Raiders Balanced Scoring Attack Overcomes Colonia, 52-43
NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ–In the only remaining GMCT Round of 16 contest, the third seeded Raiders of North Brunswick put together a solid team effort to overcome a Colonia team that played tough throughout.  The result was a 52-43 North Brunswick win to  punch a ticket to Middlesex County College for the third time in four years.  It wasn’t easy though.
The Raiders struggled from the field shooting only 31 percent overall including 19 percent from three point range. Â Colonia shot 50 percent overall from the floor, and had a solid game from senior forward Bleriot Thompson with 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting from the field. Â However, North Brunswick limited the Colonia big man to just two points in the second half while getting three players scoring in double figures including Iverson Fleming with a team high 11 points. Â Â
Eight players got in the game for the Raiders, and seven of them scored.  Colonia just had eight players dress for the contest.  All eight got in the game with only five scoring.  Nick Sidotti chipped in for North Brunswick with 10 points including seven down the stretch including a three pointer and a perfect 4 of 4 from the line.  Virgil Boykin continued to play well in the paint for the Raiders with a double-double of 10 points and  10 rebounds.  Jordan Gonzalez, who only had two three pointers on the year coming into today, hit two in the game en route to his 8 points while Dennis Ford added 7 points including two dunks in the third that helped NBTHS regain momentum.
Colonia had three players score nine points including freshman Chase Barneys, older brother and senior Trent Barneys, and sophomore J.J. Corbett, who sat out the game against Wardlaw on Wednesday night, and came off the bench in this contest. Â Chris Siletti rounded out the Patriots scoring with two points. Â Both Bleriot Thompson and younger brother Jodrell Thompson fouled out. Â For the game, North Brunswick shot only 17 of 54 from the floor including 5 of 26 from three point range. Â Colonia shot 17 of 34 overall including 2 of 12 from three. Â
A big difference in the game was at the line, the Patriots shot just 7 of 13 while the Raiders shot 13 of 19. Â Sidotti and Fleming were a combined 10 of 10 from the charity stripe including 8 of 8 in the fourth quarter. Â Colonia did a solid job of stopping Fleming from having a breakout game. Â The Hofstra bound senior was only 2 of 11 from the field including 1 of 7 from beyond the arc. Â Fleming’s only three came in the first period when North Brunswick jumped out to an 8-2 lead. Â Following a smart timeout by Colonia head coach, Chris Chiera, the Patriots rallied with the final six points of the first, and then began the second with a three point play by Corbett for an 11-8 lead.
The visitors from the Red Division led by as many as six points in the second period before the Raiders rallied with the next six points to tie the game at 18-18. Â Colonia retook control though by ending the half with a 5-2 burst that included a three point play by Bleriot Thompson, and Chris Siletti’s only points of the game on a driving layup that helped the Pats take a 23-20 lead into the locker room. Â Colonia shot 50 percent in the first half while limiting North Brunswick to just 27 percent shooting. Â However, the Raiders turned the tables in the second half with a 32-20 showing in the final two periods for the win.
In a moment reminiscent of the Raiders win at South Brunswick in the opening round of the 2012 Brunswick Challenge over the holidays, Dennis Ford opened second half with a one handed rim rocker after getting a steal.  Gonzalez followed with a score before Ford, who had six of his points in the third, scored again for a 26-23 lead.  Then, after Colonia fought back with a 6-3 run to tie the game twice at 26-26 and  29-29 on a three by Trent Barneys, Ford gave the Raiders the lead again at 31-29 with a two handed jam on a follow.  Bleriot Thompson then tied the game at 31-31 to end the third with his only points of the second half.
The fourth period saw North Brunswick continue to take charge with a 21-12 showing for the win. Â After Colonia scored four of the first five points of the final stanza including another three by Trent Barneys for a 35-32 lead, the Raiders responded with 13 of the next 15 points including a bank shot by sophomore forward, L.J. Williams, a three by Gonzalez, a basket by Boykin, and a huge three and two free throws by Sidotti for a 45-37 lead. Â From there, Sidotti and Fleming sealed the win at the line as the Raiders made 7 of 8 Â from the line in the final two minutes.
This game gave the Raiders a much needed test.  With losses to sub .500 teams such as Franklin and Piscataway in recent weeks, North Brunswick couldn’t overlook a Colonia team that had been playing better after a rocky start.  North Brunswick continued to have some struggles against big men with a 14 point performance by Colonia’s Bleriot Thompson.  However, the Raiders did lock down in the paint in the second half.  Things won’t get any easier for the trio of Boykin, Ford, and L.J. Williams with Old Bridge’s Sultan Aminu looming in the quarterfinals at MCC on Sunday.  Aminu shot 12 of 14 and scored 25 points in the Knights win over South Brunswick on  Thursday night.
Colonia played a terrific game.  Despite playing with a limited bench, the Patriots hung tough throughout.  The Pats recovered nicely after falling behind  early, and played well for about 28 of the 32 minutes.  North Brunswick did what all good teams do though, and that is find a way to win and advance.