Ramblers Roll As Five Players Score In Double Figures
CARTERET, NJ–Friday afternoon’s game between Highland Park and Carteret had an ominous beginning, especially if you are an Owls fan. Less than a minute into the game, the Ramblers Joe McRae stole the ball, and went in for a one handed slam from the right side. Not too long after that, Andrew Stam converted a steal with a layup at the 7:02 mark. It was going to be that type of night for Carteret.
By the time Highland Park called a timeout with 5:41 to go in the first period, the Ramblers were already up 9-0 as the Owls had already committed 7 turnovers. Tyrell Lockley then got into the act with a couple threes, and Jaquan Robertson added a few scores for a 22-4 lead at one point in the period. The only blemish on Carteret’s performance to this point was back to back 0 of 2 showings at the foul line by McRae at the 6:35 mark, and Robertson at the 6:33 mark.
The Owls, led by senior Jordan Long, who had a team high 11 points including 9 in the first half, did try to make a game of it for a while with an 8-4 spurt to end the opening quarter to close the gap to 26-12. However, the effort was feudal as Carteret scored 25 of the 28 points in the second period. Elijah Torres had three field goals including a three point play for 7 of his 9 first half points to lead the barrage. Lockley and Robertson chipped in with 4 points apiece. Reserves Anthony Spinelli and Sean Kenney got into the act also with a three and a field goal respectively.
In the first half, Carteret compiled a 51-15 lead by the intermission on 19 FGs, 3 three pointers, and 4 of 9 from the foul line. Meanwhile, the Ramblers only allowed three different Highland Park players to score while limiting the Owls to just 6 field goals and 3 of 5 from the foul line for 15 points. The Ramblers had eight different players get into the scorebook including two that were already in double figures with Lockley having 14 while Robertson added 10. The game continued to get out of hand in the second half with Carteret outscoring Highland Park by a margin of 41-18 including a 28-8 showing in the third for a 79-23 lead.
The Ramblers wound up outscoring the Owls in each period en route to a 92-33 victory. Five different Carteret players ended up scoring in double figures led by Lockley with 18, Robertson with 16, Torres with 15, McRae with 14, and Stam with 12. Brandon Benjamin almost broke into double figures with 8 points along with 3 blocks while Spinnelli added 5. Jaren Miller scored all 8 of his points in the second half for the Owls to provide a bright spot while James Webb scored four points in the second half to end up with 7 and Harry Landis added 3 to finish with 6. Only five Highland Park players got into the scorebook.
Carteret put on a similar display in the first half of its game against Metuchen at the end of the first full week of the season back before the holidays. The Ramblers may not be as physical as they have been in the past on defense, but they don’t have to grind games out on offense either. They are very athletic and have the ability to score points in bunches.