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Guisti, Tucci, And Thomore Lead EB In Team Effort For Title, 68-62 |
By Greg Machos
December 30, 2009EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ--The Zebras of New Brunswick had started off the 2009-10 on shaky ground with three straight losses, but after defeating South Brunswick in the opening round of the 2009 Brunswick Classic, they were beginning to feel good about themselves. After a tough defeat to East Brunswick in the Championship game, New Brunswick didn't want to hear about moral victories, but when you take on the fourth ranked team in the GMC Hoops Top Ten on their home court, and battle it down to the wire, there's a lot to build on for the rest of the season.
The Bears, which can go 12 to 13 players deep, got scoring from ten different players including a team high 11 points from junior guard, Anthony Guisti in a 68-62 victory over the Zebras to claim the title in the first annual Brunswick Classic at EBHS on Wednesday afternoon. Fellow junior, Carl Thomore, came up with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds while Mauro Tucci also added ten including seven free throws. Tucci, who got his only field goal on a three pointer, netted two foul shots with 19 seconds left to help seal the win.
On the game, East Brunswick connected on 18 field goals, 6 three pointers, and 14 foul shots while New Brunswick made 22 field goals, 3 treys, and 16 foul shots. NBHS junior forward, Jaquan Cook led all scorers with a game high 16 points on seven field goals and two foul shots while senior guard, Nigel Scott chipped in with 14 points on two field goals, a three pointer, and seven foul shots. The Zebras only had six players break into the scoring column, but five of them scored 12 points or more including Simuel Williams (13 points), Milton Pittman (12 points), and Fuquan Rogers (12 points).
It was a close game for the most part with East Brunswick outscoring New Brunswick in two of the four periods with the first quarter ending in a 20-20 tie. EB, which defeated North Brunswick in the opening round (63-61), went ahead at halftime thanks to a 20-19 edge in the second period. The Bears extended that lead to seven heading into the fourth on a 16-10 showing in the third quarter. The home team had a chance to go up by more going into the final period, but after a Miles Colmon (6 points) steal with under 30 seconds to play in the third, Mike Weber's (6 points) shot was too long. Tucci got the offensive rebound, but missed the jumper.
Anthony Gudzak (3 points) then grabbed an offensive board, and set up for a final shot, but the play went for naught as Tucci's layin attempt didn't fall as time expired. The fourth started out with the Zebras getting on the board first thanks to a Scott layup at the 7:46 mark. Fifty-two seconds later, Weber found Mike Summerer (6 points) down low for a layup and a 58-51 lead with 6:54 to go. Pittman brought the deficit back down to five on two free throws with 6:44 to play, but after an EB timeout at the 5:39 mark, Joe Ross (8 points) swiped a steal that eventually led to a Thomore layup at the 4:55 mark for a 60-53 lead.
Rogers then got himself into a bit of trouble on New Brunswick's next possession as he drove in too far, and then pulled up his dribble, which ultimately led to a traveling call at the 4:19 mark. However, Williams picked up his teammate with a steal for a layup that closed the gap to five again at 60-55 as NBHS head coach, Antoine Allen, called a timeout with 4:13 to play. Guisti, who sank seven three pointers over the two days of the tournament, then drove and dished to Colmon for a layup and a 62-55 lead with 4:07 left. Following a Bears timeout at the 3:32 mark, and a traveling violation by Colmon at the 3:22 mark, the EB senior forward redeemed himself with a drive from the left wing for a layup in the right low block that seemingly put the game out of reach at 64-55 with 2:30 left.
However, New Brunswick had other ideas. After Rogers pass went off Scott's hands out of bounds with 2:18 to play, the Zebras fought back with a frantic 7-0 rally that included a Williams pass to Pittman for the layup and the foul (missed bonus free throw) at the 1:34 mark, a three pointer off glass by Scott at the 1:24 mark after a steal of a trap on the ensuing inbounds, and then a Pittman steal off the trap, and pass to Williams for the layup to close the gap to 64-62 with 1:16 to play. Sensing his team was reeling, long time EB head coach, Bo Henning, called for time. Following the timeout, the Bears shutout the Zebras down the stretch as Weber drove in for a layup from the right wing while being fouled at the 46 second mark, and Tucci sank the two free throws to close out the 68-62 victory.
With the victory, East Brunswick claimed bragging rights over all the other Brunswick area schools for one year, and improved to 4-0 overall and in conference play on the young season. Meanwhile, the Zebras dropped to 1-4 overall and in the GMC with the loss.
See details on the first day of action in this tournament in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
East Brunswick (4-0) |
20 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 68 |
New Brunswick (1-4) |
20 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 62 |
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