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GMC Hoops Summaries--January 6, 2010
Week Three--White Division Matchup

Sayreville Finds A Way To Win A Close One, 58-57

By Greg Machos
January 6, 2010

SAYREVILLE, NJ--The season has just entered its third week, and already the Sayreville Bombers have lost three close games. First, the Bombers lost on the road to Monroe (68-62) in overtime on December 21st. Then, over the holidays in the Championship Game of the 2009 Hillsborough Holiday Classic, Sayreville fell short to the still undefeated Raiders by three points (48-45). Finally, two days ago, the Bombers lost another heartbreaker on the road at Carteret (50-47) in double overtime.

Cardinal McCarrick has had some familiarity with Carteret as well. While the Bombers fell in extra time on the road at Monroe, the Eagles lost to the Ramblers in one of the first surprises of the season (57-53). However, since then, Cardy Mac has gotten back to business with four straight victories including three over the holidays in the Joe Silver Holiday Tournament round robin at Hillside High School. GMC Hoops caught the Eagles in action against Orange, and Raysor put on a show with 14 points in the fourth quarter, and 30 for the game. These two teams would be entangled in yet another close game out of the GMC White Division this season.

Before the game ended, there would be 15 lead changes and 7 ties while neither team had a lead bigger than five points throughout. The game came down to a foul shot after Jarrell Smith was fouled on a three point heave by Mo Isaac. Smith, who netted a three pointer to tie the game with 11 seconds left, netted the first foul shot attempt with no time left on the clock for the 58-57 victory in a much needed game for the Bombers, which had lost two straight coming in. Smith ended up with 14 points as he made three field goals including two threes while being a perfect 6 of 6 from the charity stripe.

Smith also collected four rebounds, and an assist. Mark Keir had some struggles from the foul line, but not from beyond the arc, where he made 3 of 4 shots to make up most of his 11 points while also collecting four assists, three steals, and two rebounds. Dave Milewski (3 of 7 FGs and 4 of 4 FTs) and Tarif Jackson each added 10 points while Milewski pulled down 12 rebounds, drew two charges, and handed out two assists. Syd Holt also chipped in with 8 points on a perfect 3 of 3 from the floor, and 2 of 2 at the line while grabbing eight rebounds.

Isaac led the way for the Eagles in the losing cause with a solid performance. He came up with 5 of 9 shooting from the field, and 6 of 9 from the line for a game high 16 points along with 8 rebounds, 7 blocks, and a steal. Dana Raysor had some struggles from the field, but ended up scoring 15 points while picking up 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block. Charlie Gorman sank four three pointers, and registered 14 points while collecting 2 charges, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Sayreville won the first and final periods, the second ended in a draw, and McCarrick won the third in this early season classic.

For the game, the Eagles connected on just 18 of 48 shots from the floor for 38 percent including only 6 of 22 from long distance. Cardy Mac was helped by foul shooting as it went 15 of 24 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Sayreville made 18 of 52 shots for 35 percent including a 6 of 16 showing from downtown. The Bombers also went 16 of 20 from the line. Each team had 19 turnovers while both combined for 43 fouls. In other statistical areas, Sayreville had a 32-28 advantage on the boards including a 13-12 edge on the offensive glass. The Eagles had more assists (11-10), steals (8-4), and blocks (8-0) while Sayreville had more charges (3-2). Both teams had a bit of trouble getting started in the first period, but it was more McCarrick than Sayreville. The Eagles committed four turnovers in just the first 1:47 while missing their first five shots.

The Bombers had gotten one of two from the line, and a three pointer by Keir for a 4-0 lead. Raysor finally got McCarrick on the board with two free throws at the 4:09 mark, and then the Eagles got their first field goal of the game thanks to a steal that led to an offensive rebound and putback by Isaac to knot the game up at 4-4 with 3:55 to go in the first. Jackson came back with a jumper from the left corner off a pass from Milewski for a 6-4 lead with 3:24 to go in the period. The Eagles then scored four of the next six points including a jumper from Isaac off an assist by Raysor to tie the game at 8-8 with 2:18 to play in the first.

