Two 19-5 runs by Lightning Seal Bombers Fate
NEPTUNE, NJ–After winning the school’s first ever Greater Middlesex Conference division crown and reaching both the GMCT Semifinals and the CJ Group IV Semifinals last season, the Sayreville Bombers are building a new identity for this coming season. The Bombers have also been shorthanded so far this fall with players playing fall sports such as football and soccer. The result has been three straight losses to begin the season at the 2014 Hoop Group Headquarters Fall League. The latest defeat came at the hands of the NJ Lightning, a Trenton based AAU squad by the score of 68-48 on Monday night.
The Bombers did have some positive moments though. Sayreville jumped out to a 4-0 lead right off the bat thanks to an emphatic dunk by Holy Cross bound Jehvye Floyd and a transition layup by Zach Alessi just 35 seconds into the game. However, the Lightning eventually were able to dictate their up-tempo style and it gradually wore down the Bombers. The Lightning essentially won the game by virtue of two 19-5 runs totaling a span of 16:44 of the 40 minute contest. One of the runs was during a 6:51 stretch of the first half that turned the 4-0 deficit into a 19-9 lead. The second was even more crucial. After, Sayreville actually battled back and closed the gap to four at 41-37 with 14:11 remaining, the Lightning put the game away with another 19-5 tear that lasted for 9:53 to take a 60-42 lead en route to the 20 point victory.
In the other 23:16 of the contest, Sayreville competed and performed well against the Lightning. During that stretch, the Bombers actually outscored its Trenton foe by a margin of 38-30. So, if Sayreville can avoid those tough stretches, or keep them to a minimum, it should be able to play better and succeed. Trailing 4-0, the Lightning connected on three treys during a 12-5 run over 5:20 to take a 12-9 lead. One of those threes came from the left side at about the 18 minute mark while the other that capped the run came from the top of the key at the 14:05 mark. The Trenton squad then reeled off seven unanswered points in just 1:31 to take a 19-9 lead. Highlighting the blitz was a breakaway layup off a steal that prompted a timeout at the 12:34 mark. From that point, the Bombers could only manage to get as close as 7 points the rest of the half. Zach Alessi first drew the Bombers within 7 at 19-12 on a three from the right wing at the 11:08 mark and Dan Gomes made a couple layups to keep Sayreville within seven around the 9 minute mark.
However, the Lightning finished the half on a 10-6 run that included follows off offensive rebounds at the 54.4 and 16.0 second marks. Sayreville didn’t let the Trenton team get any further ahead though thanks to the play of guard, Mike Valentin, who first flipped in a score off a drive through the middle at the 1:06 mark, and then had a nice feed from the left sideline to Alessi for a layup at the 36.3 mark. The Lightning went into the intermission ahead 35-24, but the Bombers came out with a purpose to begin the second half. Led by the play of Gomes and Alessi, the Bombers scored the first 9 points of the second half to draw within a bucket before the Lightning netted a triple from the left wing at the 15:45 mark to go back up by five at 38-33. The Lightning then sank another three at the 14:35 mark for a 41-33 lead. The Bombers battled back to get within four again at 41-37 by scoring the next four points including a layup by Alessi at the 14:11 mark.
Unfortunately, Sayreville wouldn’t get any closer though. Instead, the Lightning put the game away with a 27-11 surge the rest of the way including a pivotal stretch of just under 10 minutes where they scored 19 of 24 points. The run was highlighted by a layup at the 12:30 mark, two more scores prior to a Sayreville timeout at the 11:09 mark, a putback off a steal at the 7:08 mark, and then two quick scores to cap the run at the 4:18 mark for a 60-42 lead. Trenton coasted from there to the 68-48 victory. With the loss, Sayreville dropped to 0-3 on the fall. The Bombers return to action in Week Four next Monday night against Lakewood on the Knicks Court at 9:00 PM.