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Bridgewater
Falls In Overtime Despite |
By Greg Machos
December 15, 2007SOUTH ORANGE, NJ—For the sixth straight year, GMC Hoops is covering action at the Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic, which is now sponsored by the Star-Ledger. For the first time though, the web site is devoting two days of coverage with a game on Saturday as well as the now traditional tripleheader on Sunday. While there were no GMC teams in this showcase for the third straight year, there was a Central Jersey team competing on Saturday as Group IV, Somerset County, and Skyland Conference-Delaware East power, Bridgewater Raritan, took on another state power in Don Bosco Prep out of Ramsey in Northern New Jersey in the 5:00 PM game. Known more for its football, Don Bosco actually has a solid hoops program as well. As a matter of fact, in the 2003 Tip-Off Classic, the Ironmen soundly defeated St. Joseph's, 52-26. After trailing by nine in a low scoring game for three quarters, Bridgewater, led by team MVP, Andy August went on a 20-11 surge in the fourth to tie things up in overtime. However, in the extra session, freshman, 6'5" forward, Vaughn Gray canned a three pointer from the right corner with 22 seconds left to answer a three by the Panthers' guard, Ryan Merten for a 56-54 lead.
Bridgewater-Raritan had two chances to tie after their coach, Tim Ortelli, called for time with 15.9 seconds left in overtime. However, the Panthers missed scoop shot off a well designed inbounds play with 9.5 seconds left, and then Merten lost control of his dribble on the team's last possession following one of two free throws by Georgio Milligan with 8.3 left for the 57-54 win by Don Bosco Prep. August wound up with a game high 26 points on eight field goals and ten foul shots along with 16 rebounds for a double-double while Milligan had a team high 23 points on eight field goals and seven foul shots according to the article in Sunday's Star-Ledger. Merten chipped in for the Panthers with two field goals, two threes, and two free throws for 12 points while Gray scored his ten points on two field goals, his clutch three, and three free throws for the Ironmen. Also scoring for Bridgewater were senior guard, Dave Pilla with two field goals and two foul shots for 6 points, Cole Wurmstich with four points on a circus shot layup to open the overtime for his only field goal along with two free throws, and junior Max Schwartz, who had a field goal to round out the Panther scoring with two points.
Meanwhile, Kyle Smyth chipped in for the Ironmen with three field goals and three charity shots for 9 points while junior guard, Max Brewer also contributed with 7 points on a field goal, a three, and two free throws. Senior Alex Desanzo (a field goal and two free throws for 4 points), and juniors Kenneth Click (a field goal for two points) and Matt Rybak (field goal for two points) rounded out the scoring for Don Bosco, which is now 2-0 after winning its opener Friday night over Montclair. For the game, Bridgewater-Raritan, which was 23-3 last season, made 16 field goals, two threes, and 16 foul shots for its 54 points while Don Bosco Prep made 17 field goals, two threes, and 17 foul shots for its 57 points and the victory. Over the last 12 minutes of the first half, the Ironmen went 5 of 17 overall from the field for just 29.4 percent, but made up for it by connecting on 10 of 13 free throws for 76.9 percent. Meanwhile, in that same time frame, Bridgewater made 8 of 16 shots including one of four from beyond the arc for 50 percent, and 2 of 3 at the line for 66.7 percent. August got the lion's share of the points during the stretch with ten points on 5 of 6 shooting for 10 points along with 5 rebounds while Merten chipped in with 2 of 4 shooting including a three pointer, and a perfect 2 of 2 at the line for 7 points.
On my way to the game, I happened to miss the turn for Route 78 East in Watchung, and as a result, my arrival was delayed until midway through the first period. I actually thought that I would get there later, but the game must of had a late start. By the time I sat down, the Ironmen were already out in front by a 5-1 score, and then Gray made two free throws at the 3:52 mark for a 7-1 lead. However, Bridgewater, stormed back as it would later in the game with three field goals the rest of the way to tie things up at 7-7 as Don Bosco, which didn't score a field goal over the last four minutes of the first, was held scoreless in the final 3:52. The Panthers first got layups from Schwartz and Merten over a 2:12 span to pull within two at 7-5 with 1:40 left in the first, and then August capped the opening period rally with an offensive rebound and putback to tie the game up at 7-7 with a minute to play. In the second quarter, Don Bosco took control with an 18-13 showing by scoring five field goals and making eight foul shots. Milligan led the way for the Ironmen with 2 of 4 shooting from the floor, and a 5 of 7 effort from the line for half his team's points in the frame. Meanwhile, for Bridgewater, Merten scored five points on a trifecta at the 3:16 mark, and a pair of free throws at the 2:39 mark while August scored eight points on four field goals.
