St. Pat’s Transfer Raysor Notches Game High 21 Points To Lead Eagles Past Zebras
SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–Following the game between Highland Park and South Amboy, GMC Hoops traveled across town to see the Eagles of Cardinal McCarrick take on the Zebras of New Brunswick in a GMC White clash. Unlike the previous two games in our Pre-Christmas doubleheader, this contest was relatively close. However, the Eagles of McCarrick outscored the Zebras in each quarter en route to a 67-53 victory. Dana Raysor, a transfer from St. Patrick’s, led the way for the Eagles with a game high 21 points while teammates Craig Thomas and Charlie Gorman chipped in with 11 points each.
Cardy Mac jumped out to the early lead with an 8-4 run over the first 2:10. New Brunswick would respond though as it put together a 6-2 burst highlighted by one of two free throws and a three pointer by senior guard, Simuel Williams (9 points) to tie the game at 10-10 with 2:49 left in the first period. The Eagles, which drew three charges in the frame, went back out in front 14-10 before Jaquan Cook (team high 14 points) got a layin to make the score, 14-12 after one. The second quarter began with the Zebras scoring the first four points to take a 16-14 lead at the 5:56 mark. Nigel Scott (10 points) tied the game at 14-14 with a layup at the 6:24 mark, and then Williams found sophomore forward, Milton Pittman (13 points) for a layup and the lead as McCarrick head coach, Joe Lewis called a 30 second timeout.
Following the stoppage, Raysor scored on a layin that tied the game at 16-16 with 5:42 to go in the half. The Eagles went out in front again with five more points including a three pointer by Jeremy Cruz (7 points) for a 7-0 run that turned a 20-16 deficit into a 21-20 lead. Both teams then exchanged scores as Cook got a layin for New Brunswick and Gorman scored on a layup at the 1:51 mark that put the Eagles back out in front, 23-22. Raysor then added a fadeaway jumper, and a layin before Thomas made one of three at the line after being fouled on a last second heave from midcourt for a 28-24 lead at the intermission.
The third quarter saw McCarrick double its lead again to eight points with a 16-12 showing in the period for a 44-36 score. Gorman highlighted the period with two three pointers from way deep on the right wing. New Brunswick stayed within striking distance thanks to two conventional three point plays by Cook. The fourth quarter saw the most points of any of the periods in the game as the Eagles outscored the Zebras by a margin of 23-17 to round out the final score. Raysor connected on a three pointer from the left to help McCarrick take a 57-45 lead before a 30 second timeout was called at the 4:15 mark. Williams then fouled out with about 2:45 remaining, which put the final nail in the coffin for New Brunswick. With the victory, Cardy Mac, which suffered an upset loss at Carteret on Monday night (57-53), improved to 2-1 while NBHS remained winless at 0-3.