Milewski, a football standout headed to Rutgers, handed out another assist as Daryl Stephenson (2 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist) got his only points of the game with a short jumper over Isaac, who was very active on the defensive end trying to swat everything near him, for a 10-8 lead at the 2:08 mark. Raysor then gave McCarrick its first lead of the game at 11-10 on a three pointer with 1:48 remaining in the first. The lead exchanged hands a couple more times before Sayreville took the lead back at 15-13 on a traditional three point play by Smith at the 1:21 mark. Jackson then went straight to the cup for a layup, and a 17-13 lead with 29 seconds to go before Isaac closed out the opening period scoring with a one of two showing from the foul line with seven seconds to play to make the score, 17-14 after one.

In the opening quarter, McCarrick was only 5 of 13 overall from the field, but 5 of 8 after the first 3:38. The Eagles were only one of six from long range, and committed eight turnovers while sinking three of four from the line. Sayreville, on the other hand, was 7 of 18 from the floor including one of five from three point land, and made six turnovers while making two of three from the line. Both offenses continued to struggle shooting wise from the floor in the second. The Bombers were only 4 of 12 in the period while Cardy Mac was just 3 of 11. The Eagles did cut down on the turnovers with three in the frame while Sayreville had five.

Isaac opened the second quarter with a score off a turnaround jumper at the 7:09 mark for a 17-16 Sayreville lead. Five seconds later, McCarrick was assessed a technical, and Jackson took advantage by stepping to the line, and making both free throws for a 19-16 lead. Isaac picked the Eagles up though with two free throws of his own at the 6:40 mark for a 19-18 score. Then, fouls started to become an issue as both teams went into the bonus. Holt picked up his third foul of the game at the 6:27 mark, but Isaac misfired on the front end of a one and one while Keir did the same after drawing a third foul on Craig Thomas (2 assists and 2 steals) at the 6:15 mark.

Freshman Joe Saitta (3 points and a steal) got his only points of the game for a 22-18 lead. Raysor then rebounded after missing a one and one at the 5:45 mark by making two foul shots at the 5:16 mark for a 22-20 Sayreville lead. Holt then drew a foul, and made two free throws at the 4:45 mark for a 24-20 lead. Gorman then got going with a three pointer and a layup for a 5-0 McCarrick run, and a 25-24 lead with 3:48 to play in the half. Raysor made it a 6-0 run for a 26-24 lead at the 3:14 mark, and Isaac added two more foul shots for a 28-24 advantage at the 3:09 mark. Milewski helped the Bombers rally to tie things up at 28-28 when he scored on an offensive rebound and follow off a Saitta miss at the 2:13 mark .

Sayreville then picked up on its new found momentum, and with both teams now in the double bonus, and key players such as Raysor picking up his third foul, the Bombers took advantage on two free throws by Smith for a 32-28 lead with 13 seconds to go in the half. Raysor, who had 11 points in the first half to tie for game high, then closed out the first half with a one of two showing from the foul line with no time left on the clock for a 32-29 score at the intermission. Isaac and Raysor combined for 76 percent of the Eagles scoring while Jackson led Sayreville with 8 points, Smith added 7, and Holt chipped in with 6.

Looking at the first half statistics, McCarrick was only 8 of 24 from the floor including a 2 of 12 showing from beyond the arc. Sayreville, on the other hand, didn't fare much better by going 11 of 30 overall including 2 of 10 from deep. The Eagles made up for that by clicking on 11 of 16 from the line while the Bombers were 8 of 10. Each team had 11 turnovers while Cardy Mac committed 10 fouls and Sayreville made 13. The Bombers had a slight edge in rebounding (17-14) including the offensive glass (7-6). Assists (5-5) and charges (2-2) were even while McCarrick held edges in steals (2-1) and blocks (6-0). The Eagles got the lion's share of the points in the third as they seemed to take control of the game.

