Upset Bid By Zebras Foiled By Missed FTs, Turnovers, And Offensive Rebounds
LAKEWOOD, NJ–When the brackets came out for the various state tournaments several weeks ago, the quarterfinal round of the Central Jersey Group III Tournament had a big bullseye on it as far as GMC Hoops was concerned. Top seeded Lakewood, one of the top programs in Ocean County and the Shore Conference, was going to likely face the winner of the Woodbridge vs. New Brunswick game. GMC Hoops circled its calendar to be in Lakewood on Leap Year.
You could ask for a better matchup. New Brunswick and Woodbridge matched up very well against the Piners. All three teams aren’t afraid to go up and down, and use every inch of the court. The Zebras, which defeated Woodbridge for the third time this season and twice in overtime, appeared to have the better chance of slowing Lakewood down with its tenacious defense. New Brunswick had done that three times to North Brunswick this season although losing to the Raiders by single digits each time including the most recent matchup in the GMCT Elite Eight. Why couldn’t the Zebras do the same to a Lakewood team similar in stature offensively?
The first half saw Lakewood grab a double digit lead as the Piners scored nearly 40 points in the first 16 minutes. New Brunswick had difficulty keeping up. However, in the second half, the Zebras limited Lakewood to just 21 points, and had a 33-17 surge over nearly a 15 minute span to turn a 39-28 deficit with 7:15 left in the third to a 61-56 lead with two minutes left in regulation. Samaad Thomas, who scored 25 points in the game for the Zebras, was a big catalyst with Za’Kry Shivers (18 points), Milton Pittman (12 points), and Chad Mordecai also contributing during the rally. Mordecai scored a layup to give New Brunswick a 52-50 lead, and then after Lakewood tied it, Shivers gave NBHS the lead again at 55-52 with a three from the right corner.
Following another Lakewood score to close the gap to one point, Shivers made a pair of free throws for a 57-54 lead, and then Thomas added a pair of foul shots for a 59-54 lead. New Brunswick would lead 61-56 when it came up with what appeared to be a huge stop defensively by drawing a charge at the 1:21 mark. However, the Zebras couldn’t put the Piners away. In an ending eerily similar to the loss against North Brunswick in the GMCT Quarterfinals, New Brunswick missed free throws and made turnovers down the stretch while Lakewood cashed in at the other end thanks to numerous offensive rebounds for putbacks. The Zebras first missed two free throws at the 1:14 mark. Then, after the Piners got some more good fortune on a three that banked in to close the gap to two with 53.62 seconds left, New Brunswick turned the ball over giving Lakewood a chance to tie.
The Zebras did manage to come up with a stop on the ensuing defensive stand, but missed another pair of foul shots at the 34.3 second mark. Again with new life, the Piners made sure they took advantage this time. Lakewood came down, and tied the game up at 61-61 on a follow off a missed layup with 15 seconds to go. New Brunswick almost lost the game in regulation when the Piners got a steal in the Zebras backcourt, and called for time with 1.93 seconds remaining in regulation. However, after the timeout, Lakewood was unable to score as a fadeaway shot at the buzzer was off the mark. In the extra session, the Ocean County school jumped out to a four point lead only to have New Brunswick come back to tie things up. The Piners would prevail though by scoring the final five points.
Lakewood scored first with a layup at the 3:39 mark, and then scored again to take a 65-61 lead with less than two and a half minutes to go. New Brunswick stayed resilient though with two clutch free throws by Thomas, and then a drive from the left wing for a layup by Shivers to tie the score at 65-65 with two minutes to play. The Piners got a go ahead score, and then drew a foul on the floor with about a half minute to play. In the bonus, Lakewood missed the front end of the one and one, but the shooter was able to step in for the offensive rebound, and draw another foul on the follow that resulted in one of two from the line. Despite that, New Brunswick was still within one possession. However, after calling a timeout, the Zebras hit iron on a three attempt from the right corner, and Lakewood got the rebound and was fouled.
The Piners then made two free throws with a few seconds left to wrap up the 70-65 victory. In a game that saw both teams miss a number of shots up close, Lakewood was able to take advantage of the breaks it got. Jameer Jones led Lakewood with 23 points while Tyrice Beverette chipped in with 14, Jared Craddox added 13, and Idequan Allen contributed with 10. Scoring a dozen in the loss to Lakewood, Pittman ended his career at NBHS with 949 points. It was a heartbreaking loss for a New Brunswick team that had played solid basketball over the last month. After suffering back to back losses to Cardinal McCarrick and J.P. Stevens on January 27th and 28th, New Brunswick bounced back with a five game winning streak that included a 63-57 Round of 16 victory at Bishop Ahr in the GMCT. Then, a roller coaster ride ensued that included the loss to North Brunswick in the GMCT Elite Eight and an overtime loss to Gold Division champion, Piscataway Tech. New Brunswick responded with an overtime win over Woodbridge in the opening round of the state playoffs on Monday night before falling to Lakewood in an extra session classic on Wednesday.
Despite the ups and downs, New Brunswick put together a solid season despite losing all but one of its players from last year’s squad. Franklin transfers Shivers, Thomas, and Mordecai made big impacts on the team, and the Zebras got some nice late season wins along with some great efforts in defeat to high caliber opponents.