Duo Of Rogers And Gadsden Score In Double Digits In Second Half To Lead Raiders, 61-47
PENNINGTON, NJ–On Tuesday afternoon, GMC Hoops traveled over to Mercer County to take in the contest between Hopewell Valley Regional High School, and North Brunswick. Â The Raiders look to be in the mix for the 2012 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament Champion as well as the Central Jersey Group IV title. Â North Brunswick has reached the CJ Group IV Final Four each of the past two years, but was unable to come away with a championship.
Two years ago, the Raiders defeated Marlboro in double-overtime in the semifinals of the section before losing to Montgomery in the title game. Â Last year, NBTHS fell to a cinderella story Rancocas Valley team that ended up winning the section. Â The Devils also defeated another GMC squad in East Brunswick in the quarterfinal round. Â North Brunswick did take a bit of a hit to graduation with the departure of standout Tait Pirkle. Â The four year varsity player ended up with over 1,000 points for his career. Â The Raiders do have some talent returning including seniors Dion Rogers, Chance Gadsden, and Shaliek Short while junior Iverson Fleming also returns.
North Brunswick also has a number of talented newcomers coming up. Â Last year, the Raiders JV squad went 20-2 overall, and ultimately fell to Hillsborough in the semifinal round of the 2011 East Brunswick JV Tournament. Â East Brunswick, which finished undefeated, wound up the champion of that tourney after defeating Hillsborough in the final. Â After winning the GMC White last season, the Raiders are again amongst the favorites to win the division again. Â Arriving late to the scrimmage, GMC Hoops settled in with about seven minutes to go in the second period of the JV scrimmage with Hopewell Valley already in front 12-3. Â The Junior Bulldogs and Raiders were even for the next four minutes as both teams scored five each for a 17-8 Hopewell lead with 3:05 to go.
A little more than a half minute later, North Brunswick got a basket that forced Hopewell to call for time with 2:32 to go in the period. Â After a missed front end of a one and one by the Junior Bulldogs, NBTHS came right back down with a strong drive to the basket for a layup while drawing a blocking foul that resulted in a traditional three point play, and a 17-13 Hopewell lead at the 1:53 mark. Â The Junior Raiders got another stop, and came back down the floor to draw a foul that produced two free throws to narrow the deficit to 17-15 at the 1:32 mark. Â Following two missed free throws by Hopewell at the 1:29 mark, and a NBTHS timeout, the Junior Raiders used great teamwork and ball movement to set up a layup attempt underneath that drew a foul. Â North Brunswick then made one of two from the line for a 17-16 Hopewell lead with a minute left.
The Junior Bulldogs put the dagger into the heart of the Junior Raiders with a three pointer from the left side of the key for a 20-16 edge with 30 seconds left. Hopewell Valley then wrapped up[ the win with two free throws in the last 5.6 seconds to round out the 22-16 win. Â After the JV teams were done, the varsity teams went at it. Â Hopewell gave North Brunswick problems with its zone defense. Â The Raiders guards were pushed out well beyond the three point line, and had difficulty penetrating and getting the ball inside. Â Rogers was able to nail two long threes from the right wing while also scoring a layup for 8 points in the frame. Â Gadsden chipped in with four points including a steal for a layup and a 7-3 lead at the 5:44 mark, and a score down low at the 26 second mark to seal the 16-13 third quarter edge.
After four lead changes in the third period, there were two more lead changes along with two ties in the fourth. Â The Raiders finally broke away from an 8-8 tie with a 9-2 run sparked by another trey from Rogers at the 3:44 mark. Â Gadsden and Fleming helped seal the win with the senior forward drawing a foul and making two free throws at the 1:20 mark, and the junior guard scoring on a transition layup to cap the spurt at the 47 second mark for a 17-10 lead. Â The trio of Rogers (13 points), Gadsden (10 points), and Fleming (4 points) accounted for 27 of North Brunswick’s 33 points over the final two periods. Â The Raiders outscored Hopewell by a 33-27 margin over the final two quarters for a 61-47 overall edge in the scrimmage. Â In addition to his 13 points in the final 16 minutes of the exhibition, Rogers also collected 5 steals and 2 assists.
Hopewell Valley, which had three treys in the third quarter to keep the score close, outscored North Brunswick by a 12-9 margin from beyond the arc. Â Over the last two quarters, the Bulldogs were 7 of 8 from the line while the Raiders were 2 of 4. Â NBTHS had 14 field goals in the final two periods of play while HVHS had only 8 field goals. Â The Bulldogs drew two of the three charges taken in the second half of this scrimmage. Â North Brunswick led overall by as many as 18 points in the second half.