Raiders Lose a Heartbreaker To Montgomery’s Kevin Tarca with :03 Remaining, 41-40
NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ–On paper, the North Brunswick Raiders appeared to be the better team. For the seniors, this was not the way it was supposed to end. In a game where the Raiders controlled it throughout, Montgomery never had the lead – until the final 3 seconds, when senior guard Kevin Tarca took control of the basketball, and the game. Tarca’s running layup with only 3 ticks left in the 4th quarter put his Montgomery Cougars ahead for the first time, and to stay, as North Brunswick coach Ed Breheney was out of time outs, and could only watch, as his team lost. 41-40 in the first round of the Central Jersey Group 4 playoffs at NBTHS.
Montgomery will now face #2 seed Rancocas Valley in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night.
In a game where North Brunswick took an early 7-2 lead. Senior Kunyepa Alley got it started with the first 4 points of the game, but the last moments of the first quarter came on a three from another senior guard, Matt Kovacs. So, at the end of one, it was 14-9, Raiders.
In quarter number two, Kovacs would solidify the Cougars’ defense with a pair of steals to go with 4 of his team leading 10 points. Add that with Tarca’s 3 rebounds and a steal, and Montgomery would keep themselves in the game. Of course, another late Cougar three-pointer, this time from sophomore James Lupos would help the cause, and North Brunswick would lead at the half, 21-18.
In the third, North Brunswick’s two senior leaders, C.J. Brathwaite and Jeff Ashamole would take charge, with Brathwaite pulling down 5 rebounds and Ashamole grabbing 4, as the Raiders did an excellent job of grabbing second and third chance rebounds. Despite that, and despite Kevin Daugherty and Connor Paladino amassing four fouls each, four different Montgomery players scored points to keep within striking distance, and after three, it was a 30-26 North Brunswick advantage.
This would set the stage for a frenzied finish. On what could only be called a spectacular play, Ricky Harris would make a 12-foot fade away jumper while falling to the ground – and being fouled, and completed a three-point play to give North Brunswick a 36-28 lead, their biggest lead of the game at eight. From there, Tarca, who came into the period with only 2 points, started to light up the scoreboard, including a long two from inside the right arc with 30 seconds left to close within two at 40-38, prompting head coach Kristopher Grundy to call a time out. Earlier, with 53 seconds left, Raiders coach Ed Breheney called his last time out. That would come back into play, as the final seconds would wind down. Montgomery would continue in scoring the final 5 points of the contest, and it all culminated with Tarca, as with 17 seconds on the clock, he would take the inbound pass, and go down the court, cutting, slipping, regaining his balance, and finding a lane down the right side of the frontcourt to drive, and put up a running layup, going off the glass for the winning basket. Montgomery fans stormed the court in celebration, and in the end, a devastating loss for North Brunswick to end their season.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery (12-13) | 9 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 41 |
| North Brunswick (11-11) | 14 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 40 |
High scores: Montgomery – Matt Kovacs (10 points, 5 steals); Kevin Tarca (9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists)
North Brunswick – Jeff Ashamole (11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocked shots); Ricky Harris (10 points)
There’s no worse feeling in sports than being beaten by what you think is an inferior team. I’m almost certain that North Brunswick felt that way about Montgomery before this playoff game.
Montgomery struggled its way to the states, losing 6 of their last 8 games before tonight. This was a big feather in the cap for their program, and a setback for North Brunswick’s, especially after a 15-9 finish last year. Ashamole, Brathwaite, Jordan Wright, Justin Morgan, and Kunyepa Alley have all just played their last high school game. Not the way they wanted to go out. Michael Cole was missed, as he did not play, due to injury.
Next year, Ricky Harris and Tait Pirkle will be counted on to lead this squad, and we’ll see if the rest of the team can be built around them. As for this year, while it was a successful regular season, it will be remembered for a bitter disappointment in the first round of the states.