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Little
Eagles Set Tone For Big Night At McCarrick |
By Greg Machos
January 19, 2008SOUTH AMBOY, NJ—After seeing Metuchen's JV rally back from the dead less than twenty four hours earlier, GMC Hoops was in store for more dramatic comebacks from the lower levels as it visited Cardinal McCarrick in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday. Following a fine game between the Middlesex Blue Jays and the Guvs of South Amboy across town near the Raritan Bay, the web site was treated to a fine matchup between to of the top freshmen programs in the conference. After going undefeated during the regular season, and then nearly winning the Championship in the post-season tournament at the 2007 Colonia Freshmen Summer League, the Little Eagles had high expectations for 2007-08. However, with top players from the summer in Jeremy Cruz and Ryan Smith getting promoted to the JV level, McCarrick was somewhat more human heading into the season. Nevertheless, coming into Saturday's game, the Little Eagles had won 11 of 13 with their only two losses coming at the hands of Bishop Ahr and New Brunswick. The latter loss to the Little Zebras came in the Championship Game of their own holiday tournament (57-38). New Brunswick, led by the likes of Jaquan Cook, Devin Garder, and Nyeem Coleman, actually went on to seven of its first eight games including a lopsided 59-23 victory at home over South Plainfield on January 11th.
Meanwhile, Piscataway has historically done well down at the lower levels. To give an example, despite not having frosh sensations Wayne Newsome (promoted to the varsity) and Malcolm Griggs (promoted to JV) during the course of last season, P-Way's freshmen were still good enough to get to the Elite Eight of the 2007 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament, where it was upset by eventual third place winner, Spotswood. Since 1991, the Little Chiefs have only won two frosh tourney titles, but have reached the Elite Eight in five out of the last six years with four straight Final Four appearances from 2002 to 2005. The last time Piscataway won the Freshmen Tournament at Perth Amboy was in the 2002-03 season thanks to the likes of Kashann May. Prior to that, the only Little Chief team to win the coveted title was the 1991-92 team that was comprised of the nucleus that would go on to win the Group IV state title two years later, a sectional championship in 1995, and back to back GMC titles in 1994 and 1995. The 2002-03 team that last won the championship was coached by current freshmen coach, Brian Tuskan, who has coached both the JV and Freshmen teams during his tenure at P-Way. The Little Eagles on the other hand have not been as successful historically with only one Elite Eight appearance over the past six years (2004). The following year, in 2005, Cardy Mac was awarded the fifth seed, but was upset in the second round by twelfth seeded and eventual finalist South Brunswick.
Entering the game, the Little Chiefs had won six of its first nine games according to Coach Tuskan. One of the three losses were to St. Joseph's top freshmen squad, St. Joe's-Green (46-44), which is currently 11-1 including a 58-52 loss to East Brunswick. The Little Falcons of St. Joe's-Green recently defeated Colonia in a previous GMC Hoops Freshmen Game of the Week on January 5th. Another loss came at the hands of a top flight basketball program in Bridgewater in the final minute back in December at the Union Freshmen Holiday Tournament. P-Way's freshmen can be fickle. While they defeated East Brunswick by a score of 64-49 on January 14th, the also lost to South Brunswick thanks to some missed free throws. Both teams put on a fine show with P-Way jumping out to an early lead thanks to Bryan Wong (7 of 8 shooting including a three pointer for all 15 first quarter points). The Little Chiefs maintained that lead, and actually increased it to 13 midway through the third quarter before Cardinal McCarrick rallied for a come from behind, 52-48 victory. Aaron Radich led the way with a team high 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting including a three pointer in three attempts, and pulled down 13 rebounds for a double-double while handing out two assists. Teammate, John Appiah, the younger brother of St. Peter's transfer, Dominic Appiah, chipped in with 13 points on 4 of 9 shooting from the floor, and a 5 of 9 effort from the foul line while pulling down 7 rebounds, and collecting 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Mike Lewis, the son of McCarrick's varsity head coach, Joe Lewis, made 4 of 6 shots including a three pointer while making 2 of 4 at the line for 11 points, 4 assists, and a steal.
