For the sixth straight year, GMC Hoops is getting a jump on the regular season with coverage of some of the teams in the Greater Middlesex Conference in pre-season scrimmage action. To see what scrimmages we'll be covering, view the 2007-08 schedule.
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South
Brunswick Battles Neptune In Scrimmage |
By Greg Machos
December 1, 2007
NEPTUNE, NJ--For its second scrimmage of the 2007-08 campaign, GMC Hoops traveled down to the Jersey Shore for some action. On this first day in December, the web site visited Neptune High School, located not too far from the Rebounds Basketball Facility that is known for its Spring League, Summer Festival, Summer Team Camp, and Fall League. The Fliers were hosting a South Brunswick school that many may already be writing off since the Vikings lost their entire starting five from a 27-3 team of a year ago. However, SBHS has six players that were reserves on that squad returning for the 2007-08 season. These Vikes were significant contributors to the recent successes of the JV teams in 2006 and 2007. Meanwhile, the hom team has always been a perennial power in not only Shore Conference hoops, but also in the state as well. Neptune went 23-5 last season, and reached the semifinals of the Central Jersey Group III State Tournament before bowing out to Hightstown. Bottom line, this was a great test for a South Brunswick squad that is looking to find out a little about themselves prior to the start of the regular season in less than two weeks.
The Vikings, which had its first scrimmage of the pre-season on Friday, had some ups and downs like many teams would in their second exhibition, but overall held its own in four of the five periods played. In the fourth quarter of the scrimmage, SBHS coach, Joe Hoehman went mostly with reserves, and although they stayed close for the first five minutes or so of the period, the Vikings eventually gave way to a 13-0 frame ending tear by the Fliers to lose, 24-7. Otherwise, each team had won a period each while the third and fifth periods ended in ties. Overall though, Neptune got their edge by winning two quarters to one, and overall by a 72-53 margin. For the scrimmage, Neptune shot 15 of 41 from inside the arc, and 11 of 30 beyond it to go 26 of 71 overall for 36.6 percent. Meanwhile, South Brunswick went 21 of 61 overall including 2 of 7 from beyond the arc for 34.4 percent. At the foul line, the Vikings made 9 of 14 from the charity stripe for 64.3 percent while the Fliers made 5 of 9 for 55.6 percent. In other statistical areas, Neptune had edges in rebounding (42-32), steals (14-10), charges (4-3), and turnovers (33-25). South Brunswick held advantages in blocks (1-0) and assists (18-16). Perhaps the most startling statistic of the scrimmage was the fact that Neptune grabbed 22 offensive rebounds, and got 13 second chance points as a result.
The story on the offensive boards was more of a product of the fact that Neptune put up so many three point attempts. You'll often hear how the three point shot has not only changed the game in terms of scoring, but also in terms of offensive rebounding since many missed threes go long off the rim, which was the case in this scrimmage. For South Brunswick, Arman Wilson led the way with 14 points including 6 of 14 from the floor and 2 of 3 at the line. Wilson also collected 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, and a block. Teammate Jordan Teicher chipped in with 11 points on 3 of 4 from the field and 5 of 7 from the foul line while also picking up 7 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. Sean Lease (6 points, 7 rebounds, an assist, and a block) and Mohammed Sanu (6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block) each added six points while Troy Confessore (3 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and a steal) and Chris Weir contributed with three points apiece. Other reserves on South Brunswick came in and chipped in with a combined 8 points on 3 of 9 shooting and 2 of 2 at the foul line while also picking up 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and a charge. SBHS, which had some struggles in its first scrimmage versus Colonia on Friday, had a solid start by winning the first quarter of the scrimmage by a margin of 13-9.
Despite making nine turnovers, the Vikings shot 5 of 10 from the floor including a three pointer, and added 2 of 3 from the foul line while limiting the Fliers to 4 of 9 shooting including 1 of 3 from beyond the arc. SBHS also forced Neptune to commit 9 turnovers in the frame as well. The period began inauspiciously as Wilson was called for an offensive foul at the 7:11 mark. Nine seconds later though, Lease returned the favor by drawing a charge on a Neptune player at the 7:02 mark. The Vikings then drew first blood with a score before Wilson picked up a steal, and went all the way in on the right side for a one handed jam that made the score, 4-0 at the 5:52 mark. South Brunswick had a chance to go up even more, but Lease was called for an offensive foul at the 5:17 mark. Neptune would finally get on the board with an offensive rebound and putback, but when it attempted to tie things up, it committed a turnover at the 4:31 mark in what was a very sloppy quarter for both teams. A little more than a half second later, South Brunswick had to call a timeout in order to avoid a turnover at the 3:52 mark. At this point in the game, the Vikings had five turnovers while the Fliers had four. Neptune had already drawn two charges while SBHS drew one. When play resumed, South Brunswick increased its edge to five points with a 5-2 run capped by a three pointer from the left wing by Confessore off an assist by Teicher for a 9-4 lead with 2:27 left in the quarter. Neptune tried to fight back though with three of the next five points over a span of 1:17 for an 11-7 Viking lead.
