Rodger Blind continues to do a terrific job in guiding the Millburn's boys basketball team, which won a big 50-49 overtime ECT "Play-In" bracket game at Newark Academy this past Saturday and plays at BT in next round on Thursday. (Photo by Todd Mundt)

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It certainly wasn’t easy to advance against NA (7-8) especially after the Minutemen’s senior star guard Zaire Williams (game-high 25 points) hit a tough shot at the end of regulation to help send the game to overtime.

Then, down three points with 20 seconds left in the extra session it took two Ben Kizel free throws followed by Talpalar’s steal and bucket to seal the hard-earned win.

Millburn, which suffered road setbacks on Tuesday at Orange and Thursday at Columbia in SEC-Liberty action, while also losing two players in its rotation, 6-2 junior forward Brian Barkley (ankle vs. Orange) and 5-11 junior guard Bob Reel (broken wrist vs. Columbia), still showed great resiliency vs. NA in order to survive and advance.

Kizel, a promising 5-9 sophomore guard, led the Millers with 14 points, while the 6-3 Talpalar added 13 and 6-4 ½ senior center Tony Bai contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Millburn’s starting lineup of Kizel and 5-11 senior Gabe Inwood at the guards, and Bai, Talpalar and 6-3 ½ junior Aiden Kahn up front has been blending well together of late with 5-11 senior swingman Michael Brown, 5-8 junior point guard Jared Darvin, 5-10 junior wing Josh Landau and 5-9 junior guard Josh Klieger helping off the bench.

“The SEC-Liberty is very strong this season with Newark Tech, Bloomfield, Columbia, Central, Orange and Bloomfield Tech leading the way,” said Blind, whose Millers were elevated up from the Colonial Division despite the fact they were 9-14 last winter since the powers-that-be in the SEC base their alignments on a 3-year cycle and Millburn had enjoyed an all-time type season two years ago when the team reached the North 2, Group 3 final and was 23-4 with two terrific stars in Joe Kizel (Middlebury) and Alex Rosenberg (Columbia University). “When we don’t turn the ball over as much with the pressure on the perimeter you’re going to see on a regular basis by the quick and athletic teams in our division, we can do some good things, but we also have to do a better job of getting the ball inside to Bai (the team’s leading scorer at 14.5 ppg).”

Millburn, which has beaten Chatham (in an early-season holiday showcase) and West Side for its only divisional victory, lost to Central by four (57-53) and to Orange by 5 and 8 points.

The injury bug has stuck with the Millers, who did not have Talpalar early on as he recovered from a broken ankle suffered last fall and then a pulled quadricep muscle just before the Dec. 16 season opener with Caldwell. His return after the New Year has been a boost since the All-Essex baseball pitcher adds a much-needed frontcourt presence to complement the New York University-bound Bai, and also some strong interior passing skills.

Ben Kizel, the younger brother of the current sophomore standout for the nation’s No. 1 ranked D-3 team at Middlebury, has progressed well, but he too injured his hand in a recent game vs. Bloomfield and early indications were he might have absorbed a slight fracture.

Still, the Millers march on, with both Talpalar and Kizel complementing Bai’s scoring abilities and ace defenders like Inwood and Brown absorbing a steady diet of trying to defend the Brandon Waiters (Central), Jared Halls (Newark Tech), Jameel Pattersons (Bloomfield), Adam Maduros and Khalid Muhammads (Orange), and Ray Blancos (Bloomfield Tech) of the never-ease-up reality of the SEC-Liberty.

“It’s a great group of kids who are enjoying playing together and they’re working extremely hard to become a better basketball team,” said Blind, who came to Millburn after a college coaching career at St. Peter’s. “We’re excited about now having the chance to play Bloomfield Tech, a big and talented team, but it’s another Essex County Tournament game and I know we’ll come to their West Caldwell Center on Thursday ready to give a 100% effort, that’s for sure.”

Millburn is also scheduled to host BT in a regular-season, SEC-Liberty contest on Tuesday afternoon.

“Play-In” Bracket, 2nd Round Essex County Tournament Games This Week:

Monday, Jan. 30:

(18) Weequahic at (15) MKA, 4 p.m.

the Skinny: Tough to get true gauge on Indians, who started very slowly out of the gates this season, including a 19-point loss to MKA in Newark back on Dec. 16, but have been red hot of late while also developing good athleticism inside with key players such as Tyrone Anthony, Shakur Benbow and one of the great names of this season: Mase-may McNair. MKA has good tournament experience, a terrific point guard in Kieran Powell, and 6-8 junior Matt Lane is playing the best basketball of his career, but can Cougars get that big shot at crunch time in post-John Snow (now at Seton Hall University) era?

