Last Second Layup By Sewnarine Lifts Junior Bears Past Junior Falcons In OT
METUCHEN, NJ–Following a close GMC Hoops Freshmen Game of the Week between St. Joseph’s and East Brunswick that went down to the wire before EB won, 36-34, the GMC Hoops JV Game of the Week took things a step further, by not only having a very close game, but also going to overtime. There was some doubt though in the second half whether the game would go to an extra session. After three periods, East Brunswick trailed 39-29 as St. Joe’s had a 7-0 run over a span of nearly three minutes consisting of two scores by sophomore Bryce Layne and a three point play by freshman Mike Granda.
However, the Junior Bears, which entered the contest at 6-1 didn’t panic. Led by junior Nick Fudali, who netted a couple threes in the fourth, and almost won the game in regulation with a last second three attempt that hit back iron, East Brunswick opened the final period of regulation with an 8-2 run over the first 2:07 to pull within four at 41-37 with just under six minutes to play. EB continued to put the pressure on by scoring 10 of the next 18 points to over the next 3:43 to pull within two at 49-47. The Junior Bears then tied the game up at 49-49 on a layup with 45.4 seconds to go. Following Fudali’s last second missed three, the two teams went into overtime.
In the extra session, the game continued to go back and forth with four lead changes. East Brunswick outscored Joes by a margin of 5-4 over the first 3:34 of overtime for a 54-53 lead before Granda turned in another big play by flipping in a floater that banked off the glass for a 55-54 lead with 26.3 seconds remaining. Once again, the Junior Bears didn’t flinch. Last year’s East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament Champions, set up for the last shot, and got the ball to Justin Sewnarine in the paint, where he connected on a turn around jumper with time running out for the 56-55 lead and eventual victory. The game was close pretty much throughout with the exception of a stretch in the third quarter when the Junior Falcons managed to stretch its lead to double digits.
St. Joseph’s opened the game with 6 of the first 10 points over the initial 6:06 of the contest before EB battled back with 6 of the last 10 points of the first for a 10-10 tie heading into the second. Layne, who scored 8 points in the first half, scored half of them in the first for Joes while Connor Klementowicz added a three pointer, Bryan Carley added a field goal, and Connor Mahony made one of two from the line. East Brunswick had four different players score as well in the first period as Sewnarine opened the game with a layup, and then Fudali added a score. After the Junior Bears fell behind by two, junior guard Matt Perel and sophomore Dan Iannarone came up with back to back threes to even up the score at 10 heading into the second.
In the second period, the Junior Falcons earned the two point, 22-20 halftime edge with a 12-10 showing in the frame as four different players scored again led by Layne who had another 4 points playing in the low block. Freshman, Xavier Townes got into the act with a field goal and one of two from the line for 3 points, and Joe Mayers connected on a three pointer while Travis Adams made both of his free throws. East Brunswick also had four different players score again in the period as Connor Stratton clicked on two field goals for 4 points while Perel and Cardinal McCarrick transfer, Michael Vick, added two free throws, and Fudali chipped in with a bucket. Joes opened the stanza with a 10-8 run to take a 20-18 lead with 58.9 seconds when Vick went down with an injury and had to leave the game. Both teams then exchanged scores the rest of the way for the two point Junior Falcon lead at the break.
At the half, St. Joseph’s scoring consisted of 8 for Layne, 3 points each for Klementowicz, Mayers, and Townes, 2 each for Carley and Adams, and one for Mahony. East Brunswick’s scoring included Perel with 5, Fudali and Stratton with 4, Iannarone with 3, and Sewnarine and Vick with two each. The Junior Bears had 5 two point field goals, two threes, and went 4 of 5 from the line while the Junior Falcons had 6 two point field goals, two threes, and made 4 of 6 from the charity stripe. The third quarter started out much like the first half had ended with both teams locked in a close battle. St. Joseph’s increased its lead to five at 32-27 with a 10-7 run over the first 4:43 before calling a 30 second timeout with a little more than three minutes left in the period. Following the timeout, the Junior Falcons went on what appeared to be a key 7-0 run for a 12 point lead, but East Brunswick battled back to tie things up, force overtime, and win in the final seconds of the extra period.
NOTES: Following EB’s win over Joes on Thursday, the Junior Bears went on to defeat Elizabeth, and improve to 8-1 on the season as of Saturday. Michael Vick played and even started at Cardinal McCarrick as a freshman last season. Bryce Layne led St. Joseph’s to the Final Four of the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament last year, where they lost in the semifinals to eventual champion, Old Bridge, and then lost to J.F. Kennedy in the consolation in overtime. Xavier Townes is the younger brother of St. Joseph’s standout, Marques Townes. St. Joseph’s JV coach, Bill Kilduff coached previously at Randolph High School and also served as an assistant coach at Old Bridge as well as Kean University, St. Peter’s College, and Rutgers.