Tag: Quadir Harrell

by Mike Pavlichko

Bound Brook wins (nearly) at the buzzer, moves on to CJ2 title game Monday night down the Shore

It was a move head coach Anthony Melesurgo says he taught senior guard Quadir Harrell, on a play “Q” says he and senior forward Donovan Nwenyi have done for years, going back to their playground days.

And it helped second-seed Bound Brook escape by the hair of its chinny-chin-chin in the Central Jersey Group 2 semifinals, with a 50-49 victory over 6th-seed Raritan.

After the Rockets missed two free throws with 13.1 seconds to go, they scored on a backdoor feed into the paint to go up 49-48 with exactly eight seconds left.

With no timeouts, Donovan Newnyi took the inbounds pass along the far sideline going left to right, and found Harrell in the forecourt, who drove in from the right baseline, split two defenders, and got the bucket with 1.8 seconds to go, plus the foul, as he went hard to the floor and ended up in a seated position along the baseline padding, where he could get a wide angle view of the hometown fans losing their collective minds over the play.

Harrell then bricked the free throw off the front iron intentionally so as not to let Raritan get a good look on a full-court inbound after a make. Bound Brook got the rebounds, time expired, and the Crusader student section mobbed their classmates in uniform.

It was the last game for Harrell, Nwenyi, and fellow senior Bryce Cobb, and what a way to go out. But their season’s not over. The Crusaders (22-4) will travel to top-seed Rumson-Fair Haven (20-3)Monday night for a 6:30 pm tip of the Central Jersey Group 2 title game. The Bulldogs were 75-56 winners over 4th-seed Holmdel Friday night.

Click below for postgame reaction from Bound Brook’s CJ2 semifinal win:

Senior guard Quadir Harrell
Head coach Anthony Melesurgo
by Mike Pavlichko

Harrell’s 17 make him Bound Brook’s all-time leading scorer, help Crusaders extend state-best win streak to 24.

The horn blew in the middle of the third quarter, but it wasn’t a mistake, or anyone fouling out. In fact, it was celebratory in nature.

Quadir Harrell’s three-point basket to give his team a seven-point cushion in a tight game against New Egypt set a new scoring mark for the program, as he jumped over Jordan Hawkins, who just happened to be on hand.

Oh, and it also helped Bound Brook pull out a 45-38 win which extended the Crusaders’ state-best winning streak to 24 games.

Bound Brook’s last loss came when it was eliminated in the 2020 state tournament, when Harrell was a sophomore. The Crusaders went 14-0 last year – when there was no state tournament – winning the one-off Skyland Conference Tournament’s middle pod, and are now 10-0 this season after the win over New Egypt.

Brook jumped out to a 12-2 lead, but as has been the case all year long, the Crusaders seem to get everyone’s best effort. The Warriors got back within four, and Bound Brook went into the half up 27-23. But some key buckets by Harrell and Jordan Summers in the third helped their team get out to a 38-31 lead at the end of three, and they would hold on down the stretch.

Click below to hear Quadir Harrell talk about his new program record, and a big win over New Egypt on Saturday afternoon:

by Mike Pavlichko

Harrell’s second half helps No. 6 Bound Brook edge out pesky Middlesex in Skyland-GMC finale

In a 14-game undefeated season, Middlesex gave Bound Brook one of its toughest fights of the year. The Blue Jays led after one quarter, but eventually, the Crusaders’ talent found a way to pull out a win.

Their 2022 meeting in the Skyland-GMC Coaches vs. Coronavirus Challenge at Bound Brook went very much in the same vein.

After Jeremiah William’s three-ball to open the game for the Brook, Blue Jay Zach Chippendale answered right back, and Middlesex went on a run to take an eight point lead, closing the first period with a 21-13 lead. But 6th-ranked Bound Brook chipped back, and by halftime, after four lead changes, took a 30-27 lead they would never relinquish.

Senior Quadir Harrell led the way with 11 points, all but two of which came after intermission, while game MVP Jeremiah Williams – who turned his ankle in the second half and missed the rest of the contest – had 13, including a pair of threes.

Bound Brook won its 18th straight dating back to last season, and improves to 4-0 on the year, while the Blue Jays dropped to 2-5, losing their fourth straight.

