Old Bridge’s Meyer and Monroe’s Patel Key Blue Colts Late Surge
Middlesex County College’s Ibn Lynn follows through on a pull-up jumper over the outstretched hand of Union County College’s Tyrese Cherry during the first half of the Garden State Athletic Conference contest between the Blue Colts and the Owls on Tuesday night in Cranford. Lynn finished the game with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds to help lead Middlesex to a 71-67 win.
CRANFORD, NJ—Imagine it GMC, basketball players from Old Bridge and Monroe working together to achieve victory. Well, it happened for Middlesex County College on Tuesday night in a Region 19 Division 3 and Garden State Athletic Conference contest against Union County College.
Trailing 64-57 with a little over five minutes remaining in regulation after back to back threes by the Owls, Middlesex County College closed the game with a 14-3 spurt that included a go ahead three pointer at the 1:58 mark from 2019 GMC Hoops Comeback Player of the Year, Jared Meyer (5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and an assist) of Old Bridge, and then a layup and 3 of 4 from the line down the stretch by Monroe’s Luke Patel (12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals), a transfer from Widener University to give the Blue Colts a 71-67 win.
Former Union Catholic and Linden hoops standout, Ibn Lynn, the younger brother for UC and NJIT standout, Damon Lynn, kept Middlesex in the game throughout with a hot hand. Early on, Lynn scored 10 of MCC’s 18 first 18 points, then came up with a huge three point play that stopped a 26-9 UCC surge and closed the gap to 53-46 after the Blue Colts had surrendered a number of threes by the Owls to start the second half.
Lynn also netted 4 of 6 from the foul line during MCC’s pivotal late second half run as he finished with 27 points on 7 of 17 shooting including two three pointers, and 11 of 17 from the foul line. Lynn also added 12 boards for a double-double along with 3 assists, 3 blocks, and a steal. Marquise Billingsley, who played his last two years at St. Thomas Aquinas, played very well too by making 4 of 6 shots including three baseline jumpers to end up with 8 points along with 7 rebounds. One of Billingsley’s baseline jumpers occurred during the crucial late run as he netted a shot from the right side off a kickout by Meyer to close the gap to 64-60.
Jalen Jackson, who was no stranger to MCC head coach, Dave Turco with his play for Brick Township in three straight Monroe Township Holiday Tournaments, chipped in with 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting including a three pointer to go along with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist. Veterans Alkeim Raines of Edison (4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal), Carteret’s Vincent Montgomery (2 points and 4 rebounds), and Monroe’s Josh Daniels (2 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist) rounded out the MCC scoring.
Tyrese Cherry led Union County College in a losing cause with 14 points while also collecting 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Jason Okali also contributed with a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds in addition to two steals. Despite struggling from the perimeter throughout much of the game, Middlesex managed to jump out to a 16-9 lead at the 13:26 mark of the first half. Daniels got his only points of the game on a jumper in the paint off an offensive rebound of a missed three for a 2-1 lead.
Lynn then scored 8 straight points on a three pointer, three free throws after being fouled on another three attempt, and a drive down the left lane for a layup. Billingsley then added a layup off a feed by Patel, and followed that up with a baseline jumper from the right side off another feed by Patel. Patel then capped the run with a layup. Middlesex’s trapping defense helped fueled the run by forcing turnovers and disrupting Union’s offensive rhythm. However, UCC did not stay down for long.
Instead, the Owls answered with 9 straight points capped by a three pointer from the right wing for an 18-16 lead. UCC then added another three to cap a 12-2 run for a 21-18 advantage with 8:52 left in the first half. Middlesex regained control though with an 16-5 spurt over a span of 6:29 that included 7 more points from Lynn and a couple layups by Raines for a 34-27 lead with 2:23 to go in the opening half.
Once again, Union would rally with 8 of the last 10 points of the period to pull within one at the break. The Owls then picked up where they left off at the end of the first half with 11 of the first 12 points in the second half capped by a three pointer for a 46-37 lead at the 14:32 mark. MCC got the next four points including a floater in the lane by Lynn and a short jumper from the right low block by Montgomery to close the gap to five before UCC struck again with a three at the 13:31 mark for a 49-41 advantage.
The Owls increased their lead to double figures at 53-43 at the 10:28 mark of the second half with 4 of the next 6 points. From this point on, Middlesex County College would outscore Union County College by a 28-14 margin to finish the game. Sparking the 2nd half surge was Lynn again as he drove the left baseline, and scored while drawing contact for a three point play that closed the gap back to single digits again at 53-46.
MCC once again applied its pressure defense, and scored 11 of the next 16 points including a three from the left wing by Patel and two more free throws by Lynn to quickly pull the Blue Colts within one again at 58-57 with about six and a half minutes to play. Union County College gave itself some breathing room with a three pointer from the left wing at the 5:56 mark and another trey from the right corner at the 5:00 mark for a 64-57 advantage.
Middlesex CC, which has won 3 of the last 4 games against Union County College including the 2019 Region XIX Championship at Brookdale Community College back in early March, refused to lose and put together the decisive rally. Lynn again kicked things off by making one of two free throws. Billingsley followed that with a jumper from the right baseline off an assist by Meyer that made it a four point game at 64-60. Lynn then made two free throws to close the gap to a single possession before Meyer drilled a three from right in front of MCC’s bench on the right side of the court for a 65-64 lead with under two minutes remaining in regulation.
Lynn added another foul shot before UCC got a free throw for a 66-65 MCC lead, and then following a timeout, Middlesex inbounded to Patel, who drove in from the right side of the floor for a layup on the left side for a 68-65 lead. After Lynn forced a turnover that MCC recovered the loose ball on, and called time, Patel got the ball again, drew a foul, and made two free throws for a 70-65 lead. The Owls then came down the floor and connected on a jumper in the paint to make the score a one possession game again at 70-67 with 16.8 seconds to play.
Patel then sealed the win by making one of two from the line and Union failed to score in the closing seconds as Middlesex County College came away with a 71-67 victory. The Blue Colts improved to 5-2 overall including 5-0 in Region 19 play and a 4-0 mark in the GSAC. With the loss, Union County College dropped to 1-4 with their third straight loss. The Owls are now 1-3 in Region 19 play including a 1-2 mark in the GSAC. UCC is back in action again on Thursday afternoon with a 5:00 PM game at Brookdale CC in Lincroft while Middlesex County College will next play on Friday afternoon at 5:00 PM against D2 County College of Morris in the Turkey Hoop Shoot.
MCC HOOPS NOTES: There are 12 players on the Blue Colts men’s basketball roster that are from Middlesex County including 10 that have been covered by GMC Hoops during their high school careers. Returning for MCC this year is: Alkiem Raines (Edison), Abdul Nieskens (Spotswood), and Vincent Montgomery (Carteret). Joining that trio is Daniels and Patel (Monroe), Meyer (Old Bridge), Billingsley (St. Thomas Aquinas), Angel Quiles (Perth Amboy), Timmy Ellis (Carteret), Lonnie Carden Jr. (Timothy Christian), Andre Pulley, and Mahrooz Qaderi. No players from the GMC are on this year’s Union County College roster.