The Summaries section will be updated with all the articles posted to date in 2011-12 soon.

GMC Hoops Summaries--December 16, 2011
Opening Night--GMC White Division Clash

Team Effort Lifts McCarrick Past Woodbridge In Opener, 56-49

By Greg Machos
December 16, 2011

SOUTH AMBOY, NJ—Coming into its Friday night opener with Cardinal McCarrick, Woodbridge appeared to have its tandem of scorers ready to go. With FDU-bound Kyle Pearson as well as highly touted Keith Hughes playing with something to prove this season, the tenth ranked Barrons were looking to knock off fifth ranked McCarrick for the second straight season on opening night. However, the Eagles had other ideas. Even though Hughes was hampered with an ankle injury before the game, McCarrick turned in a solid team effort on both sides of the ball to gain a 56-49 win.

Sophomore Marques Townes collected a team high 26 points on nine field goals including two threes, and 6 of 11 from the foul line along with 6 rebounds while fellow soph Alonzo Hamilton turned in a solid all around effort with 10 points on four field goals and 2 of 3 from the line as well as 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 charges. Pearson led all scorers with 29 points on 11 field goals including three treys (two of them came in the final 34.7 seconds) and 4 of 7 from the foul line. Hughes chipped in with 8 points on three field goals including a trey, and one of two from the charity stripe. For the game, McCarrick connected on 16 field goals including three treys while Woodbridge made 19 field goals including five treys.

The Barrons outscored the Eagles by a 15-9 margin in points scored from beyond the arc, but the home team got a decisive edge in free throws by going 21 of 31 from the line while the visitors were only 9 of 14. Woodbridge had more players break into the scoring column (7-6), but McCarrick had more players in double figures (2-1). Cardy Mac also outscored WHS in two of the four periods played with the fourth quarter ending in a 16-16 tie. Mohammed Alli also contributed for the winners with 9 points on a key three pointer in the first quarter, and a perfect 6 of 6 from the foul line. Jumanne McDaniel added 7 points on a field goal and 5 of 8 from the line.

Bolstered by Townes' 12 point first quarter effort, Cardinal McCarrick jumped out to a 15-7 lead. Townes scored his team's first seven points including two free throws, a score in the paint, and a three pointer to give it a 7-3 lead. However, Pearson responded with a jumper to pull the Barrons within two prior to an Eagles timeout at the 4:32 mark, and then he tied it at 7-7 with another jumper. McCarrick took over from there with the final eight points of the quarter as Townes made one of two from the line, the Eagles got a score inside, Alli struck for his three, and Townes scored a layup as time ran out in the opening frame. Woodbridge battled back though to pull within one at 17-16 thanks to a 9-2 spurt to begin the second.

Highlighting the WHS rally was a putback by Pearson to draw the Barrons to a point. However, Townes got his only points of the period on a three from the left wing for a 20-16 lead. In addition to dealing with his ankle problem, Hughes picked up his second foul of the game when Hamilton drew a charge on him. It was one of two drawn by the sophomore in the quarter. Townes ended up with 15 points in the first half. Woodbridge tried to gain the upper hand to start the second half as it scored the first three points. Hughes made one of two from the line, and Pearson added a basket to pull the Barrons within one again at 24-23. The Eagles hung on to the lead though by scoring the next six points for a 30-23 lead as the visitors called for time.

Townes sparked the run with a short pull-up jumper. Hamilton then followed with a putback, and then a layup off a nice dish from Townes at the 5:27 mark. The timeout seemed to stabilize the Barrons for a bit as Mika Graham and Kyle Anderson both scored baskets during a 4-2 run that narrowed the deficit to five, but the Eagles went back up by seven at 34-27 when Townes scored off an inbounds play forcing a 30 second timeout by the Barrons with 3:02 to go in the third. Woodbridge would pull within five again before McCarrick reeled off six straight points including a one handed dunk by Townes, and two foul shots by McDaniel for a 40-29 lead with just under a minute and a half to play in the frame. The Barrons stayed within striking distance though by scoring the last four points of the period including a long three by Anderson as time expired for a 40-33 Eagles lead.

Woodbridge then crept a bit closer to start the fourth with three points before McDaniel went down with a leg cramp at the 7:19 mark and the Eagles now leading 40-36. While the defenses remained stingy on both sides, McCarrick was able to regain control by scoring five of the next seven points over a span of 4:32. Townes and Hamilton accounted for much of the scoring with a basket each while Pearson was the lone scorer for WHS during the stretch. Leading 45-38 with less than three minutes to play, the Eagles put the game away with a 7-4 run over the next 2:13 before Pearson connected on a trey to make the score 52-45 with 34.7 seconds remaining. Pearson added another trey to make the score 54-49, but it was too little, too late as the Eagles won by seven.

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