We've just archived the summaries on several scrimmages that we covered in the pre-season, the Freshmen and JV Games of the Week, and Freshmen and JV Roundups.

GMC Hoops Summaries--January 30, 2008
Week Seven Of Action--GMC Blue/Gold Crossover Clash

Guvmania Grips South Amboy As Packed House Watches Guvs Match Last Season's Win Total In 77-59 Win

By Greg Machos
January 30, 2008

SOUTH AMBOY, NJ—It was not only senior night at South Amboy Middle/High School, but the Boys Soccer team was also honored in front of a packed crowd. Finding a parking spot at Guv games has become a chore for the first time since GMC Hoops was launched in the summer of 2000. In a word, Guvmania has gripped the tiny enclave that is more known as the Gateway to the Jersey Shore. And it is with good reason, despite a bit of a sluggish start, especially from its standout guard, Mark Simko, the Governors were able to roll to a 77-59 victory over J.F. Kennedy to already match its season win total from last year. The Guv Goonies, a fan section that the site has appropriately given this moniker due to its relentless attacks on the opposing players and coaches during the course of every contest witnessed by GMC Hoops this season, were out in full force again and going wild. South Amboy, which actually trailed 6-1 early on thanks to three pointers from sophomore Joe Marciano and senior Jonathan Toczynski, embarked on a decisive 35-11 rampage over the final 13:30 of the first half for a 36-17 lead at the intermission. Simko, who only had two points in the first period, eventually got going, and still managed to compile another impressive statistical night. The senior guard ended up connecting on 8 of 17 shots including 2 of 5 from three point land, and made 10 of 11 free throws for a game high 28 points along with 2 rebounds, a steal, and a block.

Senior forward, Larry Lenahan, had another monster double-double performance with 23 points on 9 of 11 shooting from the floor, and 5 of 7 from the foul line while pulling down 20 boards including 11 on the offensive end. Lenahan, who has averaged 17 points and 15 rebounds in the four games covered by this web site in 2007-08, also picked up an assist, block, and a charge. Simko, meanwhile, has averaged 28 points per game in three South Amboy games covered by GMC Hoops, and has connected on 18 of 35 shots overall from the floor for 51.4 percent including 5 of 11 from beyond the arc for 45.5 percent, and a scorching 19 of 22 from the foul line for 86.4 percent in his last two GMC Hoops featured contests including a 32 point performance against Edison on January 7th. Sophomore Joey Charmello also had some struggles from the perimeter, but still managed to tabulate 11 points on four field goals, and a three pointer while adding 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists, and a block. Steven Poltritzky continues to make his bid for GMC Hoops Most Improved Player in 2007-08 with three field goals, and a 3 of 5 effort at the line for 9 points along with 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, and an assist. Over the past two GMC Hoops games, Poltritzky has averaged a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. On the other side of the scoring ledger, Marciano was the only bright spot for the Mustangs, which had made a recent bid for its first state tourney berth since the 2001-02 season, and still have a good chance to record its first ten win season since the Jerry Smith era. The sophomore guard, and younger brother of recent graduate, Vinnie Marciano, made seven field goals including 5 of 7 from long distance, and netted 3 of 4 from the line for a team high 22 points as well as 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. To view the rest of the individual statistics, please visit the contest's stat page in the GMC Hoops Game Stats section.

Looking at the team statistics, the Guvs ended up shooting 28 of 68 overall from the floor for 41.2 percent including a paltry 3 of 17 from beyond the arc for 17.6 percent. At the free throw line, South Amboy connected on 18 of 23 for 78.3 percent. Meanwhile, Kennedy was limited to just 19 of 52 shooting for 36.5 percent, but clicked on 9 of 19 from long range for 47.4 percent. The Mustangs struggled from the foul line though making only 12 of 23 attempts for 52 percent. In other statistical areas, the Governors had a decisive advantage in rebounding (52-25), and especially the offensive glass (23-9) while enjoying edges in turnovers (19-20), steals (9-8) and blocks (5-3). J.F. Kennedy actually had advantages in assists (13-11) and charges (3-1). South Amboy outscored the visitors in each of the first three periods including a 44-26 showing during the middle two frames. The Guvs scored in double figures in each quarter including two 20 plus point periods while the Mustangs scored in double figures in three of the four stanzas. In the first quarter, the Governors shot 6 of 18 from the floor, and made none of their three trey attempts while making just 2 of 4 at the line. Kennedy on the other hand, made only 2 of 10 shots over the final 5:30, and clicked on just 4 of 12 in the frame including 2 of 4 from downtown. Both teams combined for 11 first quarter turnovers with the Guvs making fewer (5-6). The Mustangs, which happened to be featured in the Woodbridge local cable TV Game of the Week, opened up the game with a three pointer from Marciano off an assist by Toczynski for a 3-0 lead before Lenahan drew a foul, stepped to the line, and netted one of two for a 3-1 JFK advantage at the 6:17 mark.

