Bears and Huskies Battle to a Tie in Double Overtime
EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ–In the opening game of the night at the EBHS Lower Gym, East Brunswick took on Matawan in a GMC vs. Shore Clash. Â The Bears and Huskies have been some of the top programs in Central Jersey over the last several years with the Bears winning the 2013 Central Jersey Group IV Championship while Matawan won the CJ Group II title in 2014, and reached the semifinals of the bracket in 2015.
Gone are Jason Dunne and Joe Piscopo for Matawan while East Brunswick lost the likes of John McHenry, Tyler McNamara, and Matt Perel, but have plenty of firepower returning with Matt Ross, Mike Vick, and Addis Ralph coming back along with newcomers Justin Sewnarine, Mike Brizuela, Ezra Levitt, Tom Pappas, and Ryan Crocco. Â Arriving after the second half started, GMC Hoops picked up the action at the 17:24 mark with EB leading 30-24. Â
The Bears took charge early on in the second, but Matawan fired back with an 18-8 tear over the next 11:24 to take a 42-38 lead with about 6 minutes to play. Â EB battled back though with a 10-6 run that included a sequence where the Bears scored 8 of 11 points as Ross struck for two threes while Ralph added a basket to tie the score at 48-48 with under two minutes to play. Â Levitt helped maintain the tie with a charge at the 1:10 mark. Â Both teams had chances to come away with the win down the stretch in regulation and in both overtimes, but failed to score.
In the first one minute extra session, East Brunswick drew a foul on a shot attempt with 27 seconds left, but missed both free throws. Â Matawan then had a chance to score, but after calling a timeout with 15 seconds left, the Huskies failed to get a bucket as time ran out. Â Then, in the second overtime, EB had another chance to pull out the win, but Mike Vick’s shot with under 10 seconds to play was off the mark, and Matawan was unable to score. Â Both teams decided to call the game a draw after that. Â There were three lead changes and three ties over the last 17:24 of the contest. Â Neither team had a lead bigger than 6 points. Â There was no scoring over the last 4 minutes of the game.