East Rutherford (Forest City, NC) defeated St. James (Murrells Inlet, SC) 49-44 in a consolation bracket quarterfinal game on Thursday afternoon.
East Rutherford (10-2) held a slim 28-27 lead at halftime but saw the lead vanish as St. James (7-4) scored four of the first six points of the second half. Haywood Brandon’s two free throws with 11:50 to play gave the Sharks a 31-30 advantage.
After swapping baskets and the game tied at 33-33, East Rutherford scored seven unanswered points to take what would prove to be an insurmountable lead. T.J., Watkins opened the run with an old-fashioned three-point play and Nehemiah Stafford capped the it with a jumper from 14-feet out to give the Cavaliers a 42-35 advantage.
East Rutherford was led by Watkins’ 13 points, while Travis Waldroup-Rodriguez chipped in 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. St. James, playing without leading scorer Caleb Duggan due to an injury suffered during the opening round game on Wednesday, was led by Stafford’s 19 points.
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