A little while later, Toczynski, himself, connected on a three pointer off an assist by Will Roman for a 6-1 lead before South Amboy began their momentus surge. The dramatic turnaround began quietly with a couple field goals including a steal by John Zammit, and an assist on a Simko layup for a 6-5 score. Brian Reilly tried to get the Mustangs going again, but misfired on a couple foul shots at the 4:59 mark. Lenahan then scored on a putback for a 7-6 Guv lead at the 4:38 mark. A little more than a half minute later, Poltritzky went to the line, and made one of two for a two point, 8-6 lead at the 4:02 mark. Fifty-one seconds later, Poltritzky struck again, but this time for a field goal as he grabbed an offensive rebound, and put in the follow for a 10-6 advantage at the 3:11 mark. Poltritzky then grabbed a board on the defensive end, and drove the length of the floor for a layup, and a six point edge at 12-6 with 2:53 remaining in the first as the Guvs had already put together an 11-0 run in a 2:37 span. Neither team would score for the next 1:22 until Charmello went in for a reverse layup, and failed to put it in. Nearby was Lenahan, who grabbed the offensive rebound, and put it back in for a 13-0 tear, and a 14-6 lead with 1:31 to go in the first as first year Kennedy head coach, Chris Banos called a timeout. Following the stoppage, the Mustangs closed out the first quarter with the final four points to cut the deficit in half at 14-10 heading into the second. In the next frame, the Guvs became a juggernaut by blitzing JFK with a 22-7 showing in the period for the 19 point halftime lead.

The period started with South Amboy reeling off the first six points of the contest including an offensive rebound and putback by Lenahan off a miss by Colin Krzyzanowski for a 20-10 lead with 6:23 left in the opening half. A little more than a minute later, Marciano stepped up to the line, and made one of two foul shots to bring the deficit back down to single digits at 20-11 with 5:18 to go before the intermission. It was at this point that Simko began to get going offensively as he scored two straight layups off assists by Krzyzanowski and Charmello for a 24-11 lead as JFK utilized one of its thirty second timeouts with 4:12 to play in the second period. Following the timeout, Simko got on the board again, but this time, it was at the free throw line with a pair of free throws for a 26-11 lead with 3:44 left in the half. Both teams exchanged scores as the Guvs took a 28-13 lead before Simko picked up his second personal at the 3:04 mark. South Amboy then closed out the first half with an 8-4 run highlighted by another Lenahan putback of a Charmello miss as he was fouled for a three point play, and his team's biggest lead of the first half at 33-13 with 1:46 to go before the break. Leading by 19 at the intermission, the Guvs got 33 of their 36 points from three players: Lenahan, Simko, and Poltritzky. Lenahan connected on 6 of 8 shots, and made 2 of 4 free throws for 14 points as well as 14 boards for a double-double while blocking a shot, and drawing a charge. Simko was only 4 of 11 from the floor, but made all four of his foul shots for 12 points, a rebound, steal, and block. Poltritzky clicked on 2 of 4 shots, and 3 of 4 at the line for 7 points along with 8 boards.

On the other side of the ledger, Roman was the bright spot as he made 3 of 6 shots from the floor for 6 points, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. Moving over to the halftime stats, the Mustangs were 7 of 22 from the floor for 31.8 percent including 2 of 7 from long distance for 28.6 percent. On the other hand, South Amboy was 13 of 36 from the field for 36.1 percent, but if you took away the 0 of 9 effort from beyond the arc, the team was shooting nearly 50 percent. In addition, the Guvs were 10 of 12 at the charity stripe for 83.3 percent while JFK was just 1 of 6. In other statistical areas, the Governors held advantages in turnovers (8-13), rebounds (28-11), offensive rebounds (12-2), steals (4-3), and blocks (2-1). Kennedy had a 5-3 edge in assists while charges were even (1-1). In the third period, the home team continued to roll with a slight 22-19 edge in a period that saw the most points scored in the game. The Mustangs tried to climb back into the matchup with 7 of the first 13 points of the second half over a span of 2:41 for a 42-24 South Amboy lead with 5:19 left in the frame. However, the Guvs replied with the next five points including a coast to coast layup by Simko as he was fouled for the conventional three point play, and a 47-24 lead with 4:40 left in the stanza. From there, JFK would outscore the Guvs by a 12-11 margin, but SAHS still maintained an insurmountable, 58-36 lead. In the final period, South Amboy started out by getting the lion's share of the first 25 points in the period with a 14-11 edge over the first 4:12 for a 72-47 lead when all of the Guv starters left the game. After that, Kennedy outscored the home team by a 12-5 margin to round out the final 77-59 final score.

With the victory, South Amboy has won their fourth straight game since losing to Middlesex back on January 19th, and improved to 13-4 overall on the season, and more importantly, raised its conference record to 9-1 including a 2-1 mark in crossover games. Meanwhile, Kennedy fell to 7-11 overall, and 6-11 in the GMC including a 1-5 record in games outside the GMC Blue.

 

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