Newark East Side edges Blair Academy

Let the records show that Newark East Side played its first official basketball game of the season Saturday in West Orange.
But let any opposing ball handler tell you that the Red Raiders defensively are playing well beyond that.
East Side, ranked No. 8 in the MSG Varsity New Jersey Power Rankings, fashioned a defense that kept constant pressure on the backcourt and reduced the effectiveness of Blair's talented big men to open its season with a 46-43 victory at the Hoop Group Tip-Off Showcase at West Orange High.
Senior forward Abdul Lewis scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds and played a pivotal role in holding down a deep and experienced Blair team that entered at 7-0 and averaging 72.1 points a game.
East Side, also an experienced club, looked quite a lot like the team that allowed only 36.6 ppg. during the state tournament last  year on its way to the Group 3 state title. In fact, the Red Raiders were so physically sharp and cohesive, they looked as if they'd completed that successful tournament run only a week or so ago.
"It was a challenge, but we’ve been together all summer," Lewis said. "We played in the fall league together and we've been together so long. We just wanted to show everybody we were already in season mode."
East Side will probably want to bone up on its shooting as time goes on (18 of 54 from the floor), but won't have to sweat that detail too much if the defense holds form.
There was stifling ball pressure from guards Ahmad Harrison, Akbar Hoffman and James Gilbert, solid interior defense and rebounding from Lewis and Ismael Sanogo (10 points, eight rebounds) and reliable assistance from reserves Ra'Quan Lynn, Jibreel Ahmad and Taj Price.
Mike Silverthorn. Elijah Burns, Donovan Wright and Sean Lubreski each scored eight points for Blair, which had scored no fewer than 64 points in any previous game this season. They probably had not yet confronted a backcourt that doubled the ball so quickly or defended the passing lanes so thoroughly.
"The guards did a great job," Lewis said. "The big men couldn't even get the ball a lot of times because of the pressure they put on the ball. They helped me out a lot."
East Side trailed most of the first half, but gained crucial momentum with an 8-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters and opened a 37-31 lead.
Lewis, signed with South Alabama, sparked the run with a bucket inside off a pass from the Seton Hall-bound Sanogo with 2:04 left in the third quarter, and Sanogo followed with a transition basket off a feed from Ahmad. Hoffman scored the last field goal of the third quarter with a layup off a steal for a 35-31 lead, and Sanogo increased it to six points with a resounding dunk 28 seconds into the fourth.
Blair never regained the lead, but did pull to within 45-43 when Silverthorn buried a 3-pointer with 8.6 seconds to go. Blair had missed an opportunity to tie the game 20 seconds earlier with a steal and 3-point attempt, but East Side collected the rebound and Hoffman wound up being fouled and sank both free throws for a 45-40 lead.
Hoffman was fouled again on the inbound after Silverthorn's 3-pointer and hit the front end of a one-and-one for a 46-43 lead. He missed the second and Marial Shayok gathered the rebound for Blair. The Buccaneers called timeout with less than six seconds remaining and they missed on a 33-point attempt as the buzzer sounded.