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Balanced Attack Keys Amboy's Come From Behind Win, 35-34 |
By Greg Machos
December 26, 2011SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ--Struggling to find an offensive rhythm in this young season, the Perth Amboy Panthers have been searching for an identity, and as a result, failed to win a game in three tries. For nearly two and a half quarters, it looked like more of the same for Amboy as it only was able to muster up 16 points against Middletown South in the opening round of the third annual Anthony J. Cotoia Tournament at South Plainfield High School.
However, led by junior forward, David Rogers, the Panthers found a way to get a much needed win. Rogers scored 6 of his 8 points during a 9-0 spurt to end the third for a 25-24 lead. Then, in the fourth, Angel Cruz, who hit a three during the late third period run, struck for another trey to tie the game at 33-33 with 2:10 to go in regulation. Augustin Enriquez gave Amboy the lead for good by making one of two from the line with 1:32 to play, and freshman point guard, Marquise Irizarry provided some breathing room with another one of two showing from the charity stripe for a 35-34 victory.
Christian Henriquez, who had a three earlier in the fourth to tie the game at 30-30, also ended up with 8 points while Enriquez chipped in with 7 and Cruz added 6. Irizarry, who opened the game with a three pointer, finished the contest with 4 points. Although it had more players break into the scoring column (7-6), and the only player to score in double figures, Middletown South was unable to force overtime. With 7.8 seconds remaining, James Dzugan, who had a game high 16 points, missed the second of two free throws that would have knotted the game. Henriquez missed the front end of a one and one with 4.6 seconds to go, but the Eagles were unable to get a shot off before time expired.
Rogers had seven rebounds to lead the winners, which will face J.P. Stevens in the semifinals at 1:00 PM on Wednesday. The Hawks, which rolled past South Plainfield (56-37) in the nightcap of the quadrupleheader at SPHS, defeated the Panthers handily this past Thursday in North Edison (54-19). Amboy outscored Middletown South in two of the four quarters with the final period ending in a 10-10 tie. One of the keys to victory was a balanced scoring attack by the winners. PAHS had four players scoring six points or more versus only two for Middletown South. The Panthers also had a decisive 12-3 edge in points from long distance. The Eagles were 9 of 16 from the charity stripe while Amboy was 7 of 11. Each team had 12 total field goals in the game.
Perth Amboy jumped out to a 5-0 lead in just the first 1:16 as Irizarry picked up two steals two set up both scores. Middletown South committed numerous turnovers early on in the contest. The Panthers led 9-4 with under two minutes to go in the period when, the Eagles embarked on a 20-7 tear over a span of 13:26 to take a 24-16 lead. Joseph Castellano, who hit a triple to cap the run at the 4:20 mark of the third, was a catalyst during the stretch with his defense, passing, and occasional scoring while Dzugan was a force down low. Once Middletown South was able to settle into its offense, it was able to get baskets and execute better than Amboy did. The two teams actually seemed to switch roles with Amboy unraveling on offense thanks to a number of turnovers and mistakes while the Eagles moved the ball well, and got high percentage shots.
On the ropes, Amboy began to play with more urgency. Rogers sparked the rally with a baseline jumper from the right side at the 4:09 mark. After he and his teammates got a stop on the defense end, Rogers struck again with almost the exact same shot from the right baseline at the 3:56 mark. Following a 30 second timeout by the Panthers at the 2:46 mark, Irizarry passed to Cruz in the left corner for a three to close the gap to one point with just under two minutes remaining in the quarter. Perth Amboy then took a 25-24 lead on another jumper from the right side by Rogers, and the score remained that way as we entered the fourth. Middletown South opened the final period with the first four points including a steal for a layup at the 6:24 mark by Castellano to take a 28-25 lead.
Both teams exchanged scores as Enriquez scored on a layin down low to pull the Panthers within one again. Tom DiMeo got two of his four points when he drive in from the left side for a reverse layup, and a 30-27 lead at the 5:44 mark. Henriquez then tied the game up at 30-30 with his only three of the game on a shot from the left of the top of the key with 5:35 remaining. The two squads went into a scoring lull of over two minutes before Dzugan scored on an off balanced layup to put the Eagles in front at 32-30 with just over three and a half minutes to play. A little over a minute after that, Dzugan added a one of two showing from the foul line for a 33-30 lead. The edge didn't last long though as Cruz connected on a three to tie the game at 33-33 with a little more than two minutes left.
After a Middletown South player stepped on the end line for a turnover with 1:49 to go, Enriquez put the Panthers up for good with his one of two from the charity stripe with just over a minute and a half remaining. The Panthers were able to hang on from there for the one point win to improve to 1-3 overall. Middletown South, which dropped to 1-3 on the season, will face South Plainfield in a consolation on Wednesday. View the play-by-play from this contest.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Perth Amboy (1-3) |
9 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 35 |
Middletown South (1-3) |
8 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 34 |
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