Boys basketball: Vance’s buzzer-beater sends Pingry past Bound Brook in SCT affair
BERNARDS TOWNSHIP – The Pingry School boys basketball team dominated the offensive and defensive rebounding game throughout Saturday’s second-round Somerset County Tournament contest with Bound Brook. And then a controlled offensive rebound and put-back buzzer-beating bucket by Big Blue senior Mason Vance won the game 54-52.
Throughout the game, the Big Blue would get second, third and sometimes four cracks at the basket before the Crusaders (15-10) would gain possession. Junior guard Josh Morrison would then hit a big shot to keep Bound Brook around. Morrison hit for 33 points bringing the Crusaders out of a 52-46 hole to tie the game at 52-52 with consecutive 3-pointers. He’s 12 points away from becoming the 15th Crusader to reach 1,000 career points.
Pingry (16-4) had three players reach double-doubles: senior Trey Maultsby tallied 16 points and 13 rebounds, Vance 12 and 12, and sophomore Donnie Gregory 12 and 10, respectively.
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Bound Brook had won 16 straight against Pingry, including two one-point victories last season that gave the Crusaders the Skyland Valley title. Now the Crusaders (15-10) will have an entire week off from games before beginning play in the Central Group 2 playoffs.
“We didn’t do a good job rebounding that was the issue, we got hurt on the second chance points, that’s what hurt us the whole game, and it’s been our Achilles heel all year,” said Bound Brook coach Anthony Melesurgo. “At the end of the game that’s just a tough play. We got the stop; we just didn’t get the rebound. They got a lot of second-chance points, they are a good team, and you absolutely can’t allow second-chance points.”
Vance’s put-back fell through as the buzzer sounded advancing the No. 8 seed Big Blue to a Tuesday night quarterfinal, against top seed and three-time defending county champ Rutgers Prep.
“We are going to prepare with a championship mentality, we are gonna go down there and battle,” said Pingry coach Jason Murdock.
The Big Blue had a seven-point halftime lead, but Bound Brook rallied with a strong third quarter and led 46-44 lead with 5:50 to play. A Gregory 3-pointer gave Pingry a 47-46 lead and he hit two free throws and another three for a 52-46 lead. But two Morrison 3s tied the game at 52-52. “Our guys give a tremendous effort every day in practice and they cheer for each other,” said Murdock. “It’s everything that you want to see from a team and that's what we have. It’s nice to be on the winning side. I'm proud of them.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Boys basketball: Vance’s buzzer-beater sends Pingry past Bound Brook
