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GMC Hoops Summaries--December 19, 2011
Week One--Crossover Clash

Carter's Double-Double Helps Ramblers Defeat Bombers, 52-44

By Greg Machos
December 19, 2011

SAYREVILLE, NJ--Watch out Blue Division! While it is still very early, the Carteret Ramblers look like a team to contend with for division honors this year. After going on the road, and defeating a solid Spotswood team on opening night (48-45), Carteret traveled over to Sayreville to play against the Bombers in their home opener, and once again, the Ramblers demonstrated that they are Road Warriors.

Using a 12-2 tear to open the second half, Carteret jumped out to a 37-21 lead with 3:36 to go in the third period. Sayreville battled back though thanks to getting into the bonus at the 1:31 mark of the third. Over a span of 8:21, the Bombers put together a run of their own with a 19-6 tear to pull within three at 43-40 with 3:25 remaining. However, CHS didn't let their former GMC White rival get any closer with a 9-4 showing the rest of the way. Helping to finish off the Bombers were football standouts Kevin Van Dyke and Ryan Oliver with baskets in just a 22 second span for a 47-40 lead with 3:03 to play.

After that, Sayreville was unable to get any closer than five points as Carteret registered its second win of the young season by a final score of 52-44. Senior forward, Avery Carter led the way with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Point guard, Joey Nigro did a great job seeing the floor and finding the open man while also scoring in double figures with 10 points. Tanveer Dosanjh and Van Dyke also chipped in for the winners with 9 and 8 points respectively. Bryant Webb led Sayreville in a losing cause with 12 points while forward Trey Johnson battled on the boards to chip in with 10 points. Guards Joe Saitta and Corey Taite each added seven for the Bombers, which opened the season with a 65-55 victory at South Plainfield.

Carteret's defense did a solid job stopping Sayreville's guards, especially from beyond the arc. The Ramblers, not know for their perimeter scoring, managed to stay even with Sayreville in points scored from three (3-3) while having a 22-15 edge in field goals. CHS also overcame difficulties at the foul line where they were only 5 of 19 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Sayreville went 11 of 16. Early on in the third period, Carteret put on a perfect display of Rambler basketball. The Ramblers played solid physical defense, did a nice job of running the break, making good outlet passes, and displaying great teamwork on offense for scores. CHS was playing its game.

The Ramblers started the run with six straight points over a span of just 1:38 before Sayreville called for time trailing 31-19 at the 6:22 mark. Carter began the run by dishing to Ryan Oliver for a layup and a 27-19 lead with a little more than 20 seconds gone by in the second half. After Sayreville failed to convert a couple steals by Jon Bracero and Trey Johnson, Van Dyke passed to Carter for a layup, and a 29-19 lead with 6:36 left in the third. Then, after stopping the Bombers on their next possession, Carteret made it a 6-0 run when Oliver rebounded, gave an outlet pass to Nigro, who passed ahead to Van Dyke for a layup to take the twleve point lead.

Carteret had a chance to build upon that lead when Van Dyke got a rebound and gave an outlet pass to Nigro, but Bracero, a player on the Bombers championship football team, who was very active on the defensive side of the ball in this game, managed to get back and poke the ball away from Nigro to force a turnover at the 5:50 mark. Bracero was eventually rewarded for his defensive work when Webb passed to him for a jumper from the left wing to give Sayreville its first points of the second half, and trim the deficit to 31-21 with 5:20 to go in the third. The Ramblers went back to work though by scoring the next six points over a span of 2:44 to take its biggest lead of the game.

Van Dyke resumed the run with a follow that got a kind bounce for a 33-21 lead at the 5:01 mark. Moments later, Oliver swiped a steal, and went the rest of the way for a layup as he was fouled. Although Oliver missed the bonus free throw, Carteret still led by a 35-21 score with 4:46 remaining in the third. Again, the Ramblers had a chance to go up by more, but Johnson came up with a nice defensive play by drawing a charge on Carter at the 4:23 mark. Finally though, CHS capped the run with a well executed fast break that began with the hustle of Gilden, who got on the ground and fought for a steal, passed ahead to Nigro, who pushed the ball upcourt, and dished left to Juwan Coston for a layup and a 37-21 lead at the 3:36 mark.

Sayreville didn't go away though. The Bombers, which are looking to build on the improvement at the end of last season, took advantage of getting into the bonus by the end of the third, and began chipping away at the deficit. Johnson was in the middle of things for the home team with one of two free throws at the 3:16 mark, a layup off a spin move with 2:48 to go in the third, and a charge drawn on Nigro at the 1:20 mark. Taite also helped out by making both ends of the bonus with 1:31 remaining in the third after being fouled on the floor by Wardlaw transfer, Elijah Torres to close the gap to 39-26. Chris Henderson followed suit by making both ends of the bonus at the 1:15 mark for a 39-28 Carteret lead.

The Ramblers stemmed the tide for a bit, and pushed the lead back up to 15 thanks to a couple scores in the final 1:05 of the period. Carteret first used some nice passing to break the Sayreville pressure, and finished nicely with a dish from Coston to Dosanjh for a layup, and a 41-28 lead. Then, following a Sayreville turnover, Carter connected on a jumper for a 43-28 lead with 32 seconds to play in the quarter. Despite traveling with 16 seconds to go in the frame, Sayreville was able to get some much needed momentum heading into the fourth when Webb connected on a jumper from just inside the arc for a 43-30 Carteret lead heading into the fourth and final period of play.

After both teams each missed several opportunities to score over the first 1:43 of the fourth, Sayreville resumed its rally when Webb dove on the floor for a steal, and dished to Johnson for a layup, and a 43-32 Rambler lead with 6:03 to play. Saitta got his first and only points of the second half when he got two offensive rebounds of his own misses, and put in the follow at the 5:13 mark for a 43-34 Carteret edge. Following a Bomber timeout with 5:07 left, Johnson stole an errant pass by Coston in the Carteret backcourt, and that led to a drive from the left side for a layup by Bracero seconds later to pull the Bombers within seven at 43-36. Seeming to be reeling at this point, the Ramblers committed another miscue at the 4:39 mark, and Sayreville again took advantage as Webb passed to Johnson for a layup to narrow the deficit to five.

The Bombers had several chances to get more points, but they are unable to get the turnover call at the 4:15 mark, Webb only made one of two from the line at the 3:38 mark, and after Johnson made a free throw at the 3:25 mark, the Bombers committed a lane violation before the second foul shot was taken. Sayreville caught another bad break just seconds later when Carter, who was fouled by Henderson on the ensuing inbounds, missed the front end of a one and one that appeared to be tipped in by Johnson, who was battling Van Dyke for the rebound. The play gave the Ramblers a lift that eventually translated on the defensive end in the form of a steal by Dosanjh, who dished to Oliver for a layup, and a 47-40 CHS lead at the 3:03 mark.

Sayreville managed to pull within five on two occasions after that including a high arching jumper off the dribble by Taite at the 2:32 mark to make the score 47-42, and two free throws by Johnson at the one minute mark that made the score 49-44. However, Carteret finished the game with the final three points to win by eight. View the play-by-play from the second half in the blog.

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