Vikings Reach CJ Group 4 Semifinals for First Time Since 2016 With Victory Over Hightstown
MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ—When the Central Jersey Group 4 bracket came out in February, the potential matchup between 5th seeded Hightstown of the Colonial Valley Conference, and 4th seeded South Brunswick, was definitely one that many were looking forward to.
For South Brunswick, the 2020 GMCT Boys runner-up, it presented an opportunity to avenge an early season defeat. The Vikings and Rams played in the early days of the season on December 23rd with Hightstown coming away with an impressive 67-50 victory. The Rams would go on to win 4 of 5 games versus GMC opponents entering this quarterfinal matchup.
Coming off a solid opening round win over 13th seeded Jackson Memorial, the Vikings were looking to make a statement, but more importantly take care of a formidable foe to advance to the Central Jersey Group 4 Semifinals for the first time since 2016. And, the Vikes put forth a tremendous effort to secure that accomplishment.
Both teams came out scoring in the first period combining for 36 points in the frame as South Brunswick jumped out to a 21-15 lead. Hightstown would get no closer though as the Vikings ended the second quarter on a 5-0 run for a 39-24 lead at the half, and then began the 3rd on a 21-0 surge to take a 60-24 lead before the Rams got their first bucket of the 2nd half at the 3:46 mark.
Hightstown, which had battled the likes of Bound Brook (lost 57-53) and Linden (60-56) as well as Colonia (lost 58-49) in the Championship Game of the 2019 Hillsborough Holiday Hoops Tournament, would never recover after that as South Brunswick then scored 20 of the next 31 points to take an 80-37 lead with under three minutes remaining in the contest en route to an 84-41 rout.
Once again, the trio of Justin Carbone, Devin Strickland, and Ty Murchison led the way for the Vikings. The Viking threesome all scored in double figures again and combined for 53 of South Brunswick’s 84 points, or 63 percent of the Vikes scoring in the contest. This time, it was Carbone, who led the way for the Vikings with a game high 26 points while Strickland added 16 and Murchison chipped in with 11.
Fourteen different players go into the game for South Brunswick with 11 of those players getting into the scorebook. Sophomore Yathin Vemula contributed with 8 points while reserve Damien Downes came off the bench in the 2nd half to score 6 points. Senior guard, Ahkil Edekar scored 5 points while Alex Strange had 4. Four players: Jaskaran Singh, Jason Asonye, Andrew Tesser, and Rafael Estevez, all scored two points to round out the scoring for the winners.
Hightstown had 16 players saw action in the contest with a dozen of them getting into the scorebook, but none of them scored more than 7 points in the contest. Nick Desmond led all the Rams scorers with 7 points while Robert Eaves and Connor Mamone each added 6. Spencer Kenny chipped in with 4 while Ayden Hogan and Ryan Hogan each netted a three pointer for their only points of the game. Six players: Keenan Reiss, Mitchell Fry, Iyesa Halliday, Daron Pierre, Kyle Reiss, and Ben Simon all scored two points to round out the Rams scoring.
The first period was the most competitive of the game although South Brunswick outscored Hightstown in every period. The Vikings jumped out to a 6-0 lead as Strickland scored on a putback to open the game before swiping a steal, and taking it coast to coast, and then Carbone capped the run with his first points of the game on a layup from the right side. After Hightstown got on the board to close the gap to 6-2, Carbone struck again with a three from the right side of the key at the 5:13 mark for a 9-2 SBHS advantage.
Carbone didn’t stop there either. Following a Highstown three that closed the gap to four, he scored on a putback off a miss by Strickland, and then joined forces with Vemula on a double team that produced a Vemula steal and assist on his own and one for a 14-5 lead with 3:36 remaining in the period. The Rams scored the next five points on an and one followed by another three from the top of the key to close within four at 14-10.
Strickland got the Vikings re-energized with a couple offensive rebounds amongst the trees that resulted in a putback, and then a steal for a breakaway dunk that riled up the partisan crowd again as South Brunswick took an 18-10 lead with 2:10 remaining in the first. Hightstown battled back again though by scoring 5 of the last 8 points of the period including a layup with 2.5 seconds to play in the first for a 21-15 South Brunswick lead.
After Hightstown opened the second period with a layup to close the gap to four at 21-17, South Brunswick scored 13 of the next 15 points including back to back threes by Vemula to raise the Viking lead to 15 at 34-19 with 4:05 to play in the first half. The Rams again tried to fight back by scoring the next five points to pull within ten, but couldn’t get back within single digits again as the Vikings as Carbone sank a three and Strickland added a layup off a nice dish by Vemula just before the intermission for a 39-24 lead.
South Brunswick took over in the 3rd as it blew the game open. South Brunswick scored the first 9 points of the second half in just 1:32 as Carbone converted a traditional three point play, Edekar netted a three from the left corner at the 6:51 mark off a Strickland kickoff, and Murchison capped the 9-0 run with a three for a 48-24 advantage with about six and a half minutes to go in the period.
The Vikings didn’t put their foot off the accelerator, and continued to pour it on as they refused to give Hightstown any relief, or any opening to get back into the game. Following two free throws each from Carbone and Murchison, Edekar slashed in from the right side for a layup, and then Strickland added a pair of free throws before Carbone tapped in a putback to cap a 21-0 surge to start the second half, and a 26-0 run after leading 34-24 late in the 2nd quarter.
Hightstown finally got on the board in the second half with two free throws to make it a 60-26 South Brunswick lead. The Viking reserves began to get into the act as Strange highlighted the end of the third with a layup from the left side, but the Rams managed to end the frame with 9 of the last 17 points for a 68-35 SBHS advantage heading into the fourth. South Brunswick, which outscored Hightstown by a margin of 41-13 over the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, had a 12-2 tear over the first five minutes of the fourth including a layup by Rafael Estevez for an 80-37 lead.
Both teams finished off the game with four points each to round out the 84-41 South Brunswick victory. With the win, South Brunswick improved to 23-5 overall on the season, and advanced to the CJ Group 4 semis for the first time since defeating East Brunswick on a last second shot by Eric Savage (now a 1,000 point scorer for Tufts University) in the 2016 sectional quarterfinals. The Vikings are scheduled to play top seeded Middletown South on Saturday, March 7th in Middletown. Hightstown concluded its season at 21-7.