The Bound Brook boys’ basketball team has won 17 straight games, going back to the start of last year’s 14-0 campaign. But perhaps none were as challenging as the Crusaders’ game against neighboring rival Middlesex.
The Blue Jays had Bound Brook tied up in all kinds of knots last February 20th, and led by 9 after one quarter, though the Crusaders’ eventually triumphed, 77-67. “They just ran up and down the court against us, and we had a difficult time against them,” says Brook coach Anthony Melesurgo.
The two teams will square off Saturday at 6 pm in the final of four games at the Skyland-GMC Challenge at Bound Brook, which can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. The game will immediately follow the 4 pm tilt between Timothy Christian and Franklin. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action, with Tigers’ coach Dennis McNulty providing analysis. Click here to listen.
But this year, the Blue Jays have lost three straight, and are 2-4 on the season, coming off a 78-49 loss at South River Friday night.
In one respect, they’re still looking to replace thousand-point scorer Mark Brower, but on the other hands, there are nine players overall – and a half-dozen on the varsity roster – who also play baseball for Middlesex, which won the state Group 1 title last year.
So while the “W”s haven’t taken care of themselves just yet, it’s a group that knows how to win, and how to win championships. Doing it on the court is the next step.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Middlesex head coach Jared Goldstein about the season so far, and Saturday’s matchup against Bound Brook: