Elizabeth Wins Second Big Game In Three Days

A Saturday evening showdown at the Dunn Center between Linden and Elizabeth? That’s about as “Watchung Conference as it gets."

Throw in a century of history between Linden and EHS(all the way back to the days of Thomas Jefferson for the boys and the now demolished Battin for girls) and the EHS-LHS rivalry is one that is full of multi-generational pride in both communities. Even folks who grew up in Elizabeth or Linden but didn’t attend either school can be found throughout the gym, cheering on their old neighborhood teams. With names from days gone by and even last year's seniors now resigned to yearbooks in city libraries for future reference, the never-ending-rivalry added another chapter to its storied history tonight.

Elizabeth won the tip and got the scoring started on the night with a three from senior Siraj Abdellah, but Linden was able to counter with a triple of their own from Jayden Holman. Luis Cuero hit a layup to restore the Elizabeth lead at 5-3 a minute into the ballgame. Burnam sunk a pair to tie the contest and then it was the sensational sophomore, Jayden Johnson, fresh off a 24 point outing in Thursday’s win over Plainfield, who restored the EHS lead. After a Torres dunk, Mike Rice called time to regroup. The timeout did little to slow the momentum for the Minutemen, who got a Cuero layup and a Johnson triple to extend the lead to 14-7 midway through the first. Linden responded after two forced shots to cut the lead to 14-12 in two possessions. The pendulum swung in favor of Elizabeth to end the quarter on a Torres triple, giving EHS a 17-12 lead after one.

Elizabeth kept the advantage at half a dozen for the early portion of the second quarter behind some solid play from Torres on the offensive end. Cam McRae extended the lead to 27-19 on a floater, putting Linden against the ropes as the second quarter made the turn.

Abdellah and Johnson both hit triples to give Elizabeth a solid lead heading into the locker room for halftime at 33-24.

Linden got the first points of the third on a Jones layup to claw into the deficit slightly, but Torres was able to match via the foul line to keep the minutemen in control at 35-26 early in the third. Over the next two minutes, the lead would balloon up to 45-30 after a Torres layup and McRae three, prompting a timeout from Rice to regroup his squad. McRae crossed into double digits after a layup to hold the lead at fifteen, 49-34, with two minutes left in the quarter. Linden put on a full court press and were able to cut the deficit in half, but found themselves trailing 51-41 going to the fourth after a Torres layup.

McRae hit a contested three to open the fourth, but Holman matched him on Linden’s next possession. Torres went over 20 with a three to answer for Elizabeth, giving them a 57-44 lead with 6:30 to go. EHS was able to hold serve with that lead after a McRae runner, going up 61-48 a minute later. Torres nailed another triple and it set the game further afield. Linden would get no closer and EHS would close out their second big win in three days, winning 71-58.

GSBR Player Of The Game

Jojo Torres, Elizabeth

For the second time in three days, Torres earned POTG honors. He led the offensive push for the Minutemen this evening, finishing with a game high 23 points. He also played well on defense in slowing down Linden’s ability to finish around the rim.