East Brunswick Surges Past South River For Championship, 60-48
EDISON, NJ–It had finally come down to this. After playing through the rigors of the summer season and several rounds of playoffs, second seeded South River and fifth seeded East Brunswick went at it for the Championship of the 2009 Middlesex County College Summer League at the Physical Education Center on the main campus of Middlesex County College on Wednesday night. The Bears had reached the Championship game by way of defeating South Hunterdon in the Quarterfinals and knocking off top seeded and unbeaten Keyport in the semifinals. Meanwhile, South River defeated St. Joseph’s in the Elite Eight, and pulled away in the second half to beat South Plainfield in the semis.
The Rams got off to a fast start in this one. Thanks to five points on a three pointer and offensive rebound and follow by Brandon Walsh, and another three from Shawn Fenton, South River jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Walsh had all 11 of his points in the first half while Fenton added 9 of his team high 15 in the opening period as well. However, East Brunswick settled down, and led by the efforts of Justin Rosa, John Genco, Nick Gudzak, Avi Oren, Ethan Folz, Kevin Lantz, and Bobby Fullem, the Bears managed to tie the game up at 28-28 going into the intermission, then in the second half, EB made 10 of 17 shots including 3 of 7 from long distance while netting 9 of 15 from the line to come up with a 32-20 showing for the 60-48 victory. Rosa made 3 of 4 shots including both his attempts from three point range, and connected on both his free throw attempts for 10 points while handing out 3 assists, grabbing 2 rebounds, and picking up a steal.
Genco chipped in with 8 points on three field goals including a trey, and 1 of 2 from the line while picking up 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Gudzak added a 2 of 2 showing from the floor and a 2 of 2 effort from the line for 6 points along with 2 rebounds while Oren had several three pointers during the course of the game and Lantz and Fullem controlled the boards. For the game, EB made 22 of 41 shots for 53.7 percent including 7 of 16 from beyond the arc for 43.8 percent. Meanwhile, South River was 22 of 54 overall from the field for 40.7 percent including just 2 of 15 from three for 13.3 percent. The Rams also struggled from the line going just 4 of 11 for 36.4 percent. In other statistical areas, South River had fewer turnovers (10-12), more steals (10-4), more rebounds (26-21), and more offensive rebounds (13-5) while East Brunswick handed out more assists (17-10).
In the first half, both teams played even as the halftime score was 28-28. South River went 12 of 29 from the field in the first half including 2 of 7 from three point land while making 2 of 4 from the line, and only committing three turnovers. On the other side of the ledger, East Brunswick made 12 of 24 shots overall including 4 of 9 from beyond the arc, and committed 7 turnovers. Walsh (11 points) and Fenton (9 points) paced the Rams with 20 of the team’s 28 points, or about 71 percent of the offense while East Brunswick had a more balanced attack. Over the first 2:44 of the game, the Rams came out fast with four field goals including two threes to take an eight point lead. After South River opened the scoring with a field goal, Walsh connected on a three pointer, and then got a field goal when he grabbed an offensive board, and put in the follow for a 7-2 lead. A little while after that, Fenton added a three pointer from the left side for the 10-2 score at the 17:16 mark.
It was at this point that East Brunswick began to chip away at the deficit. First, Genco struck from long distance to cut the South River lead in half, 10-5 at the 15:42 mark. Then, the Bears got two more scores including a layup at the 14:38 mark that was set up by a Genco steal. A little more than a minute and a half later, Rosa capped the 10-0 run with a three pointer from the right side for a 12-10 advantage (EB’s first of the game) at the 12:57 mark. On its very next possession, South River responded as Fenton connected on a short baseline jumper to end the Bears spurt, and tie the game at 12-12 with 12:30 to play in the half. The game went back and forth for a bit as East Brunswick outscored the Rams by a 4-2 margin to take a 16-14 lead before South River wrestled the lead right back with a 4-0 run including two free throws by Fenton for an 18-16 lead. Already, at the 10:08 mark of the first half, there were five lead changes and three ties in the contest.
A little bit more than a minute later, South River got back on the board with on offensive rebound a follow off a Walsh miss for a 6-0 run, and a 20-16 lead at the 8:57 mark. Folz then banked in a three pointer to pull the Bears within one at 20-19, but then the Rams scored four more points over a span of 3:27 for a 24-19 lead. South River then made it an 8-2 run by scoring four of the next six points over a span of 2:37 before EB struck for another three pointer (from Oren) for a 28-24 Rams lead at the 1:53 mark. East Brunswick then ended the half with a 4-0 run to knot the game at the break, 28-28. In the second half, both teams combined for 52 points as the defenses took over somewhat. The Bears defense, in particular, made some key halftime adjustments as it shut out Walsh over the final twenty minutes, and limited South River to just 20 points on 9 of 25 shooting. The Rams did get off to a good start by swiping a steal, and going in for a layup that put them ahead agaiin, 30-28. However, Nick Gudzak was fouled on EB’s next possession, and netted two foul shots for a 30-30 tie at the 19:30 mark of the second half.
There would be a lull in the scoring for a bit more than two minutes before Rosa struck again for his final three pointer of the game from the left wing that put East Brunswick ahead for good at 33-30 with 17:25 left. Gudzak followed that up with an offensive rebound and follow at the 16:41 mark for a 35-30 lead. Xavier Foster, who was pretty much shut out in the first half, finally got his first field goal of the game on a jumper with 16:21 to go for a 35-32 EB lead. Oren then put the Bears up by six on a three pointer from the top of the key before Foster stepped to the line, and made one of two for a 38-33 East Brunswick lead at the 15:09 mark. Over the next 3:40, East Brunswick scored five of the next nine points including a three pointer at the 11:29 mark for a 43-37 lead. The Bears followed that up with four of the next six points including a Bobby Fullem layup over a span of 1:21 for a 47-39 lead with 10:08 left.
Meanwhile, South River continued to have problems getting on the board as Foster stepped to the line, and misfired on two free throws with 8:35 left. The Rams caught a break though when the ball went off an EB player. Taking advantage, South River scored the next four points including a jumper by Foster before Kevin Lantz netted one of two at the line for a 48-43 score with 5:55 remaining. However, much to the chagrin of the South River faithful, the Rams were unable to get any closer. Over the next 3:06, East Brunswick virtually put the game away with a 6-0 burst that included layups by Lantz, Genco, and Rosa for a 54-43 lead. Fenton tried to get his team back in it with a layup while being fouled, but he missed the free throw with 2:05 to play for a 54-45 Bears lead. Rosa then sealed the victory with two free throws at the 1:29 mark for a 56-45 lead. From there, EB coasted to the 60-48 win.
With the victory, East Brunswick won its first title at MCC in the GMC Hoops era (2000-09), and finished the summer at 8-3 overall while South River ended up at 10-2.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Brunswick (8-3) | 28 | 32 | 60 |
| South River (10-2) | 28 | 20 | 48 |