Sophomore guard Alex Grospe holds the ball for South River against Bound Brook on January 7, 2023. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Bound Brook led the game by four in the first minute or two, but never again against South River, as the 10th-ranked Rams knocked off the 6th-seeded Crusaders 66-61 Saturday night, in the finale of the GMC-Skyland Challnge, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Once the Rams took the lead in the first, and went ahead by as many as 15 points at one stage, they never lost the lead, even though the advantage would shrink to single digits late in the third.
South river got off to a hot start thanks to Roman Santos, who had nine first-quarter points, including a couple of treys, but also quickly picked up two fouls and spent more time on the bench than he or his coach, Brandon Walsh, would have liked.
Laz Rodriguez had 15, with 11 coming in the second half, and eight in the fourth quarter.
But it was Alex Grospe – a sophomore – who earned Game MVP honors: 18 points, a pair of treys, and a balanced night. He also did it on the defensive end.
The win gets the Rams to 9-0 overall, their first time winning nine straight to start a season since 1977-78, when they went 11-0 before getting upset by New Brunswick late in January.
Bound Brook (7-1) was led by senior Jordan Summers’ 22 points, though he was held scoreless in the second quarter.
Click below for postgame reaction, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
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