Bombers Sweep Season Series from Barrons
WOODBRIDGE, NJ–With time running down and the Woodbridge Barrons trailing by three, Quassim Glover had the ball and was coming upcourt in a scene reminiscent of his last second heroics on a mid-January night two years ago as a sophomore. However, on this night, Sayreville would prevail in another memorable game between these two proud schools.
In this epic showdown in the GMC White Division, second ranked Sayreville would get a game high 24 points from senior guard, Xavier Townes, 12 more from football standout, Jayson DeMild, and a huge three with 38.8 seconds remaining from junior Elijah Clark to come away with a hard fought 75-72 victory.
The Bombers managed to pull out this tremendous victory on the road despite losing their big man, Jahsim Floyd (6 points), who appeared to have suffered a minor concussion on a dunk with 7:09 to play in the first half, and Sayreville leading 12-10. Woodbridge also limited standout, Ryan O’Leary to just 10 points on the night, but the Barrons had enough balance to overcome both obstacles.
Clark and Ope Olaloko each chipped in with 8 points while Henny Mautes added 7. Harry Rutkowski led Woodbridge with a team high 17 points while Hura Blaine chipped in with 15 including six in a first quarter that saw the Barrons jump out to a 10-8 lead. Glover, who had been out of the lineup for much of the past month of the season, returned to score 11 points.
Keshaun Henry, who scored 32 points in the first meeting between these two schools on January 12th, added 9 points while both Kemari Persol and Quran Robinson each contributed with 8. Curtis Nesbit netted two jumpers to round out the Woodbridge scoring with four points. The game was a seesaw affair that went back and forth with constant swings of momentum.
Neither team had a lead bigger than six points in the contest. After being outscored in the first period by a 10-8 margin, Sayreville edged Woodbridge in each of the last three periods to get the win. The Bombers scored 22 points in the 2nd, 23 in the third, and 22 more in the fourth. Despite the high offensive output in the last three frames, Sayreville only managed to outscore the Barrons by a total of five points over the last three periods.
Woodbridge outscored Sayreville by a margin of 18-12 from long distance as both teams combined for 10 three pointers. Sayreville countered by enjoying a 44-40 edge in points scored within the arc while making 19 of 30 from the foul line while Woodbridge was only 14 of 24. Woodbridge had 21 team fouls while Sayreville had 19. The game started out with Floyd scoring on a baseline jumper shortly after the opening tip for a 2-0 Sayreville lead.
Woodbridge would score the next three points including one of two from the line by Blaine at the 6:34 mark, and then a putback by Glover at the 6:11 mark for a 3-2 lead. The Bombers took the lead right back at 4-3 just seconds later as Floyd took an entry pass from O’Leary on the right wing for a layup at the 6:04 mark. Mautes then followed with a reverse layup on a follow for a 6-3 lead at the 4:26 mark.
Then, the Barrons took over by scoring the next seven points over a span of 1:44 including a three pointer from the top of the key and a layup by Blaine for a 10-6 lead with 2:42 remaining in the first. Woodbridge attempted to get more to add to its lead, but Floyd swatted away a huge rejection, and the Bombers managed to pull within two heading into the second after Townes, who was 8 of 8 from the line in the first half, netted two from the charity stripe for a 10-8 Woodbridge lead.
Townes, who played with a high motor all night, then opened the second with a drive through the left side of the paint in transition for a layin to tie the score at 10-10 with 7:30 to play in the first half. Moments later, a scramble for a loose ball ensued, which Sayreville picked up and got to Floyd for a two handed jam at the 7:09 mark of the second that resulted in the standout football and hoops player to fall on his shoulder and head.
Floyd remained on the floor for a number of minutes as he was attended to. He was talking and able to move his arms and legs. He eventually was taken out on a stretcher with what appeared to be thankfully a minor concussion according to one of the Sayreville assistant coaches. After a both teams warmed up for two and a half minutes, play resumed with Woodbridge tying the game at 12-12 on a layup by Rutkowski at the 6:12 mark.
Just under a half minute later, Sayreville wrestled the lead back at 14-12 on a putback by Xavier Townes at the 5:43 mark. Woodbridge then came right back down the floor and tied the game again at 14-14 on a floater by Glover that banked in with 5:32 to go in the first half. The Bombers then scored 5 of the next 8 points over a 1:08 span including an Ope Olaloko for a 19-17 lead.
