph's ended up 11-1.
Note: Due to the game in Elizabeth running a bit late, we managed to arrive for this contest with about 1:40 remaining before intermission. Thanks to Rich Dudas, a long time South River fan, and GMC Hoops Volunteer, we were able to get up to speed. See the final brackets.
Team |
1 | 2 | Total |
South River (10-2) |
27 | 21 | 48 |
St. Joseph's (11-1) |
13 | 21 | 34 |
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South River To Face St. Joseph's For Championship |
The South River Rams continued their remarkable run in the Middlesex County College Summer League by defeating one of the bigger schools in the league, Edison in the semifinals by a score of 35-27 on Wednesday night. It marked the first time since GMC Hoops began covering this league in the inaugural year of the web site that the Rams have reached the Championship game of the tournament.
South River will be facing St. Joseph's, which defeated Roselle Park, 61-50 in the other semifinal. Meanwhile, in the consolation bracket, both Perth Amboy and A.L. Johnson reached the consolation championship game by virtue of forefeits by both Watchung Hills and Monroe. The consolation game will be played at 6:30 PM and the championship game will be played at 8:30 PM on Thursday night. See the latest scores and brackets.
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South River Upends Bishop Ahr In Quarterfinals, 40-37 |
Upsets continued along with the overall dramatic improvement in play in the quarterfinal round of playoff action at Middlesex County College on Tuesday night. South River, which finished third behind A.L. Johnson, and undefeated St. Joseph's, reached the semifinal round of the tournament for the first time since GMC Hoops has been covering the Middlesex County College Summer League.
The Rams managed to do that by knocking off the second seed in the tournament, Bishop Ahr, a finalist last year that lost to Rutgers Prep, by the score of 40-37. Meanwhile, Dunellen, which was down by double digits with around a minute remaining, lost to St. Joseph's by the final of 57-55 as the Falcons advanced to the semifinals. Dunellen, called a timeout when they were down by ten, and without timeouts, but used that as a way to settle things down, and get their shooting attack going.
After the technical was called, Dunellen regrouped, and began hitting three pointers to rally. However, in the end, it wasn't enought as Dunellen just ran out of time. In other action, Roselle Park defeated St. Peter's, 33-24, and Edison rolled past Union Catholic, a team that the Eagles lost a heartbreaker to in overtime the last game of the regular season.
In the consolation bracket, Perth Amboy Vo-Tech, Watchung Hills, and Monroe all won by forefeit while A.L. Johnson won easily over Highland Park. The semifinals will be played on Wednesday night, and the consolation and championship will be played on Thursday night at 6:30 PM and 8;30 PM. See the latest scores and brackets.
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