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Simko
And Lenahan Spark Surging Guvs Past Edison, 71-53 |
By Greg Machos
January 7, 2008SOUTH AMBOY, NJ—For the first time ever, GMC Hoops traveled to South Amboy Middle/High School for a 7:00 PM night game. While that might be unusual, it is a bit understandable since for years the Guvs played many of their games at 5:30 like many of its Gold Division brethren. This was a special occasion though since the Governors, which made the state tournament for the first time in five seasons in 2006-07, have started to roll with four straight wins including a victory over Keansburg in the Championship Game of the 2007 South Amboy Holiday Tournament after splitting their first two games with divisional wins at Dunellen (69-50), and at Piscataway Tech (70-40), and non-conference losses at home versus Bernards (72-65) and Keyport (63-59). With Gold Division aspirations well in their sights, the Governors were looking to make an even bigger statement to the rest of the Greater Middlesex Conference, and enhance its resume for when the 2008 GMCT Seeding meeting takes place toward the end of the first full week of February. A win over Edison would do just that. Speaking of the Eagles, EHS has struggled to being this 2007-08 season. With a lineup dominated by seniors that reached the Elite Eight of the 2005 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament as ninth graders, the start to this year's campaign has not been kind with five losses in Edison's first seven games.
Things wouldn't get any better for the Edison Eagles on this night. After starting off with a 17-13 showing in a somewhat back and forth, and frenetically paced first quarter, EHS, with an enrollment of 1504, fell prey to a 46-20 rampage by the South Amboy Guvs over the middle two periods, and when it looked up, it found itself behind by a 59-37 margin entering the fourth. While they outscored the Gold Division school with an enrollment of 260, the Eagles weren't able to overcome the defict as South Amboy came away with a rather impressive 71-53 rout to win its fifth straight game, and seventh in their first nine. Senior Mark Simko, who has finally found a home in the Gateway City to the Shore, was superb to put it midly with 32 points on 10 of 18 shooting including 3 of 6 from downtown, and also a sinctillating 9 of 11 from the foul line while collecting 8 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a block. Teammate, and senior forward, Larry Lenahan was simply a monster with 16 points on 6 of 14 shooting from the floor, and 4 of 8 from the foul line as well as 18 boards for a double-double while also picking up 2 steals, 2 blocks, and an assist. Sophomore Joey Charmello turned in a fine performance himself to chip in with 14 points on 6 of 14 shooting as well and two foul shots while compiling 5 steals, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and a block. Barry Holmes and sophomore point guard, Derrick Murray, did what they could to keep Edison in the game for as long as possible as Holmes scored 12 points and collected three rebounds while Murray tabulated 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. However, it wasn't enough as the Guvs got 13 rebounds including seven on the offensive glass by Lenahan in the first half while Simko pumped in 17 of his game high in the first half. For the rest of the individual stats on this contest, visit the GMC Game Stats section.
For the game, South Amboy just shot 26 of 60 overall from the field for 43.3 percent including 4 of 15 from beyond the arc for 26.7 percent, but the Guvs limited Edison to just 21 of 60 shooting for 35 percent including 5 of 20 from three point range for 25 percent. In addition, the Governors forced Edison to commit 23 turnovers while only making 14 themselves. At the foul line things couldn't get any worse for the Eagles as they made only 6 of 15 free throw attempts for 40 percent while the Guvs struggled a bit themselves going 15 of 29 for 51.7 percent. In other statistical areas, Both teams scored in double figures in all four quarters, but South Amboy had two periods with over 20 points while Edison had two frames with ten points each. Moreover, the Governors held statistical edges in total rebounds (37-34), offensive rebounds (14-13), assists (14-13), and steals (15-5) while Edison had the slight advantage in blocks (7-6). Neither team drew a charge in the contest. The first quarter saw both teams wrestle for control as they came right after each other, which is unusual since teams usually try to feel each other out in the opening frame. There was quite a crowd at South Amboy Middle/High School, and there was quite a bit of electricity in the stands as the Guvs tried to feed off that energy. Edison garnered the edge in the opening stanza by making 7 of 18 shots from the floor including one of three from beyond the arc, but made six turnovers while South Amboy may have started out a bit on the overanxious side despite just making two turnovers as the Guvs went not only just 6 of 20 from the floor including 0 of 4 from three, but also a paltry 3 of 9 from the charity stripe for 33.3 percent.
In the first 54 seconds of the game, South Amboy started out fast with the first four points including a layup by Charmello to open the game, and another layup by Simko for a 4-0 lead at the 7:06 mark. Edison didn't get on the board until the 6:17 mark of the first when Holmes scored on a scoop shot to make it 4-2. Twenty-one seconds later, Holmes grabbed a rebound off a Simko miss, and then drove back up the court for a layin that tied things up at 4-4 with 5:56 to play in the first. Lenahan would put South Amboy back in front with two free throws at the 5:41 mark for a 6-4 lead, but then the Eagles would score six straight points in a 1:13 span as Andy Hernandez and Dakota Tipton came up with field goals while Murray made a pair of free throws. Hernandez tied things up at 6-6 when he scored a layup off a dish by Murray, and then after Charmello, who was just 2 of 6 at the foul line on the night, misfired on two free throws at the 5:15 mark, the sophomore point guard made his two foul shots for the 8-6 lead. Woes at the foul line continued for the Guvs as Steven Poltritzky, who was 0 of 4 at the charity stripe on the night, couldn't connect on two free throws at the 4:47 mark, and the Eagles took advantage on an offensive rebound and putback by Tipton as he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for an 10-6 edge with 4:28 to play in the quarter. Simko tried to get himself going with a three point play as he took in an outlet pass from Lenahan following a rebound at the defensive end by the 6'4" South Amboy senior, and scored a layup as he was fouled for a three point play that made the score, 10-9 at the 4:04 mark.
