Jiminez and Smith Score in Double Figures to Lead Tigers in Non-Conference Win
| East Brunswick Tech’s Enudy Jiminez skies for the opening tip against Koinonia Academy. |
PLAINFIELD, NJ–A little over a month ago, the Tigers of East Brunswick Tech were riding high with the best start the school has had in over 15 years. Â After losing its first game of the season on the road at Piscataway Tech, the Tigers had won four straight including its first holiday tournament championship since 2010. Â Since then though, EB Tech has stumbled, but not without trying. Â The Tigers best player, Connor Stratton suffered a concussion in a loss at Dunellen, and hasn’t returned since. Â Stratton is most likely done for the season. Â East Brunswick Tech has continued to battle though, and entered Friday’s non-conference game against Koinonia Academy in good shape to qualify for the Central Jersey Group I State Tournament.
Entering the contest as the 10th seed in the CJ Group I bracket according to the most recent NJSIAA power points rankings prior to the game, the Tigers wanted to solidify their position with a non-conference win over the Seraphs, who they defeated (46-28) in the Championship Game of the North Jersey Tech Tournament held over the  holidays at Somerset Tech.  Playing without Stratton for close to a month, the Tigers have relied on sophomore center, Enudy Jiminez and Lanier Smith to pick up the slack.  In this contest, they did as Jiminez scored a game high 14 points while Smith chipped in with 10 to lead EB Tech to a 25-9 halftime lead en route to a  55-41 victory.  Ryan McCabe led Koinonia with 11 points while Aaron Wartmann chipped in with 9. McCabe and Wartmann’s points all came in the second half as Koinonia rallied to pull within nine points late.
The Tigers outscored the Seraphs in three of the four quarters played. Â EB Tech had a 19-17 advantage in two point field goals, a 3-0 advantage in points scored from beyond the arc, and a 12-6 edge in points from the charity stripe. Â The visitors from the GMC Gold only went 12 of 24 from the line including a 5 of 12 showing in the fourth quarter that helped give Koinonia some life for a while. Â Koinonia had 19 team fouls versus 16 for East Brunswick Tech. Â Eight different players scored for the Tigers while 7 different players got into the scorebook for the Seraphs. Â East Brunswick Tech jumped out to a 21-6 first quarter lead as both Jiminez and Smith scored 6 points while Saadiq Riles chipped in with 4 and Mason Settembre netted a three. Â The Tigers took advantage of its pressure defense, which forced Koinonia to commit numerous turnovers and prevented it from getting into a rhythm offensively. Â
EB Tech jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first 2:30 of the game as Smith scored four points on two layups while Jiminez added a score. Â Koinonia didn’t get on the board until past the midway point of the period when the Tigers had already jumped out to a 12-2 lead as Jiminez and Smith got scores. Â East Brunswick Tech then ended the period on a 9-4 run as Mason Settembre netted the game’s only three pointer while Brandon Perez added a couple free throws. Â The second period was an offensive quagmire as both teams only combined for 7 points. Â The Tigers didn’t score until the 2:29 mark of the frame, but still managed to come away with a 4-3 edge as Smith and Jiminez got baskets to account for the team’s scoring. Â John Murray and Ray Molnar each had four points to account for 88 percent of the Seraphs first half scoring. Â Trailing 25-9 at the break, Koinonia got back into the game by scoring in transition and taking advantage of an EB Tech defense that wasn’t getting back.
The result was a 16-13 showing in favor of the Seraphs in the third and a 16-12 start to the fourth for a 32-25 rally that closed the gap to 50-41 with a little over two minutes remaining. Â McCabe scored 7 of his points in the third while Wartman scored 8 of his points in the fourth to spur the rally. Â Koinonia opened the second half on a 6-2 run that closed the gap to a dozen before Josh Brody (4 points) scored on a basket down low while being fouled at the 6:18 mark of the third for a 29-15 EB Tech lead. Â The Seraphs then scored 6 of the next 8 points to close to within 10 before Jiminez came up with a clutch three point play for a 34-21 lead at the 3:09 mark. Â The score remained that way until Saadiq Riles kicked out to his left to Noah Westbrook for a jumper just inside the arc to put EB Tech back up by 15 at 36-21 with 2:25 left in the quarter. Â Koinonia then scored 4 of the last 6 points to trim the deficit back down to a baker’s dozen at 38-25 heading into the fourth.
With the Koinonia crowd beginning to get back into the game, the Seraphs began the fourth with some positive energy and put it to good use. Â The home team scored 6 of the first 10 points of the final period as McCabe and Wartmann combined for scores to pull Koinonia within 11 at 42-31. Â The Seraphs then had many chances to get within single digits as East Brunswick Tech made mental mistakes and couldn’t make foul shots. Â Nevertheless, the Tigers were able to maintain a 50-39 lead with 3:29 to go in the game. Â Koinonia then crept to within nine at 50-41 after a pair of free throws by McCabe, but EB Tech didn’t let the Seraphs get any closer by finishing the game on a 5-0 run including one of two from the line by Jiminez at the 2:06 mark, a basket by Smith, and then power move along the right baseline by Jiminez in the final minute to seal the 55-41 victory. Â With the win, East Brunswick Tech improved to 8-10 overall on the season while Koinonia Academy fell to 2-13.