Jordan Earns All Tourney Team Honors By Scoring Last 5 Points of Game
MATAWAN, NJ–On the final day of action at the 2016 Matawan Huskies Classic, Carteret took on Manalapan in the 5th Place Game hoping to continue its winning ways. It would be no easy task though against a team that had defeated the Ramblers in the first round of this tourney in each of the past two years.
It looked early on as if the Braves would notch a win over the Ramblers for the third straight year. Manalapan opened the game by netting a three pointer, and followed that up with two layups and a floater for a 9-0 start. The Braves eventually went on to lead 24-17 at the half, and 31-20 midway through the third before Carteret rallied.
Over the last 12 minutes of the contest, the Ramblers outscored the Braves by a margin of 23-9 including the last seven points of the game to register a 43-39 come from behind victory to earn 5th Place in the Huskies Classic. Jemar Jordan, who was selected to the All Tournament Team, finished with 12 points including the last five of the game.
After Kahir Raymond (13 points) scored on a layup and Isaiah Daniels-Porter (12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal) made two free throws to help close the gap to 39-38 with 1:54 remaining, Jordan took over by making one of two from the charity stripe with 57.7 seconds left, swiped a steal for a layup and the lead with 22.1 seconds to go, and then finished off the four point win with a putback of a missed free throw just before the buzzer.
Jordan finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Jalen Harris and Nasseir Moore only had three points, but they were critical since they were threes that helped the Ramblers rebound after Manalapan’s early 9-0 run. John Lugo led all scorers with 14 for Manalapan, but he only had two points in the second half for the Braves. Justin Lynch chipped in for the Braves with 10 points.
Manalapan struck quickly early on. Within the first three minutes of the contest the Braves were up 9-0 after a floater at the 5:03 mark of the first. Carteret battled back with treys from Raymond and Harris to put a halt to the Manalapan run and draw within three at 9-6 at the 2:24 mark. The Braves scored the next five points before Jordan got his own rebound, and sank a baseline jumper from the right size before the horn for a 14-8 Manalapan lead heading into the second.
Over the first 2:18 of the second, the Ramblers were able to stay within six points at 19-13 thanks in part to a foul line jumper from Jordan. Manalapan would later net two free throws for a 21-14 lead at the 4:21 mark before Moore netted a trey from just to the right of the top of the key at the 1:43 mark for a 22-17 Manalapan lead. The Braves then finished the first half scoring with two free throws with 25 seconds remaining in the second for a 24-17 halftime lead.
For the first four minutes of the third, Manalapan started out fast again with 7 of the first 10 points for its largest lead of the game at 31-20. Then, Carteret began to put together its comeback. The Ramblers scored 8 of the next 10 points over a span of about two minutes. Jordan capped the run with a steal in Manalapan’s front court, dribbling up to midcourt, and crossing over to his right hand to go the rest of the way for a layup and a 33-25 Manalapan lead at the 1:51 mark of the third.
Carteret didn’t stop there either. Instead the Ramblers finished the third with seven unanswered points including a Raymond layup off a steal and assist by Daniels-Porter in the closing seconds to pull within one at 33-32 heading into the fourth. Manalapan opened the final frame with the first four points, but once again Carteret battled back. The Ramblers scored four straight points including a layup by Raymond at the 3:54 mark for a 37-36 Manalapan lead.
Following another Manalapan score, the Ramblers once again pulled within one on two free throws by Daniels-Porter with 1:54 remaining. Carteret then had a chance to take the lead, but missed a three point attempt before Manalapan called timeout at the 1:23 mark. All of this set the stage for Jordan’s heroics over the final 57.7 seconds. With the victory, Carteret improved to 6-1 overall on the season while Manalapan dropped to 1-5 overall.
Carteret returns to action on Wednesday, January 4th with a road game at Metuchen, which will be featured on GMC Hoops Radio’s Game of the Week. The Ramblers will then finish out the week with a crossover game at Colonia on Saturday morning, January 7th at 11:30 AM.