Fifth Seeded Hawks Defeat Second Seeded Keyport In Final, 32-27
EDISON, NJ–After going through a very difficult 1-21 campaign this past season, the Hawks of J.P. Stevens were looking to make some positive steps this summer. With a 32-27 victory over Keyport in the Championship Game of the 2010 Middlesex County College Summer League Playoffs, the Hawks have made a positive step toward respectability. JPS trailed by a point at halftime, 15-14, but then outscored the Red Raiders by an 18-12 margin in the final 20 minutes for the five point victory.
Led by league MVP, Mike Reuben, the Hawks had a balanced attack. Reuben along with Victor Quan, scored 8 points to tie for team high. Reuben also collected 3 steals, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block while Quan added four rebounds, five steals, an assist, and a charge. Soon to be junior, Marvin Crawford scored all seven of his points in the first half while picking up six steals, three assists, and three blocks. Brandon Ahmed also chipped in with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Rojing Rajkinarkar (2 points and a rebound) and Kenny Arias (2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist) rounded out the Hawks scoring.
For the game, the Hawks shot only 12 of 37 from the floor including one of five from beyond the arc while making 7 of 14 from the line. However, Stevens limited Keyport to just 10 of 27 shooting including two of eight from long distance. The Red Raiders made 5 of 8 from the line. The Hawks also forced 23 Keyport turnovers, which they converted into 15 points. In the second half, 13 of the 18 JPS points came off of 15 Keyport miscues. Trailing by one at the intermission, J.P. Stevens got a steal by Quan that was converted into a layup by Ahmed at the 19:05 mark for a 16-15 lead. Reuben then drew a foul on a three pointer, and made all three free throws for a 19-15 lead.
Keyport would rally to tie things up at 19-19 with a steal for a layup at the 15:23 mark, and a layup off a nice cut to the basket with 14:09 remaining. Rajkinarkar made two foul shots for a 21-19 lead, but the Raiders tied things up again with a jumper from the left wing at the 12:38 mark. Stevens would take the lead for good though with a decisive 10-2 spurt over the next 9:02 for a 31-23 lead. The run was sparked by a baseline jumper from Quan off a Reuben pass for a 23-21 lead with 12:20 to go. Quan then forced a steal that fell into the hands of Arias, who dished back to Quan for the layup while being fouled. Quan got another steal that led to an Ahmed layup for a 27-21 lead with 6:45 to play.
Quan got his third steal of the span that Crawford got his hands on, and dished to Reuben for a layup to answer an earlier Keyport score for a 29-23 lead with 4:30 left. Following a Hawks timeout at the 4:03 mark, Stevens capped the run with a skip pass by Reuben to Arias for a layup, and a 31-23 lead. Keyport made things interesting by scoring the next four points, and forcing JPS to the line, where it struggled down the stretch, but the Red Raiders were unable to get any closer as Stevens got the 32-27 victory, and ended the summer with a 9-3 record overall while Keyport finished up at 10-2. A more detailed summary on this game will be posted soon.