Here is a slideshow from photos taken of the action between second seeded St. Joseph’s and top seeded East Brunswick in the 2013 GMCT Boys Final at the Rutgers Athletic Center. In the Game of the Century in Middlesex County, St. Joseph’s won its fourth consecutive GMCT final by defeating an East Brunswick team that had defeated the Falcons twice during the regular season. St. Joe’s needed double-overtime to do it, and without the services of Karl Towns in much of the extra sessions since he fouled out.
It was the first final that went to overtime in 20 years, and the first ever MCT/GMCT Championship ever to be decided in double overtime. If you thought nothing could top the first two matchups between these two fierce rivals, think again. East Brunswick trailed 29-20 late in the first half, but rallied with a 16-8 surge over the next eight plus minutes to pull within one heading into the fourth. Then, the Bears got a huge three late in regulation by senior guard, Danny Leung to tie the game, and force overtime at 51-51. Both teams scored seven points to force a second overtime.
In the final extra session, EB led 61-58 with about a minute to go when the Falcons put together the decisive 8-2 run to win the contest. Marques Townes sparked the key rally with a steal for a layup, and then the Falcons went to the line to put the game away. For the game, St. Joe’s shot 49 percent versus 38 percent for EB. The Bears shot 33 percent from three, and outscored the Falcons by a 21-3 margin in points scored from beyond the arc. East Brunswick shot 82 percent from the line while Joes was 74 percent, but the four time defending champs outscored the Bears by a 23-14 margin in points from the charity stripe.
Leung led all scorers with 24 points on 6 of 11 shooting overall including 5 of 8 from three while also making 7 of 8 from the line. Rob Ukawuba chipped in for the Bears with 20 points. Towns, who earned tournament MVP honors, finished with 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the floor and 7 of 10 from the line. Wade Baldwin also finished with 21 points including 11 of 14 from the line. Townes ended up with 6 of 12 shooting from the floor and 5 of 7 from the free throw stripe.