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Late
Game Surge Propels Bound Brook Past Chargers, 84-68 |
By Greg Machos
December 27, 2007BOUND BROOK, NJ—It has been a difficult year in 2007 for the town of Bound Brook. Back in the early spring, a rare April Nor'easter dumped torrents of rain on much of New Jersey including the town situated along the Raritan River. As a result, Bound Brook flooded for the third time in eleven years in probably the worst flooding since Hurricane Floyd back in September, 1999. Since the 1970s there has been an ongoing project to better protect the community from the raging river at its doorstep. However, due to increasing budget problems in both the State of New Jersey, and the federal government, which by the way had similar issues down in New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Green Brook Flood Project, born in 1973, has still yet to be completed. Meanwhile, frustrated residents, who were told that this wouldn't happen again after the floods caused by Floyd, were left wondering if the problem would ever be resolved. Amdist the despair along the Raritan near Easton Avenue and by Route 28, something special has been gradually coming into shape, and that is the re-emergence of Bound Brook Basketball after around a dozen years of decline and mediocrity.
Like the New Orleans Saints galvanized the Crescent City in 2006, a year after Hurricane Katrina's Category Three Hurricane winds tore through the roof of the Superdome, Bound Brook Boys Basketball has created enthusiasm, pride, and something positive for a stricken town in need of good news to cheer up its collective soul. In the aftermath of the flood, several players on the team, and their families had to live in shelters while others pitched in, and lent a hand by taking food off delivery trucks, unloading boxes, serving lunch to flood victims, and providing help to kids with their arts and crafts. Then, about a month and a half to two months later, the Bound Brook Summer League returned after a two year hiatus with six teams from around the Central Jersey area competing including two from the GMC including Piscataway and New Brunswick. During the summer, Bound Brook head coach, Anthony Melesurgo, who has done quite a job in renewing enthusiasm about Crusader Basketball again, announced that the Crusader Classic Holiday Tournament was returning after being dormant since the 2001-02 season when South Plainfield defeated Somerville for the Championship. Back to the hoops team at BBHS, the Crusaders have been steadily improving over the past several years with two straight state tourney appearances in 2006 and 2007. Over the summer at the Bound Brook Summer League, the Crusaders went 6-2 overall to finish first in the regular season standings, but lost to fourth seeded Piscataway in the semifinals of the tournament.
This year, the Crusaders have perhaps its most talented and athletic team since the days when former Dunellen head coach, Steve Kania roamed the sidelines there, and a guy named McKeever hit the shot heard around Somerset County to propel Bound Brook past Goliath in the legendary Vaughn Stapleton and Bridgewater-Raritan West for the 1990 Somerset County Championship. It would be the last time a team of Bound Brook's size would capture that particular county tourney. With a roster that includes dynamic point guard, Erron Banks, solid post player, Deven Baker, along with Jordan Hawkins on the wing, and a run and gun style capable of scoring in bunches, Bound Brook could be a strong contender not only to repeat as Valley Division Champions of the Skyland Conference, but also be a team to reckon with in Central Jersey Group I come March. Meanwhile, returning to the GMC, Spotswood had a fine season last year with a 17-10 overall record, but gone are John Berner, Bryan Osofsky, and Justin Carlson. However, the Chargers could still prove formidable in 2007-08 with the likes of talented sophomore Cody Pace returning along with junior Ross Gerhart.
Then, there's junior Pat Dwyer, who is a hard nosed player that runs the floor very well, and is steadily improving his perimeter game. The rest of the vaunted Charger sophomore class including the Pareti twins (Tom and James), Tyler Osofsky, and Mike Liming made a superb run in the 2007 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament including a victory over Piscataway in the Quarterfinals and an upset over GMC Blue Division rival, Bishop Ahr in the Consolation Game for third place. Over the summer, Spotswood competed at the inaugural TBSA Summer League, where it finished up at 3-5 overall in the final regular season standings, and then defeated J.F. Kennedy of Iselin in the opening round of the post-season tournament before losing to eventual champion, Piscataway in the Quarterfinal round. In the fall, the Chargers played at the 2007 HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic over in Plainfield, and didn't qualify for the post-season with a final regular season record of 2-8. So far this season though, the team has struggled pretty much as anticipated with losses to Metuchen on opening night (67-50), and Middlesex (65-50) on the following Monday, and then a rout by McCarrick (78-45). However, the Chargers got some much needed momentum prior to the holiday tournaments thanks to the cure Highland Park provided in a 70-54 victory at HPHS on December 21st. Spotswood showed some fight in this contest. After trailing 15-10 with about three minutes left in the first, the Chargers battled back with a 7-2 spurt to end the frame that knotted the contest at 17-17.