Smyth opened the scoring for both teams by making both his free throws at the 7:28 mark to give Don Bosco Prep at 9-7 lead. August then got a score for the Panthers to tie things up at 9-9, but Miligan put the Ironment back out in front with a pair of foul shots at the 6:50 mark for an 11-9 lead. The Ramsey school then made it a 10-4 run with a 6-2 burst that included a layup by Gray off an assist by Milligan, a short pull-up jumper by Milligan, and a steal for a layup by Smyth at the 4:15 mark for a 17-11 lead. Almost exactly a minute later, Merten made the first of his two threes, on a long jumper from the right wing for a 17-14 Ironmen lead at the 3:16 mark. Milligan then replied a little more than a half minute later with two offensive rebounds, and a putback to make it a five point Don Bosco lead at 19-14 with 2:45 to go in the half. Moments later though, Merten was fouled, and went to the line to make his only two free throws of the game that made the score, 19-16 at the 2:39 mark. On the Ironmen's very next possession, Milligan struck again with an off-balanced shot that drew a foul, and resulted in two free throws for a 21-16 lead with 2:25 to go before the intermission. Bridgewater would get on the board again went August scored on another offensive rebound and putback at the 1:33 mark to close the gap to 21-18.
Don Bosco Prep would score again for a five point lead, and then went ahead by more when Desanzo grabbed an offensive board, and was fouled on the follow as it went in. However, the 6'2" senior forward, missed the bonus free throw, so the score stood at 23-18 with 1:22 left before halftime. The Ironmen had a chance to go ahead even further, but Milligan missed a pair of foul shots in the double bonus at the 57.3 mark. Don Bosco got two more points thanks to a couple of free throws including a one of two effort by Smyth at the 31.4 mark for a 24-18 lead. Trailing 25-18, Bridgewater-Raritan got a bucket to close out the first half scoring as August hit a one handed shot as he was fouled at the 4.2 second mark, but missed the bonus free throw so the halftime score was 25-20. Now actually, what I had in my notes was Don Bosco leading by four as Smyth got the final Ironment points with a little more than a half minute to go. However, when I looked up at the scoreboard, it showed Don Bosco Prep up by five. I scratched my head to see where they got the extra point, but I would eventually learn in articles from both the Star-Ledger and the Courier News that the Ramsey school got a bonus point just before the break. However, Ortelli and his staff was not aware of it so the game played on with the discrepancy.
In the third quarter, Don Bosco cemented its lead a tad with a 10-6 showing in the period for a 35-26 advantage entering the fourth. Bridgewater only managed two field goals, and a pair of foul shots in the period while the Ironmen scored its ten on three field goals, a three pointer, and one of two from the line. August opened the second half scoring with two free throws at the 7:13 mark to close the gap to three at 25-22. However, after an injury timeout for Panther 6'6" senior forward, Art Morrison at the 6:45 mark, Don Bosco drew a charge on Pilla at the 5:48 mark, and then got a reverse layin by Click, and a steal for a layup by Smyth over the next 1:33 for a 29-22 lead before August got a score that made it a five point game again at 29-24 with 4:15 to play in the period. Almost forty seconds later, Brewer then netted a long jumper from the right wing for three to make it a 32-24 lead, which was the largest of the contest up to this point at the 3:36 mark. Following a Panther score, Desanzo made one of two at the line for a 33-26 advantage with 3:14 to play. Bridgewater-Raritan would call for time at the 1:31 mark, but after a Don Bosco Prep turnover at the 1:10 mark, the Ironmen got the final points of the period on a short baseline jumper from the left side by Milligan with three seconds remaining for a nine point lead entering what appeared at first to be the final period of play.
