Hamilton Park Summer League Winds Down

Hamilton Park Summer Playoffs Heat Up

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Hamilton Park Summer League Summer League playoffs are winding down. Quarterfinal action in the boy’s high school games were held this past Friday. The scores:

St. Peter’s Prep 36, St. Mary’s (JC) 29
Jersey Jayhawks 52, Dickinson 41
Bayonne 58, Union 47
St. Anthony’s 44, High Tech 35

Routs or blowouts were non-existent. In earlier rounds that also held true. The playoffs have been balanced and the contests hotly contested. Even teams that finished in the lower echelon of the regular season standings have been reaching down. Sixteen teams competed in the boy’s division, with St. Anthony’s winning the regular season title.

Even the Friars didn’t go through the league unblemished. They suffered a loss to Bayonne and squeaked by a few teams such as Union (by one). On one hand St. Anthony’s never had a full compliment of all their varsity players on a given night. Still, they lined up with more size and talent than any opponent they faced.

A few quarterfinal notes

• St. Mary’s upset a Strothers Florist team (Snyder, Ferris and Hudson Catholic players) in the second round. Strothers had been playing very well the last month and hoped to make a longer run into post season. St. Mary’s, as usual, did a good job of stopping transition and dictating a half court pace. St. Peter’s simply had too much size and can play that half court game. Prep has been playing well and their semifinal matchup with St. Anthony’s will be interesting.
• Devon Collier was a difference-maker. The 6-9 junior transfer to St. Anthony’s was too much for a competitive High Tech team to handle. The first time they met St. Anthony’s, led by Dominic Cheek, defeated Tech by 24. The game was closer than the score indicated as the Laser Cats (have to love that name) were only two possessions away midway through the third quarter. In the quarterfinal, there was no Cheek, but Collier was on board and his inside presence was too much. Collier finished with 14 points but was a terror on the boards. St. Anthony’s also took advantage of any Tech turnovers turning them into transition opportunities. For Tech, Xavier Corporan led the way with 11 points. Corporan netted 20 in a second round win over Long Branch. He can play a two or three spot and has the versatility to work inside, put the ball on the floor and hit the perimeter shot.
• Union upset East Orange in the second round behind Ashon White’s 22 points. Union played Bayonne tough, but a one-minute stretch changed momentum. With seconds left in the first half and Union down four, a Bayonne player penetrated and had his shot blocked. A Bayonne player got to the loose ball in the corner and gave a desperation heave at the buzzer. It went in for a trey. Bayonne then scored two quick baskets the first 48 seconds of the second half, and what was a four-point game suddenly was a double-digit deficit. From there, the Bees were in control.
  Bayonne will face the Jersey Jayhawks, a Bergen county AAU team, in the other semifinal. Jayhawks used a decisive fourth quarter spurt to pull away from Dickinson. Hackensack sophomore Tarik Bridgeman led the way with 20 points and made several significant plays in the final eight minutes.
• The high school girls’ semifinals are Monday. Teaneck will face Frederick Douglas of New York and Team Gym (a Newark AAU squad) meets East Orange. Teaneck, a strong New Jersey program, is led by Tiffany Connor. At 5-11 Connor can handle, hit the outside shot and play inside. She is especially lethal on the break with her passing ability. Douglass is led by Alicia and Emmoni Cropper. The latter had a very good game, penetrating and breaking down the defense, in a quarterfinal win over Spring Valley (NY).
  The boys’ semifinals are Monday. Grade school, girls and boys championships are all slated for Wednesday.
• Games are on the outdoor courts at Hamilton Park. The location is the Hamilton Park section of Jersey City, just about two blocks from the Holland Tunnel and St. Anthony’s. Inclement weather calls for games at McNair Academic High School a block and a half west of the park. Outdoor ball lends a special “ambience”, but the air conditioning of McNair is welcomed, especially when yours truly is officiating the contest.