Late Bucket by Daniels-Porter Seals Ramblers Win
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| Carteret’s Isaiah Daniels-Porter shoots a baseline jumper in the third quarter against Bishop Ahr. Daniels-Porter finished with 10 points including a huge putback with 38.4 seconds left for the 53-49 Ramblers win. |
CARTERET, NJ–For the first 18 minutes or so of its contest with 7th ranked Bishop Ahr, Carteret appeared to be on the verge of breaking the game wide open on a couple of occasions. Each time though, the Trojans found a way to get an answer, and get back into the game.
In the first half, the Ramblers broke away from a 13-11 late first quarter run with a 9-2 spurt that carried over early into the second for a 22-15 lead. Ahr would respond though with a 10-6 spurt to pull within three late in the first half. Then, early in the third, after scoring the last five points of the first half, Carteret went up by a baker’s dozen by scoring 7 of the first 9 points for a 40-27 lead.
However, the BGA found a way back into the contest by utilizing a zone defense that made things difficult for the Ramblers. Packing in the zone on Carteret’s big men, Isaiah Daniels-Porter and Jemar Jordan, the Trojans were able to deny the ball down low while Alex Santiago and company forced numerous turnovers to turn the tide. As a result, the game turned on a dime.
Bishop Ahr was able to put together a 22-9 rally over a span of 12:58 that included threes by Santiago and Alex Guketlov as well as a traditional three point play from Simon Llaguno to close the gap to 50-49 with a little over a minute remaining. On the ropes, Carteret managed to hang on thanks to a big play from Daniels-Porter. The junior forward scored on a putback as he was fouled with 38.4 seconds remaining for a 52-49 lead.
The Trojans had several chances in the closing seconds to tie the game, but missed a couple of three point attempts. Carteret then got the rebound and Nasseir Moore was fouled with just under a second to play. Moore then netted one of two from the line to wrap up the hard fought, 53-49 victory. Daniels-Porter and Jordan led the Ramblers balanced attack with 10 points each while Moore and Kahir Raymond both added 9.
Santiago was the star of the game for Ahr. He scored in all kinds of ways with three pointers and scoop shot layups as well as steals for scores and getting to the line for free throws. The junior guard finished with a game high 23 points as Carteret was unable to find a way to stop him. Deontae Crawford chipped in with 11, but only had four points over the final three periods.
Eight different players scored for the Ramblers while seven got into the books for Ahr. Carteret enjoyed a 12-6 edge in points scored from long distance while also gaining a 38-28 advantage in points scored from inside the arc. Bishop Ahr was able to get back into the contest in part to its free throw shooting, where it had a 15-3 edge in points. The Ramblers collected 35 rebounds, 18 assists, 10 steals, and 3 blocks.
Besides free throw shooting, the other key for Ahr’s second half turnaround was the turnover department. The Trojans zone defense was able to force 26 Carteret turnovers while BGA only committed five of its own. Many of those Rambler miscues led to layups by Santiago, who had 6 points in the first, 4 in the second, 7 in the third, and 6 in the fourth.
The BGA junior guard tallied his 23 points on 6 field goals, a three pointer, and 8 of 9 from the charity stripe. Santiago often pushed the tempo, and was able to create opportunities for himself through his defense, and in the halfcourt on offense. The contest started off with Carteret jumping out to a 5-2 lead over the first 2:24 on a three by Raymond and a layup from the right side by Daniels-Porter.
The Ramblers lead vacillated between two and four points for much of the period as the two teams exchanged scores. Santiago had a layup while Crawford had a putback en route to his seven first quarter points. Santiago then connected on a floater at the 1:43 mark to close the gap to 13-11. Carteret then took over with a 9-2 spurt over the next 3:59 for a 22-13 lead.
Highlighting the run was a three pointer from Moore in the closing seconds of the first period for an 18-13 after one, and a follow by Jordan for a 22-13 edge with 5:44 remaining in the first half. Following a timeout by Ahr, the Trojans put together a 12-6 rally sparked by a Crawford score at the 5:13 mark, and capped by a turnaround jumper from Sean Kudelka to close the gap to 28-25 late in the second.
Carteret would distance itself as the teams went into the half with five unanswered points including a three from the left wing by Jalen Harris that banked in for a 33-25 lead. The Ramblers then opened up the third much like they had ended the second by scoring 7 of the first 9 points including a turnaround jumper by Daniels-Porter and a three by Moore for a 40-27 lead at the 5:58 mark.
The Trojans wouldn’t go away though. Going with a smaller lineup and a zone defense that packed it in on the interior, Bishop Ahr was able to turn the tables and put together a rally that got it back into the game. Following a baseline jumper from the right side by Carteret’s Jordan for a 42-31 lead at the 3:27 mark, Ahr finished the frame on an 8-4 run including threes by Santiago and Guketlov to pull within seven at 46-39 entering the fourth.
Bishop Ahr opened the scoring in the fourth with a bucket to pull within five before Moore canned a jumper from just inside the arc on the left wing for a 48-41 lead with 6:10 remaining. The Trojans didn’t allow much from the Ramblers after that with Carteret scoring only five the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Ahr got a couple free throws from Santiago and a three point play from Llaguno to pull within three at 50-47 at the 2:41 mark.
Santiago managed to get to the charity stripe again and made a pair of free throws with about a minute to play, but the Trojans were unable to get any closer as Daniels-Porter and Moore sealed the 53-49 win by combining to score the last three points of the game over the final 38.4 seconds. With the victory, Carteret improved to 4-0 both overall and in division while Ahr dropped to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the GMC Blue.