The fourth quarter would equal the second in terms of scoring as both teams combined for 31 points with the Panthers getting the lion's share to force the extra session. As a matter of fact, the fourth quarter and the overtime accounted for 50 points combined, or 45 percent of all the scoring in the game. The North Jersey school scored the first points of the fourth as Milligan broke Bridgewater's pressure, and dished to Rybak for his only field goal of the game on a layup that made the score, 37-26 as Bosco head coach, Kevin Diverio called for time with 6:47 to play in regulation. August would get the Panthers on the board with a short jumper from the left side at the 5:43 mark to spark a 6-0 run as the Ironmen turned the ball over on a subsequent possession while August got a steal and assist on a short jumper by Pilla from the right baseline to cap the run, and make the score, 37-32 with 4:49 remaining in the fourth as Don Bosco Prep called timeout. Following the stoppage, the Ironmen had a chance to get themselves some breathing room, but Gray missed both of his free throws at the 4:43 mark, and the score remained 37-32 until August scored on an offensive rebound and putback to trim the deficit to three. Smyth would put the Ironment back up by five with a layup, but Pilla then made a pair of charity shots at the 3:43 mark for a 39-36 Bosco advantage.
Milligan would then score on a nifty move for a five point lead again, but it didn't last long as August stepped up to the line for two free throws to close the gap to three again at 41-38 with 2:28 to play in the fourth. On the next Ironmen possession, Milligan scored a layup, and drew the foul from August (3rd of the game), but missed the bonus foul shot to put Bosco back up by five again, 43-38 with 2:08 left in the fourth. Pilla then made a jumper to close the gap to three again on a jumper before Desanzo was fouled by August (4th personal), and made one of two for a 44-40 edge at the 1:25 mark. Moments later, the Panthers made it a two point game as Wurmstich connected on a pair of foul shots for a 44-42 score. Gray would score next on an offensive rebound and follow at the one minute mark, but Bridgewater-Raritan quickly replied as August registered another assist by penetrating and dishing to junior guard, Andrew Marbach for a short basline jumper from the right side to pull within two again at 46-44 as Ortelli called for time with 47.1 left. Following the timeout, Desanzo was fouled at the 43.1 mark, but missed both charity shot attempts, and then on the Panthers next possession, August drew a foul, and calmly sank both of his foul shot attempts to tie the game at 46-46 with 20.3 remaining in regulation. After a Don Bosco timeout at the 11.9 mark, Smyth took a long jumper from the left wing, and missed as time was running out. Bridgewater got the rebound, and the ball went into the hands of Wurmstich, who took a running jumper that hit backiron as the buzzer sounded with both teams tied at 46-46.
In the extra session, there were actually more points scored by both teams in the four minutes than in the first (14) and third periods (16). Wurmstich started the scoring with a circus shot for a layup that gave the Panthers a 48-46 lead at about the 3:50 mark. Quickly retaliating, the Ironment scored the next four points including a nice penetrating drive for a layup by Brewer at the 2:24 mark for the 50-48 edge. Three seconds later, August drew a foul, and made one of two at the line to pull his team to within one at 50-49. Bosco then got one of two free throws itself to go back up by two at 51-49 with 2:06 left. On the next Panther possession, August was fouled once more, and stepped to the line to make another pair that tied the contest at 51-51 with 1:45 remaining. Brewer, who was one of several Ironmen to score in the extra period, made two foul shots of his own to put the Ramsey school ahead again at 53-51 with 1:20 to play. Following a Bridgewater-Raritan timeout at the 1:13 mark, Merten sank his final three of the contest on a long jumper from the right wing to put the Panthers on top, 54-53 with exactly a minute to play. Don Bosco then brought the ball up, moved it around a bit, and began holding for a final shot when Diverio called for time at the 37.3 mark. After the timeout, the Ironmen got the ball to Gray, who then sank a clutch trey from the right corner with 22 seconds to play for the 56-54 lead.
Wurmstich then got the ball into Bridgewater's frontcourt, where Ortelli called for time with 15.9 seconds left. Following the timeout, the Panthers inbounded the ball, and got it into the hands of Wurmstich, who saw an opening, and drove to the basket, but missed the foul shot with under ten seconds left. Milligan got the rebound, was fouled, and made one of two at the line for a 57-54 lead with 8.3 remaining. Still having a chance to force another overtime with a three, Bridgewater got the ball into the hands of Merten, who dribbled down the floor, and looked to fire a tying shot, but appeared to get tripped up, and lost control of the ball as time expired. With the win, the Ironmen stay undefeated at 2-0 while Bridgewater falls to 1-1.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT |
Total |
Don Bosco Prep (2-0) |
7 | 18 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 57 |
Bridgewater-Raritan (1-1) |
7 | 13 | 6 | 20 | 8 | 54 |
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