Following another Simko score though that gave South Amboy the lead again at 11-10, Edison reeled off seven straight points as they took a 17-11 lead while Poltritzky missed another two at the line with 22.4 to play in the period. The Governors would get another score before the quarer was out, and entered the second trailing by a 17-13 margin. In the second the Group I school went to work with an 8-0 blitz over the first 1:33 that was capped by a Simko layin that put South Amboy ahead at 19-17 with 6:33 to go in the first half. Forty-seven seconds later, Edison got into the bonus, and Holmes took advantage by making two free throws at the 5:40 mark to tie the contest again at 19-19. Moments later though, Simko went to the line, and made two charity shots himself for a 21-19 lead at the 5:38 mark. Fifteen seconds after that, Murray grabbed a rebound off a Colin Krzyzanowski miss, and drove upcourt and drew a foul from Simko, but proceeded to miss both his free throws, and the score remained at 21-19 in favor of the Guvs with 5:23 left before intermission. Two seconds later, Lenahan missed the front end of another one and one, and on the next Eagle possession, Tipton missed a one and one himself, but Murray was there for the offensive rebound and putback for a 21-21 tie at the 5:16 mark. Steve Nappe then scored a layup to put Edison on top at 23-21, but Simko retorted with a layup of his own to knot the game again at the 3:46 mark as Governors head coach, George Krzyzanowski called for time. After the timeout, the game continued to go back and forth as Lenahan made one of two at the line for a 24-23 lead with 3:41 to go in the half, but then Quenta McDonald got a steal, and drove the length of the floor for a layup, and a 25-24 lead with 3:15 left in the second.
Within thirty seconds after McDonald's score, South Amboy took the lead back as Charmello scored on a putback for a 26-25 lead at around the 2:45 mark of the second. The Eagles would go ahead once more with a field goal for a 27-26 lead, but Simko found Lenahan for a layup, and a 28-27 advantage with 2:13 to go in the opening half. Up to this point, there had been a total of 12 lead changes and 6 ties in the contest. However, there would be no more the rest of the way as Lenahan's basket ignited a pivotal 10-0 late first half tear that essentially put the game away. A little more than a minute after Lenahan's layup, Simko struck for a three pointer to put the Guvs ahead by four as Edison coach, Charlie Mohr called for a thirty second timeout. The stoppage didn't appear to be the tonic. As a matter of fact, it seemed as if the timeout poured gasoline on the fire as Simko, who scored six points in this run, made one of two at the line with 59.5 left in the half, and then a short jumper at the 21.3 second mark for a 34-27 lead. Charmello then got a steal as Edison turned the ball over several times during this key stretch, and went in for a layup that made the score 36-27. Charmello then got another steal, and drew a foul with 5.6 seconds to go in the half, but missed both free throw attempts, and the Guvs had to settle for a 36-27 halftime lead. Looking at the first half scoring, Simko made 6 of 11 from the floor including one of four from three point range, and 4 of 5 from the foul line for 17 points along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal while Lenahan already had a double-double with 11 points on 4 of 11 shooting from the floor and 3 of 6 at the line while collecting 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, a steal, and an assist.
On the other side of the scoring ledger, Edison got seven points from Murray on 3 of 7 field goals to go along with 7 rebounds and 2 assists while Holmes had 6 points on two field goals and 2 of 3 at the line to go with 2 boards. At the half, Edison made only 11 of 29 shots for 37.9 percent while South Amboy was not much better going 14 of 38 for 36.8 percent, but the Guvs were better in the second making 8 of 18 shots for 44.4 percent. Both teams were a combined 2 of 15 from beyond the arc with Edison going 1 of 6 for 16.7 percent, and South Amboy making 1 of 9 for 11.1 percent. Free throw shooting was just as intolerable with the Eagels only making 2 of 9 shots for 22.2 percent while the Guvs connected on just 7 of 19 for 36.8 percent. Turnovers were a key factor with Edison coughing up the ball some 14 times over the first two periods while South Amboy just committed 6 miscues. Rebounding overall was close with the Governors holding a slight 21-20 edge at the half, but the home team dominated the offensive glass with a 10-5 advantage. The Guvs forced a number of those first half Eagle turnovers with ten steals while only yielding two to the visitors from the GMC Red. In the third quarter, the Guvs continued right where they left off at the end of the first half with a 9-5 run over the first three minutes of the second half including two free throws by Charmello at the 6:57 mark, a Krzyanowski three pointer from the right wing, and two foul shots by Simko at the five minute mark for a 45-32 lead. Following a Guv timeout at the 4:16 mark and an Edison score, South Amboy scored five more points including a trey by Simko from the left corner off an assist by Krzyzanowski, and a steal and an assist by Charmello on a Krzyzanowski layup for a 50-34 lead at the 2:52 mark.
Holmes would get a three pointer that would put a drop into the Governor lead, but then South Amboy reeled off another five points on yet another trifecta by Simko after he blocked a Holmes shot and grabbed the rebound at the other end, and then a Lenahan layup off a rebound and assist by Charmello for a 57-37 lead with 53.3 seconds left in the third. The Guvs then got another score to end the third quarter, and despite an 11-6 run over the first 3:28 of the fourth by Edison, South Amboy went on to win easily, 71-53. With the victory, South Amboy improves to 7-2 overall, and more importantly, 5-0 in conference play. Meanwhile, Edison drops to 2-6, and 2-5 in the GMC.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
South Amboy (7-2) |
13 | 23 | 23 | 12 | 71 |
Edison (2-6) |
17 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 53 |
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