Tuesday, Jan. 31:

(20) Verona at (13) Livingston, 7 p.m.

the Skinny: Here you have two very well-coached and patient teams, each with a superb individual player at the head of the lineup with steady Brian Farrell leading the Hillbillies and the versatile Sam Abam propelling the Lancers. This could be a 36-34 type game with a premium of shots taken and turnovers critical. One bonus for 'Billies is they shoot free throws extremely proficiently, while the Lancers counter with one of the county's top 3-point threats in dagger accurate guard Marc Schofel. Could be a dandy.

Thursday, Feb. 2:

(24) Millburn at (12) Bloomfield Tech (West Caldwell Center) (TBA)

the Skinny: Bloomfield Tech is another team in the county that is difficult to gauge: plenty of size and enough talent to be a factor the rest of the way, but Spartans lack consistency despite flashes of hope with talented guard Ray Blanco, who can score with almost anyone when the game is on the line, a veteran point in Mykhal Corbitt and plenty of 'bigs' including Feraji James, who can soar on the boards at 6-5. Millburn counters with a cerebral, steady approach, led by one of the county's top game tacticians in Rodger Blind and a very good high school big man in NYU-bound Tony Bai. If Millburn's young guard Ben Kizel can get in the flow, the Millers can hang for a while, but it will very very tough for them to beat BT in the cozy confines and pressure-packed setting in the West Caldwell Center.

Still To Be Announced As Scheduled (Must be completed by Feb. 2)

(17) Caldwell at (16) East Orange Campus

(22) North 13th Street Tech at (11) Central

(19) West Orange at (14) Orange

ECT First Round (Round of 16), Saturday, Feb. 4, also at higher seed:

Weequahic-MKA winner at (2) Newark Tech

West Orange-Orange winner at (3) Bloomfield

(10) Montclair at (7) University

North 13th Street Tech-Central winner at (6) Irvington

Caldwell-East Orange Campus winner at (1) Seton Hall Prep

Verona-Livingston winner at (4) Columbia

(9) Newark Vocational at (8) Shabazz

Millburn-Bloomfield Tech winner at (5) East Side

This Week’s Sideline Chatter Essex County Top 10:

1-Seton Hall Prep (15-1)- Pirates, winners of 7 in a row, have received a big boost from junior forward Tom Lacey and junior guard Michael Bourke, whether either one is starting or coming off the bench for what is becoming a solid rotation.

2-Newark Tech (11-3)- When 6-6 junior Abel Yekeh is slamming the boards and 6-5 junior Dwayne Merrill is effective both inside and on the wing, the Terriers are very tough to beat, especially with a solid lead guard to provide the trigger in 5-11 junior Jared Hall.

3-Bloomfield (11-3)- Bengals showed their strength as a growing county power when they knocked off the state's 17th-ranked team, Bridgewater-Raritan, in this past Saturday's independent action.

4-Columbia (10-3)- Some Essex County onlookers are saying Cougars might have a deeper core group than last year's more experienced unit that was upset in county semis by Irvington, and with continued strong contributions from veteran 6-3 senior forwards Maxim Michel and Evans Osuji the Maplewood-South Orange school is becoming effective on the interior as well as in transition.

5-East Side (9-4)- Red Raiders have been one of the red-hot teams in Essex County as youngsters such as sophomores Ismael Sonogo (6-5 forward) and Jamar Gilbert (5-10 guard and transfer from Newark Tech) settle in as integral parts of the improved core unit.

6-Shabazz (9-5)- When both forward Anthony Closs and guard Elijah Moore are contributing offensively, it takes a great deal of pressure off of the constant focus that opposing teams have on the Bulldogs' high-scoring guard Michael Reid.

7-Irvington (9-4)- Blue Knights have a budding star in 6-6 freshman Shakur Juiston who had a tremendous double-double with 26 points and 20 rebounds in this past Thursday's 65-45 win over Science Park.

8-Newark Vocational (13-3) - Brick City school joined the Essex County Athletic Directors Association with explicit wishes to become part of the Essex County Tournament which will be a definite proving ground for aspiring and talented but still little known team.

9-Central (7-6)- Much like its Newark neighbor Shabazz, Central must get other people to chip in, such as forward Taji Williams since teams are focusing so much on trying to contain the Blue Devils' superb senior backcourt ace Brandon Waiters.

10-Montclair (6-7)- Mounties are starting to gel as a unit as seasoned juniors Isaiah Jennings and Tahlib Swan do their thing as key double-figure scorers and up-and-coming junior forward Kieran Miller starts to become a vital piece.

Sam Abam (4) and the Livingston Lancers will host Verona, 7 p.m., Tuesday, in the ECT

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