Crusaders Top Chargers for 2nd Straight Year in Final
BOUND BROOK, NJ–It has become an annual occurrence. For the third straight year, the hometown Bound Brook Crusaders and the Spotswood Chargers met in the Championship Game of the Crusader Classic Holiday Tourney.
Two years ago, the Chargers won in overtime on a last second shot by Marlon Hart. Since then, Bound Brook, which also lost to Spotswood in the opening round of the 2013 Crusader Classic, has won the last two.
The latest was this year’s final. Bound Brook led throughout, but really broke the game open late in the second period with a 8-0 run that turned a 25-19 lead into a 33-19 advantage late in the first half. The Crusaders led at the half 33-21.
Spotswood attempted to make things interesting in the third by closing to within single digits again at 43-34 after a 7-2 run. The Crusaders, which led by 14 on several occasions in the contest, wouldn’t let the Chargers get any closer though, and went on to win, 60-48.
Leading the way for Bound Brook was tournament MVP, Tyson Amaker, who collected a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds. Amaker led four different Bound Brook players in double figures as Kyle Frauenheim also collected a double-double of 14 points and 10 boards while R.J. Frazier and Noah Smith each added 10 points.
Spotswood was led by senior guard, Andrew Fuzesi, who scored a team high 12 points along with two rebounds and a steal. Matt Vento chipped in with 7 points while brother J.T. Vento, Abdul Nieskens, and Vincent Guardiola each added 6. Ten different players played for the Chargers with six of them scoring.
Both teams combined for 14 three pointers as each team had seven in the contest. Bound Brook won the game with its scoring inside the arc, where it had a 32-18 advantage. Spotswood had an 11-8 edge in points scored from the charity stripe. The Crusaders also had a huge advantage on the boards.
Led by Amaker and Frauenheim, Bound Brook enjoyed a 43-25 advantage in total rebounds. The Crusaders also had an 18-10 edge in assists thanks largely in part to the efforts of Smith, who handed out 8 dimes. Bound Brook also had a 6-4 edge in steals including three from Evian Brown (7 points).
Bound Brook led 8-6 when GMC Hoops arrived in the gym after traveling up from Neptune where St. Joseph’s defeated Lakewood in the Holiday Jubilee semifinals there. The Crusaders then began to put a little bit of distance between themselves and the Chargers.
The Crusaders scored 5 of the next 7 points to take a 13-8 lead, and then finished the opening period on a 7-6 run for a 20-14 lead heading into the second. Nate Carone gave Spotswood some life with a three pointer from the right wing to open the second and close the gap to 20-17.
Then came the pivotal stretch of the game. The Brook would score 13 of the next 15 points despite two time outs called by Spotswood head coach Steve Mate, to take a 33-19 lead with 2:19 remaining in the first half. Highlighting the run was a lob pass to Amaker, who tapped it in for a layup.
Spotswood would end the first half with the final points of the second to trail by a dozen at the break, but the Crusaders started the second with an 8-4 run capped by a three from the top of the key by Frauenheim at the 5:10 mark for a 41-25 lead. The Chargers would battle back though to get within single digits again.
Scoring 9 of the next 11 points, Spotswood narrowed the deficit to 43-34 with 2:06 remaining in the third. Highlighting the Charger rally was a three pointer from the right wing by Nieskens. Unfortunately, the Chargers were unable to get any closer as Bound Brook went back up by double digits.
Over the next 4:36, the Crusaders outscored the Chargers by a margin of 11-9 for a 54-43 lead with 5:30 to play. J.T. Vento would get a dunk for a Spotswood highlight, but Bound Brook still managed to outscore the visitors from the GMC by a 6-3 margin over the next three and a half minutes for a 60-46 lead.
From there, Bound Brook would cruise to a twelve point win, and improve to 4-0 on the season. Meanwhile, Spotswood, which had come in with two wins in their last three games, fell to 2-4 on the young season.