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Spotswood
Upends Middlesex On Liming Tip-In At Buzzer, 51-50 |
By Greg Machos
January 8, 2009SPOTSWOOD, NJ—Back in late October, the site called this matchup a very intriguing one when discussing it with the respective coaches. On Thursday night, not only was the game intriguing, but it also ended up being a classic. In a game that saw 11 lead changes, and 5 ties including 5 lead swaps, and 2 ties over the final 4:47, Spotswood, a team that had been ranked tenth in the GMC Hoops Top Ten coming into the game, defeated eighth ranked Middlesex on a tip in by junior forward Mike Liming off a missed jumper by Cody Pace as time expired, 51-50.
Speaking of Pace, the junior guard, who happens to be the cousin of Kenny Pace Jr. of Monroe, and the nephew of former Colonia head coach, Ken Pace Sr., was superb. Shooting 10 of 15 overall from the floor including 2 of 4 from three point range while making 2 of 3 from the foul line, Pace registered a game high 24 points along with 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal. Countering him for Middlesex was senior forward, Mark Stockton, who clicked on 9 of 16 shots from the field, and 1 of 3 from the foul line for a monster double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds as well as 3 assists, and a steal.
Liming himself had an interesting game. A member of the Spotswood freshmen team that edged Bishop Ahr in the Consolation Game of the 2007 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament, Liming only made 4 of 13 shots overall including 2 of 5 from long distance, and he made 1 of 2 at the line for 11 points along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and the game's only charge. He also committed a turnover late in the fourth that appeared to have him set to be the goat rather than the hero. However, he was in the right place at the right time to rebound when Pace, who was being tightly guarded by Middlesex reserve, Mike Fincher (2 of 3 FGs for 4 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist), put up a shot that went off the rim for the putback, and the win.
Like the game against Bishop Ahr, Middlesex seemed to struggle. The Blue Jays had 16 turnovers through three periods, and connected on only 4 of 15 three point attempts for the game. In addition, the Jays, which were just 8 of 15 at the line in the final 14:04 against the Trojans on December 22nd, were only 4 of 7 the entire night against the Chargers. On the other hand, Spotswood was more successful in those areas with only 11 turnovers for the game, 5 of 12 from three point range, and 6 of 12 from the line. Although Middlesex had a decisive edge on the boards (34-23 including a 16-12 edge on the offensive glass), it failed to box out when it counted, and Spotswood got the win as a result. In all fairness though to the Blue Jays, which had a good deal of fan support at the game with a boisterous student section, had to play on short rest having played a make-up game at home versus J.F. Kennedy on Wednesday night.
The Chargers, which had recently come off two victories against tough opponents from the Skyland Conference in a much bigger North Plainfield team, and Bound Brook, the defending Valley Division Champs, in the 2008 Crusader Classic, had earned their pre-season projection of being ranked in the GMC Hoops Top Ten. The home team, playing in the comfortable confines of the Spotswood Athletic Center, controlled the game for the most part, and even had the contest's largest lead at one point by being ahead 38-26 with just under two minutes to go in the third period. However, Middlesex showed the resiliency of a well coached veteran squad by fighting back with a 17-4 surge over a span of the next 5:11 to take a one point, 43-42 lead on a unconventional four point play by Mike Colacci (3 of 5 from three point range and 1 of 1 from the line for 10 points, 3 assists, and a steal) at the 4:47 mark of the fourth. From there, the game went back and forth, basket by basket, shot for shot.
Each team won two of the four periods with Spotswood gaining the edge in the first and third periods while Middlesex garnered the advantage in the second and fourth largely due to huge runs that got them back in the game. See the complete breakdown of statistics on the game in the GMC Hoops Game Stats section. Despite Middlesex having problems with turnovers in the first quarter, the Blue Jays only trailed by a 12-8 margin. The Jays actually took a 4-1 lead early before the Chargers closed the quarter with an 11-4 tear including 7 points from Ross Gerhart (4 of 8 FGs, and 3 of 6 FTs for 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal) on 3 of 4 field goals, and a 1 of 2 effort at the line. Spotswood forced five Middlesex turnovers while not committing a single one.
