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GMC Hoops Summaries--February 21, 2010
Week Nine--GMCT Elite Eight

Spotswood Hangs On To Knock Off EB For First Ever Final Four Berth, 53-47

By Greg Machos
February 21, 2010

EDISON, NJ--The third game of the 2010 GMCT Quadrupleheader was a rematch of a game played eight days ago. One day after being seeded ahead of Spotswood for the tournament, the fourth seeded East Brunswick Bears traveled over to fifth seeded Spotswood, and justified their placing by defeating the Chargers in a hard fought battle, 61-51. The Bears, which has a roster that can got 12 to 13 deep, won the contest with the combination of balanced offense, and tough defense. Spotswood's Cody Pace and Tyler Osofsky got their share of points in the contest, but not in the fourth quarter when both were held to a combined two points with no field goals.

East Brunswick reached the Elite Eight round by defeating 13th seeded Colonia in the Round of 16 on Thursday (65-51) while Spotswood earned its first trip to the quarterfinals with a hard fought victory over 12th seeded Piscataway (56-48). EB was making its first trip to the quarters since 2007 when it lost to eventual finalist, Cardinal McCarrick. The Bears have reached the quarterfinal round four times since 2001. Meanwhile, Spotswood had a record of 8-19 all time in the MCT/GMCT entering Sunday's contest. The Chargers would make history though by pulling off the only upset of the day at Middlesex County College. Spotswood outscored East Brunswick in each of the first three quarters to take a 44-28 lead early in the fourth, and then withstood a surge by the Bears to make its first trip to the semifinals with a 53-47 victory.

The Chargers only had six players score, but two scored in double figures while five of the six had seven points or more. The last time these two teams played, only five players scored including three in double figures. The Bears, on the other hand, only had eight players score this time around including one that scored in double figures. Five of the players scored six points or more. Only one of those players scored in double digits. Spotswood got its 53 points on 11 field goals, seven three pointers, and 10 foul shots while EBHS had its 47 on 12 field goals, five threes, and eight foul shots. Leading the way for the victors was senior Cody Pace, who had a game high 18 points on three field goals, three treys, and three foul shots. Teammate Allen Kuiper chipped in with 10 points on four field goals and two free throws. He also had six rebounds while Osofsky contributed with 7 points and 7 boards.

Anthony Guisti led the Bears in a losing cause with a team high 11 points on three treys and two foul shots while sophomores Joe Ross (four field goals) and Mike Summerer (three field goals and two foul shots) each added eight points. Spotswood had the lead the entire game after getting out to a fast start. Pace connected on three treys over the first 4:06 to put the Chargers out in front 11-3. East Brunswick then ended the first with a 9-5 run to pull within four at the end of the period. Pace opened the scoring by banking a three pointer from the right wing. Kevin McHenry (two threes and a FT for 7 points) tied the game back up with a three of its own for EB, but Spotswood then scored eight unanswered points on an Osofsky jumper, and two more threes by Pace including one from the right wing for the eight point lead at the 3:54 mark.

Mike Summerer got the Bears going with a layup before Osofsky committed a turnover at the 2:17 mark. Both teams then exchanged baskets over the next 49 seconds for a 13-7 Charger lead at the 1:28 mark. Anthony Gudzak (3 FGs for 6 points), who was very active in this game, especially during the Bears fourth quarter rally, got a layup to pull the Bears within four at the 1:16 mark. Spotswood then took a seven point lead when Garrett Walters passed to James Pareti (8 points on two FGs, a three, and a foul shot) at the top of the key for a three pointer, and a 16-9 score with 23.4 seconds left in the quarter. Guisti then ended the frame with a trey of his own for a 16-12 Spotswood lead heading into the second. Summerer opened the second period with a basket to pull the Bears within two, but Kuiper converted a conventional three point play, and then Pace made one of two at the line for a 20-14 lead with 4:59 to go in the first half.

