Boys basketball: South Plainfield outlasts Sayreville in OT for key GMC White win
SOUTH PLAINFIELD — If what transpired at South Plainfield High School on Tuesday evening is any indication, life at the top of the GMC White Division should be quite precarious this year.
In a contest that included a little bit of everything and required an extra period to determine a victor, the South Plainfield boys basketball team pulled through for a 76-70 overtime victory over Sayreville that lifted it atop the heated White Division race. For now.
Abdul Adebule, who made his inside presence known in a basket-less first half, erupted for 21 of his team-leading 23 points after halftime, including eight consecutive Tigers points in overtime on a pair of 3s and a daring foray to the goal which put South Plainfield (5-3) on top for good.
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“Honestly, I was just confident in my shot,” Adebule said about taking his game further away from the basket as time wore on. “Once they started slacking off of me it was time for me to start shootings threes.”
Adebule also collected 14 rebounds and blocked five shots in joining Ikenna Ibeku (10 boards, three blocks, five assists) in providing a dominant Tigers presence in the paint.
Adebule was scoreless but blocked three shots during a 9-0 South Plainfield run that gave it a 25-20 edge late in the second quarter that it maintained until the middle of the fourth.
“In the first half, I felt like our energy was low,” South Plainfield coach John Greco offered. “I felt like we could have hammered them a little bit, we got a lead and (Sam) Jones was out with foul trouble. We just couldn’t get it going. If Abdul can lead us and play like that, every game, we’ll get better and better.”
The game turned ugly early in the final quarter when Sayreville’s Jayce Green (seven assists) took offense to an unpenalized blow to his, er, lower abdomen, and responded with a two-handed shove that was assessed as an intentional foul. Jayden Vaca sank both free throws to give South Plainfield a 49-43 edge with 6:53 to play.
But it was the Bombers (7-2) who appeared to get a lift from the incident, following that with a 9-2 burst to regain the lead. Jones, who scored a game-high 24 points, deposited the final six points of that spurt.
That was the first of four lead changes over the final four and a half minutes of the quarter, but South Plainfield left the door open by missing its last three free throws over the final 22 seconds.
Keithan Shuler who claimed eight boards in valiantly battling South Plainfield’s dynamic duo, sent the game into overtime with a dramatic punt back with three seconds remaining.
Jordan Jones, who contributed 21 points for South Plainfield, scored the first basket of overtime on a drive and Jones posted all eight Sayreville points in that extra session. But it was Adebule’s ability to score from near and far that proved decisive.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Boys basketball: South Plainfield outlasts Sayreville in OT
