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 21, 2007
Week One Of Season--GMC White Divsion Clash

Blish Carries Monroe To Victory Over New Brunswick, 46-37

By Greg Machos
December 21, 2007

MONROE, NJ—The seventh ranked Monroe Falcons have come a long way from its struggles late in the season at the 2007 Rebounds Spring League in Neptune. So, far in fact, that they have moved up from a projected sixth place finish to a predicted third place finish in the GMC White. And, those relatively young and unpredictable Purple Birds haven't disappointed thus far under the command of third year head coach, Bob Turco. Entering Friday night's contest with the New Brunswick Zebras, Monroe had won all three of its games including a two point, 55-53 opening night win over South Plainfield, ranked ninth in the Home News-Tribune Pre-Season Top Ten, and a 57-53 win on the road at the Bomb Shelter in Sayreville. Meanwhile, New Brunswick has already got a win on the season at home against Woodbridge on opening night, 56-49. As mentioned several times during the off-season, the White Division of the Greater Middlesex Conference is going to be a dog-fight, and last night's game was an indication of that although Monroe did control things throughout.

Leading by six at the end of the first quarter, 12-6, Monroe was quickly put on its heels as New Brunswick scored the first three points of the second to cut the deficit in half at 12-9 at the 5:12 mark. However, the Falcons scored seven of the final eleven points of the first half for a 19-13 lead. In the third quarter, Monroe and North Brunswick fought back in forth. In a tight period that saw the Purple Birds go up by thirteen at 32-19 with 2:32 remaining in the period on a three pointer by Steve Blish from the left corner off a pass by Justin Mitchell, New Brunswick rallied back with the final four points of the frame on a short bank shot from the right wing by Brandon Smith at the 1:29 mark, and then a steal by Juan James off Mitchell for a layup with five seconds left for a 32-23 lead going into the fourth. However, after giving up an early score in the period to lead by only seven at 32-25, the Falcons put together a decisive 9-0 run over a span of 3:12 to take a 41-25 advantage, and went on to win from there, 46-37 despite a scrappy, and game effort by the Zebras.

Blish led the charge for Monroe with 16 points on three field goals, a three pointer, and seven free throws while Mitchell chipped in with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds as he made five shots including a fadeaway floater to open up the Falcon scoring in the second half, and a nice jumper from the perimeter later on. Sophomores Tim Brix and Ken Pace also contributed with 8 and 7 points respectively as Brix made a field goal and two threes while Pace netted two field goals and a trey. Sophomore forward, Travis Dufner (a field goal) and senior point guard, Ivan Barreto (a field goal) rounded out the scoring for MTHS with two points each. Sophomore reserve, Blake Bascom, Jim Dennis, Pete Patalano, and Travis Walp all played, but didn't score. On the other side of the ledger for New Brunswick, senior guard, Juan James led the way in a losing effort with 13 points on five field goals, and three foul shots while Brandon Smith and Josh Ford each chipped in with 11 points on five field goals and a foul shot. Only one other player, Jesse Lovette, scored with two points on a field goal as the Zebra trio of James, Smith, and Ford accounted for 94.6 percent of the team's offense.

Arriving late to the gym, I arrived with the Falcons leading by a tenuous three point margin at 12-9 with a little more than five minutes left in the first half. Neither team would score for nearly two minutes as the Zebras shot an air ball at the 4:26 that was rebounded by Mitchell, and a Barreto drive down the middle of the key that drew a foul, but resulted in an 0 of 2 showing from the line for the Monroe senior at the 4:07 mark. However, Blish put an end to the scoring drought on both sides with a hard drive to his right across the key for a layup as he was fouled for a three point play at the 3:24 mark to give the Purple Birds a 15-9 advantage. The Zebras would respond on their very next possession with a field goal to pull within four at 15-11 with 3:12 to go before the intermission, but Monroe returned the favor as Blish made an entry pass down low on the left side to Dufner for his only points of the game on a layup that made it 17-11 at the 2:34 mark. Nearly forty seconds later, New Brunswick closed the gap to four again as James notched an assist on a fast break layup by Smith for a 17-13 Monroe lead at the 1:56 mark. After the Falcons went up by six again at 19-13, they had a chance to go up even more, but the Zebras then got a stop as Smith used his football ability to draw a charge on Mitchell with 1:13 left in the half.

Before the end of the half, Monroe Township had another opportunity to increase its lead to eight as Ken Pace came up with a steal at the 13.4 mark, but the Falcons were unable to cash in at the other end as Blish missed the shot as time expired with the Purple Birds on top, 19-13. In the third quarter, New Brunswick started things off with a nice mid-range jumper by Smith to close the gap again to four, but the Falcons came right back down the floor, and gave it to Mitchell for his off-balanced shot from the left baseline to go back up by six at 21-15. The Zebras then got another field goal to pull within four yet again, but once more, Monroe kept them at bay, but this time got a little more separation with a 6-0 mini-run that was highlighted by a short jumper from the left baseline by Pace, and a layup by Blish for a 27-17 lead as a timeout was called at the 4:41 mark. Following the timeout, Shamill Davis stepped to the line for New Brunswick after being fouled by Pace, but he missed both foul shots, and the score remained, 27-17 at the 4:24 mark. Ten seconds later, the Zebras turned the ball over, and Monroe made them pay as Blish dished to Brix for a layup to put the Falcons up by a dozen at 29-17 with four minutes remaining in the third.

On the next Zebra possession, James ended the 8-0 spurt with a jumper from the right wing at the 3:41 mark to cut the deficit to ten at 29-19, but a little more than a minute later, Monroe appeared to have delivered a crushing blow when Mitchell passed to Blish in the left corner for a three pointer that made the score, 32-19 with 2:32 to go in the period. However, New Brunswick, under first year head coach, Antoine Allen, showed resiliency and determination by fighting back again. Led again by their veterans, Smith and James, the Zebras scored four points again to close a period as Smith hit a bank shot from the right side at the 1:29 mark, and then James got his steal off Mitchell for a layup in the waning moments of the frame to trim the lead down into single digits again at 32-23 entering the fourth. In the final session, New Brunswick got a field goal to close the gap to seven points early on, but then missed on another opportunity to score as a Zebra player was unable to handle a nice pass by Smith for the third time in the half, and Mitchell eventually struck with a drive from the left wing for a layup as he was fouled. Although the senior forward missed the bonus free throw, the Purple Birds got the spark they needed for the decisive run of the game.

Mitchell's basket ignited a key 9-0 spurt over a three plus minute span to essentially put the game away. Following a full timeout by New Brunswick at the 6:15 mark, Mitchell passed to Brix on the left wing for a three pointer that gave Monroe at 37-25 advantage at the 5:38 mark. Blish then made a pair of free throws at the 4:25 mark for a 39-25 lead, and finally the run was capped when Barreto dished to Blish on the break for a reverse layup that made the score, 41-25 with 3:47 to play. Despite the dire predicament it was in, New Brunswick continued to fight valiantly as it put together a 12-5 run to end the game including a pair of free throws by James on a technical foul at the 3:20 mark, and an offensive rebound and putback by Ford off a missed jumper by James at the 2:25 mark, but it wasn't enough as the Falcons of Monroe won its fourth straight game to start the 2007-08 campaign, 46-37. With the victory, the Purple Birds improve to 4-0 overall, and 3-0 in GMC White play while New Brunswick drops to 1-2 in both.

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