MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ—On Tuesday night, GMC Hoops emerged from hibernation following the Blizzard of 2016 and traveled over to South Brunswick High School to take in the Red Division Clash between the second ranked Vikings and fifth ranked East Brunswick. For the third time over the past two seasons, these two top five teams in the GMC went at it in another thriller that went down to the wire.
Trailing 54-45 with 1:26 remaining, South Brunswick put together a 12-2 run to end the game including three pointers by Ryan Moran at the 24.1 second mark and the 2.4 second mark to give the Vikings a dramatic come from behind, 57-56 victory over the Bears. Moran scored all 9 of his points on three treys in the fourth quarter while senior forward, Eric Savage led the Vikes with a team high 24 including 10 in the final period.
Jaier Garrett chipped in with 12 including two free throws to spark the rally while also coming up with a huge block on the defensive end and an even bigger offensive rebound that led to the first of Moran’s two threes in the game’s final 24 seconds. Matt Ross led EB with a game high 31 points including 13 in the fourth quarter while teammate Addis Ralph chipped in with 12 including five in the final stanza. Justin Sewnarine helped the Bears overcome a rocky start with 6 of his 8 points in the first period. Below are game notes from the action:
First Quarter
South Brunswick jumped out to an 8-6 lead. EB got all six of its points from Justin Sewnarine while South Brunswick got four points on two field goals from Jaier Garrett, a three from Eric Savage, and one of two from the line by Sean Nally. The Bears six points came on a field goal, a three pointer, and one of two from the line while the Vikings eight points came on two field goals, a three pointer, and one of two from the charity stripe.
Second Quarter
Led by a 12 point second quarter including two threes by Matt Ross, East Brunswick outscored South Brunswick by a margin of 17-16 in the frame for a 24-23 South Brunswick lead at the break. Addis Ralph added a three pointer while Mike Brizuela netted two free throws.
South Brunswick was led by Garrett, who had a conventional three point play as well as a three pointer for 6 points while Danesh Thirukmaran added three on a trey, Isaiah Franklin chipped in with 3 as well on a field goal and a free throw, Sean Nally added a field goal, and Eric Savage netted two foul shots.
East Brunswick had three field goals, three treys and two free throws in the second to tally 4 field goals, 4 threes, and 3 of 4 from the line in the first half. South Brunswick had three field goals, two threes, and 4 of 5 from the line to end up with 5 field goals, 3 treys, and 5 of 7 from the line in the opening half. Matt Ross led all scorers with 12 points at the intermission while teammate Justin Sewnarine chipped in with 6 for the Bears while Jaier Garrett led the Vikes with 10 and Eric Savage chipped in with 5.
Third Quarter
2:00—Arrive with South Brunswick leading East Brunswick 33-30.
1:00—EB—scores five straight points including a three by Matt Ross for a 35-33 lead.
0:30—SB—Eric Savage fires in a three for a 36-35 lead
0:00—EB—gets a three pointer from the left side of the key from Mike Vick with time running out for a 38-36 advantage heading into the fourth.
East Brunswick outscored South Brunswick by a 15-12 margin in the third. Eric Savage scores 9 of the Vikings 12 third quarter points on a three, two field goals, and two foul shots. Danesh Thirukmaran accounted for the only other SB scoring with a trey as well. Four players scored for East Brunswick including Ross with 6, Addis Ralph with 4, Vick with 3, and Justin Sewnarine with 2.
South Brunswick got its 12 points on two threes, two field goals, and two foul shots while EB got its 15 points on three treys and three field goals.
Fourth Quarter
5:20—SB—Ends a 4-1 start to the fourth by EB on a layup by Eric Savage to close the gap to 42-39. Matt Ross and Addis Ralph scored on layups during East Brunswick’s early fourth period flurry.
4:30—EB—Ross fires in a three from the top of the key for a 45-39 lead.
3:48—SB—ties the game up at 45-45 on a conventional three point play by Eric Savage followed by a three pointer from the left wing by Ryan Moran.
2:48—EB—Goes back out in front with five unanswered points including a three from the right wing by Addis Ralph, and a drive through traffic for a layup by Matt Ross for a 50-45 lead.
2:00—EB—Matt Ross swipes steal, and draws a foul on a drive to the basket. Makes both FTs for a 52-45 lead.
1:32—EB—Matt Ross scores on a drive down the middle for a layin and a 54-45 EB lead.
1:26—SB—Jaier Garrett fouled. Makes both FTs for a 54-47 EB lead. Ends 9-0 EB run.
1:03—SB—Eric Savage is fouled. Mike Vick of EB fouls out. Savage makes both free throws for a 54-49 East Brunswick lead. EB timeout.
40.9—SB—Eric Savage draws a foul and makes both free throws to narrow the deficit to a one possession game at 54-51. The Bears Mike Brizuela fouls out. EB then tries to inbound the ball, but has difficulty and is forced to call timeout.
38.7—EB—The Bears are able to inbound the ball, and get it to Matt Ross, who is fouled and makes both ends of the bonus for a 56-51 Bears lead.
23.1—SB—Ryan Moran swishes a three from the left wing to close the gap to 56-54 after Jaier Garrett hustles to track down an offensive rebound for the Vikings.
19.2—SB—Eric Savage wrestles the ball away from an EB player and the Vikings call for time.
5.0—SB—Ryan Moran rattles home a three pointer from the left wing for a 57-56 South Brunswick lead.
2.4—EB gets the ball past half court and calls timeout. Following the timeout, the Bears try to inbound the ball from in front of its bench, and is unable to resulting in a 5 second violation. South Brunswick gets the ball.
0:00—Game just ended here in South Brunswick with the 2nd ranked Vikings running out the clock to come away with a dramatic come from behind, 57-56 victory over 5th ranked EB. Vikings end the game on a 12-2 tear. South Brunswick scoring for the game: Eric Savage led the Vikings with 24 including 10 in the fourth quarter and 19 in the second half. Jaier Garrett chipped in with 12 while coming up with a huge block and offensive rebound in addition to two free throws that ignited the 12-2 rally. Ryan Moran scored all 9 of his points in the fourth on three treys. East Brunswick scoring for the game: Matt Ross led all scorers with a game high 31 points for the Bears while teammate Addis Ralph chipped in with 12 and Justin Sewnarine added 8. South Brunswick collected its 57 points for the game on 9 three pointers, 8 field goals and 14 of 20 from the foul line while East Brunswick tallied its 56 points in the contest on 11 field goals, 9 three pointers, and 7 of 12 from the line. Both teams were even in three pointers while EB had a 22-16 edge in points scored within the arc. The difference was at the charity stripe where South Brunswick outscored EB by a 14-7 margin for the win. The Vikes were 8 of 11 from the foul line in the fourth while the Bears were only 4 of 7.