Kaleb Gonzalez

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP- The Hopewell Boys Junior High basketball program continued their summer league scheduled with a handful of games this morning at the Hopewell Junior High School.

The Vikings 8th grade team took on Blackhawk and Central Valley, while the 7th graders went up against Moon.

In their first game of the morning, the 8th graders easily defeated Blackhawk. Vikings Sports Now was their second game against Central Valley and here’s a recap of the Vikings win.

HOPEWELL VS. CENTRAL VALLEY (8TH GRADE BASKETBALL GAME):
*This was another game in which Hopewell wasn’t really challenged and it gave head coach Patrick Phillips the opportunity to experiment with plenty of different player lineups and got the players plenty of time on the court. While winning is fun, the real purpose and benefit of the Summer League is to get players live in-game action and to work on things they’re getting taught in practice.

These games are played with a running clock with two halves consisting of 16 minutes.

Early on, it was fairly obvious the talent on the court that Coach Phillips had with Ryder Kostrick, Christian Fisher, Kaleb Gonzalez and Vin Smetana.

1ST HALF:
*Central Valley scored the first basket of the game but after that it was all Hopewell as their size and physicality in the paint was too much. Gonzalez confidently drove to the hoop, missed his shot but Fisher gobbled up the rebound and put it back for 2. Tied at 2.

*Gonzalez showed his range as he knocked down a 3 from the corner, Hopewell 5-2.

*Smetana put his head down and drove the wing and dished off to Fisher, who converted another layup, Hopewell 7-2.

*Hopewell’s pressure defense at times was suffocating as it was on this sequence as Kostrick stole a pass at midcourt and found Gonzalez underneath for 2 more, Hopewell 9-2.

*Following a CV miss, Hopewell got their transition offense going and Enzo Leopardi finished with a 2 + a foul, Hopewell 14-2.

*CV got within 6 points, but Hopewell was able to extend the lead. Smetana found Fisher again, who missed his original shot but grabbed his own rebound, kept the ball high and put it back in for 2, Hopewell 16-8.

*More transition, this time Smetana found a streaking Kostrick, who converted for a layup, Hopewell 19-8.

*Instead of dishing off assists, Smetana kept the ball and had a strong drive from the left wing for a layup. By the way, today was Vin’s 14th birthday. Happy Birthday Vincent!  Hopewell led 23-12.

*Nice ball rotation resulted in Gonzalez getting the ball at the top of the key and after faking a drive, Kaleb pulled up from the foul line and knocked down a jumper, Hopewell 25-12.

*Right before halftime, Gonzalez comes up with a steal off the Hopewell press and took it in himself for two, Hopewell 27-12.

HALFTIME: HOPEWELL 28 CENTRAL VALLEY 12

2ND HALF:
*Gonzalez opens the scoring by taking in a long rebound and dribbling the length of the court for a layup, Hopewell 30-18.

*Later, Brandon Cecchini uses his quickness to drive to the basketball for a contest layup, Hopewell 35-18.

*Kostrick uses his quickness to get into the lane and drops it off to Fisher, who finishes, Hopewell 37-22.

*Gonzalez with another strong take and he spots Fisher in the opposite block, who converts, Hopewell 39-22.

*More Fisher as this time David Johnson dribbles in and gets it to the big man. Hopewell 41-23

*Finally, Fisher with a clean block on defense, which allows Hopewell to get out running. Smetana runs the court and with another assist, this time to Gonzalez, Hopewell 43-23.

FINAL SCORE: HOPEWELL 43 CENTRAL VALLEY 23

HOPEWELL 7TH GRADE VS. MOON:

*In a hard-fought battle against Moon, Hopewell showed grit and growth, even in defeat. While they ultimately came up short on the scoreboard, the game highlighted the Vikings continued progress, especially on the offensive end.

From the opening tip, Moon tested Hopewell with their pace and in-game execution, as a result, Hopewell struggled at times to get stops defensively. Despite the challenged, Hopewell never backed down. They stuck together, moved the ball well, and found better rhythm on offense as the game went on.

Players shared the ball unselfishly, made smart decisions, and trusted one another, resulting in one of their strongest offensive performances to date. While the outcome wasn’t what they wanted, the effort, teamwork and improvement were evident.

Hopewell is learning, growing and getting better every game and today’s game against Moon was no exception.

After the 8th grade game, Vikings Sports Now had a chance to talk with Hopewell Junior High Head Coach Patrick Phillips about the summer league in general and what’s he’s seeing from his players.