The Freshmen Game of the Week, Freshmen Roundup, and the JV Roundup are now available. Check them out in our GMC Hoops Summary archive.

GMC Hoops Summaries--January 22, 2010
Week Five--White Division Matchup

Shorthanded Zebras Step Up With Huge Win On The Road Over Raiders, 57-56

By Greg Machos
January 22, 2010

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ--Prior to the start of the game, the sight of New Brunswick's junior forward, Jaquan Cook in crutches was not good to see if you were a Zebras fan. However, the Zebras themselves didn't seem worried. After all they had sophomore forward, Milton Pittman, and senior guard, Simuel Williams to pick up the slack. However, it was junior guard, Fuquan Rogers, who ended up being the hero. Rogers, who ended up with 4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal, scored on a nifty drive through traffic for a layup and a one point lead with 28 seconds left. Troy Wilcox and Williams came up with steals in the waning moments to prevent a game winning score by North Brunswick, and came away with the 57-56 win in a GMC White Clash.

The game may have been one of the best games of the season. There were 20 lead changes and 9 ties during the course of the contest while neither team had a lead bigger than four points. Another Rogers, Dion Rogers of North Brunswick had another superb effort with 4 of 6 from three point range, and a game high 20 points along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Pittman led New Brunswick with a team high 17 points on 5 of 11 shooting from the floor, and a perfect 7 of 7 from the line to go along with 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and a block. Williams chipped in with 13 points on 4 of 10 field goals and 5 of 7 free throws while collecting 7 rebounds, 3 steals, an assist, and a steal.

Nigel Scott, who had 15 points in the loss to Sayreville on Wednesday, connected on four field goals and a three pointer along with a perfect 3 of 3 from the foul line for 14 points. Tait Pirkle contributed in a losing cause for North Brunswick with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. New Brunswick outscored North Brunswick by 17-14 margins in both the first and final periods while the Raiders got a 16-11 edge in the second, and there was a 12-12 deadlock in the third. For the game, New Brunswick connected on 20 of 49 shots from the field including 1 of 8 from beyond the arc while making a scintillating 16 of 20 from the charity stripe, and committing only 15 turnovers.

On the other side of the ledger, North Brunswick went 21 of 58 from the field including 6 of 15 from long distance while making just 8 of 13 from the foul line, and committing 20 turnovers. In other statistical areas, the Raiders held a 39-30 edge on the boards including a 16-12 advantage on the offensive boards, and edges in assists (9-6) while the Zebras led in steals (10-7) and both teams were even in blocks (2-2). Neither team drew a charge. Six players got into the scorebook for New Brunswick while eight players scored for North Brunswick. However, three players scored in double digits for the Zebras while two only did for the Raiders. In the first quarter, Pittman clicked on 3 of 4 shots, and made a free throw for seven points to pace the Zebras to a three point lead.

There were four lead changes and three ties alone in the first period. New Brunswick was 6 of 13 from the floor including one of three from downtown while North Brunswick was 6 of 15 from the field including 2 of 4 from long distance. Both teams had a difficult time getting started with neither team getting on the board for the first 1:38 until Pittman stole an errant pass, and went in for a layup, and a 2-0 lead. The Raiders would tie things up, but the Zebras went back out in front 5-2 with a three point play by Scott off a nice assist from Williams at the 5:42 mark. On the next North Brunswick possession, Pirkle drained a three pointer from the left side off an assist from Mark Gibson (4 points, 2 assists, a rebound, and a steal) to tie things back up at 5-5 with 5:23 left in the first.

Scott fired in the only three pointer of the game for the Zebras to go back out in front 8-5, but the Raiders responded with four straight points including an offensive rebound and follow of his own miss by Dion Rogers for a 9-8 lead at the 3:26 mark. North Brunswick would fall behind again 10-9, but Dion Rogers put it back in front again with a three pointer for a 12-10 lead. New Brunswick tied the game, but then fell behind again 14-12 before Pittman converted a traditional three point play at the 1:46 mark, and Williams netted two free throws at the 1:24 mark for the 17-14 lead after one. In the second, North Brunswick outscored New Brunswick by a 16-11 margin for a two point lead at the intermission.

Shaliek Short got things going for the Raiders with an offensive rebound, and drew the foul that resulted in two free throws to close the gap to one at 17-16 with 7:15 to go in the half. After T.J. Overtree (4 points and 4 rebounds) missed two free throws at the 7:09 mark, Williams picked up his teammate by slicing through the lane for a layup for a 19-16 lead with 6:19 to go in the half. North Brunswick closed within one again as Dion Rogers picked up a steal, and subsequently grabbed an offensive rebound, and dished an assist on a score by Jarrett Phelps (2 points and an assist). Fuquan Rogers responded for the Zebras with a drive for a layup that put New Brunswick ahead 21-18 as North Brunswick called for time at the 5:28 mark.

Following the timeout, Williams drove into traffic for a layup attempt, and was fouled by Chance Gadsden (4 rebounds and a block). The senior guard made one of two from the line for a 22-18 lead at the 5:03 mark. Neither team scored for a bit more than a minute before Dion Rogers connected on a long three pointer from the right wing to pull the Raiders within one at 22-21 as a 30 second timeout was called at the 4:01 mark. Following the stoppage, Gibson gave North Brunswick the lead at 23-22 with 3:30 left in the half as he dribbled in to the free throw line for a pull-up jumper. The next time down the floor, New Brunswick got the ball to Pittman, who drew a foul, and netted two free throws for a 24-23 lead at the 3:15 mark.

