Fast First Quarter Start Propels Raiders To Easy Victory Over Eagles
NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ–On Wednesday afternoon, GMC Hoops began its tripleheader coverage by traveling down to North Brunswick High School to see the Raiders in action against the Edison Eagles. The Raiders entered the contest with an unbeaten 2-0 record after knocking off Carteret on opening night, and then jolting New Brunswick at the buzzer on Monday night. Meanwhile, the Edison Eagles came into the contest still searching for its first win after losing at East Brunswick on opening night, and then falling at home to Old Bridge on Monday night.
Both teams continued to go in opposite directions as the Raiders got off to a strong start, and never looked back in a 57-39 victory. North Brunswick jumped out to a 15-2 first quarter lead as it limited Edison to just 1 of 11 shooting overall from the floor. Highlighting the fast start was an offensive rebound and follow by Chance Gadsden (10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, an assist, and a steal), a three pointer by Mike Curran for his only points of the game, a steal for a layup by Dion Rogers (13 points, 5 assists, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, and a block), and a three point play by Troy Brown (5 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, a block, and an assist).
In the second period, the Raiders increased their lead with a 9-3 run to go up 24-5. Senior guard, Mark Gibson started things off with a three pointer from the left side. Then, Rogers netted two free throws at the 5:55 mark, and Brown connected on a baseline jumper from the right side to cap the run at the 5:12 mark. Edison tried to make the game more respectable with a 6-5 showing over the next few minutes, but North Brunswick went on a 5-0 run including a putback by Jarrett Phelps to take a 34-11 lead into the locker room at halftime. At the half, the Raiders shot 13 of 29 from the floor while holding Edison to just 5 of 20. Both Rogers and Gibson led NBTHS with 9 points each while Greg Grippo (game high 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks, and an assist) scored four points to lead Edison.
The third period started out positively for the Eagles as they put together a 5-4 run over the first 3:37 to pull within 38-16. Grippo converted a traditional three point play while Yamir Caroo connected on a jumper to highlight the EHS scoring. However, North Brunswick closed out the period with a 12-5 spurt including a drive for a layup and a putback by Gadsden, and an offensive rebound and follow by Dillon Salva (6 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist) to take a commanding 50-23 lead entering the fourth and final period of play. Caroo gave Edison some faint hopes early on in the fourth with two three pointers that combined with two foul shots by Kevin Luckenbach for an 8-3 spurt that closed the gap to 53-31 with 4:41 left.
Unfortunately, it was too little, too late for the Eagles as the Raiders ultimately prevailed despite being outscored 16-7 in the final frame. With the victory, North Brunswick remains unbeaten at 3-0 while Edison stays winless at 0-3.