North Brunswick and East Brunswick Go Down to Wire at Brunswick Classic
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–For the second straight week, the North Brunswick Raiders were involved in a nail-biting, down to the wire boys basketball game. This time, the Raiders were facing the East Brunswick Bears on the second and final day of action in the 2016 Brunswick Classic at South Brunswick High School.
Both teams were ranked in the GMC Hoops Top Ten with the Raiders coming in and No. 10 thanks largely to its opening night win over Sayreville, and EB was coming in at No. 9 with two tough single digit losses to St. Joseph’s (49-43) on opening night, and Perth Amboy (54-51) in its home opener on December 22nd.
These two teams went back and forth in a low scoring, defensive battle with North Brunswick winning 47-44 on a last second shot by Quadir Butler for a three point play. Butler was also one of several heroes from the opening night double overtime thriller against then top ranked Sayreville (91-86). Jordan Salisbury led the Raiders with 14 points.
Salisbury, who had team high in the opening night win over Sayreville with 20 points, was matched for game high by East Brunswick’s Gil Wyman, whose steady play and three point shooting helped the Bears scratch and claw back into the contest, and stay there until the very end. Teammate Dante Ralph also scored in double figures for the Bears with 12 points.
Chipping in for North Brunswick was Adryan Salazar, who along with Butler had 8 points. East Brunswick opened the game on a 4-0 run before North Brunswick responded with an 11-3 rally that included eight unanswered points for an 11-7 lead after one period. Jhonell Brown capped the run with a score off an inbounds play underneath towards the end of the frame.
The Raiders extended their lead to seven points with a 7-4 run to start the second before Ralph got a bucket to help pull EB back within four at 18-14 with 3:49 remaining in the first half. North Brunswick managed to maintain that four point lead at 21-17 going into the intermission thanks to a steal for a layup by Salazar with 1:26 remaining in the second quarter.
East Brunswick opened the third quarter with 5 of the first 6 points including a three from the left corner by Gil Wyman at the 5:22 mark for a 22-22 tie. Brandon Rosenthal then gave the Bears a 25-24 lead with a three from the left corner with 2:19 remaining in the third. North Brunswick would rally though with 4 of the last 6 points including an Avery Clagget layup for a 28-27 lead after three periods.
The lead would switch hands for a brief time before North Brunswick went on a 7-0 run including a Butler score at the 6:31 mark, and a layup by Salisbury as he was fouled for a 35-29 lead with 4:43 to play. East Brunswick wouldn’t go away though. Instead, the Bears put together a 10-5 run over the next 2:24 including another Gil Wyman three from the right corner off a Dante Ralph kickout that closed the gap to 40-39 with 2:19 remaining in regulation.
A little over a minute later, and after a North Brunswick score, junior EB guard, Joe Sampson uncorked a three pointer from well beyond the top of the key to tie the game at 42-42 with 1:15 left in the fourth. The Raiders would go ahead again only to have the Bears knot the score at 44-44 on a Dante Ralph score with 23.7 seconds to play in regulation. All of this set the stage for Butler, who went 9 of 9 from the line in the fourth quarter and two overtimes, and also made several clutch shots during that span for the win over Sayreville.
Butler got the ball between the rings on the right side of the floor with seconds to play, and knifed into the paint for a layup as he was fouled with 1.9 seconds to play. He then added the bonus free throw to convert the conventional three point play for a 47-44 lead. East Brunswick still had a chance to get a game tying score and force overtime, but after a timeout, the Bears inbounds pass was stolen and North Brunswick emerged victorious by the score of 47-44.
With the victory, North Brunswick went into the new year at 2-3 overall and in conference play while East Brunswick dropped to 2-3 in both. The Raiders also moved past the Bears in the latest GMC Hoops Top Ten by going into the No. 9 slot while EB dropped to No. 10. Congratulations to both teams on a hard fought game.