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GMC Hoops Summaries--February 16, 2010
Week Nine--GMCT Preliminary Round

First Quarter Boosts North Brunswick Into Round Of 16, 77-56

By Greg Machos
February 16, 2010

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ--The Raiders made a step toward redemption on Tuesday night. After a season that started out with promise in the form of a 6-1 start, North Brunswick dropped nine of its last 13 contests entering its 2010 GMCT Preliminary Round matchup against J.F. Kennedy of Iselin. However, tourney season offers a second chance, and the Raiders were going to make sure that they were going to take advantage. North Brunswick, which enjoyed a similar start to the season last year (3-0) before finishing with 14 losses in their last 18 games, jumped out to a 20-6 first quarter lead, and never looked back in a 77-56 victory over the Mustangs.

NBTHS outscored JFK in three of the four quarters played. The Raiders got their 77 points on 22 field goals, six threes, and 15 foul shots while the Mustangs got 18 field goals, three treys, and 11 free throws for their 56 points. JFK went only 11 of 20 from the foul line, and missed seven layups in the game. Playing without Joe Marciano, who suffered an injury in a recent win at South Amboy, and only getting four points in the first half from senior Rasheed Howard, Kennedy dug themselves too deep a hole to dig out of. However, they didn't stop trying. The Mustangs got to within eleven on a three pointer by junior guard Daishon Robinson near the end of the third quarter, and trailed by thirteen at one point in the fourth, but they couldn't get over the hump.

Howard finished with a game high 25 points after scoring 21 in the second half. The JFK forward connected on nine field goals, and seven foul shots in the game. Robinson chipped in with 10 points on two threes and two field goals, but nobody else scored in double figures for Mustangs. Meanwhile, North Brunswick had four players score in double figures including junior Tait Pirkle, who had a team high 21 points on seven field goals, two threes, and a foul shot. Senior guard, Mark Gibson added 15 points on five field goals, a three, and two foul shots. Sophomore Dillon Salva also scored in double digits with 13 points on six field goals and a free throw while fellow soph, Dion Rogers added 10 points on three treys and a foul shot. The Raiders started out hot as the seemingly made every shot they took in the first period en route to a 16 point lead before leading 20-6 heading into the second.

The home team increased its advantage to 2-to-1 at the intermission as they outscored the visitors 12-10 in the second for a 32-16 halftime lead. Kennedy began the second half with one of two free throws from Howard for a 32-17 NBTHS edge at the 7:30 mark, but the Raiders responded with a jumper at the 7:13 mark, and a three at the 6:30 mark by Gibson for a 37-17 advantage. However, JFK attempted to battle back with an 18-9 spurt over the next 5:31 to pull within eleven. Howard started the rally with a basket as he was fouled, and when he missed the bonus free throw, he proceeded to grab several offensive rebounds before putting in the follow for a rare four point play to help close the gap to 37-22. North Brunswick responded with jumpers from Salva and Troy Brown (two field goals for four points) to extend the lead to 41-22 at the 4:25 mark.

Kennedy added a basket before a 30 second timeout at the 3:21 mark, and then the Raiders got a three for a 44-24 lead before Howard scored five unanswered points to pull the Mustangs to within fifteen at 44-29 with 1:59 left in the third. Junior guard, A.J. Williams (two field goals and a foul shot for 5 points) came up with a big play as he swiped a steal, drove in for the layup as he was fouled, and made the bonus free throw for a traditional three point play that closed the gap to a dozen at 44-32 with 1:48 left in the third. North Brunswick got a score to go up 44-32, but Robinson netted a three pointer from the left wing with just under a minute remaining in the period for a 46-35 NBTHS lead. The Raiders wouldn't let the Mustangs get any closer though as they immediately got a three pointer from Pirkle at the 39 second mark, and a three point play from Salva at the 24.1 second mark for a 52-35 lead. Howard ended the third with a one handed dunk for a 52-37 North Brunswick lead.

The fourteenth seeded Raiders opened the fourth with a 6-5 run including an offensive rebound and follow by Salva while the nineteenth Mustangs got three of four from the line by Howard, and an offensive rebound and follow by A.J. Pichalski (a field goal and two free throws for 4 points) for a 58-42 NBTHS lead with 6:10 remaining. The home team then scored four of the next six points including a jumper by Salva that got a kind bounce for a 62-44 lead. However, Kennedy refused to give up as Howard made two free throws at the 4:36 mark, and the Mustangs scored five of the next seven points including a three pointer from the right side by Robinson following a layin by Pirkle for a 64-51 North Brunswick lead at the 3:51 mark. JFK couldn't get any closer though as the Raiders finished the game off with a 13-5 spurt for the 77-56 win.

With the victory, North Brunswick advanced to the Round of 16 to face third seeded Bishop Ahr in North Edison on Thursday night. The Raiders improved to 11-10 overall, and 10-9 in conference play while the Mustangs fell to 12-11 overall, and 8-11 in the GMC. JFK is likely to play some tune-up games for the state tournament, where they will play at eighth seeded Morristown in the opening round of the North Jersey Section 2 Group III bracket on March 1st. Kennedy is making its first state tourney appearance since the 2001-02 season. North Brunswick also qualified for the states, and is playiing in the Central Jersey Group IV tourney. Video highlights and analysis are both forthcoming in the blog.

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