Edison High School’s boys’ basketball team overcame a slow start and scored a convincing victory against Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) White Division leader Sayreville War Memorial High School.
The Eagles found themselves trailing, 10-0, early in the first quarter. However, they went on a 12-4 run to the end the frame down by only two points. Edison soared from there and finished the game with a 59-45 victory in the game played on Jan. 25 in Sayreville.
The Eagles outscored the Bombers, 16-7, in the second quarter to take a 28-21 lead into halftime. They followed with a 13-2 effort in the third quarter to go up, 41-23, heading into the fourth quarter.
The Bombers made a push during the final period and cut their deficit to as little as six points with one minute remaining, but the Eagles knocked down free throws to extend their lead back to 14 points by the end of the contest.
Junior forward Christian Wantong led Edison with 20 points and seven rebounds. Senior center Abu Kaikai recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Senior guard Alkeim Raines contributed all over the floor with 11 points, five assists, four rebounds, four steals and a block.
Sophomore guard Patrick Sekman scored a team-high 12 points for the Bombers. Zac Kaczmarek followed up with nine points, and Zaire Jackson had six points.
Edison picked up another victory at home on Jan. 27 when it defeated John F. Kennedy Memorial High School, 57-43. That victory improved the Eagles’ record to 10-8 on the year and moved them to within one game of Sayreville for the top spot in the White Division with a 7-3 mark.
Sayreville fell to 12-6 overall on the season when it lost to John P. Stevens High School, 71-43, in non-division play on Jan. 27 in Edison. The Bombers hold an 8-2 division record.
“Hopefully this win ranks us higher in the GMCs,” Raines said after defeating Sayreville. “That’s all we’re worried about now. We already made states, so hopefully we get higher in the GMC Tournament.”
“I think it gives us momentum to keep on going forward,” Wantong said. “Sayreville is currently the top team in the White Division. So, I think a win like this will not just give us momentum, but hopefully sets us up to sneak in and win the White Division.”
The two players believe Edison’s defense after the slow start in the game was the catalyst for the victory.
“We started off pretty bad,” Raines said. “[Sayreville was] up, 10-0. I give them credit for that. But we got it together and came back. Our defense was really good.”
“I think we moved the ball well,” Wantong said. “Our defense was really good. We were able to handle the pressure that their defense tried to put on us, which is very important if you want to beat good teams.”
The Eagles will host North Brunswick Township High School on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.
Sayreville head coach John Wojcik was disappointed in the Bombers’ effort, but he hopes they learn from it.
“We have to make this a learning experience,” he said. “Failure is part of life, so we have to make it more life lessons. We need to look ourselves in the mirror and find out who we really are. I think the second time around is catching up to us. We’re not catching teams by surprise like we did earlier in the year. We just have to make some adjustments, and I think this team will do that.”
“I think this team just has to play harder,” Sekman said. “We had a big lead, at 10-0, and I think we let our foot off the gas. We have to play until the final horn goes off. We have to focus more and go hard in practice because that will lead to better effort in the games.”