Chris Peralta also chipped in for the winners with 8 points on 3 of 7 shooting, and 2 of 4 at the line with the two made free throws coming 7.7 seconds left to seal the victory. Wong led the charge for Piscataway with 22 points on 10 of 14 shooting including a perfect 2 of 2 at the line. However, Wong, who also collected 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist, was held to just seven points after the first period. Isiah Carrington had a tough day shooting wise, but still managed to collect seven points on a field goal, three pointer, and two free throws along with 5 steals, 3 assists, and a rebound. Diminutive guard, Herbie Donerson showed a lot of spunk, but struggled from the floor as well although he still managed to chip in with 6 points on a field goal, three pointer, and one of two at the line while picking up two rebounds, and an assist off the bench. Cameron Hackett also contributed with two field goals for four points as well as an offensive rebound. The game was fairly well played with McCarrick committing only 18 turnovers while Piscataway made 15 miscues. Both teams scored in double figures in three of the four periods, but McCarrick came up with 21 in their biggest quarter, the fourth while Piscataway came up with 15 in theirs, which came in the first thanks to Wong. Roughly, P-Way went 20 of 55 from the floor for 36.4 percent including 4 of 8 from downtown for 50 percent. The Little Chiefs, however, only went 4 of 8 at the line. Meanwhile, McCarrick was about 20 of 43 from the floor for 46.5 including only 2 of 11 from three point range for 18.2 percent. However, the difference in this contest was the fact that the Little Eagles had more free throw attempts, going 10 of 27 for 37 percent.
In other statistical areas, McCarrick won the rebounding battle with a slightly 34-33 edge on the boards although Piscataway enjoyed a 15-12 advantage on the offensive glass. Cardy Mac also won the battle in assists (14-11), but the Little Chiefs hung tough with more steals (14-6). Both teams had as many blocks (1-1) and charges (0-0) as the other. The first period saw both teams struggle from the floor, but Piscataway had more chances, and most the most of them going 7 of 21 from the floor including one of one from beyond the arc, and only made three miscues while forcing the home team, which went just 2 of 8 from the field, to commit seven. The Little Eagles also shot themselves in the foot by making only 2 of 6 from the charity stripe. Wong was Superman in the opening period with all fifteen of his team's points on 6 of 7 shots from inside the arc, and making his only attempt from long distance. Ironically, the majority of McCarrick's points came within the first minute and a half of the game as Peralta and Lewis scored with layups for a 4-0 lead by the 6:30 mark. Piscataway didn't get on the board until the 4:56 mark when Wong got his first field goal for a 4-2 lead. From that point until the end of the period its was Wong 15--McCarrick 2 with the Little Eagles getting their only two points on two free throws by Appiah with 35 seconds left in the frame. The visitors from the GMC Red then scored two more baskets for a 6-0 run, and a 6-4 lead as Wong got another field goal, and then a layup while being fouled off a feed from Carrington, but missed the bonus free throw at the 3:41 mark.
Radich, who played really hard from the get go, and collected ten rebounds in the first half, then drove in for a layup attempt set up nicely by John Costello (4 points), the younger brother of Tom Costello, and drew the foul, but missed both free throws at the 2:28 mark as Wong had gotten an earlier score for an 8-4 P-Way lead. Wong then added two more field goals, and a three pointer for a personal 15-0 tear before Appiah netted his two foul shots. The baby bull of a forward, who played football during the fall, probably gives his older brother Dominic plenty of boxing out practice just by fighting it out for seconds at the dinner table, had an opportunity to cut the lead further, but missed both free throws at the 12 second mark, and the score remained 15-6 after one. Piscataway opened the second quarter with a field goal before Appiah scored a layup as he was fouled after he was set up nicely by a lob pass from Radich. Appiah then made the bonus free throw for a 17-9 P-Way lead at the 6:30 mark. Hackett would push the margin back to ten points with a layup before the Little Chiefs called for time at the 5:44 mark. Following the timeout, McCarrick scored on its next possession as Lewis, who was touted as the best ball handler in the entire McCarrick program by JV coach, Pat Kennedy, drained a three pointer from the right wing for a 19-12 Piscataway lead at the 5:20 mark. Appiah then followed up with a one of two showing at the line for a 19-13 Little Chief lead at the 4:49 mark. Over the next 2:50, Piscataway outscored McCarrick by a 5-4 margin as Carrington highlighted the run with a three pointer while Lewis missed the front end of a one and one at the 3:28 mark, and Radich made only one of two at the line for a 24-17 P-Way lead at the 1:59 mark of the second.