The first quarter started out quietly as Middlesex scored the first points of the game on an offensive rebound of a missed three pointer by Mike Perone and follow by Mark Stockton within the first minute of action. Gerhart then got himself, and his team on the board with one of two free throws at the 6:12 mark for a 2-1 Blue Jay lead. A little more than thirty seconds later, Mike Fincher put the Jays up by three points with an offensive rebound and putback for a 4-1 with 5:38 to go in the opening period. Thirty-four seconds later, Gerhart found Pat Dwyer (5 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist) on the left wing for a three pointer that not only tied the game at 4-4 with 5:04 left in the quarter, but also sparked the quarter ending run.
A bit more than a minute and a half went by before Spotswood took a 6-4 lead on an offensive rebound and follow by Gerhart off a James Pareti missed shot at the 3:32 mark. Sparky Stockton then replied with an offensive rebound and follow of his own off a missed three pointer by Colacci. Stockton, who was also fouled on the play, couldn't convert the traditional three point play to give his team the lead, and the score remained tied at 6-6 with 2:59 to go in the frame. Spotswood went back ahead when Liming passed to Gerhart for a layin that put the Chargers back up by an 8-6 margin with 2:16 to go in the period. On the very next Blue Jay possession, Colacci passed to Stockton for a short jumper from the left side to knot the score again at 8-8 with exactly two minutes to go in the frame.
The Chargers then ended the stanza with the final two scores including a Pace layup off a rebound and assist by Tyler Osofsky (3 assists, 2 rebounds, and a block) at the 50 second mark, and an offensive rebound and putback by Gerhart with 20 seconds remaining for the four point, 12-8 margin after one. The second period saw another even frame between the two division rivals, but not before Spotswood took a seven point lead on a three pointer from the left wing by Liming at the 6:24 mark for a 15-8 score. The Chargers could have went up even further, but Gerhart misfired on two foul shots at the 5:55 mark. Middlesex then began to close the gap when Stockton kicked out to Colacci for a three pointer that made the score, 15-11 at the 5:24 mark.
Almost a minute and a half later, Gerhart was fouled on a baseline drive from the right side that resulted in two free throws for a 17-11 lead with under four minutes to go in the first half. The Blue Jays then went right back down, and scored as Avery Barnes (2 points, a rebound, an assist, and a steal) found Ryan Farley (7 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist) for a three point play that cut the deficit in half to three at 17-14 with 3:44 to go before the intermission. With exactly three minutes to go in the second quarter, Mark Stockton scored on an offensive rebound and putback for a 17-16 Spotswood lead. After James Pareti missed the front end of a one and one at the 2:54 mark, the Blue Jays capped their 7-0 run with an offensive rebound and putback by Barnes for an 18-17 lead at the 2:27 mark.
On the Chargers next possession, Pace scored a layup high off the glass as he was fouled for a conventional three point play to put his team back on top at 20-18 with 2:14 left in the half. Forty-eight seconds later, Osofsky inbounded to Pace for another layup and a foul for a three point play, and a 23-18 lead at the 1:26 mark. Stockton then retorted with a jumper from the left side for a 23-20 Spotswood lead at the forty-eight second mark. Stockton's basket was the final scoring in the half, but the Middlesex senior almost got another score as he stole the ball, and went in for a layup, but missed as the score remained 23-20 at the break. Looking at the first half statistics, Spotswood went 8 of 19 from the floor overall for 42.1 percent including 6 of 15 from inside the arc, and 2 of 4 from beyond the arc while Middlesex went 9 of 29 overall for 31 percent including 8 of 20 from two point range, and 1 of 9 from downtown.
The Chargers also had more attempts from the foul line by going 5 of 9 from the charity stripe for 55.6 percent while Middlesex went 1 of 2 for just 50 percent. Spotswood enjoyed a decisive edge in the turnover department (6-11) while Middlesex outperformed the smaller chargers by a 22-10 margin on the glass including 13-5 edge on the offensive boards. The Chargers held edges in assists (5-4), blocks (2-1), and charges (1-0) while steals were tied at 2-2. Moving on to the individual scoring and statistics, Gerhart registered 9 points on 3 of 4 shooting from the floor, and 3 of 6 at the line while also collecting 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal while Pace chipped in with 3 of 5 shooting and 2 of 2 free throws for 8 points, 2 rebounds, and a block. Meanwhile, Middlesex was led by Stockton went 5 of 9 from the field for 10 points and 9 rebounds.
