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GMC Hoops Summaries--February 21, 2010
Week Nine--GMCT Elite Eight

Keir And Milewski Lead Bombers By Raiders, 59-42

By Greg Machos
February 21, 2010

EDISON, NJ--The first contest in the 2010 GMCT Quarterfinal Quadrupleheader on Sunday afternoon at Middlesex County College was a rubber match between two teams in the GMC White. Both six seeded Sayreville and 14th seeded North Brunswick had played each other twice with the Raiders winning at NBTHS on January 14th (68-59) and the Bombers winning at the Bomb Shelter on February 5th (61-55). Sayreville got to its second straight GMCT Elite Eight by virtue of a 68-44 victory over Metuchen in the Round of 16 while North Brunswick had to do a bit more work to get to the quarterfinals. The Raiders first beat J.F. Kennedy in the preliminary round (77-56) on February 16th, and then went into North Edison and knocked off third seeded Bishop Ahr in the Round of 16 (57-53).

After a close first quarter that ended in a 9-9 tie, Sayreville began the second with a 7-0 run for a 16-9 lead, and never really looked back. The Bombers led by fourteen late in the third (38-24) and (40-26) and by fifteen in the fourth (43-28) and (46-31) before the Raiders rallied with an 8-2 run to close within nine at 48-39 with 5:06 to play. However, NBTHS couldn't get any closer as the Bombers finished the game with a 11-3 spurt for a 59-42 victory. The win put Sayreville in the GMCT Final Four for the first time since winning it all back in the 1999-2000 season. Junior guard, Mark Keir, made 9 of 13 from the line down the stretch, and compiled a career high 21 points as he added three field goals and two threes. Senior forward, Dave Milewski, who is bound for Rutgers on a football scholarship, chipped in with a huge double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Milewski made seven field goals and a foul shot for his 17. Meanwhile, North Brunswick was led by sophomore forward, Dillon Salva, who scored 12 points on six field goals while junior teammate Tait Pirkle chipped in with 10 points on two field goals and two threes. After the first quarter tie, Sayreville won each of the last three periods of play. The Bombers got their 59 points on 18 field goals, four threes, and 11 foul shots while the Raiders scored their 42 on 14 field goals, three treys, and five foul shots. There were four ties in the first period. North Brunswick jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a floater by sophomore guard Dion Rogers (2 FGs and a three pointer for 7 points), but Keir evened things up at 2-2 with a bank shot. Troy Brown got his only point of the game on a one of two showing at the line to make it 3-2 before Daryl Stephenson (4 FGs and a FT) made his only free throw to tie things up at 3-3 with 4:21 to go in the first.

The Bombers then scored the next four points on a field goal at the 5:01 mark, and then a basket by Milewski as he was fouled for a 7-3 lead with 3:29 remaining in the period. The Raiders rallied back with a 4-0 run including a bank shot from the right side by Salva at the 2:16 mark to tie things up at 7-7. Jarrell Smith got his only points of the game on a baseline drive from the left side for a layup, and a 9-7 lead with 1:05 to go, but North Brunswick got a field goal to tie things up at 9-9 going into the second. The second period started with Sayreville getting a three pointer by Tarif Jackson (5 points on a FG and a three) for a 12-9 lead. The Bombers then had a chance to increase the lead when Smith swiped a steal, but he lost the handle. A scramble ensued before the Bombers called for time at the 6:31 mark. After the timeout, Sayreville scored four more points including a drive for a layup by Milewski at the 6:02 mark for a 16-9 lead as North Brunswick called timeout.

Following the stoppage, the Raiders didn't score until the 4:43 mark when Salva drove into the key and put up a fadeaway shot that rolled in to end the 7-0 Sayreville run for a 16-11 score. Just under a minute later, Keir passed to Stephenson for a foul line jumper that put the Bombers up by seven at 18-11 with 3:45 to go in the half. North Brunswick got a score to pull within five again before Milewski got an offensive rebound and put in the follow as he was fouled. Then, when he missed the bonus free throw, he got another offensive rebound off a Stephenson miss, and put in the follow for a rare four point play, and a 22-13 lead at the 3:01 mark of the second. NBTHS rallied with five of the next seven points including a three pointer by Pirkle and a layup by Rogers to pull within six before Jackson got his final points of the game on a scoop shot in the waning moments of the half to make the score 26-18 at the intermission.

Over the first 3:55 of the second half, Sayreville scored seven of the first 11 points including a basket by Stephenson as he was fouled for a 33-22 lead after Chance Gadsden (3 FGs for 6 points) scored a bucket as he was fouled for North Brunswick. Keir then drew a charge on Pirkle before the Raiders called for time at the 3:50 mark. The Bombers couldn't take advantage though as a technical foul was called on Stephenson at the 3:29 mark, and Mark Gibson (a field goal and 2FTs) made two foul shots for a 33-24 Bomber lead. There was a lull in the scoring for about a minute and a half before Milewski grabbed another offensive board off a miss by Jackson on a leaner, and he converted a three point play for a 36-24 lead with 1:56 left in the third. Sayreville then went up by 14 as Holt grabbed a rebound, and passed ahead to Jackson, who dished to freshman Joe Saitta (2 FGs and a three for 7 points) for a fadeaway, and a 38-24 advantage at the 1:10 mark.

Salva got a layup to end the Bomber run with 26.1 seconds to play in the period, but Stephenson picked up a loose ball for a layup, and a 40-26 lead after three periods of play. North Brunswick opened the fourth with two free throws from another sophomore, Shaliek Short for his only points of the game to close the gap to 40-28 at the 7:35 mark, but Stephenson got an offensive rebound and kicked it out to Saitta for a three pointer from the left wing for a 43-28 lead at the 7:16 mark. The Raiders came back down on its very next possession and got a three from Rogers to pull within a dozen again with just under seven minutes to play. However, after a timeout, the Bombers went back up by 15 as Saitta passed to Keir for a three from the right corner, and a 46-31 lead at the 6:40 mark. NBTHS then put together its best run of the game as Salva got a layup and a follow for four points, and Rogers drew a charge on Jackson during a 6-2 run that closed the gap to 48-37 with 5:27 to play.

Pirkle then connected on a jumper as he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 48-39 Sayreville lead at the 5:06 mark. Unfortunately for North Brunswick fans, the Raiders couldn't get any closer. Sayreville got five of seven from the line by Keir over a span of 2:20 before Pirkle connected on his final three at the 2:46 mark for a 53-42 score. The Bombers had chances to go up even more, but Milewski couldn't cash in on two trips to the foul line. However, Stephenson managed to get the offensive rebound on one of the trips with 1:37 left, and that set up a layup for him off an inbounds pass by Jackson at the 1:35 mark. Keir then added three of four from the line for a 59-42 final. With the victory, Sayreville advances to the GMCT Semifinals, where it will play second seeded Monroe, a winner over New Brunswick (65-46) in the other early semifinal. The Bombers improved to 15-6 on the season, and 14-5 in conference play while North Brunswick fell to 12-11 overall and 11-10 in the GMC. Analysis and video highlights will be forthcoming in the blog.

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