We've just archived the summaries on several scrimmages that we covered in the pre-season, the Freshmen and JV Games of the Week, and Freshmen and JV Roundups.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 26, 2008
Holiday Tournaments--Roselle Park Tourney

Metuchen Rolls Past Roselle Park As Crusco Leads Way, 76-50

By Greg Machos
December 26, 2008

ROSELLE PARK, NJ—On this day after Christmas, the Metuchen Bulldogs were seeking a post holiday gift, a victory. Until Friday afternoon against Roselle Park, the GMC Blue representative, which moved up to Group II this season, had yet to win a game, and had given up an average of 81.5 points per game on defense while being outscored by an average of 24.5 points per game. However, the Panthers of Roselle Park, which compete in the Valley Division of the Mountain Valley Conference, presented an opportunity for the Bulldogs that they couldn't pass up.

With a full court man to man defense that produced numerous turnovers, Metuchen jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first 3:20 of the game, and never really looked back in a 76-50 victory in the opening round of the 2008 Roselle Park Tournament. Mike Crusco, who may be only a sophmore, has shown a good deal of improvement from his freshman year with a 20 point performance in the win. Crusco got all of his 20 in the final 28:40 of the contest on 8 of 11 shooting including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc, and 2 of 3 from the line while picking up 4 steals, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds in that same span.

Senior point guard, Mark Switzer helped lead the charge with his defense and offense as he swiped 6 steals including five before the intermission, and netted 14 points on three field goals, two threes, and two free throws. Over the final 28:40, Switzer, who started out with three straight jumpers including both his threes on the game, went 2 of 6 from the floor, and 2 of 3 from the line for six points while also collecting 4 steals, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and a block. Sophomore guard, Elijah Sellers matched Switzer with 14 points on five field goals, a three pointer, and a foul shot. Sellers picked up 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting including his only three, and his only free throw in two attempts in the final three and a half quarters. He also handed out 4 assists, 2 steals, and a rebound in that same span.

Codey Preston was unable to play due to a suspension that he was serving after getting assessed two technicals in the opening day loss to Middlesex, but that was no problem for the Bulldogs in this game. Evan Carberry was relegated to the bench for stretches, but that didn't stop him from collecting 8 points and 12 rebounds on the day. Carberry, who picked up all eight of his points in the final three plus periods, went 4 of 8 from the field, grabbed 9 boards, and collected 3 assists, a steal, and a charge during that span. James Warren and J.P. O'Brien also contributed down low with Warren scoring all ten of his points during the time GMC Hoops was at the game on 4 of 5 from the floor, and 2 of 4 at the line while also adding 4 rebounds, and a steal. O'Brien collected 4 points on 2 of 2 shooting, and pulled down a rebound.

Freshman forward, Kauri Quals also got into the act with 3 of 5 effort from the field for 6 points to round out the scoring while Troy Mallory (2 assists) and George Doukas (a rebound and 3 steals) also played, but didn't score. On the other side of the ledger, Roselle Park was led by Brian Aranguran, who had a team high 18 points on seven field goals, a three pointer, and a foul shot while teammate Malik Caldwell chipped in with 13 points on five field goals, and three free throws. In the game, Metuchen outscored Roselle Park in each period, and connected on 27 field goals, five three pointers, and 7 foul shots while the Panthers made only 18 field goals, two threes, and 8 free throws.

Roselle Park, which was held scoreless in the first 3:20, scored all of its 50 points in the final 28:40. In that span, the Panthers were limited to 18 of 43 shooting from two point range, and 2 of 7 from long distance for a 20 of 50 effort overall from the floor for an even 40 percent while making 8 of 14 free throws for 57.1 percent. On the other hand, Metuchen clicked on 27 of 43 shots overall for 62.8 percent shooting while making 7 of 13 from the line for 53.8 percent. In other statistical departments, the final three and a half periods were somewhat interesting as Roselle Park outrebounded Metuchen 28-23 including a surprising 16-7 margin on the offensive glass despite the Bulldogs height advantage.

Moreover, the final 28:40 revealed Roselle Park forced more Metuchen turnovers than it committed (17-18). The Bulldogs held advantages in assists (15-14) and steals (15-9) while blocks and charges were even (1-1 in each category). GMC Hoops didn't get out of the house until about 11:30 AM, so, the site didn't arrive until much of the early damage had been done. With 4:40 to go in the opening period, GMC Hoops walked in to seeing Metuchen already up 12-0 as Switzer collected a quick eight points on three straight jumpers according to the article written in the Star-Ledger. Sellers accounted for the rest of the scoring with two layups off steals.

