Gallant Playoff Run Ends In Defeat For East Brunswick As North Hunterdon Pounds Boards For Championship, 47-35
HILLSBOROUGH, NJ—GMC Hoops was pleasantly surprised on Tuesday afternoon when it received word from Hillsborough varsity boys basketball head coach, Ian Progin, that East Brunswick was playing in the Championship Game of the 2009 Hillsborough JV Summer League. The Junior Bears had a long road to get there. Being one of the lower seeds in the tournament, EB had to defeat a Middlesex team in the play-in round that gave them trouble in the regular season finale. Then, the Junior Bears had to knock off one of the top seeds in Watchung Hills in the Quarterfinals before beating the last of the two Hillsborough squads remaining in the semis to reach the Championship.
North Hunterdon had an easier path to the title game. Getting a first round bye, the Junior Lions then defeated Hillsborough II in the Quarterfinals, and Bridgewater in the semis. North Hunterdon, which beat Montgomery in its season finale. In both wins, the Junior Lions dominated the offensive boards, and made free throws when it counted. The much smaller, Junior Bears, who got a little bit of help from Mike Summerer, who was coming back from an injury earlier in the summer, were still going to have their work cut out for them on the boards. Rebounding would be the difference as the taller Junior Lions were just too much for EB.
North Hunterdon jumped out to an 18-6 lead by hitting 9 of its first 19 shots, but East Brunswick battled back by limiting the Junior Lions to just 1 of its last 13 in the first half, and outscoring them 11-5 to pull within six at the half, 23-17. However, in the second half, North Hunterdon opened the half with a 12-1 spurt over the first 6:07 to take a 35-18 lead, and never really looked back after that although EB hit several threes down the stretch to pull within ten. In the 47-35 victory, the Junior Lions made 18 of 51 shots overall for 35.3 percent while making 11 of 20 from the foul line for 55 percent. Meanwhile, the Junior Bears connected on only 11 of 44 shots for 25 percent while making 8 of 15 at the charity stripe for 53.3 percent. One bright spot for EBHS was its performance from long range making 5 of 14 for 35.7 percent while North Hunterdon was 0 of 3.
However, the Junior Lions dominated the glass with a decisive 38-25 edge on the boards including a 17-10 advantage in offensive rebounding. The team from Hunterdon County forced 17 turnovers while making only 12. East Brunswick did hold an edge in blocked shots (5-1), but North Hunterdon won the battle in assists (11-9), steals (6-3), and charges (1-0). The Junior Bears were outscored in both halves by six points. The game started with an omen of things to come as the Junior Lions grabbed two offensive rebounds, and put in a layup on a follow for a 2-0 lead while the Junior Bears committed a turnover at the 19:17 mark. North Hunterdon then went up by four on a steal for a layup at the 18:30 mark. EB responded though with five straight points including a three pointer from the left wing at the 17:10 mark. The lead would be short lived as the Junior Lions scored four points in a span of 54 seconds including a pump fake for a layup in the left low block to take an 8-5 lead with 16:16 to play in the half.
North Hunterdon continued its spurt with another four points over 2:03 including its second steal for a layup that made the score, 12-5 with 14:13 to go in the half. At this point in the game, East Brunswick had already made four turnovers. The Junior Bears were held scoreless for 5:38 before making one of two at the foul line to end what had been a 12-0 Junior Lions tear for a 16-6 score. EB had started the game going just 2 of 9 from the field. Things would turn for the better after another score by North Hunterdon for a twelve point lead. East Brunswick closed the half with a slightly better effort from the floor (3 of 10), and from the line as well (4 of 6) to cut the deficit in half. The Junior Bears rally started with a three pointer from the left wing at the 9:44 mark, and continued with a drive for a layup at the 7:00 mark. Following a pair of foul shots from the Junior Lions with 5:41 left in the half, EBHS came up with two of its own to close the gap to seven again at 20-13 with 8:12 to go before the intermission.
Neither team scored for the next 5:37 until East Brunswick pulled to within five on a drive through the lane for a floater at the 2:35 mark, but in a signature moment in the contest, North Hunterdon got an offensive rebound, and banked the follow in after missing two free throws for a 22-15 lead with two minutes to play in the first half. The Junior Bears went to the line to make one of two foul shots at the 1:17 and 52 second marks respectively, but the Junior Lions went up by six at halftime thanks to another offensive rebound and follow attempt that resulted in one of two from the foul line with 28 seconds to play in the period for a 23-17 score at the break. Looking at the halftime stats, East Brunswick was just 5 of 19 from the floor including 2 of 3 from three point range while making 5 of 8 free throws. On the other hand, North Hunterdon didn’t fare much better by going 10 of 32 overall from the floor, and just 3 of 6 from the line.
The story was rebounding though. Despite shooting only 14 percent over the final 11:32 of the first half, the Junior Lions had a 20-10 edge on the boards including a 10-3 advantage on the offensive glass. They also had a 5-2 edge in steals and had fewer turnovers (7-9). The start of the second half would be the difference in the game though as North Hunterdon put the game away with a key spurt. The Junior Lions got a basket while being fouled at the 19:29 mark, and when they missed the bonus foul shot, they grabbed the offensive rebound, and scored a little more than a half minute later for a 27-17 lead with 18:51 remaining in the game. The team from Annandale went back up by a dozen on a drive upcourt for a layup that made the score, 29-17 at the 17:10 mark. East Brunswick, which had made another three turnovers during the early going, was forced to call for time at the 16:50 mark.
Following the timeout, North Hunterdon picked up right where it left off with a jumper from the ring wing for a 31-17 lead at the 16:09 mark. EB didn’t get on the board until the 15:35 mark of the second half with a one of two showing from the foul line. After that, the Junior Lions capped their run with another four points over a span of 1:42 to take a 35-18 lead. East Brunswick wouldn’t get its first field goal (0 of 8 FG to start second half) until the 12:15 mark on a three pointer from the right wing. The Junior Bears would get another three points over a span of 6:54 to pull within a baker’s dozen at 37-24 with 5:21 left. The Junior Lions then made two free throws to go back up by 15, but EB responded with a 9-4 rally including a three pointer from the left wing at the 1:23 mark, and another one at the 1:00 mark to pull within ten at 43-33, but couldn’t get any closer as North Hunterdon won the title by a final score of 47-35.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Hunterdon | 23 | 24 | 47 |
| East Brunswick | 17 | 18 | 35 |
GMC Hoops would like to again thank Hillsborough head coach, Ian Progin for providing the site with information on this league.