Cardinal McCarrick opened up the second half with an offensive rebound and follow by junior guard, Jeremy Cruz (7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal) to close the gap to 32-31 with just over a minute gone by in the third. A bit more than a minute later, Cruz was back at it again with a three pointer off an assist by Thomas at the 5:53 mark to put the Eagles back out in front at 34-32. Milewski made two free throws at the 5:31 mark to tie the game back up at 34-34. Smith then gave the Bombers the lead again at 37-34 on a three pointer from the left side off a pass by Keir with 5:14 to go in the period. Milewski then added a layup off an assist by Jackson, and then the senior guard got into the act with a floater to give Sayreville its biggest lead of the game at 41-36 with about three and a half minutes to go in the third.

However, the Eagles fought back as Isaac made a layup as he was fouled for a conventional three point play to close the gap to two again at 41-39 with 3:12 left in the quarter. Isaac then tied the game at 41-41 by following a John Appiah miss (2 of 3 FG for 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals) with a two handed flush with 2:15 left in the third. Raysor then scored a layup for a 7-0 run, and a 43-41 McCarrick lead before Milewski stepped to the line, and sank two foul shots to knot the game again at 43-43 with 1:31 to go in the stanza. Moments later, Milewski came up with a key defensive play as he drew a charge on Raysor for the sophomore's fourth foul. However, it didn't stop the Eagles as they got a three from Gorman at the 45 second mark, and after two free throws by Smith at the six second mark, a one of two showing by Mohammed Ali (a point and two rebounds) at the line for a 47-45 lead heading into the fourth.

Once again, both teams got into the bonus rather early in the half as Mike Lewis (an assist) stepped to the line and missed the front end of a one and one at the 6:02 mark. Keir then misfired on a one and one at the 5:53 mark, but Milewski was there to tap it out to Smith. Six seconds later, Keir drew a foul from Ali, and made one of two from the line for a 47-46 McCarrick lead. The foul shooting parade was just getting started as Milewski picked up his fourth foul, but Isaac missed the one and one at the 5:40 mark. Gorman picked up his teammate though by hitting another one of his patented deep threes from the right wing for a 50-46 lead, and a Sayreville timeout at the 5:23 mark. Following the stoppage, Keir came up with two huge shots to put the Bombers back in front.

First, the Sayreville junior guard, connected on a three pointer from the left wing to trim the deficit to one at 50-49 with 4:09 left. Then, after a McCarrick 30 second timeout at the 3:32 mark, Keir struck for a three pointer for a 52-50 lead at the three minute mark. The Bombers then went up by four when Stephenson pulled down an offensive rebound and handed out an assist on a bucket by Holt, but Gorman struck again from way deep on the left wing to make it a one point game again at 54-53 with 1:41 to go in the game. Following a McCarrick timeout, and a Sayreville timeout at the 1:23 mark, Raysor put the Eagles ahead at 55-54 on a drive for an off-balanced shot in the paint with 43 seconds left.

Jackson tried to get the lead back for the Bombers with a drive for a shot, but it rimmed out. Cruz got the rebound, and was fouled by Holt, who had to leave the game with five fouls. Cruz then sank both free throws for a 57-54 lead with 27 seconds remaining. Sensing the desperation in the crowd, Smith connected on a three pointer from the left corner to tie the game up at 57-57. Now, with the crowd in a frenzy, the Bombers forced a turnover, and called for time with four seconds left. Out of the timeout, Sayreville tried to inbound, but Jackson had trouble, and called for another timeout. Finally, the Bombers got the ball inbounds to Smith, who went up the left side of the court for a last second shot attempt that drew the foul by Isaac, and produced the game winning free throw in the 58-57 thriller.

With the victory, Sayreville improved to 4-3 overall on the season, 2-2 in the GMC White, and 4-2 in conference play. Meanwhile, McCarrick had its four game winning streak snapped, fell to 5-2 overall, 2-2 in divisional play, and in conference. Read the notes on this game as well as analysis of all of Wednesday's games in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere.

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