Old Bridge’s Drews Leads Balanced Attack To Earn MVP Honors
WOODBRIDGE, NJ–At the end of every season, the GMCBCA Senior All-Star Game is an opportunity for players, who may have been overlooked during the season, or did have their school either qualify for the state playoffs, or get very far in them, to show their stuff on the big stage. Â For Old Bridge’s Tyler Drews, it was a way of reminding those in attendance of how great a player he is. Â The newest all time leading scorer at OBHS had a team high 19 points including five three pointers to lead a balanced attack for the White Team All-Stars in a 107-94 victory over the Black Team All-Stars at Woodbridge High School on Monday night.
With the White Team leading by only four at the half, 59-55, Drews fired in three of his five treys in a row during a 19-8 tear to open the second half for a 78-63 lead. Â The advantage grew to as much as 17 points before the Black Team made a late run led by the duo of Cardinal McCarrick’s Sky Harris, who had a game high 22 points, and St. Joseph’s Marques Townes, who added 17 points. Â Bishop Ahr’s Owen McLeod chipped in with 19 points and J.F. Kennedy’s Kyle Alvarez contributed with 12 points for the Black Team. Â Chris Mathis of South Plainfield (12 points) and Jake Dadika of Spotswood (10 points) also scored in double figures for the winners. Â While four players scored in double figures, and accounted for nearly 75 percent of the Black Team’s scoring, all 15 players got into the scorebook for the White Team while only 10 did for the Black Team.
Another key factor in the White Team’s win was the three point shot.  In the contest, the White Team outscored the Black Team by a margin of 60-24 from beyond the arc, which helped more than offset the 34-22 advantage in two point field goals by the Black Team.  Both teams struggled from the foul line though with the White Team  only going 3 of 12 from the charity stripe while the Black Team only went 2 of 6.  The White Team also enjoyed a 53-47 advantage on the boards despite being edged on the offensive glass, 21-20.  Leading to the balanced attack was the unselfish play of the White Team, which held a 20-14 advantage in assists in the contest.  Each team had seven steals while the Black Team got the edge in blocks (2-1), and the White Team had more charges (1-0).  Piscataway’s Joe Hines (6 points) and McCarrick’s Sky Harris shared the game high in rebounds with 8 while Marques Townes and Colonia’s Charlie Caver each had 7 boards for the Black Team and Metuchen’s Hunter Clarke (5 points) and Timothy Christian’s Brandon Summers (2 points) each had 6 for the White Team.  Caver (4 points) also had 6 assists to lead the Black Team while South River’s Matt Martinez (9 points), who put on a show for the fans, led the White Team with 3 assists.
Drews led all players with 3 steals while five others had two including Martinez, Townes, Harris, Caver, and East Brunswick’s Garry Baumer (9 points). Â The White Team outscored the Black Team by a margin of 48-39 in the second half. Â The game started out with both teams answering each other. Â The first 10 minutes of the contest was a back and forth battle with the White Team getting two early threes from Baumer as well as a trey from South Brunswick’s Corey Lumpkin (6 points). Â Townes answered with a trey and a putback of his own while Harris added a field goal to help knot the score at 7-7. Â The Black Team then took control of the contest with an 11-6 run as Harris, Townes, and McLeod combined for the scoring that gave their squad an 18-13 lead. Â The White Team would answer though with a 9-3 tear including another three by Lumpkin for a 22-21 lead midway through the first half. Â The frenetic pace of the action continued as the White Team edged the Black team by a margin of 12-11 over the next 1:50 to cling to a 34-32 lead with 8:10 remaining in the half. Â Mathis and Martinez, who both provided the White Team with some energy off the bench, led the charge with threes while Piscataway Tech’s Jordan Lackey added two dunks during the run.
The game remained close for the remainder of the first half with the White Team outscoring the Black Team by a 25-23 margin to take a four point edge into the intermission. Â Mathis added two more scores while Monroe’s Chris Germano added a trey, and Clarke added a transition layup. Â Kyle Alvarez helped the Black Team stay close with a couple threes. Â The second half started out with the White Team scoring 9 of the first 16 points to increase its lead to 68-62, but then Drews hit a three from the left baseline for a nine point edge, and after a free throw by both teams, Drews connected on back to back treys for a 15 point lead. Â The White Team then scored 15 of the next 25 points for a 90-73 lead before the Black Team rallied with 17 of the next 26 points to pull within single digits at 99-90. Â Townes scored eight of his points during the rally while Middlesex’s Jarret Bogus scored all four of his points on two putbacks, and Harris added three. Â The White Team wouldn’t let their foes get any closer though as Drews connected on his final three from the right side off a kickout by Dadika at the 1:08 mark, and then Martinez added a trey of his own from the left wing before Lackey put the icing on the cake with a dunk in the final seconds.