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Boys Basketball: Old Bridge wins in Central Group IV quarters

Andy Mendlowitz
@andy_mendlowitz

OLD BRIDGE - It was a frustrating compliment for Kyle Parris.

The Old Bridge High School center scored 22 points against East Brunswick two weeks ago. Wednesday, the Bears focused on him, making it difficult to get looks. That left a pair of sophomore guards open — and they delivered.

Jared Meyer scored 16 points and Julius Belton added 14 as Old Bridge withstood a late rally to win 38-36 in a Central Group IV quarterfinal.

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“They’re very tough,” Parris said. “They know how to handle pressure situations. They don’t fold easily.”

The sixth-seeded Knights (19-8) next play in the semifinals Friday against second-seeded Hunterdon Central, which beat No. 7 Middletown North, 70-41, in another quarterfinal Wednesday. Old Bridge led 34-26 entering the final eight minutes, but East Brunswick cut it to 34-33 and then 37-36. The Knights held on as the Bears missed a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

“Every time we play them, they always make a run late,” Meyer said. “So we were prepared for it. We just knew we had to stay focused.”

It was the fourth meeting between Old Bridge and East Brunswick — the Knights held a 2-1 edge entering the surprise matchup Wednesday. The 14th-seeded Bears upset third-seeded South Brunswick, 53-42, in Monday’s first round.

Early in Wednesday’s game, it looked like the upsets might continue. East Brunswick led 12-8 after the first quarter as Dante Ralph dominated with six points and five rebounds. It was also a different game plan employed by Bears coach Mark Motusesky, in which a player would collapse on Parris.

“They didn’t leave me open,” said Parris, who scored six points. “Like last game they were just leaving me open at the 3-point. But in this one, they left Julius and Jared open so they were getting more shots and I was just in the post.”

So, was it a compliment?

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said with a laugh. “That means they respect me, and I appreciate that. But it makes it harder on me.”

Enter Mr. Belton.

The 6-footer went on a 9-0 run to begin the second quarter, drilling three 3-pointers to give the Knights a 17-14 lead with 5:12 left.

“They were sagging, so I just kept shooting them and they fell,” Belton said. “It’s just confidence. … We started off slow, but we kept playing with confidence and kept shooting.”

Old Bridge increased its lead to 23-16 at halftime. Six of Old Bridge’s eight field goals in the first half were 3-pointers. Belton had four and Meyer hit two.

“They really wanted to make it difficult for Kyle and they did that,” Old Bridge coach Jim Macomber said. “And that gave opportunities to our guards and they came through for us. That’s really a big part of what today was about. … (Parris) didn’t score a lot of points today, but his presence alone, opened up things for everybody else. And they came through.”

In the second half, Meyer scored eight of Old Bridge’s 15 points. The Bears comeback included a 7-0 run to open the fourth quarter, which cut the lead to 34-33. Parris got in on the scoring as he was fouled going for a dunk, and his free throw gave his team a 35-33 lead with 2:01 left. After a turnover, Parris’ thunderous two-handed dunk energized the home crowd and gave Old Bride a 37-33 advantage.

The Bears’ Mitchell Pingry then sunk a 3-pointer that kissed off the backboard to make it 37-36 with 1:09 left. But Old Bridge hung on as the Bears missed their last shot.

“To beat them three times in a row is not an easy task because they’re well coached and they got good kids and they play hard,” Macomber said. “We talk about it all the time, they’re going to be ups and downs in a game and you just need to hold on and just beat the team by one more point. And that’s what we did today.”