Roselle Park didn't get its first field goal of the game at the 3:57 mark of the first on a layup that made the score, 12-2. On the Bulldogs next possession, Switzer made a behind the back pass to J.P. O'Brien for a layup, and a 14-2 lead with 3:33 left in the period. The Panthers would get the next score before Metuchen reeled off the next four points including a James Warren layup off a loose ball that made the score, 18-4 with 1:53 left in the first. Roselle Park then ended the run with a three pointer for an 18-7 Bulldog lead at the 1:38 mark. Warren then added a one of two effort from the foul line with a minute and a half left in the first for a 19-7 lead before the Panthers came back with a field goal to close the gap to 19-9 at the one minute mark.

Metuchen then concluded the opening period scoring when Mallory passed to Sellers for a three pointer from the left side that gave the Bulldogs a 22-9 lead going into the second. In the second quarter, Metuchen picked up right where it left off with two quick baskets for a commanding 26-9 lead before Roselle Park got a layup that forced Bulldog head coach, Rich Stoner to call a timeout at the 6:06 mark. Following the stoppage, Metuchen scored four of the next six points including a one of two effort at the line by both Warren and Crusco for a 30-13 lead with 4:04 to go before halftime. Sellers then made it a 6-0 run with a floater before Metuchen forced another turnover on a five second call at the 3:27 mark. The Panthers then got a bucket to pull within 17 before Sellers made one of two for a 33-15 lead at the 1:52 mark.

In a sequence that would become a trend throughout the rest of the game, Roselle Park outhustled Metuchen for an offensive rebound, and kicked it out to the left wing for a three pointer to cut the deficit to 15 at 33-18 with 1:10 remaining before the break. However, Quals finished out the scoring in the first half with an offensive rebound and follow in the waning moments of the second quarter for a 35-18 lead at halftime. Looking at the statistics in the final 12:40 of the opening half, Metuchen was 8 of 16 from the field including one of two from beyond the arc, and also made 4 of 8 from the foul line while committing 10 turnovers. On the other hand, Roselle Park was 8 of 23 overall including 2 of 3 from long distance, and made 9 miscues in that same span. The second half saw some fight from Roselle Park early on only to give way to a final Metuchen offensive onslaught led by Crusco.

In the third quarter, Roselle Park yielded a score to fall behind, 37-18 before getting a three point play on a layup and a foul that produced the first free throw of the entire contest for the Panthers at the 6:28 mark. Seventeen seconds later, Switzer fed O'Brien for a floater from the left baseline for a 39-21 lead at the 6:11 mark. Moments later, Sellers swiped a steal, and handed out an assist to O'Brien on another layup for a 41-21 lead with 6:01 remaining in the third. Roselle Park then embarked on a 9-2 run that spanned some 2:49 to pull within 13 at 43-30 with 3:12 remaining in the period. The spurt started innocently with a one of two showing at the foul line at the 4:54 mark. On the missed second free throw, the Panthers got the offensive board, and drew a foul on the follow, but couldn't convert as the score remained, 41-22.

However, Roselle Park persisted with two free throws at the 3:34 mark, and then a field goal at the 3:12 mark to make things interesting. Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Panthers weren't able to get much closer. Switzer made one of two free throws at the 2:53 mark, and on the missed second shot, Warren grabbed the offensive rebound, and put in the follow for an unconventional three point play, and a 46-30 lead. After two Panther scores to cut the deficit to a dozen at 46-34, Crusco came up with a crucial three point play with a layup as he was fouled, and then after a Roselle Park timeout at the 1:27 mark, the sophomore netted the bonus free throw for a 49-34 lead. Metuchen then scored five of the final seven points of the frame for a 54-36 lead heading into the fourth and final period of play.

The Bulldogs then started the fourth much like they ended the third with four straight points on two layups by Crusco for a 9-2 spurt, and a 58-36 lead with 7:13 to play. Metuchen then made it a 25-11 surge with a 16-9 run over the next 4:34 for a 74-45 lead as it went on to win by the final score of 76-50. With the victory, the Bulldogs improved to 1-2 overall on the young season while Roselle Park fell to 0-2.

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