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GMC Hoops Summaries--February 24, 2010
Week Ten--GMCT Final Four

Monroe Prevails Over Sayreville In Overtime To Reach First Ever Final, 74-67

By Greg Machos
February 24, 2010

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ--It was early in the fourth quarter, and it seemed like it was all but over for the Sayreville Bombers. The great run through the 2010 GMCT by the sixth seeded team that finished second in the White Division appeared to be coming to an end. Senior guard, Jarrell Smith had just picked up his fifth foul of the game, and Monroe's Kenny Pace netted two free throws for a 52-36 lead. The Falcons had led by as many as 17 points on two occasions in the third, and a 50-32 advantage after football standout, and Wagner bound, Blake Bascom made one of two from the line at the 1:37 mark of the period. Through it all, Sayreville parents, students, and fans, kept saying don't give up, keep working, and most importantly, the game isn't over.

It certainly wasn't. Tarif Jackson, Joe Saitta, and company definitely heeded the advice, and it resulted in a 28-10 surge over the final 9:37 of the contest including a 13-0 spurt in the last 5:20 to tie the game up at 60-60, and force overtime. However, the monumental comeback attempt may have taken too much out of the sails of the Bombers as Monroe put the game away in overtime. After Jackson, who put in a tremendous effort with a game high 26 points on six field goals, two threes, and eight foul shots, connected on a jumper with 3:26 left in overtime for a 62-60 lead, the second seeded Purple Birds went on a decisive 9-1 run capped by a Danny Brix three point play to take a 69-63 lead with 1:39 to go. Jackson tried to get his team back in it with a three point play of his own at the 39.6 second mark, but the Bombers couldn't get any closer than 70-66 as Monroe punched a ticket to its first ever MCT/GMCT Championship Game with a 74-67 victory.

Monroe had outscored the Bombers in two of the four periods in regulation with the second ending in a tie. However, Sayreville outscored the Falcons by a 26-10 margin in the fourth to force the extra session before MTHS pulled out the win with a 14-7 showing in the overtime. For the game, Monroe got its 74 points on 16 field goals, five threes, and 27 foul shots. Sayreville got its 67 on 20 field goals, four threes, and 15 free throws. A big difference in the game was the foul shooting as the Falcons connected on 27 of 36 from the charity stripe for 75 percent while Sayreville was also at 75 percent, but only 15 of 20. Timmy Brix led the Purple Birds with a team high 23 points on five field goals, three treys, and four foul shots. Kenny Pace chipped in with 17 points on two field goals, a three pointer, and ten from the foul line while sophomore Danny Brix added 14 points on four field goals, a three pointer, and three free throws.

The Bombers got another double-double performance from Rutgers bound gridiron standout, Dave Milewski who scored 11 points on five field goals and a foul shot while pulling down 13 boards. Milewski had 17 points and 15 rebounds in the victory over North Brunswick in the GMCT Quarterfinals on Sunday. For a while, it looked like Monroe was going to roll to another victory. The Falcons, which defeated Sayreville twice this season including a 68-62 overtime win at home on December 21st, connected on four field goals, four threes, and two of three from the line for a 22-9 first quarter lead. Meanwhile, the Bombers only made three field goals and a three pointer in the frame. Timmy Brix led the way for the Purple Birds with 11 points in the period including three treys while Pace had the other to stake Monroe to a 13-7 lead. Then, the GMC White champs finished the period by scoring nine of the last 11 points for the 13 point advantage.

Pace opened the scoring when he drove in for a layup, and drew a foul that resulted in a one of two showing at the line for a 1-0 lead at the 7:11 mark. Both teams then exchanged turnovers as Danny Brix traveled, and the Bombers returned the favor by committing a violation at the 6:39 mark. Pace then took advantage by connecting on a three pointer from the right wing for a 4-0 lead at the 6:33 mark. Sayreville responded with four straight points on baskets by Mark Keir (two field goals and four foul shots for 8 points) and Daryl Stephenson (8 points on four field goals) to tie the game at 4-4 before Timmy Brix made his first three of the game at the 5:24 mark for a 7-4 lead. The elder Brix then added another three for a 10-4 lead before Sayreville called a 30 second timeout with 4:26 to go in the first. Following the Bomber stoppage, Jackson connected on a three for a 10-7 Monroe lead, but Timmy Brix struck again for three at the 3:28 mark for a six point lead.

Brix's third three of the game sparked a 12-2 spurt to close the opening period. Senior guard, Zach Batchelor, added a layup that rolled in, and the foul for a three point play at the 1:38 mark after Timmy Brix added another score for an 18-9 lead. Danny Brix then closed out the period with an offensive rebound and follow off his own miss for a 22-9 advantage moving into the second. The Bombers fought back at the start of the second with a 9-0 spurt over the first 4:07 of the quarter to close within four. Milewski ignited the run with an offensive rebound and follow on Sayreville's first possession of the frame for a 22-11 Monroe lead. Stephenson then grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by Jackson, and put in the follow for a 22-13 Falcons lead at the 5:54 mark. Just under a minute later, Milewski struck again with a turnaround jumper from the right baseline for a 6-0 run, and a 22-15 score with 4:57 to play in the half.

