Boys Basketball: Old Bridge stays hot with thrilling win over Edison
OLD BRIDGE — With less than a minute left in a deadlocked contest, Adam Scire pounded the ball at the top of the key, surveying the landscape for his very best option.
The Old Bridge senior suddenly took off for the promised land, driving to the rim for the basket that would lift the Knights to their sixth victory in eight outings with 30 seconds remaining.
Edison would miss a three, Scire would add a free throw, and Edison missed another three at the buzzer, securing a 48-45 decision for Old Bridge.
“I trust myself, I had been going the whole game getting by my man,” Scire explained. “It was just, get open and get a bucket. Just make something happen.”
Scire made a lot happen that decisive final period.
Edison held a 38-31 edge entering the fourth quarter but Old Bridge (9-10), ranked 10th in the Home News Tribune area Top 10, opened the period with five unanswered points over the first minute to whittle away most of the deficit. Scire had four of the five points to jump-start a final quarter in which he produced nine of his game-high 18 points.
Edison (8-13) never trailed in amassing a 14-10 advantage after the opening quarter. The Knights switched to a zone defense which led to four lead changes in the second quarter. Old Bridge would not regain the lead again until Scire scored a layup and free throw off his steal for a 42-41 cushion with five minutes to play.
The Eagles later tied the game at 45 apiece after a steal and layup by Ricky Harvey with 52 seconds remaining.
It was at that point that Old Bridge put the game in Scire’s capable hands, which proved to be the right call.
What it means
Since Old Bridge is a member of the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division and Edison is in the White, this game has no bearing on the conference standings. It will be a factor when the GMC Tournament seeding meeting takes place on Friday, however
Old Bridge has won two in a row, four of five and six of their last eight outings. Edison has won five of its last nine contests after starting the season 3-8.
Key play
See above.
But there was another forgotten, pivotal play that may have been a turning point. Old Bridge’s Krish Patel drilled a 3-pointer from the right corner just before the halftime buzzer, reducing the Knights’ seven-point deficit to 28-24.
By the numbers
Old Bridge began the fourth quarter with an 11-3 burst and outscored the Eagles in the final period by a 17-7 margin.
The Knights are one of the area’s youngest squads and the underclassmen fared very well. Patel, a sophomore, had 14 points, while freshmen Nike Kvas claimed seven boards and Jayden Jones contributed five points in the fourth quarter, including a pivotal three that gave Old Bridge a 45-43 lead with 3:30 remaining.
Ermin Kapo led Edison with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Selbin Sabio had five boards and three assists and freshman Robert Roma snagged five rebounds, three at the offensive end.
Game ball
Adam in-Scited Old Bridge’s fourth quarter rally, scoring the first two and last three of the Knights’ points in the decisive period.
They said it
“I don’t think we came out ready to play, we were lackluster,” Old Bridge coach James Macomber said. “We changed to a run-and-jump (defense) in the fourth quarter, which I think got our energy up a little bit. We were getting some steals and some layups down the stretch. We did enough to win.”
On Scire’s game-winning drive to the hoop: “We trust him. I trust him. When it goes down the stretch and there’s a play to be made, I want him to go make it. I told him to go get us a basket. He’s our captain and he’s earned that right.”
On Old Bridge’s sixth win in eight outings: “We knew the first part of our schedule was tough, St. Thomas, Colonia, St. Joe, Seton Hall Prep. We knew we if we could survive and get better during that time frame it would pay off in the second half of the season.”
Scire said, “Coach said at halftime that we have to get back in this game. We have to play good defense and get back in this game. As a team we’re relying on defense and improving our communication. It’s all coming together now down the stretch, getting ready for tournament time.”
Up next
Old Bridge hosts Matawan at 5:30 on Friday, while Edison awaits the outcome of Friday’s GMC tournament seeding meeting for its next contest.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Boys Basketball: Old Bridge stays hot with thrilling win over Edison
