The East Brunswick Boys Basketball team pulled up to the first game of GMC’s at Edison High School. A win would mean moving on to the next round against Colonia.
Tension is in the air. In Edison, the gymnasium is small, stuffy. The cheers of parents echo loudly and reverberate, it makes it hard to think. But the bears refuse to let the environment affect their game. They have practiced as much as possible, they are prepared, they are ready.
The whistle blows, the basketball is tossed high in the air, the game is on. Right off the bat, East Brunswick struggled, coming in behind Edison 20-10 after the first quarter. It didn’t matter. A short break later and the boys were back and better than before.
In the second quarter the Bears tallied 17 points in comparison to Edison’s 8. The score at halftime was 28-27. This was anyone’s game.
Quarter 3. Each team earned a total of 13 points. The game was still neck and neck.
The last 8 minutes lasted a lifetime. So much was on the line. Just when the game was within reach, Edison came out with 16 points over East Brunswick’s 12 and to the dismay of the Bears, the Eagles won 57-52.
The loss wasn’t the outcome they had hoped for, but they accepted the result and grew from it. After tough losses Coach Motusesky encourages players to “look forward, forget about what happened and look ahead at the next opportunity.”
The Bears still had a few more games to play and until the season had officially come to a close, they continued to give their all. Senior Justin Black knows that at the end of the day, it didn’t “matter if we won or lost, we still had fun every day at practice and we enjoyed being around each other.” That’s what really counts, that’s what being a bear is all about.

Gallery • 5 Photos

Brett Motusesky, 12, swiftly dodges South Brunswick’s defender. He made a big impact this season working hard to create opportunities for his team from every part of the court.