Vikings Make Big Shots To Outlast Tigers In Overtime, 60-54
PISCATAWAY, NJ–In the best game of the four public school state championships played at Rutgers on Sunday, the Atlantic City Vikings showed the heart and experience of a champion to defeat Linden for its second straight state title.
Trailing 48-45 with less than a minute to play, Atlantic City, which rolled through the South Jersey Group IV bracket, and then rallied in the second half to beat GMCT runner-up and Central Jersey Group IV champion, East Brunswick in the state semifinals, got a huge three pointer from the top of the key by Dayshawn Reynolds (8 points) Â with 33.7 seconds left in regulation, and then two deep threes from Isaiah Graves (18 points) in the overtime to secure the victory.
Dennis White (16 points) also played a critical role down low for the Vikings,, especially in the second half and overtime.  Time and time again, White came up with layups inside to keep his team in the ball game.  Jaleem Montague (12 points) did a splendid job on defense shutting down Linden junior forward, Quadri Moore, who was limited to just 9 points, and was unable to get several threes to fall in the second half.  Josh Carter, who scored a game high 21 points for Linden, was fearless taking the ball to the basket, and making big  plays to pick up the slack for the Tigers.
Over the final 25:30 of the contest, there were 8 lead changes and 8 ties. Â Neither team had a lead bigger than six points. Â It was a classic game of runs and dramatic swings in momentum. Â Atlantic City led by four on a couple of occasions late in the first half, but Linden closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run as Carter scored four points, Moore hit two technical foul shots, and Cardinal McCarrick transfer, Alonzo Hamilton (6 points) netted two free throws for a 23-19 lead at the intermission. Â Atlantic City, which was held scoreless over the last 4:40 of the first half, came out swinging in the third period.
The Vikings scored the first six points of the second half to take a 25-23 lead before Hamilton connected on a jumper, and followed that with two free throws to round out his scoring in the game, and give the Tigers the lead again at 27-25. Â Atlantic City then took control for the remainder of the period, and the start of the fourth with an 8-2 run as both White and Dayshawn Reynolds scored four points to give the Vikings a four point lead. Â Following a pull-up jumper by Graves to open the fourth quarter for a 35-29 AC lead, the game began to swing back in the other direction.
Linden went on a 9-4 run over a span of 3:30 including a floater by Carter at the 5:21 mark, and then a three from the top of the key by Moore at the 4:12 mark for a 39-38 Vikings lead.  Atlantic City would score the next four  points though as Graves, who was clutch in the fourth quarter to lift AC past East Brunswick,  buried a three at the 3:46 mark, and after the Tigers missed several chances to score in one offensive sequence, Graves drew a foul, and made one of two from the line with 3:11 left in regulation to give the Vikings a 43-38 lead.  The game then turned again as Linden rallied with a 10-2 tear over a span of just 2:23 as Carter took over the game.
Carter scored 8 of the 10 points as he sparked the rally by knifing in from the left side for a layup. Â Then, he tied the game up at 43-43 on a three pointer. Â Finally, after White gave the Vikings the lead with a bucket, and Juwuan Dolbrice made two free throws for Linden to tie things up again, Carter took a nice dish from Dolbrice, and scored as he was fouled for a conventional three point play and a 48-45 lead with 47.9 seconds to go in regulation. Â The stage was then set for Dayshawn Reynolds to tie the game for the Vikings with his big three, and Graves to bury his moon shots in the extra session to give AC its second straight title.
Linden was playing in its first state final since 2007 when it beat South Brunswick in the Group IV title game. Â The Tigers defeated Atlantic City the year before in 2006 to win its first of back to back titles. Â The Vikings, which improved to 29-1 on the season, won its third state championship since 2005, and earned the third seed in the upcoming Tournament of Champions that starts on Wednesday. Â Linden finished the season at 22-8.