The Little Eagles then closed out the first half of play with four of the final six points including layups by both Radich and Peralta for a 26-21 Piscataway lead at the intermission. Looking at the first half scoring, Wong led the Little Chiefs with 17 points on 8 of 10 shooting including a three pointer while also collecting two rebounds, a steal, and a block. Hackett chipped in with a perfect 2 of 2 for 4 points to combine with Wong for nearly 81 percent of their team's offense. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ledger, Appiah and Radich each had 6 points with Appiah making his mostly at the line by going 4 of 7 while also collecting 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. Radich made 2 of 5 shots including a three pointer, and added a free throw while also picking up ten rebounds and two assists. Moving on to the halftime statistics, Piscataway went just 12 of 33 from the floor for 36.4 percent, which meant that outside of the combined 10 of 12 by Wong and Hackett, the team shot only 2 of 21 from the floor for 9.5 percent. McCarrick on the other hand, went only 7 of 22 for 31.8 percent. The Little Chiefs were also 50 percent from long range while the Little Eagles were only 20 percent. Free throw shooting was also a struggle for the home team as it went just 5 of 13 from the charity stripe for 38.5 percent while Piscataway missed its only free throw attempt. In other statistical areas, P-Way had edges in turnovers (8-11), and steals (10-2) while McCarrick held advantages in assists (7-5), rebounds (20-17), and offensive rebounds (9-8). Blocks and charges were even as they would be when the game ended.
In the third quarter, the Little Chiefs opened up the second half with the first five points including a three pointer by Wong, and an offensive rebound and putback by Cole for a 31-21 lead at the 5:23 mark when Andrew Eppinger stepped up to the line, and misfired on a couple of free throws as P-Way held its double digit lead. Piscataway eventually went up by 13 as Carrington netted two free throws at the 5:14 mark for a 33-21 lead and then the visitors got another point before Cardy Mac rallied to end the third with a 10-5 showing for a 39-31 Little Chief lead entering the fourth and final period. In the fourth, the Eagles surged with a 21-9 showing to close out the game for the four point win. Bolstered by the momentum gained at the end of the third as well as the growing crowd support in anticipation for the big showdown between the two ranked varsity programs later in the evening, the Little Eagles made their decisive move for the victory. Lewis started things off with a pair of free throws at the 7:43 mark for a 39-33 P-Way lead. A little more than a half minute later, the Little Chiefs were compelled to call for time in order to avoid turning the ball over at the 7:12 mark. Twenty-five seconds later, the home team cut the deficit to four as Appiah swiped a steal, and handed out an assist on a Lewis layup with 6:47 mark. Peralta had an opportunity to trim the P-Way lead even further, but he missed both free throws with 6:18 remaining. Lewis did pick up his teammate though with a drive for a layup that closed the gap to a single possession at 39-37 with 5:36 left. Aaron Alexander tried to stem the tide, but only made one of two at the line for a now tenuous 40-37 lead. However, McCarrick would close to wihtin one on a fadeaway bank shot by Appiah followed by a layup from Radich that made the score, 42-41 at the 4:30 mark.
The Little Eagles then took their first lead of the game on another layup by Radich off an assist from Appiah with 3:40 left. Forty-two seconds later, Tuskan and his squad were forced to take another timeout after McCarrick, now on a 14-3 tear, went up by three on an offensive rebound and putback by Costello off a miss by Peralta, who had gotten a steal to set up the scoring opportunity for a 45-42 lead with 2:58 remaining in regulation. Following the stoppage, the Little Eagles scored four of the next seven points for a 49-45 lead before Donnerson inserted into the game moments earlier, netted a three pointer from the left wing for a 49-48 Cardinal McCarrick lead at the 1:04 mark. However, P-Way couldn't get any closer as Appiah first made one of two at the line for a 50-48 lead with 43.8 left, and then despite four earlier misses from the free throw line by Radich and Peralta, the Little Eagles sealed the win as Peralta redeemed himself with a pair in the waning moments for the four point, 52-48 victory. With the win, Cardinal McCarrick improves to 12-2 overall while Piscataway dropped to 6-4.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Cardinal McCarrick (12-2) |
6 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 52 |
Piscataway (6-4) |
15 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 48 |
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