EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ–On Thursday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to the newly renovated gym at East Brunswick High School to see the 7th ranked Bears in action against 6th ranked Old Bridge in a GMC Red Division Clash. In a must game for both teams, East Brunswick trailed 19-17 following a 7-0 run to start the second by the Knights including a three from Stephen Strom for the lead.
The Bears then put together a 16-6 surge over the rest of the second for a 33-25 halftime lead. From there, Old Bridge was unable to get closer than three points the rest of the way as EB pulled out the hard fought 59-53 win to clinch at least third in the GMC Red.
Senior forward Addis Ralph led the Bears with 14 points while fellow classmates Mike Brizuela and Matt Ross chipped in with 12 and 11 points respectively. Old Bridge had four different players score in double figures including Strom, who had a game high 15, Kyle Parris, who added 12, and C.J. Santoro and Will Osvald, who each had 10. Below are game notes from the action:
First Quarter
3:43–Arrive with EB leading 7-6.
3:30–OB–takes a 9-7 lead on a three pointer by C.J. Santorum.
3:15–EB–ties game up at 9-9 with a score.
3:06–OB–Stephen Strom fouled as he scores on a layup. Makes the bonus free throw for a 12-9 lead.
0:00–EB–closes out the first period on an 8-0 run including scores by Addis Ralph, Dante Ralph, and two by Justin Sewnarine for a 17-12 lead. EB had four different players score in the period including Addis Ralph, who tallied 8 points in the frame with the help of two threes. The Bears outscored the Knights by a 9-3 margin from beyond the arc. EB tallied its 17 points on 3 treys and 4 field goals while OB had its 12 on 4 field goals, a three, and one foul shot. Old Bridge also had four different players score led by Will Osvald with 4 points.
Second Quarter
5:30–OB opens the 2nd period on a 7-0 run capped by a three pointer from the right side of the key by Strom for a 19-17 lead.
4:00–EB–wrestles the lead right back at 21-19 with two scores including one by Addis Ralph.
0:00–EB–finishes the half by scoring 12 of the last 18 points including threes by Joe Sampson and Mike Brizuela, and a couple scores from Addis Ralph for a 33-25 advantage at the half. EB outscored OB by an 16-13 margin in the period as the Bears had five field goals and two threes in the frame. East Brunswick had its 33 first half points on 5 three pointers and 9 field goals. Five different players scored for the Bears in the 2nd led by Addis Ralph, who had six in the period, and all 14 of his points in the first two quarters.
Old Bridge only had three different players score led by Strom, who had 8 in the frame including two threes. The Knights outscored the Bears by a 9-6 margin from beyond the arc, but EB had a 15-12 edge in points scored from three over the entire first half. OB had its 13 second quarter points on three treys, a field goal, and two foul shots. For the half, the Knights had 5 field goals, 4 threes, and went a perfect 3 of 3 from the line.
Third Quarter
Old Bridge closed the gap to three at 45-42 in the period as the Knights had five different players score led by Kyle Parris, who had 6 points in the frame on two field goals including a contested jumper over Addis Ralph. Connor Romano added four points while Will Osvald chipped in with 3 on the team’s only trey in the period, and both C.J. Santorum and Stephen Strom added two.
East Brunswick only had three different players score including Mike Vick, who had 6 points in the period including a nifty move for a layup while being fouled late in the period. Mike Brizuela added another three pointer while Matt Ross got on the board with three points on a field goal and one of two from the line.
Old Bridge outscored EB by a 17-12 margin in the period. OBHS tallied its 17 points on 5 field goals, a three, and a perfect 4 of 4 from the foul line. EB got its 12 points on 4 field goals, a three, and 1 of 3 from the charity stripe.
Fourth Quarter
The final period saw EB outscore Old Bridge by a 14-11 margin for the 59-53 win. Matt Ross took over in the final period as he scored 8 points on three field goals and a perfect 2 of 2 from the line.
Old Bridge had three different players score led by C.J. Santoro, who had 5 points in the period on a three and a jumper that got a kind bounce late in the game. Kyle Parris added four more on a field goal and 2 of 4 from the foul line. Stephen Strom also added two on a field goal.
The Bears had three different players score including Mike Vick, who went 3 of 4 from the line and Mike Brizuela, who sank his fourth three of the game on a jumper from the right side. East Brunswick had 3 field goals, a three, and went 5 of 9 from the line while Old Bridge had 3 field goals, a three, and went 2 of 5 from the charity stripe.
For the game, East Brunswick had 7 different players score including three in double figures led by Addis Ralph with 14. Brizuela chipped in with 12 while Ross added 11 all in the second half. Mike Vick chipped in with 9 while EB’s bench outscored OB’s bench by a margin of 7-0 margin as Dante Ralph finished with 4 and Joe Sampson ended up with 3. EB tallied its 59 points on 16 field goals, 7 threes, and only 6 of 13 from the foul line.
OB had only five different players score including Stephen Strom, who led all scorers with a game high 15 points including two threes and a perfect 5 of 5 from the foul line. Kyle Parris chipped in with 12 including 4 of 6 from the line. Both C.J. Santoro and Will Osvald finished with 10. Connor Romano was limited to just six points on three field goals, and didn’t score in the first or the fourth period. The Knights tallied their 53 points on 13 field goals, 6 threes, and 9 of 11 from the line.
Both teams combined for 13 three pointers as East Brunswick outscored Old Bridge by a 21-18 margin from beyond the arc.