ROBBINSVILLE – It wasn’t an aesthetic masterpiece overall but it was a thing of beauty from the Robbinsville boys basketball team’s standpoint. The Ravens used a hard-nosed defensive effort to slow down Lawrence Saturday, taking a 45-29 win in the third Capital City Cancer Classic contest of the day at Robbinsville High. It may have been Senior Day but junior Tyler Bunnell was named Player of the Game with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
His effort helped the Ravens (10-10) take their seventh straight win over the Cards (16-5) while also stopping Lawrence’s 11-game winning streak. Neither team put on an offensive show but Robbinsville took its defensive effort to another level in allowing its least amount of points in a game this season while holding Lawrence to its lowest output. The Cards got just four points in the first and fourth quarters and did not have a field goal in the final eight minutes.
The Ravens were sloppy themselves with 17 turnovers, but managed to shoot 20-for-40. “Defense is one of the main focal points for us,” Bunnell said. “We’re not scoring as well as we have in the past, we have to bring the intensity up on defense.
Let the other team score less than you and you’ll get a win.” Robbinsville’s main focus was on point guard Marvin McNeil, who has been running Lawrence’s offense smoothly while scoring 17 per game. Matt Boss had the assignment and got McNeil in early foul trouble before he eventually fouled out with just six points earl.