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 28, 2007
Holiday Tournaments--John "Butch" Kowal Tournament

Marauders Shut Down Hornets In Fourth For 52-41 Win

By Greg Machos
December 28, 2007

RAHWAY, NJ—In what has become a holiday tradition for GMC Hoops, the web site usually takes in a non-conference game at the John "Butch" Kowal Tournament in addition to the coverage of both J.P. Stevens and South Plainfield. This year, the web site took in the final two periods of action between the Maruaders of St. Peter's Prep in Jersey City and the Hornets from Holmdel in a consolation game. On the opening night of the tournament, St. Peter's Prep was hammered by Scotch Plains, 63-41 while Holmdel lost to J.P. Stevens as the Hawks improved to 5-0 on the young season. St. Peter's Prep, more known for its football prowess, competes in the Coviello Division of the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association with the likes of Bayonne, Marist (coached by former Middlesex County College assistant head coach, Vernon Freeland), Emerson, Union Hill, and Lincoln (which defeated Cardinal McCarrick in the 2007 Joe Silver Tournament at Hillside). The division of the HCIAA that the Marauders compete in consists of 12 teams while the smaller school Seglio Divison has just eight teams including defending Central Jersey Group I Champion, Create Charter of Jersey City. On the other hand, Holmdel competes in the Class A Central Division of the Shore Conference with the likes of Red Bank Regional, Manasquan, Raritan, and crosstown rival, St. John Vianney.

While St. Peter's Prep has competed in this holiday tournament in each of the last four seasons, this was the first appearance for Holmdel. The Hornets have had a tradition of being a strong basketball program down in Monmouth County. For years, under the direction of Tom Stead, Holmdel compiled numerous titles in Central Jersey Group II, and had grown to a state power by the end of the previous milennium. Since that time though, the school has been mired in mediocrity. Back over in Hudson County, the Marauders went 11-8 in 2006-07 with eight wins in their final 12 games after starting the season, 3-4. The previous year, St. Peter's Prep was only 6-17 while in 2004-05 the Hudson County school was in the state tournament, and lost to Seton Hall Prep in the Quarterfinal round of the Non-Public A North bracket. Both teams entered the evening sporting 1-2 records as St. Peter's won on opening day, 66-38 over St. Mary's of Jersey City, but then lost its next to against University High School of Newark, and Scotch Plains while Holmdel only lost by three at Red Bank in its opener, defeated Raritan by a whopping 50-23 margin, and then lost to Stevens. The winner of this game would move on to play for fifth place in another consolation against Westfield while South Plainfield awaited the loser in the seventh place game on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM.

Both teams started out battling to a 25-25 draw at halftime. Then, the two teams dueled to a 14-13 Marauder showing in the third before St. Peter's clamped down on the defensive end with a 13-3 showing in the final frame for the 52-41 victory. Each team brought plenty of fan support as Holmdel had a group of fans behind their bench while St. Peter's brought their raucous student section, which was still living in the afterglow of a very successful football season since they seemed to be unaware that this was their basketball team, and not thier gridiron squad. The Marauders seemed to have a great deal of talent, athleticism, and size with respect to Holmdel, but they didn't have the killer instinct to put the Hornets away. In the third, St. Peter's had taken a 27-25 lead on a power move for a layup when Holmdel tied it up with a layup at about the 6:00 mark. Following the Hornet score, the Marauders scored five consecutive points including a three pointer from the right wing at the 5:33 mark for a 32-27 lead. Holmdel got three of those points on a three pointer of their own from the left wing for a 32-30 St. Peter's Prep lead at the 4:05 mark. The Marauders then took a four point edge again as their big man, who ended up with 10 points and two blocks in the final tw periods, scored a field goal in the paint to make it a 34-30 game with 3:56 left in the period. Holmdel would respond with a drive for a layup to pull within two again at the 2:59 mark. The Jersey City parochial school then increased their edge to three on one of two at the line for a 35-32 lead with 2:44 to go in the period.

The Hornets, which competed at the Rebounds Team Camp over the summer with eleven other teams including Cardinal McCarrick and St. Joseph's from the GMC, battled back though with a 4-0 mini-run over a span of just 1:11 to take its first and only lead of the second half at 36-35 with 1:33 left in the stanza. However, St. Peter's Prep quickly took the lead back as it closed the game with a 16-5 run including the final four points of the third. Highlighting the last minute blitz was a steal for a layup with 24 seconds to go in the frame for a 39-36 lead. Holmdel would get two free throws at the six second mark for a 39-38 Marauder lead heading into the fourth. In the final period, the team from Jersey City would put the game away by limiting the Shore Conference representative to just a field goal, and one of two foul shots, and kept the Hornets off the board for the final 2:25 of the game. St. Peter's Prep drew first blood in the period as its big man went to work early with a putback off of a miss to make the score, 41-38 at the 5:09 mark. The Marauders then made it a five point, 43-38 lead on a layup at the 4:37 mark. After neither team scored for almost a minute and a half, Holmdel tried to make one last push with a nice drive a dish for a layup at the 3:08 mark, and then the one of two at the line with 2:25 remaining to pull within two at 43-41. However, on the very next possession, the Marauders got some much needed breathing room as their big man came up huge with a layup underneath for a 45-41 advantage with 2:01 to play. On the very next Hornet possession, the Northern Monmouth County school threw the ball away for a turnover at the 1:45 mark, and then St. Peter's Prep went up by six on a short jumper from the left side for a 47-41 lead with 1:25 to go.

Twenty seconds later, the Marauders sealed the consolation round victory with a score that compelled Holmdel to call a timeout with 1:05 left. However, it was too little, too late, since the damage had already been done, and the Jersey City team then closed out the contest with the final three points for the 52-41 victory to even its record at 2-2 as it will take on Westfield in the Fifth Place consolation game while Holmdel will battle South Plainfield for Seventh Place.

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