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GMC Hoops Summaries--December 27, 2011
Holiday Tournaments--Gene Haley Memorial Tournament

Fourth Quarter Spurt Lifts JFK Past D.C. Foe, 46-35

By Greg Machos
December 27, 2011

ISELIN, NJ—Struggling to score points through their first four games of this young season, the Mustangs of J.F. Kennedy showed flashes of good offense to get its first win of 2011-12. Two key spurts were the difference in the opening round of the Gene Haley Memorial Tournament against H.D. Woodson of Washington, D.C. Trailing 17-7 at one point in the second period, the Mustangs finished the first half with a 13-2 tear including a bucket at the 15 second mark for a 20-19 lead going into the intermission.

After a relatively even third quarter, which helped the Mustangs increase its lead to three at 30-27, the home team put together a decisive 12-3 spurt over the first 2:57 of the fourth for a 42-30 lead. Woodson, which visited Middlesex County during opening weekend last year, and lost to Piscataway and Cardinal McCarrick, would get no closer than seven the rest of the way as Kennedy went on two win 46-35. The Mustangs advanced to play Blue Division foe Carteret in the Championship Game. Both the Ramblers and Mustangs played already this year with Carteret winning 52-33 on December 20th.

Leading the way for the winners was senior forward, Vik Pawar, who registered a game high 13 points on four field goals including a three, and four foul shots. Fellow seniors Steve Alvarez and Josh Kamenas as well as junior Zach Buchholz chipped in with 8 points apiece. The Warriors, which had no players score in double figures, was led by senior 6'4" center, Terrell Baker, who scored a team high 9 points. Senior guard Robert Simpson chipped in with 7 points. After being outscored in the first period by a 9-4 margin, Kennedy outscored its out of state foe in each of the last three periods for the win. H.D. Woodson had 8 players break into the scoring column while the Mustangs had 7.

The Warriors actually fared better from three point range than Kennedy did. Woodson outscored the Mustangs by a 15-3 margin with Pawar getting the only trey for JFK. However, the home team was able to get the win thanks to outscoring the Warriors by a 13-2 margin at the foul line, and enjoying a 15-9 edge in two point field goals. After Kennedy took the one point lead into the locker room, the game seesawed back and forth a bit in the early third with Woodson actually tying the game at 22-22 on a three pointer from the right wing at the 5:39 mark. However, Alvarez, who scored six points in the frame, put JFK up for good with a layup moments later. The bucket sparked an 8-3 spurt over a span of 4:33 to give the Mustangs a 30-25 lead.

Also highlighting the run was a bank shot by Buchholz at the 3:12 mark, a reverse layup by Pawar at the 2:38 mark, and another bucket by Alvarez with a minute remaining in the period. Woodson pulled within three again to end the third on a jumper from the left side with 20 seconds to go, but the Warriors would gave way in the early part of the fourth. Led by Kamenas, who had 6 points during the key spurt, Kennedy put the game away. The senior forward opened the final period with a layup as he was fouled with 7:28 to go. He then drew a foul in the left low block, and made both free throws at the 6:59 mark for a 34-27 lead. After Woodson got a basket at the 6:27 mark to narrow the deficit to five, Kamenas struck again with a jumper from the left side for a 36-29 lead with 6:06 to go.

Pawar and Alvarez followed up with scores of their own at the 5:51 and 5:24 marks for a 40-29 lead. Shabas Clarke capped the run with his only points of the game on a layup from the left side for a 42-30 lead with just over five minutes remaining. The lead stayed that way until the Warriors connected on a three pointer from the right corner at the 2:41 mark, and Baker knocked in a jumper with 37.5 seconds to play for a 42-35 Kennedy lead. It was too little, too late though as the Mustangs got pairs of free throws from Buchholz at the 29 second mark, and Kurt Lorentzen at the 19.4 second mark to wrap up the eleven point win. With the victory, Kennedy improved to 1-3 on the year while Woodson dropped to 0-7. The Warriors are 0-3 in two visits to Middlesex County over the past two years. They hope to change their fortunes on Wednesday in the consolation game against Edison. Read the play-by-play from the last two plus quarters of the contest.

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