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GMC Hoops Summaries--December 27, 2011
Holiday Tournaments--Gene Haley Memorial Tournament

Carter Leads Ramblers Into Haley Tourney Final, 61-43

By Greg Machos
December 27, 2011

ISELIN, NJ—While there has been much talk about teams like St. Joseph's, East Brunswick, Piscataway, Cardinal McCarrick, and North Brunswick, and how they are going to do this year, Carteret is starting to call attention to itself with a solid start. After winning the first three games of the season including two tough contests on the road at Sayreville and Spotswood, the Ramblers entered the 2011 Gene Haley Tournament with a lot of momentum, and an opportunity to get even better.

Carteret didn't waste any time either. The Ramblers jumped out to a 10-2 lead as senior forward, Avery Carter scored eight points. Then, after Edison pulled to within 13-9 after one period, the Ramblers got four more points from Carter and two by fellow classmate Tanveer Dosanjh for a 19-9 lead with 2:34 to go in the half. The Eagles tried to get back into the game by scoring the next three points, but CHS finished the half with the final seven points including four points by Dosanjh and two by Carter to take a 26-12 halftime lead en route to a 61-43 victory in the opening round of the Haley Tourney.

The Ramblers advanced to face J.F. Kennedy in the Championship. The Mustangs earned a ticket to this year's final thanks to a 46-35 decision over H.D. Woodson of Washington D.C. in the other opening round game. Carteret and JFK have already played this season with CHS winning comfortably, 52-33 on December 21st. Carteret, who scored 16 points in the first half, ended up with 24 points along with 7 rebounds for the game while Dosanjh chipped in with 18 points including two threes. Senior Kevin Luckenbach scored all of his team high 14 points in the second half for Edison while football standout, Amir Brown chipped in with 12 points. Carteret outscored EHS in each period.

Turning in another solid effort on both sides of the ball, Carteret drew five charges in the first half alone including two by senior forward Kevin Van Dyke. The Ramblers also surprised from long distance with a 9-0 edge in points scored from beyond the arc. CHS also had a 23-17 edge in two point field goals while both teams had seven players break into the scoring column. Carter had 10 points in the first period, six in the second, six in the third, and two in the fourth in the win. Meanwhile, Dosanjh got better as the game went along with 17 of his 18 over the final three periods including six points in the second, five points in the third, and seven in the fourth. Carteret took advantage of an Edison team struggling to get in sync offensively in the early going.

The Eagles fell behind right away as the Ramblers overcame two early turnovers to get on the board first at the 7:13 mark on a putback by Carter. Nigro then swiped a steal for a layup and a 4-0 lead with 6:22 to go in the period. After a layup by EHS football standout, Amir Brown narrowed the deficit to two, Carter scored six straight points including a layup at the 5:30 mark, and a steal for another layup at the 5:15 mark. Following a charge drawn by Van Dyke at the 4:47 mark, Carter connected on a jumper for a 10-2 lead. Edison tried to battle back though by scoring 7 of the last 10 points of the period. Brown started the run with a drive from the left side for a layup at the 3:41 mark. Julius Collier added a bucket at the 2:55 mark for a 10-6 Carteret lead.

After Carter connected on another jumper at the 2:06 mark and Dosanjh made one of two from the line at the 1:37 mark for a 13-6 lead, the Eagles scored the last three points of the first including one of two from the line at the 1:20 mark, and a basket by Qassim Bass-Ali to close the gap to 13-9 heading into the second. Both teams struggled to score for much of the second period with Carteret having the only success over the first 5:26 of the quarter with six points for a 19-9 lead. Dosanjh began the scoring with a follow at the 7;35 mark. Nigro then lobbed an alleyoop to Carter for a layup and a 17-9 lead with 6:06 to go in the half. Neither team would score for 3:32 before the Ramblers got on the board again as Dosanjh dished to Carter for another layup, and a ten point lead.

Edison, which didn't get its first point of the period until the 2:04 mark, and its first field goal until the 1:24 mark, pulled within 19-12, but Carteret ended the half with the final seven points including a floater by Dosanjh at the 39 second mark, a jumper at the 24 second mark, and then a three by Dosanjh that beat the buzzer for a commanding 26-12 lead. With Luckenbach coming into the game for the first time, the Eagles again tried to climb back into the contest with a 10-6 spurt over a span of 3:55 to narrow the deficit to 32-22 nearly midway through the third. EHS sparked the rally with a three point play at the 7:43 mark followed by a Bass-Ali jumper at the 6:03 mark, one of two free throws by Luckenbach at the 5:29 mark, one of two free throws by Brown at the 5:11 mark, and a three point play by Luckenbach at the 4:05 mark.

Carteret wouldn't let the Eagles get any closer the rest of the way. The Ramblers went on a 11-4 spurt to finish the third, and opened the fourth with a 10-6 run for a 21-10 surge in 7:09 for a 53-32 lead with just under five minutes to go. Dosanjh had 11 of his points during the run including three pointers at the 1:45 mark of the third for a 41-24 lead, and at the 5:58 mark of the fourth for a 51-32 lead. Dosanjh also went 3 of 4 from the line during the stretch while Carter and Juwan Coston each added four points and Nigro chipped in with two. The Ramblers led by as many as 22 points later on in the fourth before Edison closed the game with a 8-4 run that included a score by Luckenbach, two free throws by Marcus Cudjoe, and a follow by Brown to round out the 61-43 final.

With the victory, Carteret advanced to the Championship Game on Wednesday against J.F. Kennedy, and improved to 4-0 on the season and in conference play. Edison, which will play H.D. Woodson of Washington D.C. in the consolation, dropped to 0-3 overall and in the GMC. View the play-by-play from this contest.

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