But they hung in until the final few minutes of the game, with the GMC’s leading scorer as of January 6th – Michael Salvatore – scoring 23 points, less than a point off his season average.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from Bound Brook’s win:

Senior guard Quadir Harrell
Bound Brook head coach Anthony Melesurgo

by Mike Pavlichko

Summers stays hot to help No. 7 Bound Brook top visiting ‘Ville

Junior center Jordan Summers pumped in 27 points Tuesday night – and now has scored 58 in his first two games of the season – to help 7th-ranked Bound Brook get by Somerville 64-55, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

And yet, the game wasn’t quite that close, as the Crusaders got a little sloppy in the end, and took their foot off the gas with Quadir Harrell and Jeremiah Williams in foul trouble, but head coach Anthony Melesurgo wanting to keep them in the game.

Harrell chipped in 15 points, including 7-of-8 from the foul line.

Bound Brook (2-0) has now won 16 straight games going back the start of its 14-0 season last year. That team was honored in pregame ceremonies, as Jordan Summers’ brother Cam’ron was in attendance, not only to be honored, but to watch his brother play.

Somerville was paced by junior forward Christian Dominguez, who scored 20 points, 16 of which came after halftime. He was perfect in 11 trips to the foul line, and also added a triple on the night.

Click below to hear the complete game audio of Bound Brook vs. Somerville

by Mike Pavlichko

PERFECT! Bound Brook holds off frantic ‘Lata rally to win Skyland Gold Championship, finish 14-0

The game was less than perfect, but their season was.

The top-seeded Bound Brook Crusaders coughed up a 21-point third quarter lead in the fourth, but took it back and beat third-seed Immaculata 75-68 to win the Skyland Conference Tournament Gold Division Championship, heard Saturday afternoon on Central Jersey Sports Radio, powered by Bellamy & Son Paving.

The win put the exclamation mark on a Bound Brook season that ends up at 14-0, believed to be the Crusaders’ first-ever undefeated season, at least in the modern era.

After the first quarter ended with a 15-all tie, Brook took a nine point lead into the half, 36-27. They extended it to 21 midway through the third quarter, but Immaculata (6-8) started chipping away, and trailed only be 12 heading into the final quarter.

The Spartans kept chipping and chipping, until they tied the game at 60 with just under five minutes to go, and took a 62-60 lead soon after. Bound Brook pulled back ahead on a three by Cam’ron Summers, and went ahead by three with 3:22 to play on a Donovan Nwenyi steal and transition bucket.

Click below to listen to the sequence that game Bound Brook the lead for good:

Cam’ron Summers – a senior – finished with 16 points, all but one of which came in the second half, and 13 of them came in the fourth quarter.

Junior Quadir Harrell led all scorers with 21 points, 14 of which came after intermission, and despite not hitting a single three-point basket. He had hit three each in the first two games of the tournament.

Immaculata was led by junior Darren Tuck’s 15 points, including a pair of treys.

The win also gave Bound Brook a postseason sweep, as the Lady Crusaders took the girls’ Gold Division Pod Championship Friday night, beating Watchung Hills.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from Bound Brook’s win in the Skyland Conference Tournament Gold Division Championship game:

Head Coach Anthony Melesurgo
Senior forward Cam’ron Summers
Junior guard Quadir Harrell
by Mike Pavlichko

Harrell, McLarty, Melesurgo talk No. 9 Bound Brook’s gut-check win over Bernards

In a back and forth game, Quadir Harrell took charge – from the foul line.

The junior guard hit nine straight fourth-quarter free throws – and finished with a game-high 19 points – to help the Crusaders get past Bernards 73-61, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, powered by Bellamy & Son Paving.

It was quite the turnaround from the first meeting between the teams, which came less than a week prior – just last Friday – and saw both teams score season lows in points, in a 39-33 Bound Brook victory.

By contrast, it was the third-highest point total of the year for each team.

Bound Brook kept its undefeated season alive with the win, improving to 10-0, and 8-0 in the Skyland Conference Valley Division, while Bernards dropped to 5-3, and 3-3 in the division.

The Crusaders have one more opponent to face, with a win giving them an undefeated regular season. They face Voorhees Saturday. Then, it’s off to the Skyland Conference “Gold Division” bracket of the Skyland Conference Tournament, the top-seed in the eight team field, facing 8th-seed Bridgewater-Raritan (0-10) Tuesday night in the first round.

Click below to hear postgame reaction for Bound Brook’s big win over Bernards:

Junior guard Quadir Harrell
Senior point guard Davie McLarty
Head coach Anthony Melesurgo