BY GEORGE ALBANO
Staff Writer
CHRIS KELLY staff Sayreville’s Sean Reeves tries to shoot over North Brunswick’s Musa Karbbo during the Raiders’ win in Sayreville on Jan. 19, which temporarily kept their playoff hopes alive. It seems almost ironic that after so many close games and heartbreaking losses, it took a one-sided game to finally eliminate the North Brunswick High School boys basketball team from qualifying for the state tournament.
But that was exactly the case on Tuesday night as the Raiders lost to Colonia 88-39 on the road to end their state tourney hopes.
North Brunswick, 4-9 coming into the game, had to win its next five games to attain a .500 record by the Feb. 5 cutoff date in order to qualify. Tuesday’s loss to Colonia, however, assured the Raiders would be watching the state tournament from the stands for the second season in a row.
Last year, North Brunswick finished 10-12 and just missed qualifying, ending a string of successive postseason appearances.
But with a few breaks and bounces of the ball, the Raiders could very well have been headed back to the state tournament this season.
“Before tonight’s game we were 4-9, but we were 12 points away from being 9-4,” veteran head coach Ed Breheny pointed out. “We’ve lost more close games than anyone in the Middlesex County area. It started right on opening night when we lost in double overtime to Sayreville. We lost another game in double overtime, and another in single overtime.
“So we’ve played some young kids and had some hard losses to good teams,” he added. “Tonight was uncharacteristic of our team. We’ve been playing some good, strong basketball, but tonight we just ran into a buzz saw. We were beaten badly by them the first time we played. We’ve been blown out three times this season and twice was by Colonia. The rest of our games have been extremely close.”
Last week, for example, was a microcosm of North Brunswick’s season. It began with a two-point loss to Carteret on Monday. Then on Wednesday, the Raiders came back and beat Sayreville by two points in a rematch of their season-opener.
“We’ve done better against a few teams the second time we played them,” noted Breheny, whose team has also posted an overtime win.
But the Raiders took another trip down heartbreak alley on Friday night when they lost 65-62 in double overtime to J.P. Stevens at Continental Airlines Arena.
“We’ve had this nice tradition for years of playing one game at the Meadowlands,” Breheny, now in his 16th season, explained. “I thought we had this year’s game won, but J.P. Stevens banked a three-point shot with five seconds to go which sent the game into overtime, and they subsequently won in double overtime.
“But the kids got to play on the Meadowlands court, which was a special experience for all of them. Then we got to watch the Nets play the Celtics. So it was a nice night, except for that bank shot.”
The season, however, hasn’t been without its share of highlights for the Raiders. Senior co-captain and starting forward Derek Scott is averaging 20 points a game, including season-highs of 30 and 31 points, both against Sayreville.
“And the next basket he scores will give him 1,000 points for his career,” Breheny said. “He will become only the seventh player in school history to join the 1,000-point club. He’ll be entering a very unique club.”
The other senior co-captain, guard Vinay Wunnava, is averaging 11 points a game “and he’s been our leading 3-point shooter and also our top free throw shooter,” Breheny said.
Sophomore forward Brandon Rogers is also averaging 11 points an outing, while junior point guard and playmaker Patrick Brown leads the team with five assists a game.
Meanwhile, the Raiders have had a few different players man the center position.
“We’ve had several injury problems at center,” Breheny said. “Jarius Pollard has an ankle injury and has missed the last three or four games. We hope to get him back next week.
“We also had a freshman, Jeff Ashamole, playing there, but he suffered a hand injury and missed the last couple of games. We just got him back tonight.”
And while making the state tournament is no longer a possibility, the Raiders still have a lot to play for.
“We have six games left in the regular season and then the GMC tournament,” Breheny said. “We’d like to make some noise in the conference tournament. Our kids have shown a lot of character the way they’ve come back. A lot of teams would have been discouraged after so many close losses, but our kids have been resilient.
“Resiliency has been a big part of this team, and I’m sure they’ll come back after tonight. If we keep improving these last six games, I think we can be a dangerous team in the conference tournament.”