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GMC Hoops Summaries--December 28, 2009
Holiday Tournaments--Brunswick Classic--Opening Round

Bears Edge Raiders On Ross Jumper At 0:12, 63-61

By Greg Machos
December 28, 2009

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ--The nightcap of the opening round of the 2009 Brunswick Classic at East Brunswick High School put two undefeated teams against each other. North Brunswick started the season with three wins in their first three games by defeating Carteret on opening night (57-40), edging New Brunswick on a shot at the buzzer (60-59), and cruising past Edison in a crossover game (57-39). Meanwhile, East Brunswick, ranked fourth in the GMC Hoops Pre-Season Top Ten, began the season with lopsided victories over Edison (66-37) and J.P. Stevens (67-36). This game would prove to be a stern test for the Bears. Both teams had a good blend of youth and experience, but EB had the deeper team.

In the contest, there were only eight lead changes and a tie, but three of those lead changes and the tie came in the final 2:35. Neither team had a lead bigger than seven points. To top things off, the Bears pulled out the 63-61 win with a jumper by sophomore guard Joe Ross with 12 seconds to go. East Brunswick outscored North Brunswick in three of the four quarters played, but the Raiders were able to lead by seven on a 17-8 showing in the third only to have East Brunswick rally in the fourth with an 18-9 showing for the victory. For the game, North Brunswick shot 23 of 46 for 50 percent including 2 of 7 from beyond the arc while EB went 26 of 60 for 43 percent including 8 of 21 from long distance for 38 percent.

At the foul line, NBTHS made up for the discrepancy in three pointers (8-2) with a 13 of 23 effort for 57 percent while EBHS went 3 of 8 from the charity stripe. In other statistical areas, North Brunswick held the edge in turnovers (14-16), but East Brunswick had the edge in rebounds (35-23) including a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass. The Bears also had more assists (12-10) and charges (2-0) while the Raiders had more steals (9-3) and blocks (3-0). Carl Thomore led the winners with a team high 14 points on 7 of 13 shooting from the floor along with 10 rebounds for a double-double. He also picked up an assist and a steal in the victory. Junior guard, Anthony Guisti chipped in with 12 points on four of seven shooting including 4 of 6 from downtown. Guisti also picked up two rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

Ross, the hero of the game also had 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the floor including 2 of 4 from three while also adding two assists. Meanwhile, for North Brunswick, senior guard, Mark Gibson, the hero with a last second shot last week against New Brunswick, led the way in a losing cause with a game high 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the floor including a three, and 5 of 7 from the line. Gibson also had two rebounds and an assist. Sophomore guard, Dion Rogers, the younger brother of former NBTHS standout, Brandon Rogers, clicked on 6 of 12 shots from the floor including a three, and 3 of 6 from the line to chip in with 16 points along with four assists, two rebounds, and two steals. Troy Brown made four of six shots from the floor for 8 points along with 7 rebounds, a steal and a block for the Raiders.

North Brunswick started the game with five of the first seven points including a three pointer by Gibson. Thomore got a layup that closed the gap to 5-4, but Gibson then stepped to the line, and made one of two from the foul line for a 6-4 NBTHS lead at the 5:28 mark. Over the next 2:21, EB went on a 8-5 run including a 4-0 burst before Jarrett Phelps (2 of 4 FTs for 2 points, a rebound, an assist, and a block) made one of two from the line for a 12-11 Bears lead at the 3:07 mark. East Brunswick then scored six of the next eight points on threes by Dan Sclafani (5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a charge) and Guisti for an 18-13 lead before Rogers was fouled on a three attempt of his own, and made two of three from the charity stripe for an 18-15 EB lead at the 1:23 mark. Guisti then sank his second three of the game on a shot from the right wing off a kickout by Anthony Gudzak (three rebounds and an assist) for a 21-15 lead, but Gibson responded with a conventional three point play for a 21-18 score at the 44 second mark. Sophomore Chance Gadsden (2 points, 2 rebounds, and a block) then ended the quarter with an offensive rebound and follow for a 21-20 East Brunswick lead heading into the second.

North Brunswick got a score to open up the second for a 22-21 lead, but East Brunswick took the lead right back with a putback by sophomore Mike Summerer (3 points and 8 rebounds), and then Guisti's third three of the game for a 26-22 lead at the 6:20 mark. Thomore then followed up with a basket as he was fouled, and even though he missed the bonus free throw, the Bears were still ahead by six at 28-22 with 6:01 remaining in the half. The Raiders rallied back with six of the next eight points to pull within two at 30-28 before Ross scored on a layin at the 4:03 mark for a 32-28 advantage. EB then scored five of the next seven points including a three pointer by Ross from the right side off a kickout by Thomore for a 37-30 lead before Rogers registered a traditional three point play at the 2:25 mark for a 37-33 Bears lead. Rogers then closed out the first half scoring with a bucket off an assist by Tait Pirkle (5 points, 6 steals, 4 points, and 3 assists) to give EB a 37-35 lead at the intermission.