Both teams then exchanged charges over the next 23 seconds, and then the Bombers capped the run when Stephenson kicked out to Jackson on the left wing for a three pointer, and a 22-18 Monroe lead at the 4:07 mark. The Falcons then got two free throws before Ahmid Williams (a field goal and six free throws for 8 points) connected on his only field goal of the game while being fouled at the 3:32 mark for a 26-18 MTHS lead. The Falcons then capped an 8-4 run on a jumper by Timmy Brix and an offensive rebound and follow by sophomore Victor Sorrento (2 FGs for 4 points) at the 2:22 mark for a 30-20 lead. Sayreville scored the next four points including an offensive rebound and follow by Milewski at the 1:55 mark for a 30-24 Monroe edge, but Smith (scored only two points in last two games), picked up his third foul, and Williams went to the line for two free throws, and a 32-24 lead. Danny Brix then drove in for a layup at the 1:32 mark, and brother Timmy added an offensive rebound and follow at the 1:04 mark, and then a three from the top of the key in the waning moments of the half for a 39-26 Monroe lead at the intermission. Brix scored 18 points in the first half on four threes and three field goals.

The quarter started out quietly for both teams although two key players picked up their third foul. Danny Brix for Monroe at the 6:19 mark, and Keir for Sayreville at the 5:36 mark. Pace, who went 6 of 6 from the line in the period, took advantage of Keir's foul by making two free throws for a 41-26 lead. The Falcons added two more points for its biggest lead of the game before Sayreville scored four unanswered points for a 43-30 score at the 4:02 mark. Monroe then scored six of the next eight points despite two missed free throws by Sorrento (was active on the offensive boards) at the 2:32 mark. Timmy Brix picked up his teammate by drawing a charge on Syd Holt (three field goals for six points) at the 2:11 mark, and Pace put the Purple Birds back up by 17 with two free throws at the 1:59 mark. Bascom then got his only point of the game as Smith picked up his fourth foul. Jackson then went to the line twice, and made one of two for a 50-34 Monroe lead heading into the fourth.

The Bombers got two more points to open the fourth before Smith fouled out and Pace netted two free throws for a 52-36 lead at the 7:16 mark. Sayreville then embarked on its comeback. The first wave happened over a span of 1:44 as Milewski converted a conventional three point play and Saitta (two threes and two free throws for 8 points) made the first of his two threes to highlight an 11-4 spurt to pull the Bombers within nine before Williams made two foul shots for a 58-47 lead at the 5:32 mark. Twelve seconds later, Batchelor stepped to the charity stripe, and made both of his free throws for 60-47 lead. Monroe wouldn't score for the remainder of regulation. Sayreville got five points over the next minute as Keir netted two free throws as Saitta made a three to close the gap to eight at 60-52 as Monroe called a full timeout in order to avoid a turnover at the 4:20 mark. Neither team would score for almost the next two minutes. Keir made a key defensive play by drawing a charge on Pace at the 3:04 mark.

The Bombers then crept to within six as Jackson made two free throws at the 2:29 mark. Following a five second violation on Monroe with 2:12 left, Saitta went to the line, and sank two foul shots for a 60-56 Falcons lead with just under two minutes to go in the fourth. The Purple Birds then, uncharacteristically, committed another turnover at the 1:41 mark. After a full timeout, Holt scored to make it a two point game at 60-58 with 59.3 seconds to go in regulation as Monroe called another timeout. With the Sayreville crowd back in the game, and making a tremendous amount of noise to urge its team on, the Bombers forced another steal that fell into the hands of Holt, who tried to drive to the basket, but lost the handle. In the scramble that ensued, Keir was fouled by Williams, who then left the game with his fifth. Keir, who made 9 of 13 at the line in the fourth quarter against North Brunswick, was true on both his free throw attempts here to tie the game at 60-60 with 53.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

Despite all that happened, Monroe still had a chance to win the game in regulation. Hanging on to the ball, and waiting for a last shot, the Falcons called for time with seconds remaining. After the timeout, Danny Brix drew a foul with 4.5 seconds to go, but missed on both foul shot attempts. Sayreville managed to get the loose ball off the rebound, and call for time with 2.7 seconds to go in regulation, but the Bombers turned the ball right back over to the Falcons with 0.5 seconds left. Timmy Brix then put up a last second shot off the side out of bounds in front of the Monroe bench, but it hit the front of the rim as time expired for a 60-60 tie. Unlikely as it was at the beginning of the period, both teams were now going to overtime, and Sayreville had the momentum. The Bomber faithful were going crazy after its team made a rally for the ages. Not since the 2003 GMCT Semis when St. Joe's came back from 13 down with less than four minutes to play to defeat New Brunswick (64-62) on a Josh Batts layup at the buzzer, had there been such a comeback.

Jackson seized upon this momentum by giving Sayreville its first lead of the game at 62-60 with 3:26 to go in the extra session. However, Timmy Brix responded with a jumper at about the 3:15 mark to tie things up at 62-62. The Falcons then added another layup at the 2:39 mark for a 64-62 lead. Jackson then drew a foul, and made one of two from the line to draw Sayreville within one at 64-63 with 2:27 left, but Timmy Brix got fouled on the rebound of the missed second shot, and made two foul shots for a 66-63 lead with 2:26 to go. The Purple Birds then went up by six when Danny Brix converted a three point play at the 1:39 mark. Jackson made a three point play of his own to close the gap to four at 70-66 with 39.6 seconds to go, but the Bombers were unable to get any closer after that. With the 74-67 victory, Monroe improves to 22-3 overall on the season, and 18-1 in conference play. The Falcons also moved into a tie with East Brunswick for first place in the GMC Hoops Trophy standings with a 5-1 mark. Meanwhile, Sayreville dropped to 15-7 overall, and 14-6 in the GMC. Monroe advances to the GMCT Championship to play top seeded St. Joseph's, which beat Spotswood 48-38 in the other semifinal. Analysis and video highlights will be forthcoming in the blog.

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