Bearcats Finish Game on a 41-25 Surge
| Former Spotswood standout, Tom Soulias pulls up for a foul line jumper in the 2nd half against Baruch College. Baruch won 82-71. |
UNION, NJ–Prior to starting the always tough schedule in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, Kean University was looking to build some confidence with a non-conference game against Baruch College. Over the weekend, the Cougars opened the season against Marymount University of Virginia, and lost 76-68. Baruch opened up its season with an 85-70 loss at Montclair State on Friday night. So, both teams were looking to get their first win of the season.
The Bearcats would be the team to get that first win. Trailing 46-41 with just under 16 minutes to play, Baruch finished the game on a 41-25 surge including a 22-11 run over the last eight minutes or so for an 82-71 victory. Spotswood’s Tom Soulias led the way in defeat for Kean with 23 points, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds in 37 minutes. Colonia’s Jodrell Thompson played well for the Cougars with 9 points on 2 of 3 shooting from three point range and 3 of 4 from the line while also collecting 6 rebounds, 3 steals, a block and an assist.
According to stats from Kean Athletics, Baruch outshot Kean 46 percent to 39 percent, but the Cougars shot better from three going 5 of 15 versus only 4 of 22 by the Bearcats. Kean also fared much better at the foul line where it went 22 of 25 for 88 percent versus 20 of 33 by Baruch for only 61 percent. The Bearcats outrebounded Kean by a 39-36 margin including a 15-11 edge on the offensive glass. Baruch cashed in on those offensive rebounds with an 18-8 advantage in second chance points. Turnovers really killed Kean. The Cougars committed 26 miscues versus only 19 by Baruch, and that turned into a 27-22 advantage in points off turnovers for the New York City school.
Baruch also had advantages in assists (18-13) and bench points (22-17). There were four lead changes in the contest with Baruch having the largest lead of the game at 11 in the end. The Bearcats had a more balanced attack with five players scoring in double figures with Bryler Paige coming off the bench to score a team high 18 points while also collecting 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Kean had three players score in double figures including former Barringer standout, Diego Puljos and Micah Kerr, who had 10 points each. The points in the paint and second chance points would be huge down the stretch for Baruch as Jack Shanahan (14 points) and Chimaechi Ekekeugbor (13 points) cleaned up with several putbacks.
The Bearcats started to creep back into the game with a 6-3 run over a span of 1:38 to pull within a single possession at 50-47 with 13:12 to play. Baruch then scored 11 of the next 15 points over the ensuing 5:07 to take a 58-54 lead and force Kean to call a timeout with 8:05 to play. The Cougars would rally though with a 9-5 run over the next three minutes as Soulias converted a traditional three point play, and Thompson connected on a three from the left wing to knot the score at 63-63. The game didn’t stay tied for long as Baruch came right back down the floor and scored on a layup for a 65-63 edge with 4:48 remaining.
The bucket sparked a 10-0 run for the Bearcats that put Kean on the ropes before the Cougars responded with five unanswered points including a layup by Soulias to force the visitors from New York to call for time with an 73-68 lead at the 2:04 mark. Kean wouldn’t get any closer though as Baruch finished the game with 9 of the last 12 points for the 11 point victory. With the win, Baruch evens its record at 1-1 on the young season while Kean drops to 0-2 overall.
GMC NOTES: Spotswood’s Tom Soulias, who scored 1,000 points for the Chargers, opened the season in strong fashion with 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals in 38 minutes in the loss to Marymount University of Virginia. Soulias connected on 10 of 23 shots including 3 of 9 from beyond the arc while also making 9 of 15 from the foul line. Jodrell Thompson, who was a key contributor in Colonia’s run to the North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 sectional title last season, came off the bench for Kean in the loss to Marymount and collected 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 23 minutes.