Bizzare Moment in GMC Boys Basketball Game Between New Brunswick and South Plainfield Occurred on This Date 20 Years Ago
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–This game pre-dates GMC Hoops, but it was a game that its founder, Greg Machos, was involved in. Â One of the most bizzare things ever seen at a Greater Middlesex Conference boys basketball game occurred on this date in 1995. Â In a game between New Brunswick and South Plainfield, Ishmael Burgess, a lanky 6’4″ forward for the Zebras threw down an emphatic slam with enough force that it took the rim and the portion of the backboard connected to it.
Burgess, who went on later to play at Division II Bloomfield College, a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), and was teammates with the likes of Terrence Johnson, who now is PA announcer at Plainfield High School Games as well as many big Union County contests and the Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic, was no Jerome Lane or Darryl Dawkins, but he managed to send it in just like those two did back in the day. Â The dunk may have been born out of pure frustration because up to that point, South Plainfield had dominated the contest.
Fighting to qualify for the Central Jersey Group II state playoffs, South Plainfield needed to win in order to stay alive. Â The Tigers that year were a team that confounded many including myself. Â It was a talented squad that consisted of the likes of future 1,000 point scorer, Michael Thompson, Joey Cesaro, Kevin Clarke, Ugo Ejiochi, Teddy Scott, Mike Powell, and Nick Prybella. Â The Tigers were ranked in the News-Tribune Pre-Season Top 10, but started the season with a 78-75 loss against North Brunswick, and were up and down the rest of the year after that with nice wins over New Brunswick, East Brunswick, South Brunswick, and a close loss at St. Peter’s in the GMCT Round of 16, and puzzling losses to Edison, Bishop Ahr, and North Plainfield.
In this game, South Plainfield played perhaps the best 10 minutes or so of basketball all season. Â The Tigers were taking it to a very talented New Brunswick team. Â This group of Zebras led by Dishone Taylor, Sharif Reid, Burgess, Jamaal James, and a sophomore named Rahameen Byrom, who eventually transferred to North Brunswick and played on the 1997 NBTHS Raiders team that won the school’s only GMCT, had reached the GMCT Final Four the year before, and players such as Taylor and Reid were part of a solid senior class that were undefeated as freshmen. Â The 1994-95 edition of the Zebras had their share of struggles though with losses to the likes of Dunellen. SPHS led this game by either 19-2 or 21-2 (don’t recall exactly), and appeared to be running away with the contest.
Enter Burgess, who took the ball in the Zebras frontcourt, let out a scream, and threw down a dunk that put the game in complete chaos. Â Personally, when I saw that happen, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Â I never thought I would have see that in a high school game. Â The South Plainfield players were in shock, and wondered if the game was going to be cancelled. Â Tiger players came up to me asking what was to become of the game. Â New Brunswick fans on the opposite side of the court were jumping up and down in jubilation because of not only the fact that it had stopped the game, but also since it was an incredible feat. Â Upon reaching the locker room, South Plainfield players and coaches were addressed by athletic director, Mike Buggey, who stated that the game would resume at South Plainfield Middle School on the following Monday (January 30th). Â So, the Tigers still had a chance to finish off the win.
When the game resumed on Monday, New Brunswick took advantage of the respite and made a run at the Tigers by outscoring them 50-38 the rest of the game, but South Plainfield was still able to hang on for the 57-52 victory to keep its playoff hopes alive. Â However, the next night in North Edison, the Tigers lost a close game to neighborhood and division rival, Bishop Ahr, and then followed that up with a loss at the buzzer at North Plainfield two nights later. Â New Brunswick regrouped after that loss and ended up getting on a run that ended up with a Central Jersey Group II championship over Carteret while South Plainfield didn’t qualify, and ended up 9-12 on the season.