GMC Hoops Summary–#4 North Brunswick Downs Hunterdon Central For Title, 56-48

LJ Williams Earns Tourney MVP Honors As Raiders Win Third Straight

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ–After winning a thrilling opening round game over Hillsborough that saw North Brunswick come from 11 points down with under 6 minutes to play with a 21-5 game ending surge, you would think that the Raiders would have a tidal wave of momentum heading into its Championship Game match-up with Hunterdon Central at the 2014 Hillsborough Holiday Hoops Tournament.  However, things wouldn’t be that easy.  The Red Devils, another quality team from the Skyland Conference, gave North Brunswick all it could handle.  Even when the Raiders were up by almost a dozen late in the fourth quarter, they still couldn’t put HCHS away.

The combination of going 5 of 10 at the foul line down the stretch, and two late threes by the Red Devils put North Brunswick only up 53-48 with just under 25 seconds to go.  However, the Raiders were able to put an end to the Hunterdon Central comeback attempt, and win the title.  It was the first holiday tourney championship for the Raiders since winning the 2011 Brunswick Classic.  L.J. Williams earned tourney MVP honors with a game high 16 points while Eric Slade Jr. chipped in with 11.  Senior forward, Joe Castellanos was among five other players that scored for the Raiders with 8 points.  Pranay Bhandare and Soloman Gayle each added 6 while Dante Anderson netted five including another fourth quarter three and Francis Omowole contributed with 4.

Hunterdon Central was led by Colin McNeil, who equaled Williams with a game high 16 points including three treys while Pat Clare added 10 in the loss.   Both teams had 7 different players get into the scorebook.  North Brunswick had a 22-19 edge in field goals and a 9-6 edge in free throws, but Hunterdon Central managed to hang around thanks to a 12-3 edge in points scored from beyond the arc.  The Raiders outscored the Red Devils in three of the four quarters played including an 11-7 first quarter edge, and a 12-9 second quarter advantage to take a 23-16 lead into the locker room at halftime.  However, Hunterdon Central stormed back in the third with a 16-15 edge in scoring to close within six at 38-32 heading into the fourth.  Soloman Gayle made a couple key plays in the final two plus minutes of the period to preserve the 6 point lead including a blocked shot, and a layin to put NBTHS up by 8.

The fourth quarter started out with North Brunswick scoring 6 of the first 8 points of the period.  Francis Omowole opened the fourth period scoring for the Raiders with a transition bucket off a nice dish by Williams.  Slade then set up Williams nicely with a kickout off a drive for a short baseline jumper from the left side.  Williams capped the 6-2 run by leading a 4-3 fast break and finishing it with a scoop shot layin.  Hunterdon Central got a three from McNeil to close the gap to 44-37 with 4:56 remaining, but North Brunswick kept the Devils at arm’s length with an 8-2 run that included a trey by Anderson and a nifty move for a layup by Slade Jr., for a 51-39 lead before Hunterdon Central got a score and called timeout with 2:27 and trailing by 10.  Still, the Raiders weren’t able to put this one away.

After getting a score to go up by a dozen again, North Brunswick began to have difficulties at the foul line, and Hunterdon Central took advantage with seven straight points including back to back threes in the final minute or so to claw back within five at 53-48 with 24.8 seconds left.  Fortunately for NBTHS, Hunterdon Central ran out of time, and the Raiders got two free throws from Omowole and one of two from the line by Slade Jr. to close out the 56-48 victory.  With the win, North Brunswick won its third straight since losing on opening night to East Brunswick, and improved to 3-1 overall.  Hunterdon Central, which edged Hightstown in the opening round on Monday, dropped to 2-2 overall on the season.  North Brunswick rreturns to GMC Red play on Saturday with an afternoon contest at Perth Amboy.