Sayreville then made it a 7-3 run when Townes scored on a spin move at the 3:51 mark that put the Bombers up 21-17 and coerced Woodbridge to call for time. After the Barrons timeout, the home team rallied by scoring 6 of the next 8 points over a minute and a half span including a Blaine putback at the 2:21 mark to knot the score again at 23-23. The two teams continued to go back and forth for the rest of the half.
The Bombers scored 3 of the next 5 points for a 26-25 lead with under a minute to play in the second when Rutkowski drew a foul, and made both free throws for a 27-26 Woodbridge advantage. Sayreville then responded with the next four points all courtesy of Townes from the foul line as he sank a pair at the 40 second mark, and another pair with 23 seconds to play in the half for a 30-27 lead.
Woodbridge would get the final points of the second quarter as Rutkowski took a pass from Kemari Persol, and sank a three pointer from the right wing to tie the score at 30-30 after Persol made a nice dribble move to set up the play. At the half, Townes led Sayreville with 14 points while Rutkowski led Woodbridge with 11. The game continued to be played at a high level in the second half.
The Barrons opened the second half with 6 of the first 9 points over a span of 1:44 including an and one bucket by Glover for a 36-33 lead at the 6:16 mark of the third. Woodbridge had scored 9 of the last 12 points after trailing by three late in the second, and appeared to have the momentum. However, Sayreville battled back by scoring 8 of the next 12 points including a score by Mautes at the 3:39 mark for a 41-40 lead.
After Woodbridge went back in front by one, the Bombers scored the next three points including a bank shot from the right side by Townes at the 2:46 mark for a 44-42 lead. Nesbit then quickly responded at the other end with a foul line jumper off a kickout by Henry to tie the score at 44-44 with 2:35 left in the third. The Bombers then took control for a stretch of 1:22 by scoring 7 of the next 10 points including a three and a coast to coast layup by O’Leary for a 51-47 lead at the 1:13 mark.
The home team wouldn’t go away through as the Barrons closed the gap to two entering the fourth quarter by scoring 4 of the last 6 points of the period for a 53-51 Sayreville lead. Woodbridge then made a foul shot to open the fourth quarter scoring for a one point Sayreville lead when DeMild struck for a clutch three from the top of the key at the 7:25 mark for a 56-52 Bombers advantage.
Following a Woodbridge score that closed the game to two again, Clark struck for a three that banked in as he fell to the ground to extend the Bombers lead to five at 59-54 with 6:52 remaining. The Barrons didn’t give up though. Instead they rallied by scoring 6 of the next 9 points including a trey from the right side of the key by Blaine at the 4:59 mark for a 62-60 Sayreville lead.
The Barrons then scored 4 of the next 6 points including an and one by Persol at the 3:27 mark for a 64-64 tie. Woodbridge then capped the 12-5 spurt with an and one by Glover for a two point, 66-64 edge. After Sayreville tied the game up again, Woodbridge went back out in front as Rutkowski scored on a putback with 1:53 to play for a 68-66 lead as the Barrons called for time.
After the stoppage, Sayreville scored the next five points including Clark’s three from the right corner for a 71-68 lead with 38.8 seconds to play in regulation. Woodbridge would score 4 of the next 6 points including a layup by Rutkowski with 7.1 seconds to play for a 73-72 lead. Following a Woodbridge timeout, the Barrons fouled Townes with 5.1 seconds left, and the Sayreville senior netted both ends of the double bonus to give the Bombers a 75-72 lead.
Woodbridge had one last chance to tie and force overtime, but the last second heave from 35 feet out was off the mark, and the Sayreville players converged at midcourt to celebrate the hard fought, thrilling win in an epic game, where there were no losers. With the victory, Sayreville improved to 15-5 on the season, and tied Woodbridge for first place in the GMC White at 9-2.
Meanwhile, the Barrons, which had defeated Carteret and South Plainfield earlier in the week, fell to 14-4 overall. Both teams will have one more division game to play before the league schedule ends and next week’s GMCT seeding meeting. The Bombers have an away game at New Brunswick on Tuesday at 7:00 PM while Woodbridge will travel to North Brunswick for a game on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.