Butler Three Point Play at 1.9 Lifts Raiders Past Bears
MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ–After battling to defeat an upstart New Brunswick team in its first game at the Brunswick Classic on Tuesday, the ninth ranked East Brunswick Bears were involved in yet another nailbiter with 10th ranked North Brunswick on Thursday.
Four the fourth time in its first five games, East Brunswick had a game decided by single digits, and for the third time this season, it resulted in a loss. North Brunswick’s Quadir Butler broke a 44-44 tie by converting a traditional three point play with 1.9 seconds remaining for a 47-44 victory at the Brunswick Classic.
Butler finished with 8 points for the Raiders while teammate Jordan Salisbury led the way with a game high 14 points. Adryan Salazar also scored eight for North Brunswick, which is now 2-0 in games covered by GMC Hoops this season. Gil Wyman tied for game high with 14 including four threes for East Brunswick while Dante Ralph chipped in with 12 in a losing cause.
For the game, East Brunswick tallied its 44 points on 8 three pointers, 6 field goals, and a perfect 4 of 4 from the foul line. Meanwhile, North Brunswick tallied its 47 points on 14 field goals, 3 treys, and 10 of 21 from the foul line. The Bears outscored the Raiders by a margin of 24-9 from three, but North Brunswick had a 28-12 advantage in points scored inside the arc, and a 10-4 edge in points from the line.
North Brunswick had six different players score while East Brunswick had seven different players get into the scorebook. The Bears jumped out to an early 4-0 lead as Ralph opened the game with a score. The Raiders then took over with 11 of the last 14 points of the opening stanza including eight unanswered highlighted by a Jhonell Brown bucket off an inbounds play underneath for an 11-7 lead heading into the second.
The Raiders were able to maintain a four point lead at 18-14 despite a putback by Ralph at the 3:49 mark. North Brunswick added a free throw before a timeout at the 3:11 mark. NBTHS continued to maintain that four point lead at 21-17 going into the locker room at the intermission thanks to a steal for a layup by Salazar. Salisbury lead the Raiders with 7 points at the half while Wyman led the Bears with 5.
The third period began with East Brunswick scoring five of the first six points including a three by Wyman that tied the score at 22-22 with 5:22 to play in the period. EB then took a 25-24 lead at the 2:19 mark of the third on a trey by Brandon Rosenthal. The Bears added another score for a three point lead before North Brunswick rallied to score the final four points of the period including an Avery Clagget layup for a 28-27 Raiders lead heading into the fourth.
East Brunswick opened the fourth with a bucket to go back out in front at 29-28 before Butler came up with a score and the Raiders added a free throw for a 31-29 lead with 6:31 remaining in regulation. Butler’s score sparked a 7-0 run that increased the lead to six and included a basket and a foul by Salisbury with 4:43 to play in the fourth period.
Not giving up, the Bears rallied with a 10-5 spurt over the next 2:24 capped by a three pointer from the right corner by Wyman for a 40-39 lead with 2:19 left in the fourth. A little over a minute later, Joe Sampson (7 points) knotted the game at 42-42 on a three pointer from the top of the key at the 1:15 mark. Following an NBTHS score to go up 44-42, EB tied the game again at 44-44 as Ralph powered in from the right lane for a layup with 23.7 seconds left in the fourth.
All of this set the stage for Butler, who got the ball between the rings on the right side of the North Brunswick front court, squared up to survey the court, faked right and then dribbled to his left and knifed into the paint to draw a foul, and make a shot from inside the foul line with 1.9 seconds to go. Butler then added the bonus free throw for a 47-44 lead. East Brunswick then called timeout to set up one last play.
The Bears then tried to inbound the ball from its own end line, but the pass was intercepted by a North Brunswick defender, and time ran out with the Raiders hanging on for the 47-44 victory. With the win, North Brunswick improved to 2-3 overall and in the GMC on the season. East Brunswick, which has lost three games by a total of just 12 points, dropped to 2-3 overall and in conference play.
Both teams will return to action in the New Year when East Brunswick hosts Old Bridge on Tuesday, January 3rd at 7:00 PM while North Brunswick visits New Brunswick for 7:00 PM. EB will then host South Brunswick on Thursday and J.F. Kennedy on Saturday while North Brunswick visits Edison on Thursday, and hosts Steinert on Saturday afternoon.