Raiders Will Go As Far As Their Talent Will Take Them
PENNINGTON, NJ–For the past two seasons, the North Brunswick Raiders have been knocking on the door to elite status in both the GMC and Central Jersey Group IV. Â NBTHS reached the final four of the CJ Group IV tourney in 2010 and 2011 with a finals appearance in 2010. Â The Raiders also won the GMC White last year, but faltered in the Round of 16 of the GMCT to J.F. Kennedy. Â The year before, North Brunswick lost to Sayreville in the GMCT Elite Eight.
With the likes of Dion Rogers, Chance Gadsden, Shaliek Short, and Iverson Fleming returning, the Raiders will be in contention again for not only a GMC White title, but also for a GMCT title and a sectional title. Â Providing depth will be a solid group coming up from a JV team that went 20-2 last season. Â The loss of Pirkle will hurt a bit, but there is still more than plenty of talent for the Raiders to have a solid season. Â Short did not play in this scrimmage, but Rogers and Gadsden were a solid duo with both combining for 23 of the team’s 33 points in the second half.
Rogers, who also had five steals and two assists in the contest, provided much of his scoring over the final two periods from beyond the arc with three treys. Â However, Hopewell used a couple different zone looks that made it difficult for the senior guard and his backcourt mates to penetrate, and get the ball inside to Gadsden. Â The Bulldogs also pushed the North Brunswick guards well out on the perimeter. Â North Brunswick was able to compensate though by forcing turnovers that often resulted in easy baskets. Â The Raiders also cashed in on offensive rebounds.
There were seven quarterly lead changes and two ties combined in the final two periods. Â The Raiders were able to go on a 9-2 run in the fourth to break away from an 8-8 tie in the period for a 17-10 lead. Â North Brunswick was able to lead by as many as 18 points in the second half en route to the 61-47 overall victory. Â The Raiders were outscored from three point range by a margin of 12-9, and 7-2 from the foul line. Â North Brunswick still has plenty of talent to repeat as GMC White champs. Â How far NBTHS goes in both the GMCT and the states will depend on how far its talent will take it. Â The Raiders still will have to contend with a veteran Cardinal McCarrick squad as well as Woodbridge and New Brunswick in the always competitive GMC White.