NORTH EDISON, NJ–Following coverage of the 2017 GMCT Preliminary Round Game between 20th seeded Middlesex and 13th seeded South Plainifield, which was won by the Tigers, GMC Hoops traveled over to J.P. Stevens High School to take in the nightcap of its Preliminary Round doubleheader between the 14th seeded Hawks and 19th seeded New Brunswick.
Arriving with under a minute to go in the first quarter, GMC Hoops saw that Stevens had taken a 7-4 lead. Then, the Hawks added a layup by Elijah Smith as he was fouled at the buzzer for a 9-4 lead going into the second.
New Brunswick rallied to tie the game at 11-11 at the 33.1 second mark of the second with a 7-2 spurt over the first 7:27 of the period including a three from the right wing by Aaron Hayler at the 5:47 mark, a Wenzel Dunlap layup with 56.2 seconds to go in the half, and a baseline jumper by Kenny Lebron.
Smith then gave the Hawks a 13-11 advantage going into the locker room at halftime by sinking a foul line jumper with 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Smith led Stevens with 6 points at the half while Dunlap led New Brunswick with 4 points at the intermission.
The Zebras started the second half by scoring 5 of the first 7 points of the third including a steal for a layup by Lebron at the 3:21 mark for a 16-15 lead. After a Stevens score to retake the lead, New Brunswick went back out in front on a steal for a layup by Nymir Belk at the end of the third for an 18-17 edge heading into the fourth.
Ahyan Brown then gave New Brunswick a three point lead at 20-17 with 6:30 remaining in regulation on a coast to coast layup from the right side. J.P. Stevens would rally though with a 7-4 run over the next 1:17 including a three pointer from the left wing by Smith with 5:13 remaining to tie the score at 24-24.
Belk then put New Brunswick back in front at 26-24 with another steal for a layup at the 3:34 mark that was almost identical to one he had earlier. The Hawks then finished the game on an 8-0 run that included a Javon Scott putback at the 1:17 mark, a free throw by Tyrese Conover, and two free throws by Rohan Rao in the closing seconds for the 32-26 victory.
Smith led Stevens with a game high 11 points while Conover chipped in with 7 points. Ahyan Brown led New Brunswick with 9 points. The Hawks advanced to face third seeded Sayreville in the GMCT Round of 16 on Thursday. Below are game notes from the action:
First Quarter
1:00–arrive with J.P. Stevens leading 7-4.
0:00–Stevens gets a layup by Elijah Smith as he is fouled, but he missed the bonus FT for a 9-4 lead after one. Smith had four points in the quarter while Conover had a three pointer and Rishav Ghosh had a field goal. Stevens had three field goals and a trey while missing 1 FT. New Brunswick just had 2 FGs in the quarter as Wenzel Dunlap and German Pimentel each had two points.
Second Quarter
5:47 left in first half and Stevens calls time leading 9-7 after a three from the right wing by Aaron Hayler.
56.2 seconds left in the first half and Stevens leads New Brunswick 11-9 after Wenzel Dunlap and Ahyan Brown combine on a Dunlap layup.
33.1 seconds left in the first half and New Brunswick ties the game at 11-11 on a short jumper from the right baseline by Kenny Lebron.
15.0–Stevens takes a 13-11 lead on a foul line jumper by Smith.
0:00–Stevens leads at the half 13-11 despite being outscored by New Brunswick 7-4 in the period. Smith and Ghosh have both FGs for J.P. Stevens while New Brunswick had two FGs and a three courtesy of Hayler (3 points), Dunlap (2 points), and Lebron (2 points).
Third Quarter
3:21 left in 3rd and NB takes a 16-15 lead on a steal for layup by Kenny Lebron. Zebras score 5 of the first 7 points to take its first lead since GMC Hoops arrived late in the first period.
0:00–End of 3rd and New Brunswick takes an 18-17 lead on a steal for layup by Nymir Belk. New Brunswick outscored J.P. Stevens by a margin of 7-4 in the period for the lead. Two lead changes in the period. Zebras had 3 FGs and made its only FT of the frame while the Hawks had 2 FGs. Ahyan Brown had 3 points while Kenny Lebron and Nymir Belk each had two. Javon Scott and Rishav Ghosh had 2 points each for J.P. Stevens.
Fourth Quarter
6:51 left in 4th and Stevens calls time still trailing 18-17.
6:30 left in 4th and New Brunswick calls time with ball and a 20-17 lead after a coast to coast layup by Ahyan Brown.
5:13 left in 4th and we are tied at 24-24 and thanks in part to an Elijah Smith three from the left wing. Stevens on a 7-4 run.
3:34 left in 4th and New Brunswick calls time with a 26-24 lead after another steal for layup by Nymir Belk.
1:17 left in 4th and Stevens leads 29-26 thanks to this Javon Scott putback. Hawks have scored the last five points, and 12 of the last 18.
37.0 seconds left in 4th and New Brunswick calls time with ball and trailing Stevens 29-26.
4.0–Stevens takes a 32-26 lead after two FTs by Rohan Rao.
0:00–Game just ended with Stevens defeating New Brunswick 32-26. The Hawks outscored the Zebras by a margin of 15-8 in the period. Stevens had 2 FGs and a three as well as made 8 of 11 FTs. New Brunswick had 3 FGs and made 2 of 3 FTs. Smith had 5 points, Tyrese Conover had 4 points, and Scott had two points for the Hawks. Ahyan Brown had 6 points while Nymir Belk had 2 for the Zebras. For the game, J.P. Stevens had 9 FGs, two threes, and made 8 of 13 FTs while New Brunswick had 10 FGs, a three pointer, and made 3 of 6 FTs. Smith led all scorers with 11 points for J.P. Stevens while Conover chipped in with 7. Ahyan Brown had 9 points for New Brunswick.