GMC Hoops Summary–No. 7 Woodbridge Stuns Sayreville At Buzzer, 53-50

Glover’s 38 Footer At Buzzer Gives Barrons Memorable Win

Zahneer Shuler puts up a three point shot in the 2nd half against Sayreville.

WOODBRIDGE, NJ–Whenever GMC Hoops has come to visit Woodbridge High the past two seasons, sophomore Quassim Glover never disappoints.  In a late season home game against White Division rival, J.P. Stevens last year, the then freshman Glover demonstrated poise beyond his years by sinking 14 of 16 foul shots en route to a game high 18 points to help the Barrons come away with a hard fought win over a Hawks team that was much better than their record indicated.  This time, Glover showed a flair for the dramatic against a Sayreville hoops program that had defeated Woodbridge in all three meetings last year en route to its first ever GMC boys basketball division title and an appearance in the GMCT Final Four.

Trailing 41-31 at the end of three quarters, Sayreville had rallied back with a 19-9 showing in the fourth capped by a free throw from Jahsim Floyd with 3.55 seconds to go to tie the score at 50-50.  On the second foul shot, however, Floyd was off the mark, and Glover grabbed the rebound, dribbled up the side of the floor adjacent to the Sayreville bleachers, got beyond halfcourt, and let go a 38 foot shot that was nothing but net as time expired for a thrilling 53-50 victory.  Glover, who scored 8 of his 10 points in the contest over the final 8:01 of the game, had drained a three from the top of the key to give Woodbridge a 46-42 lead with about two and a half minutes remaining.  Mike Valentin, who responded to Glover’s trey with one of his own from the left side of the key to bring the deficit back down to one at 46-45, ended up with a game high 16 points in a losing cause for the Bombers.

Jehyve Floyd, who along with his younger brother Jahsim, was blocking shots left and right, ended up with 15 points for Sayreville.  Zaire Robinson also had 15 for Woodbridge to earn team high honors.  Sophomore Keshaun Henry chipped in with 13 for the Barrons while Zahneer Shuler, who drained a three from the right wing for a 49-45 lead with about a minute and a half left, also scored in double figures with 12 points.  Jayson DeMild, who netted a trey from the left side with 2:56 remaining to pull the Bombers within one at 43-42, chipped in with 9 in a losing cause.   Woodbridge forward, Charles Cole, who scored his only points of the game when he made 1 of 2 at the charity stripe with 31.66 seconds left for a 50-47 Barrons lead, played big on the boards for the winners with 8 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.  Sayreville had a 15-13 edge in two point field goals, but Woodbridge outscored the Bombers by a 15-9 margin from beyond the arc, and a 12-11 margin at the foul line.

Each team one two quarters.  In a seesaw game that saw dramatic swings in momentum, Woodbridge won the first and third periods while Sayreville got the edge in the second and fourth stanzas.  The Barrons stormed out to a 16-12 lead after the opening period thanks to Robinson, who scored 8 of his points in the frame.  The second period belonged to the Bombers with a 14-7 showing as Valentin led the way with 7 points including a three pointer while Jehyve Floyd converted a traditional three point play with 1:06 to play in the first half for a 26-23 lead at the intermission.  At the half, Valentin led all scorers with 11 points while the Holy Cross bound Floyd added 9 for the Bombers.  Robinson didn’t score in the second for 8 points in the half while Henry chipped in with 7.  Sayreville got on the board first thanks to a score by the elder Floyd for a 28-23 lead at the beginning of the third quarter, but Woodbridge took over from there by scoring 18 of the last 21 points to take the largest lead of the game at 41-31 heading into the fourth.

Highlighting the Barrons third quarter onslaught was a layup by Shuler off a drive from the right side at the 4:27 mark, a layup by Henry at the 3:17 mark,  a three pointer from the left wing by Robinson, and a putback by Glover just before the buzzer for the ten point lead.  Sayreville refused to quit though as the Bombers opened the fourth on a 11-2 tear that included a layup by Jahsim Floyd off a tap pass by Jehyve Floyd, a layup by the elder Floyd, and then the three by DeMild to trim the deficit to one at 43-42 with just under three minutes to play.  DeMild’s trey started a flurry of four threes on consecutive possessions by both team’s as Woodbridge kept pushing the lead to four only to have Sayreville knock it back down to one again.  Glover answered DeMild’s trey with a three of his own from the top of the key that put the Barrons back up by four at 46-42 with about 2:30 left.  Valentin replied with his first points of the second half on a triple from the left side of the key that drew the Bombers within one again at 46-45 with approximately two minutes remaining.

Woodbridge managed to keep Sayreville at bay for the time being as Shuler took a pass on the right wing and connected on a triple to push the lead back to four at 49-45 with about a minute and a half left.  Valentin pulled Sayreville within a possession at 49-47 on the Bombers’ next trip down when he drew a foul, and made a pair of free throws with 1:15 remaining.  Following a Sayreville timeout, Woodbridge ran some clock down, and managed to get the ball to Cole, who was fouled with 31.66 seconds left.  Cole then made one of two free throws for a 50-47 lead.  Sayreville called two timeouts including one with 23.9 seconds left to set up a shot to tie the game. Unable to get a good look for a three, the Bombers settled for a two as DeMild drove through the middle of the key for a layup to pull the visitors within one with 7.1 seconds left.  After a Woodbridge timeout, the Barrons tried to inbound the ball, but was caught stepping on the end line which gave Sayreville possession.  On the ensuing inbounds, the ball eventually got the Jahsim Floyd, who was fouled, and made the first free throw to tie things up at 50-50 with 3.55 seconds to play in regulation.

The younger Floyd would miss the second free throw, which set up the heroics for Glover, who became the second GMC player this week to win the game on a buzzer beating 38 foot shot.  On Monday, Carteret’s Jaquan Robertson hit a similar shot at the buzzer to give the Ramblers a 62-60 victory at South Plainfield.  Following the game winner, Woodbridge players and fans stormed the court in a tidal wave of emotion and jubilaton.  With the win, Woodbridge improved to 7-3 overall, and moved into second place in the GMC White with a 4-1 record.  Sayreville dropped below .500 overall at 5-6 with the loss, and is now 3-4 in divisional play.