Hawks Rally from 15 Point First Half Deficit to Defeat Edison, 47-42
NORTH EDISON, NJ—For the first time in four years, the City of Light Trophy is in the hands of J.P. Stevens. The Hawks reclaimed the City of Light Trophy after it had resided on the South Side of Edison Township over the past three years. It wasn’t easy though, Stevens trailed 28-13 late in the first half, and 30-16 at the intermission before rallying with a 34-14 surge to defeat Edison, 47-42.
Trailing 40-35 with 4:09 remaining following a putback by Edison’s Elisha White (9 points, 13 rebounds, an assist, and a block), J.P. Stevens rallied with 12 unanswered points over a span of 3:57 to take a 47-40 lead with just under 12 seconds to play. Eli Scott sparked the rally with a three pointer at the 3:45 mark, and two free throws with 2:53 left before Aurko Sarkar sank a triple with 1:51 to play to give the Hawks the lead for good.
2022 City of Light Trophy Game—Team Statistics
| Stat | J.P. Stevens | Edison |
| FG % | 35% | 33% |
| 3 PT FG % | 28% | 30% |
| FT % | 82% | 42% |
| Total Points Scored | 47 | 42 |
| Largest Lead | 7 | 15 |
| Points Scored Inside the Arc | 18 | 28 |
| Points Scored from Long Distance | 15 | 9 |
| Points Scored from the Line | 14 | 5 |
| Total Number of Players Scored | 5 | 5 |
| Players Scoring in Double Figures | 2 | 2 |
| Total Rebounds | 19 | 38 |
| Total Assists | 2 | 7 |
| Total Steals | 9 | 3 |
| Total Blocks | 2 | 2 |
| Total Turnovers | 6 | 16 |
| Points Off Turnovers | 11 | 6 |
| Team Fouls | 14 | 12 |
| Number of Players Fouled Out | 1 | 0 |
It was a game that was essentially a tale of two different halves. However, the contest demonstrated the hard fought struggles that have defined this rivalry in recent years. Hard nosed and physical defense, hustle, diving for loose balls, and charges. Although the game was played at 4:00 PM in the afternoon on Friday, the late arriving crowd brought plenty of energy, enthusiasm, and a raucousness that added another ingredient to the game.
For the game, Edison was led by senior guard, Niko Barnes, who finished with a team high 14 points on 7 of 18 shooting from the floor. Barnes, who was hampered by injury in the second half also collected 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Teammate Brian Hobson chipped with 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc along with 5 rebounds and 2 charges.
Game Links
- View the GMC Hoops Game Notes from this contest
- View J.P. Stevens Statistics from this game
- View Edison Statistics from this game
- View the YouTube stream of this game
Meanwhile, Aurko Sarkar led J.P. Stevens with a game high 18 points on 5 of 11 shooting from the floor including 3 of 6 from long distance, and added 5 of 6 from the line. Sarkar, who scored all of his 18 points over the last 17:46 of the contest, also contributed with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Eli Scott added 17 points on 5 of 12 shooting including 2 of 4 from beyond the arc, and made 5 of 7 from the line while grabbing 3 boards and swiping 2 steals.
There were only four lead changes and two ties in the contest, but three of those lead changes came within the first several minutes of the first quarter. After Stevens scored the first two baskets of the game and Edison was held scoreless for the first 2:34 of the contest, the Eagles rallied to take a 5-4 lead after an up and under move from the right baseline and later a three from the right corner by Hobson.
The two teams exchanged leads two more times as Eli Peters (8 points and a steal) came back down the floor to score on a floater that put the Hawks in front at 6-5, and then Barnes put the Eagles back in front at 7-6 with a score of his own. Barnes’ bucket sparked a 6-0 Edison spurt that gave it an 11-6 lead at the 1:10 mark of the first, and control of the game for over three quarters.
The Eagles, which actually had scored 11 of 13 points over a span of 4:16, ended up 6 of 14 from the floor in the opening period including 1 of 3 from three point range while Stevens was held without a field goal for the last 4:47 of the frame. The Hawks actually were only 1 of 8 from the floor over the last 7:18 of the first after making each of their first two attempts.
Leading 13-9 heading into the second, Edison put together its best showing of the game by scoring 17 of the 24 points of the second. Barnes led the charge by scoring 10 points in the period on 5 of 8 shooting. White also chipped in with 5 including 3 of 4 from the foul line. The Eagles scored the first seven points of the period as Stevens continued a scoring drought that lasted for nearly 8 minutes.
Ryan Hoefer, who came into the game after Scott picked up his second foul at the 7:47 mark of the second, ended the Hawks dry spell with a putback at the 4:49 mark. Before Hoefer’s basket, the Hawks had not scored in 7:59, shot 0 of 11 from the floor during the stretch, and was actually 1 of 14 over a period of 10:29. Things didn’t get better right away for JPS either.