Dion Rogers replied quickly as he came right down the floor, and sank a three pointer from the top of the key for a 26-24 lead at the three minute mark. North Brunswick increased the lead to four at 30-26 on short jumpers by Pirkle and Kevin Totten (2 points, a rebound, and a steal). However, with seconds to go in the half, Scott swiped a steal and went in for a layup that drew the Zebras to within two at 30-28 going into the intermission. At the break, New Brunswick was 10 of 25 from the floor including just one of five from three while North Brunswick was 12 of 25 from the field including a 4 of 8 effort from beyond the arc. The Zebras made up for that with a 7 of 10 showing from the foul line versus only 2 of 2 for the Raiders.

North Brunswick, which got 11 points from Dion Rogers in the first half, outrebounded New Brunswick by a 19-13 margin including a 9-6 edge on the offensive boards. However, the Zebras had fewer turnovers (8-10) than the Raiders. The third quarter began with Dillon Salva (4 points, 9 rebounds, and a steal), getting his first points of the game on a jumper, but Williams responded for New Brunswick with two free throws at the 7:19 mark for a 32-30 score. Pittman then tied the game up at 32-32 with an offensive rebound and follow, but Dion Rogers came right back down the floor for a floater to put the Raiders back on top, 34-32 at the 6:19 mark. North Brunswick didn't have the lead for long though as Pittman netted two free throws at the 5:28 mark to knot things up at 34-34.

Dion Rogers put NBTHS back in front with another jumper, but NBHS tied it right back up at 36-36 as Fuquan Rogers made a nice pass to Scott for a layup at the 4:23 mark. Following a full timeout by North Brunswick at the 3:41 mark, Williams put the Zebras in front again with a score for a 38-36 lead before Troy Brown (4 points, 10 rebounds, and a steal) got on the board with a one of two effort from the line to make the score, 38-37 with 2:44 remaining in the third. New Brunswick forced a five second call at the 2:22 mark, but couldn't take advantage, and North Brunswick went back in front at 39-38 on a pull-up jumper by Pirkle at the 32 second mark.

Moments later, the Zebras came right back down the floor, and scored on a layup by Scott for a 40-39 edge at the 21 second mark. Then, in a repeat of the same feat against East Brunswick in the Brunswick Classic over the holidays, Dion Rogers drained a three pointer from way deep on the left wing (practically right in front of North Brunswick's bench) to give the Raiders a two point, 42-40 lead at the end of three periods. The fourth began with New Brunswick scoring the first four points as Williams got on the board again with an offensive rebound and follow off a Pittman miss to tie things up at 42-42 with 7:47 left, and then Fuquan Rogers made a nice dish to Pittman for a layup, and a 44-42 lead at the 7:23 mark

Seconds later, Salva drew a foul, and made one of two from the line to pull the Raiders within one again at 44-43 with 7:18 to go. Pittman then replied with two charity shots at the 7:11 mark for a 46-43 Zebras lead. Despite a 30 second timeout by New Brunswick at the 6:07 mark, North Brunswick went ahead with a 4-0 run that included a Short layup off an assist by Dion Rogers at the 5:14 mark for a 47-46 score. The Zebras came right back though for a score as Scott dished to Overtree for a layup, and a 48-47 with 4:55 to go. Eighteen seconds after that, Pirkle made two free throws for a 49-48 edge at the 4:37 mark. The game continued to go back and forth as neither team had a lead bigger than two points over the final 5:30.

Wilcox (5 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal) made a nice move for a bank shot that put the Zebras ahead again at 50-49 with 4:13 remaining. Salva then tied it up at 50-50 with one of two at the line again at the 3:59 mark. Scott then untied it with two free throws at the 3:32 mark, but Pirkle took a Dion Rogers pass at the top of the key for a three pointer, and a 53-52 advantage with three minutes to go. A little more than a half minute later, Wilcox came up with his second big play as he converted a traditional three point play to put the Zebras back out in front by two, 55-53 with 2:28 left. Seven seconds later, Dion Rogers came quickly down the floor for a floater that rolled in for a 55-55 tie with 2:21 to go.

Following a New Brunswick timeout at the 1:35 mark, the Raiders had a chance to go ahead, but Salva missed the front end of a one and one. Scott tried to get possession of the basketball, but lost it out of bounds with 1:01 left in regulation. Brown then grabbed an offensive rebound off a Dion Rogers miss, and drew a foul that produced one of two from the line at the 52 second mark. The Zebras didn't panic though, and it paid off with Fuquan Rogers layup at the 28 second mark for the lead. North Brunswick called timeout with 17.8 seconds left, and following the stoppage, the Raiders got the ball to Pirkle. Wilcox pressured the junior into a turnover, and drove down the floor for a layup attempt that didn't fall. Dion Rogers got the rebound, but had the ball taken away from him by Williams, who was fouled with 0.8 seconds left.

Williams would miss the one and one, but Salva's heave was well short as time expired with New Brunswick posting a huge victory on the road over a North Brunswick team that defeated it 60-59 at NBHS back in December. With the win, the Zebras improved to 9-6 overall, 7-5 in conference, and 5-4 in the GMC White. North Brunswick, which dropped its third straight, and sixth of its last eight, fell to .500 at 7-7 overall and 6-6 in the GMC including a 4-5 mark in divisional play.

RETURN TO THE GMC HOOPS HOME PAGE

If you are finished checking the GMC Boys Basketball Summaries, and would like to see other parts of the website.  Click below to return to the home page.

• Return to the GMC Hoops Homepage

If you have any questions about, or any suggestions for this website, please feel free to either fill out our guestbook, or contact me at gmachos@gmchoops.com.