In the first half, Rogers led NBTHS with 11 points on four of six field goals and three of four from the line while also collecting three assists, a rebound, and an assist. Gibson chipped in with three of six shooting from the floor including a three pointer, and two of three from the line for 9 points and an assist. EB was led by Thomore, who scored 12 of his points in the opening half on 6 of 8 field goals while also picking up three rebounds and an assist. Guisti chipped in for the Bears with three of four shooting from beyond the arc for 9 points, a rebound, and a steal. East Brunswick shot 16 of 30 for 53 percent in the first half while North Brunswick went 14 of 23 from the floor for 61 percent. The Bears made five of nine from beyond the arc while the Raiders connected on one of four from long range. NBTHS made up for that though with a 6 of 9 showing from the foul line while EB only took one free throw attempt.

Turnovers and rebounding were close with North Brunswick having a slight edge in miscues (6-7) and East Brunswick having a slight advantage in total rebounds (11-10). Each team had seven assists, but the Raiders had more steals (5-2) and blocks (1-0). The Bears had more charges (1-0). In the third quarter, North Brunswick jumped out to its first lead since the first quarter with an 8-2 run over the first 1:27 for a 43-39 lead. Gibson started things off with a basket and a foul at the 7:27 mark while Mike Curran (2 of 4 FGs for 4 points and 2 rebounds) scored on an offensive rebound off a Brown miss for a 41-37 lead. Thomore scored his final points of the day on a layup before Pirkle netted two free throws for a 43-39 advantage with 6:33 remaining in the period. North Brunswick had a chance to expand on that lead, but Brown came up empty in two attempts at the line at the 5:59 mark, but Gibson picked him up a little more than a half minute later with two foul shots for a 45-39 edge with 5:28 to go in the third.

East Brunswick fought back with a 6-2 burst over the next 3:37 including Guisti's final three of the game for a 47-45 North Brunswick lead. Rogers then misfired on two free throws at the 1:51 mark, but picked himself up with a jumper at the 1:20 mark, and then a three from the left wing as time expired in the period for a 52-45 Raider lead heading into the fourth. The final quarter began with two free throws from EB's Mauro Tucci (7 points, a rebound, and a steal) at the 7:24 mark, but Pirkle responded with a score for a 54-47 NBTHS lead as the Bears called timeout with just under seven minutes to play. Tucci, who scored all of his points in the fourth, then sank a three pointer from the right wing off a pass from Ross at the 6:40 mark for a 54-50 North Brunswick lead. The Bears then scored four of the next six points including an offensive rebound and follow by Lantz for a 56-54 score prior to a 30 second timeout with 4:51 to go.

Phelps then made one of two at the line for a 57-54 Raiders advantage before Lantz (6 points on 3 of 5 FG, 4 rebounds, an assist, and a charge) scored again to pull the Bears within one. Pirkle then made one of two from the line for a 58-56 NBTHS edge with 3:57 remaining. EB had a chance to tie the game or go ahead, but Sclafani missed the one and one, and Thomore missed on the follow attempt at the 3:19 mark. Following a missed layup by Rogers, Sclafani would redeem himself though with a layup that tied the game at 58-58 with 2:35 left in regulation. After EB called a full timeout with 1:36 left, the Bears lost the ball out of bounds with 1:24 to go as North Brunswick called for time. Enter Mike Weber. For the first time, the football standout was seeing action in this contest, and he made it count by swiping a steal off the inbounds, and then handing out an assist on a layup by Tucci, who was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 60-58 lead at the 1:19 mark.

East Brunswick managed to get the ball back, but Tucci led Lantz too far, and the pass went out of bounds with 37 seconds to play. North Brunswick then went out in front on a drive for a layup and a three point play by Gibson that made the score 61-60 with 27 seconds to go in regulation. This set the stage for Ross as he almost lost the handle on the ball, but regained himself and sank a three from the top of the key with 12 seconds to go. North Brunswick had one last chance after Pirkle forced a turnover with four seconds to go, but the junior was unable to make the last second shot, and EB prevailed by two. With the victory, the Bears improved to 3-0 on the season, and advanced to the Championship Game of the Brunswick Classic against New Brunswick, which defeated South Brunswick earlier in the day.

See details on the first day of action in this tournament in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere.

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