BOUND BROOK, NJ–On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops headed over to Bound Brook High School to take in two games from the opening night of action from the 2009 Bound Brook Summer League. This is the third straight summer that the web site is covering this league, which has provided great competition as well as a glimpse of teams from many different conferences in the Central Jersey area.
GMC Hoops headed over for the final two games of the Tuesday quintupleheader after being at the Middlesex County College Summer League, and saw the Piscataway and Middlesex in the first game. Then, in the nightcap, the site was treated to another hard fought affair between New Brunswick and Bound Brook. See all the results from Tuesday’s action.
Chiefs Win Over Jays In Hard Fought Struggle, 28-23
This is kind of a border war since Middlesex is one two over from Piscataway, but it is more of a battle of big versus small, or David against Goliath. The Jays don’t back down though with the likes of Avery Barnes leading the way. Last year, when these two teams went at it in the TBSA Fall League, the Chiefs had to rally to defeat Middlesex, 43-37. P-Way was again going with their younger players as they have had in the past at this summer league, and have also been doing much of the summer. After being at work, and at MCC to watch action from that summer league, GMC Hoops sat down to see Piscataway already leading 25-15 with 7:30 to play in the contest.
Middlesex then made a pair of free throw at the six minute mark to close the gap to single digits again at 25-17. The Blue Jays had a chance to close the gap even further, but misfired on a pair of free throws at the 4:47 mark. Middlesex did eventually get those two points on a nice inbounds pass for a layup with 3:42 left for a 25-19 lead. The score remained that way until the 2:11 mark when P-Way’s Brian Wong handed out an assist on a three pointer from the right wing for a 28-19 lead. Barnes then got a layup at the 1:33 mark for a 28-21 Chiefs lead. Piscataway then did a fine job of running some time off the clock before Middlesex managed to get the ball back with 41 seconds to play. Despite getting a basket while being fouled, and closing the gap to five, the Jays couldn’t get any closer as P-Way won, 28-23. With the victory, Piscataway starts the summer at Bound Brook with a 1-0 record while Middlesex begins the season at 0-1.
Zebras Use Defense And Strong Effort From Cook To Overcome Difficult Start To Beat Bound Brook, 33-32
The final game of the night matched up two teams that lie along the banks of the Old Raritan as the hometown Crusaders of Bound Brook hosted the Zebras of New Brunswick in what turned out to be quite a contest. New Brunswick looking to improve significantly from its 3-20 finish last season, still have a good nucleus returning with the likes of juniors Simuel Williams, Nigel Scott, and John Simpson along with talented sophomores Jaquan Cook and Nyeem Coleman. This contest was all about swings in momentum as the Crusaders got off to a fast start before going cold thanks to New Brunswick clamping down on defense. Then, after the Zebras surged, they had to hold on for dear life as Bound Brook’s pressure made things a bit too interesting at the end.
Over the first 13:30, the Crusaders built up a 16-4 lead including a 10-0 spurt before Cook, who committed turnovers on the Zebras first two possessions, took charge, and led New Brunswick to a 23-3 surge over the next 9:45 for a 27-19 lead. Actually, Bound Brook only had one field goal for nearly 15 minutes while the Zebras took command. The only thing that kept the Crusaders in the matchup was a 5 of 10 effort from the foul line. However, the Crusaders battled back with a 9-4 showing down the stretch as Bound Brook put its full court pressure to use, and had New Brunswick reeling. In the end though, the Zebras survived as Bound Brook’s Denzel Sanders missed both free throw attempts with three seconds left as New Brunswick held on to its tenuous 33-32 lead for the win.
Besides Cook’s play, Williams played very hard on defense by staying low, and moving his feet very well. Simpson showed some athletic ability by blocking some shots, and being active on defense as well as the boards. Scott and Coleman also came up with some timely plays for the winners. New Brunswick overall looked solid on defense with good footwork, and not as much grabbing like we’ve seen with other teams this summer. The defensive effort is a good start toward building success at a proud school, which has fallen on hard times with only 12 wins in the past three seasons. The game didn’t start out that well though for the Zebras, especially for Cook, who was relegated to the bench after his early miscues, and had to ponder about things for a bit.
Despite the Zebras early struggles, The Brook couldn’t take advantage right away as the Crusaders were called for an illegal screen at the 19:35 mark, and then only made one of two free throws at the 18:39 mark. Nigel Scott got New Brunswick going with a pair of free throws at the 19:02 mark for a 2-1 lead. Cook then went to the bench at the 17:02 mark after Sanders came up with an easy layup for a 3-2 Bound Brook lead. Then, after a New Brunswick timeout with 16:18 to go in the first half, the Crusaders then got a three pointer for a 6-2 lead at the 15:48 mark. Simpson then put the Zebras back within two with a foul line jumper at the 14:37 mark, but Bound Brook quickly replied with a layup seven seconds later for an 8-4 lead at the 14:30 mark. Although New Brunswick scrapped, and played hard on defense with the likes of Williams tying things up and forcing jump balls, it couldn’t get into a rhythm offensively thanks to turnovers and missed layups.
