Sunday, December 13, 2009
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@ East Orange Campus High School

Starting Game Time: 2:30pm

Halftime: NYC Thunder 54, Jersey Express 41
Final Score: NYC Thunder 108, Jersey Express 88

East Orange, NJ. New York City basketball is back! Coach Logan was all business, and his squad responded, giving the business to the Jersey Express in a game that was nationally televised. The Thunder capitalized off three explosive double digits runs with a twenty point victory, 108-88.

Coach Logan at the helm
Photo: NYCthunder.com

East Orange Mayor Bowser tossed up the ceremonial jump-ball amidst a sea of red bleachers and red jerseys that far outnumbered the purple donned by the Thunder. It did not make a difference as former St. John’s standout Kyle Cuffe pounded the rock inside for the Thunder and relentlessly grabbed boards in addition to the hustle of starting point guard Chris “Primetime” Grant.

Lightning strikes but thunder makes an impact…

With 5:48 left in the first quarter, Jersey Coach Quaasim Austin called a timeout. His team fell behind, 21-7, after Grant threw a full-court pass to teammate Sharif Fordham for an easy bucket. This capped a 10-0 run for the Thunder. Homegrown talent 6’8” forward Samar Battle answered on the other end for the Express. He helped his team close the gap but a buzzer beater by the Thunder at the end of the 1st quarter extended the lead, 29-20.

Photo: Plainfieldsportsnews.com

Joe Budden’s lyrics pumped up the crowd as sounds of “Jersey’s here..” filled the arena with the Express down by single digits. The young team, consisting of 9 first-year players and only 3 ‘non-rookies,’ gave the fans something to cheer for.

Tim “Headache” Gittens
Photo: NYCthunder.com

Assistant Coach (and inactive player) Tim “Headache” Gittens took off his suit jacket at the 11 minute mark in the 2nd quarter as things got heated. Kyle Cuffe went pound-for-pound against New Jersey forward Devin Davis in the paint and three minutes later, the Express cut the deficit to only two points – the smallest New York City lead since the tip.

The Thunder were in danger but remained calm and showed poise down the stretch. Three-point assassin Sean Dantzler (who finished with 6 trey-balls) came through in the clutch along with leadership from veteran Brooklynite John “Mookie” Thomas. Forward John Williams put in work in the lane to round out the 13-0 Thunder run. At halftime, the score stood: New York City Thunder 54, Jersey Express 41.

Jo Williams
Photo: NYCthunder.com

Thanks to key free throw shooting and second-chance points, the Thunder were able to break away in the second half. The highlight reel came from Thunder forwards on defense – mainly Thomas who had four ridiculous blocks that looked something a la Dikembe Mutombo minus the finger waving. Local East Orange product, six-foot guard Troy Goodman was non-stop scoring machine on the Express end but could not match the unselfish guard play of Grant and Fordham.

After avenging their earlier one-point loss to the Express, the Thunder improved to 4-1 for the season. Check ABALive.com for all updates.

NYCthunder.com