Brookdale Punches Ticket to NJCAA National Tournament With Comeback Win Over Camden

Photos above courtesy of Tom Smith: Champs, MVP Kerry Kirkwood, James Wright, Jordan Little, Kirkwood playing some D, Matt Ringel

LINCROFT – Second-seeded Brookdale gutted out a 72-69 comeback win over fourth-seeded Camden overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit after looking dead in the water in the NJCAA Region XIX final at Collins Arena on the Brookdale campus.

Trailing 45-33 after an 8-0 Camden run at the 14:48 mark of the second half, Brookdale scratched and clawed its way back into the game to win the programs fifth Region XIX championship and first since 2014.

“I don’t think we shot the ball real well,” long-time Brookdale coach Paul Cisek said while dripping with celebratory Gatorade. “We struggled and had a couple of guys dragging and some of our main guys didn’t play really well. We went to the man (man-to-man coverage) with about 10 minutes to go which was the right thing and we held them off.

“We’ve been playing pretty good zone but didn’t play well today. Our man (man-to-man) was intense, we got after the ball but we missed a lot of free throws. We capitalized though. We got some big rebounds, a couple of steals, couple blocks; just enough to win down the stretch.”

With Camden in deep foul trouble early in the second half and the switch to man-to-man coverage paying dividends the Jersey Blues (24-8, 15-3) outscored the Cougars 30-18 after trailing by 10 to take its first lead since early in the first half, 63-62, on a pair of Terra Gatling free throws with 2:45 left in regulation.

That lead was short lived as Camden’s Ja’vior Worthy scored underneath to put the Cougars back on top, 64-63, before Tournament Most Valuable Player, Kerry Kirkwood, hit the biggest shot of the game getting all net on a three-pointer to the right of the basket with just over two minutes left for a 66-64 Brookdale lead.

“He’s been our leader all year,” Cisek said of Kirkwood. “He stepped his game up and controlled it. He probably played 36 minutes today (38), yesterday he was in the 30’s, so you’re talking about a lot of minutes from the point guard spot and I’m proud of him; that’s what it’s all about. He did a great job and deserved the MVP; I just wish he hit the second foul shot.”

Camden (20-11, 16-8) answered though after Worthy was fouled underneath and he sank two both free throws to pull even, 66-66, at the 1:46 mark. Brookdale senior guard James Wright then grabbed a Jordan Little miss in the paint and scored on a put-back handing a two-point lead back to the Jersey Blues, 68-66, with 50 seconds remaining in the contest.

On Camden’s ensuing possession, Brookdale was awarded possession on a jump ball and after losing and regaining possession in a hectic scrum for the ball, Gatling ended up with the rock and drove the paint for two and what seemed like the clincher with 50 seconds left and a four point lead, 70-66.

“Gatling got on the glass and made some nice moves,” Cisek said. “He hustled and cleaned up some balls where they were beating us and Jordan (Little) had some fouls but had some big rebounds and blocks and Wright really helped us in the second half, especially at the line.”

But the Cougars weren’t finished quite yet as Worthy drilled a three with 25.3 seconds left to pull the Cougars to within one, 70-69.

Camden was now forced to foul Brookdale and immediately put senior forward Sky Harris at the line for two with both teams in double-bonus situations. Harris hit both free throws but Brookdale was called for a lane violation on the second shot and the point was taken off the board.

With Brookdale now up, 71-69, and Camden with the inbound, Austin Goodluck was fouled driving the lane but missed both ends with Dewey Johnson pulling down the offensive board and kicking it out to Worthy for a wide open three. The shot had all the markings of a game-winner but roll off the rim and into the hands of Kirkwood, who was immediately fouled with 3.3 seconds remaining and the Blues still holding a precarious two point lead.

Kirkwood swished the first before missing his second but Camden’s full-court “hail mary” attempt was way off and the Jersey Blues survived.

The win wasn’t the pettiest of the season for the Jersey Blues, but good teams find a way to win when they aren’t at their best and that’s what Brookdale did; they found a way to win. The Blues shot only 30.8 percent from the field in the first half and just 57.1 percent from the line but managed to stay close and were only down by five, 31-26, at intermission. They did hold a commanding 23-11 edge in rebounds in the first half and 41-21 for the game which was a decisive factor in the win.

Zachary Olukanni had a team-high six points in the first half while Sky Harris, Kirkwood and freshman forward Matt Ringel all added five points. Ringel was especially active off the glass grabbing a game-high six boards in the half including two offensive rebounds in only seven minutes after injuring his ankle.

Ringel did return in limited action finishing with 10 points and seven boards in 13 minutes of play.

“He’s done a great job for us all year; he’s had a tough year,” Cisek said of Ringel. “He was hurt and came back in the game to help us win.”

Brookdale shot better in the second half hitting 46.2 percent from the field and 66.7 from the line in the second half when they had to dig deep from within to come up with this win.

Wright was a catalyst in the second half, scoring 14 of his team-high 15 points in the second half including 12 of his team’s 19 points going 7-of-8 from the line during Brookdale’s crucial second-half run.

Kirkwood added 14 points, five rebounds and two assists. In the Blues quarterfinal win, Kirkwood completed a double-double scoring 13 points along with a game-high 12 assists and added a game-high 18 points, four rebounds and five assists in Brookdale’s semifinal win to earn him the well-deserved MVP award.

Gatling finished with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds, Little added eight points, 10 boards and an impressive six blocks and Harris chipped in with eight points.

“The bottom line is these kids worked their asses off and they deserved everything they got,” Cisek said. “That’s what it’s all about. Camden is a very good team and could’ve beaten us. They were aggressive and we were aggressive but I think we were a little deeper. There are so many variables you can’t predict what will happen and you know what, we won.”

Brookdale will now head to Rochester, Minnesota for the NJCAA DIII National Championships, March 16-18, 2017. The Blues will be seeking their second national championship in program history and first since 2013.

“If we come to play (in Rochester) we’ll be okay,” Cisek said of his chances in the national tournament. “There are some good teams that are going to be there but things happen. We’ll just have to wait and see how we match up.”

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