Instead, Edison continued to expand its lead by scoring 8 of the next 10 points capped by a score down low from White for a 28-13 advantage. Sarkar finally got on the board with a three pointer at the 1:46 mark to pull the Hawks within a dozen at 28-16. However, Barnes scored on a leaner with five seconds to play in the half for a 30-16 lead heading into the intermission.
In the second period, Edison was 7 of 15 from the floor and made 3 of 4 from the line. For the half, the Eagles were 13 of 29 from the field including one of four from three, and made 3 of 5 from the charity stripe. EHS also only had 5 turnovers over the first two periods, which JPS was unable to convert into points. Edison tallied 21 rebounds in the first half including 13 combined from White (6 rebounds) and big man, Joe Greer (7 boards).
On the other hand, Stevens, which was only 6 of 22 from the floor in the first half, made only 3 of 12 shots in the second. The Hawks only made one of five from long distance while committing 3 turnovers. Edison converted those three miscues into four points. The tide would turn dramatically in the second half as the Hawks outscored the Eagles by a margin of 31-12 over the final two periods.
Although Peters picked up his third foul at the 4:25 mark of the third, J.P. Stevens still managed to open the second half strong with the first 9 points. The Hawks scored the first four of those points off Edison turnovers while the Eagles missed four straight from the foul line. After two free throws from Isaiah Ramirez (2 points and 2 rebounds), Stevens pulled within five at 30-25 on a three from Sarkar at the 3:58 mark to cap the 9-0 run.
Edison began to unravel further as it missed 6 shots and nearly turned the ball over on its next possession prompting another timeout at the 3:08 mark. Following the stoppage, the Eagles put a temporary halt to the Hawks surge as Barnes made a superb pass from the left wing to Greer underneath for a layup from the right low block at the 2:51 mark for a 32-25 EHS advantage.
Stevens, which made 4 of 10 from the floor including 2 of 6 from three in the third, would resume its comeback by scoring 6 of the last 9 points of the stanza including a three from Scott, and two free throws by Sarkar to close the gap to 35-31 heading into the fourth. Edison was only 2 of 12 from the floor in the period including one of three from long distance. The Eagles also committed 5 turnovers that resulted in 6 JPS points.
With Barnes hobbled by injury late in the third, things would go from bad to worse for Edison in the fourth. The Eagles, which only made 4 of 22 field goal attempts over the final two periods, went just 2 of 10 from the field in the fourth while missing their only free throw attempt, and committing 6 turnovers. J.P. Stevens converted those miscues into five more points.
The Hawks opened the final frame with a score off an Edison turnover. Then, after Peters picked up his fourth foul at the 5:25 mark, Sarkar grabbed a rebound at the Stevens end of the floor, and proceeded to go coast to coast for a layup from the right side to tie the game at 35-35 with 4:45 remaining in regulation.
Following an Edison timeout, the Eagles scored the next five points including a go ahead three from the right side by Hobson at the 4:35 mark, and then a putback of a Barnes miss by White at the 4:09 mark for a 40-35 lead. Unfortunately, White’s putback would by Edison’s last field goal of the game as the Hawks scored 12 straight points to take the lead for good.
With 3:45 remaining, Scott sank a three from almost the same exact spot where he had hit his other three in the third quarter. Almost a minute later, Scott knotted the game at 40-40 with two free throws at the 2:53 mark. A little over a minute later, Sarkar took an inbounds pass from Ayush Desai, eluded an Edison defender, and knocked down a three from the right wing for a 43-40 JPS lead, and a tremendous roar from the home crowd with 1:51 to play.
After a missed front end of the bonus by Edison at the 1:29 mark of the fourth, and a near steal by the Eagles, Stevens called for time still leading 43-40 with 1:06 to play. Following the timeout, Peters was fouled and made two from the charity stripe for a 45-40 lead with 36 seconds left. Edison then called timeout with 32 seconds remaining before Sarkar was fouled and made a pair of foul shots with 11.6 seconds to go.
Hobson then drew a foul, and made two free throws for Edison to end a scoring drought of 4:02, but it wasn’t enough. The Hawks then ran out the clock as its fans stormed the court in jubilation over their 47-42 victory. Both teams now head for the state playoffs with opening round match-ups in the 2022 NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 State Tournament beginning on Monday, February 28th.
With the victory, J.P. Stevens improved to 13-10 overall on the season including a 12-10 mark in conference play. The 8th seeded Hawks will host 9th seeded Elizabeth in their opening round game in North Edison at 5:00 PM. Meanwhile, Edison, dropped to 18-8 overall on the season including a 15-6 mark in the GMC. The 10th seeded Eagles will now travel to play 7th seeded Scotch Plains-Fanwood at 7:00 PM.