A team that is trying to win a division championship must find a way to win a game when it is not playing its best basketball.
On a night when shots were not falling and an underdog Howell High School team with nothing to lose was primed to spring an upset, the Manalapan High School boys basketball team found a way to outlast the Rebels in triple overtime, 65-57, on Jan. 12.
The win in Manalapan kept the Braves (7-2) in a first place tie in the Shore Conference A North Division with a 4-1 mark and helped them avoid the kind of loss that separates the contenders from the pretenders.
“This was one of the biggest games for us,” said guard Evan Pruden, whose clutch three-point field goal shooting was the difference for the Braves. “We had to pull this game out or fall back in A North. We pulled it out because we played great defense. Defense wins games.”
It took a lot of defense, some clutch field goal shooting and some help from the Rebels on the free throw line for the Braves to prevail.
Even when defeat seemed imminent, the Braves never lost their composure or the belief that they would somehow find a way to win.
“Coach (Rick Garretson) told us to keep our heads in the game, play defense and we’ll win,” Pruden said.
After leading for most of the game and going up by eight points, 38-30, midway through the fourth quarter, the Braves found themselves holding on in the final minute.
Coach Brian Quick’s Rebels found a way to stay close and caught the Braves at 38-38 with a pair of three-point plays by Dylan Abolafia and Raquan Hayes.
Manalapan answered with two free throws by John Rogers.
Howell responded with a basket from Tory Robinson.
Pruden turned in the first of his clutch shots, a reverse layup to give Manalapan a 42-40 lead with :46 left.
Robinson countered with another basket to tie the score at 42-42 and send the game into overtime.
Howell took charge in overtime on free throws, taking a 47-42 lead as Luke Sorge and Abolafia connected from the charity stripe, but four consecutive free throw misses by the Rebels kept the Braves within reach.
The first basket of overtime came with :30 left on an offensive rebound put back by Bryan Adams, who was big all game in the paint for the Braves.
AHowell turnover gave the ball back to Manalapan and the Braves went inside to Adams for a basket that made the score 47- 46. Adams missed the free throw that would have tied the score with :18 left. Manalapan had to foul and Robinson calmly sank both of his charity tosses to give Howell a 49-46 lead.
Needing three points to stay alive, Anthony Firkser drove to the basket and then passed the ball out to Pruden, who was open behind the three-point arc on the baseline. Pruden swished the shot, Manalapan was still alive and the game was heading to a second overtime tied at 49-49.
“I knew it was going in,” Pruden said. “When they come to me, I have to take the shot.”
Pruden said one of the team’s strengths is that any one of several players can take a big shot.
The second overtime played out like the first extra session with Howell taking the lead on Jason Bower’s basket and a free throw by Sorge.
A three-point play by Firkser tied the score at 52-52 in the final minute. Howell took the last shot, but it was blocked byAdams and it was on to a third overtime.
The Braves were finally able to put the pesky Rebels away in the third overtime when Pruden hit another clutch three-point field goal, from the side, that gave the Braves a 58-54 lead with 1:08 left.
Seconds later, Andrew Saray knocked down his first three-pointer of the game for a 61-54 lead and the Braves were on their way.
Bower nailed a three-pointer from the top of the circle to make it interesting, but the Braves locked up the victory from the foul line with Adams and Firkser connecting.
Adams led all scorers with 24 points (nine in OT). The senior was a dominant force in the paint, pulling down 15 rebounds and blocking four shots. Firkser added 16 points, while Pruden had 10.
Sorge led Howell (2-7) with 21 points, and Bower chipped in with 13.
Manalapan was scheduled to play Christian Brothers Academy in another key A North game on Jan. 17 in Lincroft. The game against CBA completed the first half of the division schedule.
The Braves will begin the second half of the league slate on Jan. 19 at Middletown North, which is one of three teams in A North with one loss. Manalapan beat the Lions, 56-54, in the teams’ first meeting.
Coming into this week, the Braves’ only division loss was to Freehold Township (8- 2) on Jan. 3, 68-48. That loss came on the heels of the Braves’win over the Patriots in the championship game of the Huskies Holiday Tournament in Matawan, 53-40.
The third game between the teams will be played at Manalapan on Jan. 26. The Patriots are the third A North team with just one division loss. The Jan. 26 contest could amount to an elimination game for the loser.