After the Crusaders scored 24 of the 41 points in the second period for a 41-34 halftime lead, Spotswood rallied again with a 21-11 surge over the first 7:04 of the stanza to actually take a 55-52 lead. Unfortunately, the Chargers ran out of gas after that as Bound Brook, and its high octane offense coupled with full court defensive madness, took over from there with a 32-13 surge to close out the game for a 84-68 victory in the opening round of the 2007 Crusader Classic at BBHS on Thursday evening. Ironically, Bound Brook did a lot of its damage without its star player on the floor. From the 5:32 mark of the third until the five minute mark of the fourth, Banks sat on the bench after emotions on both sides simmered midway through the third quarter. Bound Brook would score moments after that for a 45-40 lead at the 5:17 mark of the period, but then the Chargers took over with a 15-7 spurt over the next 4:21 for a surprising three point lead. Until he had gone to the bench midway through the frame in the third, Banks was just about unstoppable for the Crusaders, his size and quickness proved to be too much for Spotswood, particularly James Pareti, who only stands at 5'7" although he showed a lot of heart and determination in trying to stay with the Brook's top player. For the game, Banks had a game high 29 points on nine field goals and eleven foul shots while Jordan Hawkins chipped in with 20 points on four field goals, two threes, and six free throws. Lamar Sims came off the bench to play a key role in the late game surge by Bound Brook as he ended up with 15 points on four field goals, a three pointer, and four foul shots.
Mike Schieferstein helped out with 8 points on four field goals while big man, Deven Baker and Jamal Purnell added three field goals for six points while Denzel Sanders rounded out the Crusader scoring with two points on a field goal. From the time GMC Hoops arrived at the 2:50 mark of the first quarter until the moment he fouled out with 6:10 left in the contest, junior Ross Gerhart pumped in 14 of his 16 points. Meanwhile, sophomore Cody Pace added 19 of his team high 26 points over the final 26:50 of the contest in a losing effort. Looking at the scoring statistics in the game, Bound Brook outscored Spotswood in the second and fourth quarters while the Chargers won the third, and the first period ended in a tie. In both quarters that the Crusaders won, the two teams combined for 41 points. Bound Brook outscored Spotswood by a combined total of 52-30 in those two periods, and that proved to be the difference. The Chargers did do all they could to make it interesting though. Despite the fact that the Crusaders ended the game with 84 points on 28 field goals, three treys, and 21 foul shots, the Chargers actually outscored the home team by a margin of 45-37 over a span of 17:54 to turn what had been a 15-10 lead at the time we arrived to a three point advantage late in the third. One key statistic that did SHS in was the fact that over the final three plus quarters of the game, they made only 8 of 25 shots for 32 percent. Meanwhile, during that same stretch, Bound Brook connected on 16 of 21 shots from the charity stripe for 76.2 percent.
Due to the fact that GMC Hoops was over at the Shello/Santy Tournament opening round game between Middlesex and Manville that began at 5:30 PM, it wasn't able to arrive until the 2:50 mark of the first quarter with Bound Brook in front by five, 15-10. Spotswood got going though with seven of the final nine points in the quarter thanks to Gerhart and Pace, who accounted for all seven including a Pace three pointer just as we were sitting down for a 15-13 Crusader lead. In an omen of things to come from the free throw line though, Gerhart took in a pass from Alex Sharoykin for a three point attempt from the right corner, and was fouled at the 2:26 mark. However, the junior guard, proceeded to go only 1 of 3 from the line, and Bound Brook still lead 15-14. The Chargers would take the lead though as they broke the frantic and chaotic pressure of the Crusaders, and Mike Liming then found Gerhart for a layup to go ahead, 16-15 at the 1:45 mark. Banks, who scored 13 points over the final 9:37 of the first half, got his team's only points during this stretch with a nifty move for a short jumper to give Bound Brook the lead again at 17-16 with 1:37 to go in the first. Gerhart then closed out the opening period scoring with a one of two effort at the foul line for a 17-17 tie at the 1:16 mark. Bound Brook had a chance to take the lead going into the second, but Banks' shot from the left wing was off the mark, and the Crusaders fouled on the rebound. The second period tied the fourth for the most combined single period output of the game with 41 points.
