Sanders Leads Vikings To Opening Night Victory Over Hawks, 59-38
MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ– “The lights were finally on.” This was the Viking’s motto for season opener. The Vikings of South Brunswick played their first game against the Hawks of J.P. Stevens last Friday and were playing in honor of a good friend to many, Brandon James. James passed away the night before during a recreational basketball game. He was a senior who loved the game of basketball, and he played with the Vikings during his freshman year.The Vikings needed a win for Brandon.
The game started with an early run from the Vikings, thanks to Junior, #13 Kory Sanders who hit two 3-pointers. #23 Brandon Ahmed of the Hawks answered back with easy buckets in the lane. South Brunswick had a tough time guarding #23 through the first quarter but finally had a stop to his run after realizing he was the Hawks only scorer. Tough denial on Ahmed forced the rest of the Hawks to take bad shots, leading to a score of Vikings 36 and J.P. Stevens 24 at the half.
During the second half defense was the main key stressed by both coaches. Both teams allowed less than 10 points during the 3rd quarter. The Vikings took over in the 4th quarter. Charges taken by the Vikings were the momentum shifter giving the Vikings the edge. The hawks could not contain Sanders therefore allowing South Brunswick to go on an 11-3 run. Before you knew it the Vikings had their first win of the season.
South Brunswick’s Kory Sanders led the game with 16 points and 4 assists while sophomore Nick Muha was a beast on the boards bringing in 9 rebounds. The Viking bench was also very much apart of the game scoring 12 points.
On an off-topic note, the South Brunswick gym was packed with Viking fans who cheered on the team throughout the game. The SBHS Cheerleaders were present as well and for the first time, male cheerleaders were showcased which fired up the crowd even more.
South Brunswick plays their next game @ Piscataway on Monday December 21st.
J.P. Stevens 38 Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total Ahmed 4 1 4 15 Barnett 0 0 0 0 Chowdhary 0 0 0 0 Crawford 2 0 2 6 Rueben 3 0 0 6 Quan 0 0 1 1 Herron 0 0 0 0 Hughes 1 0 2 4 Secca 0 0 0 0 Cacoilo 0 0 0 0 Le 1 0 2 4 Prontinicki 0 0 0 0 Ravi 0 0 0 0
South Brunswick 59 Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total Troy Allgood 0 0 0 0 Malik Davis-Bey 3 0 1 7 Michael Green 0 3 0 9 Nick Muha 5 0 1 11 Moses Railey 1 0 0 2 Robbie Robinson 0 0 0 0 Kory Sanders 3 3 1 16 Danny Strickland 2 0 0 4 TJ Taylor 1 1 0 5 Jevon Tyree 1 1 0 5 Josh Varughese 0 0 0 0
South Brunswick (1-0) 21 15 8 15 59 J.P. Stevens (0-1) 15 9 6 8 38