Meanwhile, Bound Brook asserted itself as Sanders made one of two at the line, then on his missed second free throw, Mike Schiferstein, came up with the offensive rebound, which led to a Sanders field goal on a floater for an 11-4 lead with 12:02 to go in the first half. The Crusaders then got two straight layups from a reserve to make it a 9-0 run, and a 15-4 lead with 8:29 to play. New Brunswick, which had been held scorless for nearly nine minutes, finally ended the skid when Cook going himself going on offense. The lanky sophomore began to assert himself with a layup while being fouled for a traditional three point play at the 5:52 mark for a 16-7 Bound Brook lead. The Zebras then made one of two from the line after being fouled on a follow attempt at the 3:57 mark. On the missed second foul shot, Cook grabbed the rebound, and put it back in for a 16-10 Crusader lead at the 3:41 mark.
With New Brunswick’s defense continuing to produce stops at the other end, Cook again scored on another offensive board and putback from the left side at the 3:12 mark for a 16-12 Bound Brook advantage. The Zebras then got another scoring opportunity when it again halted the Crusaders, and went on a fast break led by Scott, who dished to a teammate for a layup that made the score, 16-14 with 2:29 to go before the intermission. Williams then tied things up when he swiped a steal, and then battled for a loose ball to score a layup that made the score 16-16 at the 2:13 mark. Bound Brook then got its only field goal during a fifteen minute stretch when it came down the court for an easy transition layup, and an 18-16 lead. A short time later though, Scott put in a shot that went high off the glass to knot the game up again at 18-18 with 1:39 to go in the half.
The Zebras continued to put on the clamps defensively as this time Cook came up with a steal, and streaked upcourt for a layin, and a 20-18 lead with 26 seconds to play in the first half. Bound Brook then closed out the opening period with one of two free throws from the line at the nine second mark to make the score, 20-19 going into the brief break. In the second half, both teams played even in a lower scoring period. New Brunswick got on the board first as Scott was fouled on a three point attempt, but only made one of three shots from the foul line for a 21-19 lead at the 18:56 mark. A bit more than a half minute later, Scott made a nice play when he came up with a block, and then saved it to Williams, who sped upcourt for a dish to Cook that the sophomore put in at the 17:19 mark. Less than 30 seconds later, New Brunswick was on the move again as Williams and Cook combned on a 2-on-1 fast break with Williams dishing again to Cook for the layup that capped to 23-3 surge for a 27-19 lead.
Bound Brook finally got its first points of the half when it netted one of two free throws from the line for a 27-20 lead at the 15:43 mark. Neither team scored for nearly two and a half minutes before Nyeem Coleman pushed the ball upcourt, and dished for a layup, and a 29-20 lead with 13:17 to go. The Crusaders still had problems matching the Zebras offensively as for every basket New Brunswick got, Bound Brook was only able to get one of two at the line like it did at the 11:48 mark for a 29-21 Zebra lead. The field goal drought continued for The Brook, but it still managed to hang in there as Sanders got on the board. After missing two free throws, Sanders got his own offensive rebound, and drew another foul that produced two charity shots for a 29-23 New Brunswick lead with just under ten minutes to go in the game. A little more than a minute later, Sanders tried to make things happen again with a steal, but was called for traveling at the 8:50 mark.
The game began to swing back in Bound Brook’s favor when the Crusaders finally came up with a field goal that forced New Brunswick to call for time at the 7:06 mark with a 29-25 lead. Following the timeout, the Zebras went back up by six on an offensive rebound and putback by Cook at the 6:34 mark for a 31-25 lead. The Crusaders then utilized their fullcourt pressure to come up with four points including a layup by Schiferstein before Cook was fouled at the 5:13 mark. The soon to be junior then misfired on both free throws giving Bound Brook a chance to tie with the score now 31-29. However, the hometown team couldn’t take advantage. Both teams then went on a scoring drought over the next 2:22 before Williams pushed the ball upcourt for a fine one on one move that resulted in a layup, and a 33-29 lead with 2:51 left.
There was yet another lull in the scoring until Bound Brook connected on a three pointer from the right wing to close to within a point at 33-32 with 50 seconds remaining. The Crusader defense then came up with a key play as its pressure forced a New Brunswick turnover on the far sideline with 16 seconds remaining. However, The Brook failed to capitalize as Sanders came up empty at the line, and the Zebras prevailed despite Williams missing a one and one attempt with less than a second left on the clock. With the victory, New Brunswick begins the summer at 1-0 while Bound Brook starts off at 0-1.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Brunswick (1-0) | 20 | 13 | 33 |
| Bound Brook (0-1) | 19 | 13 | 32 |
GMC Hoops will be out at the Bound Brook Summer League on Thursday to see more games.