Woodbridge’s Breon Barrino goes up for a layup in the closing seconds of the first half against Sayreville in the East Brunswick JV Boys Quarterfinal at Woodbridge High School on Monday morning. JV Barrons won, 87-67.
Third Quarter Opening Spurt Lift JV Barrons to Semis
WOODBRIDGE, NJ – In the first of three East Brunswick JV Boys Tournament Quarterfinals covered by GMC Hoops on Monday, fourth-seeded Woodbridge hosted fifth-seeded Sayreville at Woodbridge High School. After a competitive first half, Woodbridge pulled away from Sayreville thanks to a 16-0 tear that included the first 14 points of the third quarter for an 87-67 victory.
Like it is always when these two schools get together on the hardwood for varsity games, the action in this contest was intense. Both teams went back and forth in a fast-paced first half that saw the JV Bombers of Sayreville pull within five late in the second. However, Woodbridge scored the final bucket of the first half on a layup by Breon Barrino to take a 39-32 halftime lead.
The JV Barrons then stormed out of the locker room and started the second half by scoring 14 unanswered points to take a commanding 53-32 lead. Woodbridge didn’t take its foot off the pedal until it built up a 33-point lead in the fourth quarter. Barrino, a sophomore, led four different JV Barrons players in double figures with 18 points on eight total field goals including two three-pointers.
Junior Gavin Slicner added 14 points on seven field goals while Kevin Arroyo chipped in with 13. Both Slicner and Arroyo were on the Woodbridge freshmen team that reached the Perth Amboy Freshmen Tourney semifinals two years ago. Gavin Gary also contributed with 12. The JV Barrons quartet combined for 25 of Woodbridge’s 27 points in the pivotal third period. Gary and Arroyo combined for 18 of those points alone.
Freshman Julian Hall was the bright spot in defeat for Sayreville with a game-high 34 points. Hall connected on 10 total field goals including two three pointers while also converting 12 of 16 from the charity stripe. Hall scored 15 in the first half 7 of 9 from the foul line, and 19 in the final two periods. Fellow freshman, Trevor Yan and junior forward Braden Freyer each chipped in with 12.
Woodbridge outscored Sayreville by a margin of 24-12 in points scored from long distance. The JV Barrons also held a 54-42 advantage in points scored from inside the arc. Sayreville held a 13-9 edge in points scored from the charity stripe. The JV Bombers finished 13 of 20 from the foul line while Woodbridge was 9 of 16.
Nine different players scored for Woodbridge while only six scored for Sayreville. The JV Barrons outscored the JV Bombers in the first and third quarters by a combined margin of 46-20. Sayreville outscored Woodbridge in the second and fourth quarters by a combined margin of 47-41. Woodbridge committed more fouls (15-13).
After jumping out to a 19-10 first-quarter lead, Woodbridge made one of two from the line for a 10-point lead to start the second. Sayreville then scored 8 of the next 12 points including buckets by Yan, Freyer, and William Lukie to close the gap to six at 24-18. Woodbridge responded by scoring eight unanswered points including an unconventional four-point play by Jack Koby to take a 32-18 lead.
Sayreville battled back with 14 of the next 19 points. Hall sparked the rally with a traditional three-point play to make the score 32-21 with 2:42 remaining in the first half. After a JV Barrons score, Hall replied again with a floater in the lane at the 2:25 mark and then drew a foul that resulted in two free throws at the 2:02 mark to close the gap to 34-25 in favor of Woodbridge.
Woodbridge wouldn’t let Sayreville get any closer after that by scoring the next 16 points of the game. Junior guard, Joshua Allen found Barrino in the closing seconds for the layup that gave the JV Barrons a seven-point lead at the intermission. Then, Woodbridge broke the game open to start the third. Barrino scored his only points of the third on a three from the right wing to begin the second half.
Hall, who scored 12 of his 15 first-half points including 6 of 7 from the charity stripe during this stretch, managed to get back to the line again for another two free throws at the 1:51 mark to narrow the deficit further at 34-27 in favor of the JV Barrons. Hall followed up with a bank shot from the left side and an assist on a bucket by Noah Trindade to pull the JV Bombers within five late in the second.
Gary then dished to Slicner for a layup for a 44-32 lead. Arroyo then added a traditional three-point play and Slicner followed with a drive through the right side of the lane for a layup and a 49-32 lead. Arroyo then drove to the basket from the left side for a layup before Gary capped the outburst with a jumper for a 53-32 lead with 4:53 to go in the third.
Woodbridge was never threatened after that and eventually led 82-49 midway through the fourth before Sayreville closed out the game on an 18-5 run. With the victory, the JV Barrons punched their ticket to the tourney semifinals at East Brunswick High School on Thursday night. Woodbridge will face top-seeded Piscataway, a 59-43 winner over 9th-seeded Old Bridge on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM.