MIDDLESEX, NJ–After watching eighth ranked Bishop Ahr and sixth ranked Piscataway go at it in a GMC crossover, GMC Hoops took a little drive over to nearby Middlesex High School to see the Blue Jays take on Dunellen in their border war, or the GMC’s version of the Battle of Route 28.
This was the second time this season that these two schools went at it with the first time being in the Championship Game of the 2016 Shello-Santy Holiday Tournament in December won by Middlesex, 56-30. For a half, it appeared that Dunellen was going to make more of a game of it this time.
The Destroyers only trailed 23-22 at the intermission, and after a three by the Jays’ junior guard, Tyler Ha gave Middlesex a four point lead, Dunellen responded with four straight points all courtesy of freshman Tyje’ Kelton to tie the score at 26-26. The Destroyers were unable to take the lead as Middlesex quickly regained control for good.
Over the next several minutes, Middlesex embarked on a decisive 11-3 spurt that included another three by Ha, two treys by Chris Spencer, and a layup by Chris Hendricks for a 37-29 lead. Jake Robel then added a three of his own as well as a layup off an alleyoop pass by Ha to give the Jays a commanding 47-31 lead with 5:15 remaining in the game.
Middlesex then closed out the game by outscoring Dunellen 8-6 the rest of the way as reserve forward, Kareem Aref got into the act with a three pointer and a putback down the stretch to wrap up the 55-37 victory. Hendricks led the Jays with 13 points while Ha chipped in with 10. Kelton led Dunellen with 12 points while Oscar Caballero chipped in with 11.
With the win, Middlesex moved back over .500 at 8-7 overall including an 8-5 mark in the GMC while Dunellen dropped to 5-11 overall and 3-10 in conference play. Below are game notes from the action:
First Quarter
Middlesex jumped out to a 13-9 lead in the period as Chris Hendricks scored 8 points on three field goals and 2 of 4 from the foul line. Nick Montajes added a three pointer while Pat Rudawski added a field goal.
Dunellen had four different players score led by Oscar Caballero with 3 points one 3 of 4 FTs. Tyje’ Kelton, Jibril Hagood-Henry, and Angel Suarez each chipped in with 2. Middlesex had 4 FGs, a three, and 2 of 4 from the line for its 13 points. Dunellen had 3 FGs and 3 of 5 FTs for its 9 points.
Second Quarter
Dunellen won the second period by a 13-10 margin to close within a point at 23-22 at halftime. Caballero sank two threes while point guard, R.J. Mitchell added a trey. Kelton also contributed with two field goals.
Middlesex had four different players score including: Spencer and Montajes with 3, and Hendricks and Rudawski with 2. Dunellen had 3 treys and 2 FGs in the frame while Middlesex had two threes and 2 FGs. For the half, Middlesex had 6 FGs, 3 treys, and 2 of 4 from the line while Dunellen had 5 FGs, 3 treys, and 3 of 5 from the line.
Chris Hendricks led all scorers with 10 points for Middlesex while Montajes chipped in with 6, Rudawski had 4, and Spencer had 3. Caballero led Dunellen with 9 points while Kelton added 6, R.J. Mitchell had 3, and Hagood-Henry and Suarez each had 2.
Third Quarter
Middlesex broke the game open here with a 14-7 showing in the frame for a 37-29 lead. Tyler Ha opened the period with a three from the right wing for a 26-22 lead before Kelton responded with a layup off a lob pass on an inbounds play underneath, and then again on a putback to tie the game up.
Then, the Blue Jays went an 11-3 tear ignited by another Ha trey from the right wing, and followed by two threes from Spencer, and a layup by Hendricks for a 37-29 lead with 32.6 seconds remaining in the period. Middlesex had 4 threes and a FG in the frame while Dunellen had two FGs and a three.
Ha and Spencer each had six points in the third for Middlesex while Hendricks chipped in with 2. Kelton led Dunellen with 4 points while Nazir Martin got a kind roll on a three from the right corner to account for the final Destroyer points in the frame.
Fourth Quarter
5:15 left and Middlesex leads 47-31 after an alleyoop by Tyler Ha to Jake Robel for a layup. Middlesex opens the fourth by scoring 4 of 6 points, and is now on an 15-5 run since the game was tied up at 26-26.
4:09 left and there is a timeout with Middlesex leading 50-33 after a Jake Robel three and layup and a FT by Chris Hendricks.
0:00–Game just ended here at Middlesex with Kareem Aref wrapping up the 55-37 win with a three pointer and a putback down the stretch. Middlesex outscored Dunellen by a margin of 29-11 over the last 12 minutes or so of the game.
Middlesex got 8 points in the period from Jake Robel, 5 points from Aref, 4 points from Ha, and 2 points from Hendricks. Dunellen got 2 points from Caballero, Kelton, and Chris Rouland, and a point from both Baraka Yabidi and Isaiah Roberts.
Middlesex outscored Dunellen by an 18-8 margin in the final period. The Jays had 3 FGs, two threes, and 6 of 11 from the foul line. Meanwhile the Destroyers had 2 FGs, and made 4 of 12 FTs.
For the game, Middlesex had 10 FGs, 9 threes, and 8 of 15 from the foul line. Meanwhile, Dunellen had 9 FGs, four threes, and 7 of 17 FTs. Middlesex outscored Dunellen by a margin of 32-15 in the second half.