Sanu answers the challenge of neutralizing Freehold stud

By: David Gurney
   WOODBRIDGE—South Brunswick High’s sophomore forward Mohammed Sanu was numb to everything.
   He couldn’t feel the pressure of the game. He didn’t think about the stakes, the ramifications.
   But it wasn’t a deer in headlights look, it was a more focused and concentrated look.
   He knew what he had to do — play hard, grab rebounds, and shut down mammoth Freehold Township center Marcus Roberson.
   Sanu did all that, and then some, playing stout defense and chipping in eight points to help lead the Vikings to a 88-72 victory over Freehold in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV Championship at Woodbridge on Monday.
   The eight points were one shy of a varsity career-high of nine and couldn’t have come at a better time for Sanu and the Vikings.
   "Coach (Chris Balent) told me to go in and leave everything out on the court," Sanu said after the win. "The points were big of course, but I just wanted to play hard defense and help shut down Roberson."
   In addition to the eight points, Sanu registered two rebounds, a block and an assist in limited minutes.
   But Sanu’s buckets were huge, with two of them coming during a 13-10 stretch that gave SB a five-point first half lead. In the second half, Sanu hit on consecutive offensive trips, a foul line jumper at the end of the third quarter and pair of free throws to start the fourth, to give SBHS a 13-point lead.
   Not bad for a high school quarterback who had to juggle the demands of two sports heading into the season.
   "It was a little rough adjusting to basketball after football," said Sanu, who sat out the first day of tryouts because of soreness from the Thanksgiving Day football game the day before against North Brunswick. "It took me a while to get into a groove. But I’ve worked on it with the coaches and I played well today."
   Sanu, along with the starter, senior center Vineesh Manchanda, helped limit Roberson to nine points and four rebounds in the second half, most of which came with the game already in hand for SB. But it wasn’t the points, it was the way Sanu and Manchanda fronted the post and limited Roberson’s touches that was big for SBHS.
   "We played Roberson tough and always put a body on him," Sanu said. "We just denied him the ball and played physical and kept him off the boards.
   Sanu, along with senior forward Ray Dasant, balanced the interests of both football and basketball, splitting time in the summer and preseason workouts.
   "His focus is football, that’s his main sport," South Brunswick head coach Chris Balent said. "We all know that. We have a great appreciation, Mohammed and Ray (Dasant) did a good job splitting time with open gym, summer league games. They were there a lot.
   "That’s all I ask of them, and it meant a lot for this team."