It was the middle of January and it was still one of first home games for Newburgh’s boys’ basketball team.

Against the Crusaders from Monroe-Woodbury, Wednesday, Jan. 18, the Goldbacks went on a decisive 19-5 second quarter run to win 79-51.

The Goldbacks trailed 33-25 with 4:36 left in the second quarter. The drive began as Juwan Rivera tied it with three-pointer less than a minute later. Rivera would score all of his 11 points in the second quarter with a trio of threes as the Goldbacks stormed back to lead 44-38 at the half.

Anthony Salmon landed a three with seconds to go in the third quarter, his second of the quarter as the freshman ended the game with 13 points.

Salmon is part of a team that returned just three from last year, Jarrod Scurlock, Jonte Rutty and Gary Buxton.

Scurlock scored 16 points, going 5/7 from the line. Rutty was a big help inside, leading the Goldbacks with 23 points.

“It’s about growing as a team,” said Matt Brown, Newburgh’s first-year coach, “it’s about putting out effort.”

Ten Goldbacks scored ranging from the single foul shots scored by Jason McAllister and Elijah Ghrael to the double-figures scored by Rutty, Scurlock, Salmon and Rivera.

“It’s about five guys working together, knowing their rotation, knowing the defense,” said Brown. “The deeper the rotation, the more things we can do.”

Scurlock was a freshman on the Goldbacks’ 2009 state AA title team and the only remaining member on the current team. He’s seen many rotations and two head coaches since then, and this is the final group for the senior.

“It’s getting better and better every week,” he said. “As we practice, we know what we can do best.”

The victory over the Crusaders gave him the feeling it may be really coming together for the Goldbacks.

“It feels like we have more gel, it’s more complete,” said Scurlock.

This Saturday, Jan. 28, the Goldbacks will need that complete team effort when they host Poughkeepsie at Mount Saint Mary College at 3 p.m.

By Bond Brungard
sports@tcnewspapers.com