Bears Bounce Back From Rough Week With Win At Homeless Classic
ELIZABETH, NJ–In a game that it needed to right itself out of a bit of a rut, East Brunswick jumped out to a 21-13 lead in the first 8:53 of the contest, and led the rest of the way despite a couple runs by Elizabeth to defeat the Minutemen by the score of 66-52 in the middle game of a tripleheader at the Coalition to House the Homeless Classic at the Dunn Center on Saturday evening. Led by senior Garry Baumer, who collected a game high 24 points including six threes, the Bears fired in 11 treys and outscored EHS by a margin of 33-3 from beyond the arc.
Amir Bell chipped in with all 10 of his points in the first half while orchestrating the EB offense and making big plays on the defensive end, and sophomore Matt Ross added 14 points on four threes including two in the fourth quarter that helped squash a late run by the Minutemen. Kamil Brown stood out for Elizabeth with a team high 13 points. Carl Taylor and Addis Ralph also contributed for the Bears with 8 points each while two other players scored in double figures for Elizabeth. EB outscored EHS in three of the four quarters played including a 17-11 showing in the third that turned a 33-26 halftime lead into a 50-37 advantage heading into the fourth.
Trailing by eight early in the second, Elizabeth put together a 7-0 run over a span of just 58 seconds to pull within a point at 21-20. Capping the run was a three point play by Brown at the 6:09 mark. EB wouldn’t let the Minutemen take the lead though as they closed the half on a 12-6 run including a score off a lob pass by Bell, a three by Baumer, and then a layup by Taylor to end the half. Baumer ended up with 13 points to lead the Bears in the first half while Brown scored 8 over the first two periods for Elizabeth. In the third, Elizabeth crept to within four, but once more EB kept the home team at arm’s length with a 7-0 run that included a three from the left wing by Baumer and then a layup by Ralph for a 40-29 lead before the Minutemen called for time at the 4:56 mark.
The Bears didn’t stop there though. Over the next 2:52, East Brunswick scored 8 of the next 11 points including another bucket by Baumer, and two threes by Ross for a 48-32 lead as Elizabeth called timeout again with 2:04 to go in the third. The Minutemen finished the period with a 5-2 run, to pull within a baker’s dozen after three, but Baumer scored the first five points of the fourth including a pull-up jumper, and another three over a span of just 31 seconds to give EB its largest lead of the game at 55-37. EHS tried to rally again as it applied some full court pressure, forced turnovers, and cashed them in for scores in a 10-0 spurt that closed the gap to single digits at 55-47, but it couldn’t get any closer. Ross helped put the game away for good with two threes during a 9-3 Bears run that made the score 64-50 with 1:52 remaining.
Both teams then closed out the game with two points each including a bucket by Elizabeth in the closing seconds for the 66-52 final score. Despite outscoring East Brunswick in two point field goals (17-14) and from the foul line (11-5), the Minutemen had no real answer from the perimeter, and remained winless on the season at 0-9. EB, which had lost two straight coming in thanks to a pair of games where it uncharacteristically allowed 70 points or more, improved to 6-3 overall as it returns to league play with a game against Perth Amboy on Tuesday night.