East Brunswick got another score to pull within four before Tom Pareti (2 FTs for 2 points) hustled for an offensive rebound, pump faked and drew a foul that resulted in one of two from the lead for a 21-16 advantage with 3:34 to play in the half. Summerer added a layup at the 2:54 mark to pull the Bears within three at 21-18, but Kuiper came up with another three point play for a 24-18 advantage at the 2:32 mark. Ross drove in for a layup from the left wing at the 2:17 mark to close the gap again to four, but Spotswood got the next five points in the form of a three pointer by senior Mike Liming (a FG and two threes for 8 points) and two free throws for a 29-20 lead with 1:43 left. Guisti then struck for his second three pointer of the game at the 49.6 second mark to make the score, 29-23 at the half. In the third, Spotswood took command of the contest with a 13-5 showing as they held the Bears to two field goals and a foul shot, and no points over the final 4:24 of the stanza.

There was no scoring over the first 1:25 of the third before Spotswood got going with a 6-2 run that included threes by Liming and Osofsky for a 35-25 advantage. Senior EB guard, Mauro Tucci, got his only point of the game with one of two from the line, and then the Bears got a steal for a layup to pull within seven again at 35-28 with just about half the quarter gone by. The Chargers then closed the period with seven unanswered points including one of two free throws and a score by Pace, a layup by Kuiper at the 2:05 mark, and then a drive through the middle for a layup by James Pareti at the 1:10 mark for a 42-28 advantage heading into the fourth. The Chargers then got another score from Kuiper on a spin move for a jump shot at the 6:56 mark to take their biggest lead of the game at 44-28. However, East Brunswick began to show some sense of urgency, and battled their way back into the contest with a 17-3 tear over the next 5:09.

McHenry started the run with a three pointer from the right wing at the 6:02 mark. Following a Spotswood timeout at the 5:47 mark, Guisti drove in from the left wing, and drew a foul that produced two free throws at the 5:03 mark. After another Chargers timeout with 4:44 to go, Gudzak came up with a steal for a layuup that trimmed the deficit to single digits at 44-35 with 4:41 left. Gudzak came up big again when he grabbed a rebound, and drove the remainder of the floor for a layup that pulled the Bears within seven at the 4:14 mark. Miles Colmon (a field goal and 2 FTs for 4 points) made one of two from the line for a 10-0 EB run, and a 44-38 Spotswood lead with just under four minutes to play. Pace then came up with a huge three point play as he took the ball and drove in for a layup as he was fouled with 3:01 remaining. Colmon responded with a three point play of his own as he grabbed an offensive rebound off a Tucci miss, and put it in. McHenry then made one of two from the line to pull the Bears within five at the 2:44 mark.

Spotswood appeared to be unraveling. The Chargers tried to run some time off the clock, but Pace committed a turnover when he lost the handle with two minutes to play. The Bears then pulled within a basket as Colmon kicked out to Guisti for a three pointer from the left wing that made the score, 47-45 with 1:47 left. Pace came up big again for Spotswood as he scored a layup to put the Chargers up by four again at 49-45 with 1:15 left. Kuiper came up with a block on Colmon, but East Brunswick got the ball back, and eventually into the hands of Summerer, who drew a foul and made a pair of foul shots for a 49-47 Spotswood lead with exactly a minute remaining. Osofsky put the Chargers back up by four with two huge free throws at the 35.5 second mark, and then Spotswood got a huge stop on defense, which resulted in a Pace pass upcourt to Liming for an easy layup, and the 53-47 victory. With the win, Spotswood improved to 17-4 overall on the season including a 14-4 record in conference play. Meanwhile, East Brunswick fell to 19-4 overall and 17-4 in the GMC. The Chargers faced off against top seeded St. Joseph's in the semifinials after the Falcons defeated Cardinal McCarrick in another quarterfinal. Analysis and video highlights will be forthcoming in the blog.

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