GCC Falls to Visiting Passaic CC

GCC frosh Kevin Booth socred a season-high 15 points on Saturday in the loss

November 14, 2009

Deptford, NJ

GCC got off to a slow start trailing 10-4 at the 15:00 minute mark of the first half but a layup by Nasir Johnson on an assist from Darnell McCargo tied the game at 12-12 only two minutes later. A Greg Prince putback off of his own miss made the game 19-18 Passaic at the 10:00 minute mark.

Passaic took a seven point lead into the final 5:00 minutes of the first half using pressure half court defense and having hit four 3-point shots already to the Roadrunners one. A floater by Kevin Booth in the lane cut the lead to three at the 3:00 minute mark. Booth has seen increased playing time in recent games and made the most of it. Marquis Jones followed with a driving layup to cut the lead to one and then was fouled on his second consecutive drive to the basket. Jones made 1 of 2 from the line to tie the game with 2:00 minutes left in the half. McCargo then followed with a steal and breakaway layup that put GCC ahead for the first time in the game. Passaic answered with two layups of their own to retake the lead. The Roadrunners spread the floor and Anthony Talley found Booth in the corner for a 3-pointer at the buzzer of the first half to take the lead 39-38.

A flurry of scoring opened the second half as both teams came out running and Passaic took a 54-50 lead with 15:00 minutes to go in the game. Kevin Booth put the Roadrunners back ahead 61-60 with his third 3-pointer of the game at the 11:00 minute mark and the game was tied again at 65-65 with 10:00 minutes to go. Anthony Talley then scored on a mid-range jumpshot followed by a deep 3-pointer from the corner off of the assist from Booth but Passaic answered with a 5-0 run of their own.

The game was back on the seesaw in the final five minutes as the lead changed hands several times but Passaic CC’s pressure defense gave them an 82-78 lead with 3:00 minutes to go. A pull up jumper by Passaic’s Emil Lozano then made it a six point advantage. McCargo then found Jones open on the wing for a 3-point field goal to cut the lead to three but a Roadrunner foul on defense stopped the momentum and put Passaic back up by five after two made free throws. The Panthers from Passaic CC went on to improve to 4-1 with the 93-87 win.

The Roadrunners have faced some very tough competition early in the season and are off to a 1-3 start but will certainly improve as the season progresses. They will practice this week in preparation for the Turkey HoopShoot Tournament hosted by County College of Morris on November 20-21.

Men's Basketball Box Score

Final Score: GCC 87 Passaic CC 93
GCC (1-3) Passaic CC (4-1)
GCC Scoring: Darnell McCargo 24, Anthony Talley 8, Greg Prince 17, Marquis Jones 6, Isiah Dixon 7, Kevin Booth 15, Johnny Thomas 4, Nasir Johnson 6
PCCC Scoring: Simmons 10, Wyneter 4, Castro 14, Williams 12, Lewis 21, Lozano 25, Enemuo 7
3 pt. FG: GCC 8, PCCC 9; FT: GCC 9-14, PCCC 12-17
Halftime Score: GCC 39 PCCC 3

See photos from the action...

McCargo launches from the corner	Jones and Prince work the pick and roll	Johnson finishes a driving layup
Booth feeds the ball down low	Prince scores off the pass	Prince at the line - he finished with 17 pts.