The third quarter saw the Chargers take charges for a bit before Middlesex rallied to make things close. In the period, Middlesex appeared to be on the ropes as Spotswood took its biggest lead of the game, but then closed the period with an 8-0 run. Farley started things off in the second half with a tap in off a Mark Stockton miss for a 23-22 Spotswood lead at the 7:40 mark. Thirty seconds later, Pace clicked on a trey for a 26-22 lead at the 7:10 mark, and then Liming netted one of two at the line for a 27-22 lead with 6:38 left in the third. Nearly a minute and forty seconds went by without any scoring before Gerhart drove through the middle for a layup, and a 29-22 lead that coerced Middlesex head coach, Brian Feath to call a timeout with 4:59 left in the third.
Forty-seven seconds later, Pace connected on a jumper from the left wing for an 8-0 run, and a 31-22 lead with 4:12 left. Almost a minute after that, Pace was at it again with an offensive rebound and follow of a Liming miss for a 10-0 run, and a 33-22 lead. Middlesex then outscored Spotswood by a 4-2 margin to close to within nine before Pace struck again for a trifecta that gave the Chargers their largest lead of the game at 38-26 with 1:58 to go in the period. Like the second quarter, Middlesex rallied to make things interesting again with eight unanswered points including a three pointer by Colacci, field goals by Perone and Stockton, and 1 of 2 free throws by Stockton for a 38-34 Charger lead after three. In the fourth, Middlesex outscored the home team by three with a 16-13 edge including a 13-9 rally to actually tie the game at 47-47 with 2:09 to go.
Both teams started the period with scores. The Chargers went first when Pace came up with a huge block that was recovered by Tyler Osofsky, who passed ahead to Dwyer for a layup, and then Middlesex got its bucket off a scoop shot by Stockton for a 40-36 score at the 6:39 mark. Twenty-seven seconds after that, Pace came up with another big defensive play on a steal that led to a layup for a 42-36 lead with 6:12 to go. Middlesex then got going offensively with six straight points on a three pointer from the right wing by Perone off an assist by Colacci at the 5:40 mark, and then a rare four point play by Colacci himself as he was fouled on a three pointer, and made the bonus free throw for a 7-0 spurt, and a 43-42 lead with 4:47 left.
Thirty-two seconds later, Liming struck from downtown to put the home team right back on top at 45-43 with 4:15 remaining. The Chargers then got a bit more cushion as Pace drove in for a layup as he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 47-43 edge with 3:41 to play. The Jays rallied again wtih four consecutive points including a turnaround jumper by Stockton from the right low block at the 2:27 mark to knot the game at 47-47 before Pace promptly replied with another drive for a layup that made it 49-47 at the 2:09 mark. Liming then appeared headed to be the game's goat when he threw the ball away for a turnover at the 1:22 mark. Middlesex then converted the miscue as Farley connected on a jumper from Fincher to knot things up at 49-49 with 55 seconds left. The Blue Jays then took the lead on one of two from the line by Perone at the 28.12 mark that made it 50-49.
Following the Perone free throw, Spotswood called for time. After the timeout, Spotswood got into position to score, and called another timeout with 9.62 seconds left. Middlesex then saw what the Chargers were setting up in after the stoppage, and called a timeout of their own. On the ensuing inbounds, Pace got the ball matched up against a taller Fincher. He drove toward the basket, and put up a turnaround jumper that missed, but was rebounded and putback in by Liming as time expired for the 51-50 Spotswood victory. The win helped the Chargers improve to 6-1 on the season overall and 4-1 in the GMC Blue with their only loss to Bishop Ahr just five days earlier. Meanwhile, Middlesex dropped to 5-2 overall on the season, and 3-2 in divisional play with defeats to Ahr and Spotswood. See Greg Machos' thoughts and analysis on this game in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Spotswood (6-1) |
12 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 51 |
Middlesex (5-2) |
8 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 50 |
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