Brick Township Rallies to Defeat Monroe in OT, 78-70

Dragons Overcome 16 Point Fourth Quarter Deficit to Win

MONROE, NJ–After close losses in its last two games to St. Joseph’s (54-50) and Robbinsville (51-48), the Monroe Falcons were looking to turn the page in the consolation game of the 2016 Monroe Township Holiday Tournament against Brick Township.

For three quarters, the Falcons appeared to be on the right track. Jumping out to a 21-5 first quarter lead, Monroe gradually increased the lead to 20 late in the second quarter, and still lead 54-38 after three periods. Unfortunately, Brick Township found a way to come from behind, force overtime, and win the game.

The Dragons, who lost to Perth Amboy in the opening round of the MTHS Holiday Tourney, put together a 26-6 surge over the first seven minutes or so of the fourth quarter to take a 64-60 lead with under a minute to play in regulation. Luke Patel then made two free throws with 46.4 seconds left in the fourth, and Sashank Sindhia tied the game on a layup with 12.4 seconds remaining to force the extra session.

In the extra period, however, Brick Township broke away from a 66-66 tie by sinking a three pointer and adding a layup for a five point lead. Then after Sindhia made two free throws to close the gap to 71-68 with two minutes to play, the Dragons ended the contest by scoring 7 of the last 9 points for the 78-70 victory.

Shane Williams led four different Brick players in double figures with a game high 23 points along with 6 steals, 5 blocks, and 3 rebounds. Noah Buono added 15 points along with 7 rebounds, and 6 steals. Dan Venezia chipped in with 14 points while Brandon Williams also contributed with 10 points. Seven different players scored in the win for the Dragons.

Sindhia led Monroe in defeat with 22 points on seven field goals and eight free throws. Two other players scored in double figures for the Falcons: Peter Nesti, who had 15 points including three treys and sophomore Mike Kides, who added 13 points including three treys as well. Monroe also had seven different players get into the scorebook. The Falcons also had an 18-9 edge in points scored from beyond the arc.

Brick Township enjoyed a 46-32 edge in points scored from inside the arc while Monroe had a slight edge in points scored from the foul line (18-17). The Dragons outscored the Falcons in two of the five quarters played: The fourth period (26-10) and the overtime (14-6). Monroe only won the first quarter while the middle two periods were even.

The Purple Birds opened the game fast by scoring the first six points in just 1:42. Then, after a Brick score to close the gap to four, Monroe got back to back threes from Nesti and Kides for a 12-2 lead at the 3:42 mark. The Falcons then scored 9 of the last 11 points of the period including another three by Kides and two layups from SIndhia for the 21-5 advantage after one period.

Opening the second on a good note, Brick Township scored 3 of the first 5 points to close the gap to 23-8 and force Monroe to call for time at the 5:03 mark. Following the timeout, the Falcons got back to business with a 9-2 spurt that included another three by Nesti from the left corner, and two layups along with a foul line jumper from Sindhia to increase the lead to 30-10 at the 2:32 mark.

Not giving up, Brick scored 11 of the last 18 points of the first half including a three from the right side with 17 seconds left, and then a coast to coast layup just before the buzzer to narrow the deficit to 37-21 at the intermission. The Dragons then opened the third quarter much like they ended the first half by scoring 7 of the first 9 points of the third including a three from the right corner and a layup to pull within eleven at 39-28 with 4:48 left in the frame.

Monroe responded with a flurry of its own following a timeout. Over the next 2:18, the Falcons went on a 10-2 spurt that was sparked by an A.K. Patel layup at the 3:49 mark for a 43-28 advantage, and a Matt Hoyt layup with 2:30 remaining in the stanza for a 49-30 lead. Brick Township kept fighting though, and ended the third by scoring 8 of the last 13 points including several free throws after a technical foul on Monroe to close the gap to 54-38 heading into the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, things just started to go wrong for the Falcons. Monroe just couldn’t buy a shot from the floor or the free throw line. Meanwhile, Brick started to get hot. First, the Dragons opened the final quarter of regulation with a three pointer to pull within a baker’s dozen at 54-41 before calling timeout at the 7:41 mark. Following the stoppage, Brick began to force turnovers off of its press.

The result was a 12-3 tear over a span of 3:25 that included two steals for layups to suddenly close to within two possessions at 57-53 with 4:16 remaining in regulation. After a Monroe free throw, Brick scored on a putback to trim the deficit to three at 58-55 with 2:26 to go in the fourth. The Falcons tried to stem the tide with a couple free throws including one by Luke Patel at the 2:14 mark, but the Dragons kept coming with a three from well beyond the arc that made the score 60-58 with 1:46 to play in the fourth.

Brick Township then got a steal for a layup at the 1:34 mark, a score in the paint at the 1:10 mark, and another steal for a layup with about a minute remaining in regulation for the four point, 64-60 lead. With the game slipping away, Monroe stepped things up on both sides of the ball, and it resulted with the last four points of regulation to once again tie the score. Brick Township had a chance to win it in regulation, but just missed on a three in the closing seconds.

At the start of the overtime, Brick drew first blood with a score in the first 30 seconds or so of the extra period. Monroe would tie it at 66-66 on a score by Nesti at about the three minute mark. The Falcons would never regain the lead though as Brick sank a three pointer, and then added a layup for a 71-6 lead with 2:36 remaining. Sindhia managed to get to the line and put the Purple Birds within one possession again by making both charity shots for a 71-68 Brick lead with about two minutes to play.

The Dragons wouldn’t let Monroe get any closer though by finishing the game on a 7-2 run for the 78-70 victory. Sindhia got the only points during this stretch by getting to the foul line again and making both free throws. With the victory, Brick Township improved to 4-2 overall on the season while Monroe fell to 0-5. The Falcons return to action in the New Year with a game at Perth Amboy on January 3rd at 7:00 PM and then at home versus Piscataway on January 5th at 7:00 PM, and against Hightstown on January 7th at 1:00 PM.