Ninth Ranked Blue Jays Get All That They Can Handle From Robbinsvile In 73-67 Win
MIDDLESEX, NJ–Slashing its way to a quick 6-0 lead the Ravens of Robbinsville were not lethargic in proving its point. With guard Mike Douglas showing quick hands and lightning fastspeed reminding me of South Amboy’s recent graduate and 1,000 point scorer, Brian Seres he was able to constantly harrass the Jays into turnovers and lead the fast break with Kevin Burum. The Jays, fresh off a radio broadcasted win over the Highland Park Owls were looking to equal last season’s win total. Their obstacle was deceptevly good Robbinsville who was much better then their 2-5 record showed mostly because of the tough schedule they have. Middlesex battled back but still fell in the first quarter by a score of 17-12.
The Jays won the second quarter decisively, no longer being lazy and running the offense crisply. Led by Sparky Stockton and Billy Lester, who is making himself quite a candidacy for GMC’s best kept secret the Middlesex team was able to slow the game down and keep it to their pace as they headed into the locker room up 35-31. In the third quarter it was mostly jumpers by resident pure-shooter Lester and the electrificing energy and hustle by Ryan Farley that kept the Jays in the game when the Ravens wouldn’t go away. The inside game by Kevin Burum and Steve Michael was enabling the kickout to Michael Douglas and Jack Burum who were hitting three point shots with a very good consistency. Up by 5 with a minute to go MSX guard Mike Perone forced two consecutive shots which led to a Kevin Burum fast break leaving the Blue Jays up by only 3. Ryan Farley was then clutch on his way to a 8 of 8 free throw performance for the game.
Robbinsville held on tough though, never falling behind by more then 6 at any point. Nevertheless Middlesex prevailed 73-67 in a good test of the toughness required when your suddenly faced with a team who can slash and kick out with good consistency on offense more then expected. With the victory, Middlesex improved to 7-1 on the season with its second straight win after Wednesday night’s loss at home to Cardinal McCarrick. The Blue Jays next play Kennedy-Iselin on Monday night at home while the Ravens play at Northern Burlington Regional. Take a look a the game’s scorecard, the three stars of the contest, and the team stats.
Scorecard
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| Middlesex (7-1) | 12 | 23 | 17 | 21 | 73 |
| Robbinsville (2-6) | 17 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 67 |
3 Stars of the Game
- Ryan Farley – Not only was he a beast on the glass picking up 10 rebounds to lead all players, but he was absolutely clutch in hitting every free throw he took.
- Kevin Burum – Time and time again he punished the Jays for giving him an ounce of space leading all players with 28 points, many of them from the perimeter or shots of drives.
- Sparky Stockton – Exceptional work passing the ball with 5 assists to go along with 9 rebounds and 16 points. including a pretty play in the fourth quarter where he took the ball behind the basket and layed it up on the other side.
Team Statistics
| # | Middlesex | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Fouls | Blocks |
| 23 | Nick Fariella | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Sparky Stockton | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | John Stockton | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Billy Lester | 14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Mike Perone | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Ryan Farley | 14 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Mike Colacci | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Kyle Paul Adams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Mike Fincher | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | Avery Barnes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 73 | 37 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
| # | Robbinsville | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Fouls | Blocks |
| 33 | Kevin Burum | 28 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Mike Douglas | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | Michael Lorenzo | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Zach Barby | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 43 | Jack Burum | 12 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | Ryan Casey | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | Bora Buyuktimkin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Steve Michael | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Sean Nemazie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | Chris Richardson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Fred Ulisse | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Kalen Clark | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Cory Karagjozi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 67 | 28 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 0 |