North Brunswick boys take a speedy turn into the second round

Mon. February 20, 2012 at 9:07 p.m. | By StarNews Sports Department

By Martin Rickman
Sports@StarNewsOnline.com

LELAND | There's a saying in football that you can't coach speed and sometimes that carries over to basketball.
The quickness of North Brunswick's guards helped the Scorpions dominate Richlands during a 59-40 win in the first round of the 2A NCHSAA basketball playoffs Monday night.
North Brunswick (15-8), which got strong performances from Adam Jacobs, Jeremy Young and Ronald Roland, built an early lead with its defense, then controlled the tempo in the second half to take away any chance Richlands (16-7) had at making a comeback.
The Scorpions were very active in a matchup zone, and Richlands refused to shoot over the top, hoping instead to find good looks inside, which were few and far between. North Brunswick dared Richlands to play tighter on its ball handlers, but the Wildcats wore down quickly.
"We just didn't think they could stop us with their on-ball defense," North Brunswick coach Bryan Hayes said. "We did a great job of finishing at the rim. Our speed and depth definitely helped tonight."
Young scored 14 points, while Jacobs added 11. The two also did a good job of facilitating, combining for 10 assists. None of Richlands' players were able to keep up with the Scorpions' guards; and it showed, especially in the second half.
Legrande Roseborough made the start at small forward for the Scorpions instead of his usual power forward role, and he responded with 15 points.
"When he's pushed out on the perimeter he can look to drive more," Hayes said. "That's the strong part of his game. We've asked him to play big this year, but he's a lot more comfortable playing at the three. He's being very aggressive, and he has played very well lately."
The Scorpions also did a good job of controlling the glass, outrebounding Richlands 35-26 behind strong games in the paint by Jaeden Phillips and Jabril Robinson.
Antwan Thompson led the Wildcats with 10 points.