We plan to archive these summaries soon. So, keep your eyes peeled.

GMC Hoops Summaries--Wednesday, June 16, 2004
HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest--Week One--Night Two

Chiefs and Barrons Remain Undefeated

The second night of tthe HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest at Perth Amboy High School saw Piscataway and Woodbridge emerge at the top of the pack as both GMC schools collected their second straight wins to start the summer. Playing in both nightcaps, Piscataway and Woodbridge easily disposed of their opponents as the Chiefs used a 25-6 explosion to open the game, and never looked back for a 54-25 victory over Monroe while the Barrons broke away for a 19-17 lead with several minutes to go in the first half as they outscored the Cougars of Chatham 34-10 the rest of the way for a 53-27 victory.

Meanwhile, in earlier action, North Hunterdon hung tough with a much more talented Plainfield team, but still came up on the losing end in a 44-39 decision for the Cardinals. Simultaneously, in the lower gym, North Brunswick and Rutgers Prep entangled in what was the closest game of the evening. The Argonauts were able to hold off the Raiders by a 47-43 score as a three point try by North Brunswick's Derek Scott didn't fall with ten seconds remaining in the contest. The win marked the third time over the last two summers that Rutgers Prep defeated North Brunswick. Last year, the two teams met twice at Middlesex County College with the Argonauts winning both times.

In Woodbridge's victory over Chatham, the Cougars appeared to be headed toward another close one as they continued to parlay their outside game into some success. Chatham jumped out to a 9-8 lead on a three pointer with 10:55 remaining in the opening half, but then Woodbridge retook command of the game with a 4-0 run over the next two minutes or so for a 12-8 lead. Chatham would tie the game again with 8:07 to go in the first half, but the Barrons quickly re-established control over the contest with a 5-0 run capped by one of two first half three pointers by Casey Mack for a 17-12 lead.

Mack, who ended up with another stat stuffer deluxe performance, had 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal, and 1 assist in the contest as he helped Woodbridge close the half with an 8-0 run after Chatham pulled within 19-17 late in the first half. From there, the Barrons never looked back as they dominated the second half with 26-10 surge. Alphonse Baja and Adam Elhelaka chipped in with eight points each for the winners. While Woodbridge was rolling to their second win, Piscataway got off quickly with a 25-6 surge over the first 14:48 of the game, and were never threatened after that as the Chiefs came out with a much more tenacious defense than they had against Chatham in their opener.

For example, A.J. Rudowitz, Monroe's top player, and one of the leading scorers in the Greater Middlesex Conference last year, was held to six points as he was quite frustrated with the Chiefs physical play. Andre Childs, who has been one of the top scorers this summer for Piscataway, led the way with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist while Rodney Freeney and Deshawn Mitchow chipped in with eight points apiece. Other efforts worth noting from the day were three Plainfield players scored in double figures in the win over North Hunterdon while Corey Wilburn led Rutgers Prep with 14 points, 6 rebounds, a block, and 5 steals in the Argonauts victory over North Brunswick. See the latest standings and scores.

GMC Hoops Summaries--Monday, June 14, 2004
HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest--Opening Night

Piscataway, Woodbridge, North Hunterdon, and Perth Amboy Win Openers

Last year, GMC Hoops was unable to see the opening night of the inaugural season of the HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest. Well, actually, we were on our way to cover it when our car got a flat on Interstate 287. This year, there were no such problems as the second year of the SlamFest got underway with four games.

The first round of games were between North Hunterdon and Monroe and Perth Amboy and Plainfield. North Hunterdon, a member of the Skyland Conference, and now coached by former Piscataway coach, Charles Brown, won their opener over Monroe of the Greater Middlesex Conference White Division by the score of 42-34. Meanwhile, downstairs, Perth Amboy rallied from behind to knock off Plainfield, defending league champion, and member of the Watchung Conference by the score of 53-50.

In the nightcaps, Piscataway had a dogfight on their hands with Chatham of the Colonial Hills Conference, who also played in the league last summer. The Chiefs fell behind early by a score of 15-5 with 14:19 to go in the first half, but came back to pull out a four point, 63-59 victory over the Cougars. In the meantime, upstairs in the upper gym, Woodbridge rolled easily over a young and inexperienced JV squad for St. Joseph's by the score of 78-53.

In the Chatham-Piscataway nightcap, Piscataway quickly came back with a 14-4 run over the next several minutes to tie the game up at 19-19 before the Cougars got a three pointer to make the score 22-19 with 9:12 remaining in the first half. Chatham then added to that with a 6-2 spurt to make it an 8-2 run for a 27-21 lead before an injury timeout with 5:46 to go in the half. But, the Chiefs would counter with a 11-5 run capped by a three point play by Kent Scriven, who is currently averaging 9 points per game, 4 rebounds per game, 1.5 steals per game, and 1.5 assists per game, to make the score tied at 32-32 with 0:42 to go before intermission.

Chatham, who was led by the effort of Conner Daugherty, who netted 15 first half points on his way to a 28 point and 5 rebound performance, got a fallaway jumper to end the half with a 34-32 lead. The Cougars also got 14 first half points from Chris McHugh as the duo combined for 29 of the team's 34 first half points. McHugh went on to collect 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. In the second half, Piscataway had to storm back with a 31-25 edge including a 26-16 run that occurred after taking a timeout at the 15:37 mark with Chatham's Cougars leading the contest 43-37.

The Chiefs started to mount their comeback with a 6-0 run capped by one of two free throws by Scriven to tie the game at 43-43 with 12:55 remaining. Piscataway increased the run to 12-3 with a 6-3 burst to make it 49-46 with 9:49 remaining. Kent Scriven then capped another 6-2 run with an offensive rebound and putback to make it 55-48 in favor of Piscataway with 5:11 to go. From there, the Chiefs, who are now coached by former St. Joe's assistant, Guy Jensen, padded their lead to 59-50 with 2:37 to play as they scored four of the game's next six points.

Chatham had opportunities to climb back into the contest, but only got as close as 59-55 with 1:33 to play after a 5-0 run capped by a three pointer. Daugherty and McHugh were held to only a combined total of 17 points in the second half, which was one of the keys to the Piscataway comeback. Meanwhile, upstairs in the upper gym, Woodbridge jumped out to a 26-18 lead with 4:26 to go in the first half, and increased the lead to 37-22 with an 11-4 spurt. The Barrons would eventually take a 39-24 halftime lead, and were never threatened after that as they won, 78-53 over St. Joseph's.

John Cuozzo led the way for Woodbridge with 20 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist while Casey Mack chipped in with a stat stuffer deluxe performance of 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 2 steals, and 6 assists. Meanwhile, in the earlier contests, Jermaine Clark was the star attraction with 36 points in Perth Amboy's victory over Plainfield. See the latest standings and scores.

RETURN TO THE HAWKSBASKETBALL SUMMER SLAM FEST INFO PAGE

If you are finished checking the GMC Boys Basketball Summaries, and would like to see other parts of the website. Click below to return to the home page.

• Return to the HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest Info Page

If you have any questions about, or any suggestions for this website, please feel free to either fill out our guestbook, or contact me at gmachos@gmchoops.com.