Boys Basketball – Lakewood, Point Beach Rallies Come Up Short at Primetime Shootout

ROSELLE - Both the Lakewood and Point Pleasant Beach boys basketball teams looked to be no match for their respective opponents at one point during the Primetime Shootout Sunday at Roselle Catholic, but neither Shore Conference school went down without a fight.

Lakewood junior Tyreek Grayson hit a running bank shot as time expired to send the Piners' game against Teaneck to overtime, but the Highwaymen pulled out a win over the Shore's No. 2 team in the extra session of the showcase's opening game of the day.

Teaneck led 39-28 heading to the fourth quarter and 41-31 with six minutes left before Lakewood mounted a comeback to push the game into overtime. Grayson scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter, while junior Sean Barksdale scored seven of his team-high 12 in the fourth.

Barksdale hit a key three-pointer to cut Teaneck's lead to 47-45 with 1:20 left and knocked down one of two free throws with 26 seconds left to trim the deficit to one. After Teaneck freshman Ja'Quayne James hit the second of two free throws to inch the lead back up to two, Grayson took a pass from Barksdale, drove to the basket and kissed a runner off the glass to tie the game at 48 as the final second ticked off the clock.

Lakewood grabbed an early lead in overtime on a transition lay-up by Ryan Lawrence but James hit a three from the right wing to give Teaneck the lead for good.

Lawrence scored all 10 of his points after halftime, while junior Amir Tyler scored eight of his 10 points in the first half before fouling out in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Senior Chapelle Cook also added 8 points and came up with three steals in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Four players - Zach Olukanni, Leondre Washington, Tyler Deering and James - scored in double-figures for Teaneck and combined for all of the Highwaymen's 57 points. Olukanni led the way with 17 points, Washington added 16 and Deering and James each poured in 12.

Point Beach Rally Comes Up Short

After trailing by 22 points early in the fourth quarter, Point Beach rallied to cut defending Tournament of Champions winner St. Joseph-Metuchen's lead to six with 1:47 left before the Falcons pulled it out 45-36 in the end.

St. Joe's led 30-12 at the half and 38-16 early in the fourth after each team scored only four points during the third quarter. The Garnet Gulls came alive behind offensive surges by senior Jesse Hill and junior Mike Rice, who combined for 33 of the 36 Point Beach points.

Hill got the rally started by banking in a three as the third-quarter buzzer sounded, the first of four straight three-point attempts that the senior would hit. Hill knocked down his fourth three to cut the deficit to 10 and Rice hit one of two technical free throws with 2:45 left to make it 40-31.

Point Beach got its closest to St. Joe's on a three-point play by Rice, who sliced for a left-handed finish while drawing contact. Rice finished with 14 points, while Hill scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half.

Falcons junior Breein Tyree closed out the game with a strong drive to the basket to cap a 14-point game, which included a thunderous dunk in the second quarter. The 6-foot-1 Tyree - who is drawing interest from FBS programs in both football and basketball - hit his head on the backboard on the dunk.

The Garnet Gulls played without junior guard Jimmy Panzini for the sixth straight game due to a sprained ankle. Point Beach coach Nick Catania said Panzini will be evaluated by his doctor and could potentially be cleared to play on Feb. 18, which is the scheduled opening night of the Shore Conference Tournament.

Point Beach saw its 39-game winning streak against Class B Central competition snapped Saturday at St. Rose despite a 37-point performance by Hill.