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Kuiper,
Osofsky, And Pace Combine To Help |
By Greg Machos
December 21, 2009SPOTSWOOD, NJ--Monday night's matchup between the Metuchen Bulldogs and the Spotswood Chargers appeared to be a game worth seeing when the schedules came out during the offseason. However, the game ended up being one that didn't live up to the hype. Spotswood, ranked eighth in the GMC Hoops Pre-Season Top Ten, and picked to finish second in the GMC Blue, took it to Metuchen, which was also considered for the Top Ten as well as picked for third in the GMC Blue. The Chargers dominated from start to finish in their 66-39 victory.
Spotswood, which outscored the visiting Bulldogs in each quarter, made 18 field goals, six three pointers, and 12 free throws in the contest while limiting Metuchen to 16 of 51 shooting from the floor for 31 percent. The Chargers also forced MHS to commit 21 turnovers in the contest. Allen Kuiper, who transferred in from West Virginia, made eight field goals and netted seven foul shots for a game high 23 points. The 6'5" senior center was unstoppable at times with nice post moves down low along with a fine touch. Teammate Tyler Osofsky chipped in with 20 points on seven field goals, a three pointer, and three foul shots while also picking up 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
Cody Pace also contributed with a solid performance from the floor as he made five three pointers along with a foul shot for 16 points to go along with 3 assists and 3 steals. The trio of Kuiper, Osofsky, and Pace combined for 91 percent of the Charger offense. James Pareti only had 2 points, but did a fine job of playmaking with 10 assists while swiping four steals. One of the bright spots in a dim performance by Metuchen was senior Nick Callas, who scored a team high 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting including a perfect 3 of 3 from long distance. Callas also collected 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. Mike Crusco and Evan Carberry also chipped in with eight points each for the Bulldogs, which were playing in their first game since their home opener against Middlesex was called off due to a bomb threat at the school earlier in the day on Friday.
Spotswood got off to a fine start early with a 16-7 first quarter lead, and then outscored Metuchen by a 19-10 margin over the first 5:11 of the second period for a 35-17 lead when GMC Hoops arrived after being at work. The Bulldogs put together a 4-0 run including a bucket by Carberry to close the gap to 35-21 with 1:30 left. However, the Chargers, which won their opener over neighborhood rival, South River (70-55), on Friday night, finished the half strong with an 8-2 spurt including two layups and two free throws by Kuiper and a layup by Tom Pareti for his only points of the game to make the score 43-23 at the intermission. Things wouldn't get better for the Dogs as the Chargers opened the second half with a 5-2 run including a three point play by Osofsky, and two of four from the line by Kuiper to take a 48-25 lead.
Metuchen tried to battle back with a 5-0 run to pull within 48-30 midway through the third as Spotswood called timeout. However, the Chargers wouldn't let the Bulldogs back into the game with four of the next six points including two field goals by Kuiper. Crusco got the only bucket during this stretch for Metuchen as Spotswood led 52-32 with 1:33 to go in the frame. Osofsky almost had another three point play at the 1:02 mark, but missed the bonus foul shot for a 54-32 lead, and then Kuiper closed out the period scoring with an offensive rebound and follow as the buzzer sounded for a 56-32 advantage heading into the fourth. The final period began much like the third ended as Spotswood continued to pour it on.
The Chargers opened the fourth with five of the first seven points of the stanza including a turnaround jumper by Kuiper and a three pointer from the left wing by Pace for a 61-34 lead with 5:04 left. Both teams finished the contest with five points each as Kuiper added another field goal while Callas got his final three for Metuchen as Spotswood won, 66-39. With the victory, the Chargers improved to 2-0 both overall and in divisional play while the Bulldogs begin the year at 0-1. See video highlights as well as the blog entry on this game in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Spotswood (2-0) |
16 | 27 | 13 | 10 | 66 |
Metuchen (0-1) |
7 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 39 |
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