The game continued to be a see saw affair for a little bit as the two teams, which combined for 10 lead changes and 5 ties from the 2:50 mark of the first until the 5:48 mark of the fourth when Bound Brook took the lead for good at 62-60, had four of those lead changes and two ties during the first 3:03 of the period before the Crusader ended the half on a 18-11 effort. Pace connected on a jumper from the left wing at the 7:27 mark for a 19-17 lead, but Hawkins tied things up for Bound Brook with a pair of free throws after drawing contact at the 7:11 mark to make it a 19-19 game. On a subsequent Spotswood possession, Pace made one of two at the line for a 20-19 lead, but Bound Brook quickly replied with a Hawkins drive from the left wing for a layup, and a 21-20 lead with 6:27 to go in the first half. Forty-eight seconds later, the Crusaders used their size advantage to pound the glass for three offensive rebounds that culminated with a putback by Baker at the 5:39 mark for a 23-20 lead as Charger coach, Steve Mate, called for a 30 second timeout. Following the timeout, Sharoykin helped break the Crusader pressure to find Pace in the right corner for a three pointer that tied the game again at 23-23 with 5:27 remaining before intermission. Bound Brook then took the lead for the duration of the half as Banks connected on a jumper from the left wing for a 25-23 advantage at the 4:57 mark, and then Hawkins followed suit with a one handed shot that dropped in for a 27-23 edge at the 4:27 mark. Spotswood cut the deficit in half to two as Pace scored on a drive from the left side for a layup that made the score, 27-25 at the 4:11 mark.
Twenty five seconds later, the free throw shooting woes continued somewhat for the Chargers as Gerhart, who was just 4 of 11 at the charity stripe over a 12:49 span, made just one of two for a 27-26 Bound Brook lead at the 3:46 mark. On the next Crusader possession, Banks drove in along the left side of the key for a nifty layup as he also drew the foul for a potential three point play at the 3:26 mark. Banks would miss the bonus free throw, and the score stood at 29-26 in favor of BBHS. Gerhart went to the line again some ten seconds later, and made just one of two for a 29-27 Crusader lead. Bound Brook came right back down the floor though and got a score underneath from Purnell at the 3:05 mark to put the Crusaders ahead, 31-27. The two teams continued to go back and forth as Gerhart got a score in the paint for a 31-29 lead at the 2:54 mark, but Banks quickly came down the floor, and drew a foul that resulted in two charity shots at the 2:45 mark for a 33-29 lead. Nearly thirty seconds later, Spotswood senior center, Nick Olesinski went to the line, and made one of two foul shots for a 33-30 Charger advantage. Maintaining its up-tempo personna, Bound Brook scored sixteen seconds later as Hawkins canned a jumper from the top of the key for a three pointer, and a 36-30 lead with 2:03 to go in the first half. Liming made it a four point game again with a short jumper in the left low block to make it a 36-32 Crusader edge at the 1:34 mark, but Banks pushed the ball up the other way again, and scored a three point play for a 39-32 advantage at the 1:27 mark. The scoring would subside for a bit before Gerhart went to the basket, and scored on a floater for a 39-34 BBHS lead with eight seconds left only to have Banks come right back down the floor, and draw a foul with 2.5 left before intermission. The senior point guard then made both free throws for a 41-34 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, the Chargers opened things up by scoring the first four points of the first half before Gerhart picked up his third personal foul at the 6:43 mark. Spotswood went to work right away with a score at the 7:45 mark for a 41-36 Bound Brook lead. The Chargers had a chance to get closer, but Pace misfired on both his foul shots after being fouled on a drive for a layup with 7:30 remaining in the period. Dwyer began to get cooking though as he scored on a putback off his own miss at the 7:05 mark for a 41-38 Crusader edge. After Gerhart picked up his third, Sanders made a nice bounce pass to a cutting Schiefstein for a layup, and a 43-38 Bound Brook lead at the 6:18 mark. A bit less than forty seconds later, Pace took a shot as he fell to the ground, and the ball bounced in as he was fouled. Unfortunately, Pace misfired on the bonus free throw for the conventional three point play, and the score stood at 43-40 with 5:39 left in the third. Moments later, emotions boiled over as the very competitive play began to wear on both teams mentally. Sharoykin fouled out while Banks went to the bench to cool down for a while. Taking advantage of the net gain personnel wise, the Chargers would first give up a score to the Crusaders on a Denzel Sanders layup at the 5:17 mark for a 45-40 lead, and then score 11 unanswered points over the next 2:38 to take a six point, 51-45 lead. Pat Dwyer (6 points) sparked the rally with a layup off a nice bounce pass down low by Gerhart to make it 45-42 with 4:55 to go in the third. The Chargers had an opportunity to get even closer, but after getting fouled on a layup attempt at the 4:30 mark, Gerhart proceeded to miss on both his free throw attempts, and the Crusaders remained in front by three.
