Raiders Win Home Opener over Carteret, 56-52
   Coming back from a blowout loss in the previous game can never be easy. That was the situation in North Brunswick, where the Raiders were trying to pick up the pieces after a 20-point loss to Sayreville last Friday. Well, they did just that, battling tough with the Carteret Ramblers before gaining the final edge by a score of 56-52 on Tuesday night at NBTHS.
   In the first quarter, it was the home team jumping out to an 8-2 lead before Carteret head coach Jose Rodriguez called time, and refocused his troops. That’s when the Ramblers came back with a vengance, eventually jumping out to a 14-9 lead on a 3-pointer from senior Al Tampa (13 points). Carteret’s offense found themselves with the help of Tampa and junior Robert Jackson, who scored 8 of his 13 points in the first, giving them a 22-14 lead after one.
   In the second, this is where things started to turn into a see-saw matchup. North Brunswick would only gain a slight edge, outscoring Carteret 10-7, but it was the Ramblers who had the halftime lead, 29-24.
   As the third quarter developed, senior Brian Williams and Tampa would have to miss some court time with 4 fouls each, giving the Raiders a chance to inch closer, and ultimately taking the lead on the strong underneath presence of senior  C.J. Brathwaite (15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists) and senior Jeff Ashamole (13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks), who combined for 12 of the 16 North Brunswick points, and 11 rebounds, giving them back the lead after three, despite some heroics from Carteret’s Byron Merricks (12 points), who flashed a nice layup with a foul, but could not convert the final part of the 3-point play to end the third, leaving things even at 40, with 8 minutes of basketball left.
   At this point, the raucous bleacher creatures from North Brunswick let their voices be heard, even more so than usual, which is a lot. Brathwaite would continue his offensive showing, scoring 7 of his 15 in the last period, and Michael Cole would get 6 of his 10 rebounds, but Carteret was only trailing by two late in the fourth, with time running out. It was Merricks, who had a chance to even things up with a runner through the lane in the closing seconds, but it would not fall, leading to Brathwaite eventually putting the game away with 2 big free throws to give North Brunswick a 4-point cushion with :04 remaining. With the victory, North Brunswick evens its overall and division record at 1-1 while Carteret, pre-seaon ranked sixth by GMC Hoops, drops to 0-2 on the season.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Brunswick (1-1) | 14 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 56 |
| Carteret (0-2) | 12 | 7 | 11 | 22 | 52 |
High scores: Carteret – Al Tampa (13 points); Robert Jackson (13 points)
North Brunswick: C.J. Brathwaite (15 points); Jeff Ashamole (13 points); Michael Cole (9 pts., 10 rebounds)
   Head coach Ed Breheney was very concerned about the 30+ turnovers commited against Sayreville, going into this one. Well, the Raiders did cut down on that number – they had 12 against Carteret. However, even at 1-1, there should be no false sense of security, going up against Colonia. North Brunswick has not beaten the Patriots in at least the last 3 years. That’s at least 6 straight losses to Colonia. If they want to reverse that trend, taking care of the basketball will be paramount, and another reoccuring theme this year will be not letting the opposition hit open shots.
   Also, North Brunswick was 10 of 28 (35%) from the foul line against Carteret. They will want to improve upon that number, also. Not that Carteret was a whole lot better (5 for 15, 33%).
   Off to a 1-1 start, it would be nice to exorcise some Colonia demons, and head into the holiday tournament schedule on a positive vibe. Whether or not that happens, is a whole different story.