The Fliers had a chance to close to within a basket, but failed to miss the front end of a one and one at the 50.5 mark, and in the ensuing scramble for the loose ball, Neptune lost possession. Despite a missed one and one by Weir at th 33.9 mark, South Brunswick went back up by four again with a pair of free throws with 3.8 left before Neptune rounded out the period scoring with a field goal at the buzzer that gave SBHS the 13-9 edge in the frame. In the second period, the Fliers won by going 7 of 16 including 3 of 6 from three for 43.8 percent while the Vikings were just 4 of 8 from the field including 1 of 3 from beyond the arc for 50 percent, and made 2 of 2 from the line. Neptune forced seven more turnovers while making just three. The home team opened the stanza with the first seven points over a 1:59 span in the decisive run of the period. Neptune began with a nice pass inside for a layup in traffic that made the score, 2-0 at the 7:45 mark. Twenty seconds later, the Fliers were back at it again with an offensive rebound and putback for a 4-0 lead. Neither team would score for a minute and a half until Neptune knocked down a three pointerr for a 7-0 lead at the 6:07 mark. Several moments later, South Brunswick called for time with 6:01 left in the half. Following the timeout, the Vikings rallied with five straight points including a Weir trey from the left wing to make it 7-5 before Neptune put a halt to the mini-run with a short jumper that made the score, 9-5 at the 4:38 mark.
Teicher helped close the gap to one possession again by connecting on both of his foul shots in the next SBHS possession for a 9-7 score with 4:28 left in the frame. However, the Class B North Division of the Shore Conference foe came right back on its next possession with a fine pass on a back door cut that resulted in a layup for an 11-7 lead. Over the final four minutes, the Fliers outscored the Vikes by a 6-4 margin thanks to two more three pointers for a 17-11 edge in the quarter, and an overall 26-24 lead in the scrimmage. In the third period, both teams drew to a 16-16 tie as the Vikings connected on 7 of 16 shots for 43.8 percent, and 2 of 3 at the foul line while Neptune made 5 of 10 shots including 3 of 6 from three for 50 percent while making 3 of 4 at the line for 75 percent. Each team committed eight turnovers apiece. Once again, the Fliers got off to a strong start with a three pointer from the right side to draw first blood before Wilson made a jumper to pull his team to within one at 3-2 with 6:20 left in the period. Nearly a half minute later, Neptune was on the board agin with a three pointer from the left wing for a 6-2 lead at the 5:52 mark. South Brunswick then scored four of the next six points including baskets by Lease and Wilson off fine assists by Confessore for a Neptune 8-6 lead. The Fliers then went ahead with one of two from the foul line at the 4:05 mark that made the score, 9-8.
A little more than 20 seconds later, SBHS pulled to within one as Wilson made a nice skip pass to Teicher for a short jumper from the left of the foul line that made the score, 9-8 in favor of Neptune. Teicher then added a pair from the foul line at the 2:55 mark for a 10-9 Viking lead before the Fliers came right back with a three pointer that put them back on top at 12-10. Then, South Brunswick made its move with six straight points including buckets by Wilson and Sanu for a 16-12 advantage with 2:01 to play in the third. Neptune then closed out the quarter scoring with two free throws at the 1:49 mark, and a nice dish from the baseline for a layin that tied things up at 16-16 with 1:06 left. The Vikings had a chance to reclaim the lead, but committed a turnover at the 51.3 mark. Neptune then had its opportunity to come away with the quarter edge, but made a miscue itself at the 40.1 mark. Ultimately, the third period ended in a 16-16 tie. The fourth quarter would prove the most decisive of the scrimmage as Neptune gained the overall edge on the day thanks to its 24-7 showing in the stanza for a 66-47 lead. A key portion of the Flier effort was a 13-0 quarter ending tear as South Brunswick's reserves were held scoreless over the final 2:59. In the frame, Neptune went 8 of 19 overall from the floor including a 3 of 13 from downtown for 42.1 percent while SBHS went only 3 of 11 from the floor and 1 of 1 from the line while commiting several turnovers.
Things began ominously for the Vikings in the fourth as they were called for a backcourt violation at the 7:32 mark. The Fliers then got on the board first by capitalizing on two offensive rebounds by drawing a foul, and making both free throws at the 7:17 mark. On the ensuing inbounds, the Vikings were forced to call timeout to avoid a turnover or five second violation in the face of a Neptune trap in the corner with 7:13 left in the fourth. Following the timeout, Neptune forced another turnover by drawing a charge on Wilson at the 6:32 mark. The Fliers then converted that turnover with another offensive rebound and putback at the 6:14 mark for a 4-0 lead. Wilson then came back with a three point play at the 6:08 mark to narrow the deficit to one at 4-3, but the home team came back down and got one of two at the line for a 5-3 lead at the 5:44 mark. Neptune then scored six of the next eight points on a three pointer from the left corner at the 4:36 mark, and another trey from the opposite side of the floor at the 3:47 mark for an 11-5 advantage. South Brunswick would get a score to close the gap to four at 11-7, but the Fliers pulled away with 13 points over the final 2:25 for the convincing quarter win. Neptune started the spurt with a slashing drive for a layup at the 2:25 mark, followed it up with a steal for another score at the 2:01 mark, drilled a three pointer from the top of the key at the 1:40 mark, and then closed things out with two offensive rebounds for a follow at the 1:15 mark.
In the fifth and final quarter, the Viking starters played most if not all the way, and the period was as competitive as the first three with both teams scoring six points each to round out the game. Neptune made just 3 of 16 from the floor while South Brunswick connected on 2 of 14 from the field while making 2 of 5 from the foul line. Teicher opened the scoring with a one of two effort at the line with 7:47 to go in the scrimmage. Wilson followed suit with a one of two effort of his own at the 7:00 mark for a 2-0 lead. Neptune then tied things up with a drive from the left side for a layup at the 6:30 mark. The Fliers then took the lead with two more offensive rebounds that were converted into second chance points on a putback to make the score, 4-2 at the 3:30 mark. However, South Brunswick ended the contest with four of the final six points including a layup by Teicher off a pass from Confessore at the 51.2 second mark for the 6-6 quarter tie. More analysis on this scrimmage is now available in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Total |
Neptune |
9 | 17 | 16 | 24 | 6 | 72 |
South Brunswick |
13 | 11 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 53 |
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