Six seconds later though, Dwyer came up with a huge stop on the defensive end by drawing a charge on Hawkins, and Spotswood took advantage as James Pareti scored on a putback of an air ball from Gerhart to pull the Chargers to within one at 45-44 with 3:24 left in the frame. Twenty-two seconds later came the key play in the Charger tear as Pace connected on a three pointer from the right wing as he was fouled for a rare four point play to give Spotswood its first lead since 20-19 at the 6:39 mark of the second. Now leading 48-45, Spotswood didn't stop there as they did a nice job breaking Bound Brook's pressure with a dish from Dwyer to Pace for another three pointer from the right wing to give the visitors from Middlesex County their biggest lead of the contest at 51-45 with 2:39 remaining in the third. Sims would get a layup for the Crusaders to close the gap to 51-47, but when Bound Brook deployed its fullcourt pressure again, the Chargers broke it again to set up another score as Dwyer handed out another assist on a layup by Olesinski that made the score, 53-47 at the 2:00 mark. The Crusaders would then score five straight points including a three pointer by Hawkins, and a putback by Schieferstein to pull within one at 55-52, but Gerhart then dished to Liming for a layup that gave Spotswood some breathing room at 55-52 with 56 seconds left in the period. Bound Brook then embarked on its game deciding surge by first ending the stanza with four straight points including a putback by Purnell with five seconds left to take a 56-55 lead heading into the final frame.
At the beginning of the fourth, Purnell followed up on his third period ending putback with a stop on the defensive end by drawing a charge on Spotswood with 7:51 remaining. On the next offensive possession, the Crusaders capitalized on the Charger turnover with two offensive rebounds by Schieferstein, which led to a Sims layup off an assist by Baker for a 58-55 lead with 7:27 to go. Not too long afterward, Bound Brook got the ball back, and Sims drew a foul from Gerhart for his fourth personal. Although Sims would misfire on both free throws, the Crusaders now had the Chargers in a precarious situation. The lead would shift back to Spotswood as Gerhart to a pass from Pace at the top of the key and dialed long distance to knot the game at 58-58 with 6:56 left, and then James Pareti drove through the middle for a layup from the left side that put the Chargers ahead for the last time at 60-58 with 6:22 to play. On the next Crusader possession, Gerhart picked up his fifth foul, and went to the bench as Sims knocked down two from the charity stripe that tied the game at 60-60 with 6:01 remaining in regulation, and ignite a game deciding 12-1 tear. Moments later, Schieferstein made a nice steal, and subsequent save through his legs to Sims, who then went to the basket, and drew a foul with 5:48 to go. The diminutive guard made the first, and then after a Spotswood timeout, netted the second to give Bound Brook the lead for good at 62-60. Right after that, Brook's chaotic pressure forced another miscue that was converted into a score for a 64-60 lead at the 5:40 mark.
The Chargers would finally settle down and break the ferocious Crusader press, and get a scoring opportunity in the process, but Liming missed on both foul shots at the 5:30 mark, and the home team quickly came down the floor for two more points as Hawkins drew the foul, and made both foul shots for a 66-60 lead at the 5:21 mark. Spotswood would fail to score again as Pace missed a layup, and Bound Brook got the rebound, and passed the ball to Hawkins for a drive from the right side for a layup, and a 68-60 lead with 5:07 left. The Chargers only point in this critical 2:15 stretch was on one of two free throws by James Pareti at the 5:01 mark just as Banks was returning to action. Nearly a minute later, Banks grabbed a rebound, and gave an outlet pass upcourt to Sims for a layup to cap the run, and give the Crusaders a 70-61 as Spotswood subsquently called for time at the 4:05 mark. The timeout wouldn't be the tonic though as Bound Brook closed the game with a 14-7 spurt for the final 84-68 score. With the victory, Bound Brook improves to 4-1 overall while Spotswood drops to 1-4.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Bound Brook (4-1) |
17 | 24 | 15 | 28 | 84 |
Spotswood (1-4) |
17 | 17 | 21 | 13 | 68 |
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