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Montgomery
Wins Second Straight Haley Title On Kovacs Three At :00 |
By Greg Machos
December 28, 2007EDISON, NJ--For the third consecutive year, the Edison Eagles of the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division and Montgomery Cougars of the Delaware East Division of the Skyland Conference faced off in the Championship Game of the Gene Haley Memorial Tournament, a tournament in honor of the late great Central Jersey sportswriter Gene Haley, who worked at the Home News until is passing in 1992. Back in 2005 when these two teams met for the first time in the Championship, Edison defeated Montgomery by a score of 52-40. Then, the next day, the Eagles lost to Monroe, the Champion of the Benny L. Towns Holiday Tournament at Piscataway Tech in main event of the Monroe Township Holiday Tournament. Then last year, Montgomery, which has appeared in the Championship game of this holiday tradition for GMC teams each of the past four years (also lost in the final to Carteret back in 2004), finally broke through with a hard fought, 57-52 victory over EHS in the title tilt. So, this year was the rubber match for these two squads in this tournament. After starting the season at 0-2, the Edison Eagles had won two straight entering this contest including a 52-45 victory over Old Bridge at home, and a 54-44 win over J.F. Kennedy in the opening round of the tourney on Thursday. Meanwhile, Montgomery was pounded in their season opener against Immaculata, but had won three of their last four coming into this title game.
Both teams are usually second tier teams in very tough divisions in their respective conferences. The Eagles have to compete with the likes of Piscataway, St. Joseph's, South Brunswick, and J.P. Stevens in the GMC Red this year while in other years they have to deal with East Brunswick and Perth Amboy. Meanwhile, Montgomery has to compete with the likes of such foes as Bridgewater, Immaculata, Franklin, Hillsborough, and Watchung Hills. However, the Cougars have come a long way from days back in the mid to late 1980s when they were struggling to compete in the Colonial Valley Conference, and were a fledgling Group I school. Now, Montgomery is Group IV, and has a brand new facility for their school. Talking to head coach Kris Grundy back in the fall at the 2007 TBSA Fall League, you got the sense, that despite the increase in school size, and the steady improvement of the basketball program, there is still a long way to go. Back then he said, "Sizewise, were a Group IV, but athletically, we're a Group II." Nevertheless, the Cougars competed fairly well against GMC competition at TBSA with a final record of 4-4 overall including a victory over a Bishop Ahr team that recent upset Cardinal McCarrick. Edison is also making strides with two back to back ten win seasons including a 10-13 record in 2005-06, and a 10-15 mark last season that propelled them into the state tournament for the first time since the days of Thomas Johnson in 2000-01.
This game would be a low scoring defensive slobberknocker as I stated at the contest's conclusion to East Brunswick head coach, Bo Henning. However, it didn't exactly start out that way as the Eagles appeared poised to blow the Cougars right out of the gym. In the first period, Edison had everything going its way. According to the article written in the Home News-Tribune, the Eagles were 5 of 9 from the floor overall, and made just one turnover. Meanwhile, the Cougars just about couldn't by a basket, especially from the perimeter as the team made 2 of 9 shots overall in the opening period. The result was an 18-5 advantage for Edison as the Eagles five field goals consisted of three treys, two field goals, and 5 of 6 shooting from the foul line. As a matter of fact, EHS went a surprising 9 of 10 at the charity stripe for a blazing 90 percent in the entire contest. However, the rest of the way seemed for the Eagles as if somebody had turned out the lights. Edison, which ended up 9 of 26 from the floor overall for 34.6 percent, actually made fewer field goals (four) over the last three periods than in the entire opening frame. The Eagles got no field goals in the second, a three pointer and a field goal in the third, and two field goals by senior guard, Barry Holmes in the fourth. EHS had fewer points combined in the last three quarters than it did in the first frame, 18-13. Consequently, Montgomery chipped away at the lead, and caught up in the fourth and final period, and that's when senior guard, Matt Kovacs stepped up. Kovacs, who shot just 3 of 12 from the floor overall for the game, drilled a three pointer from the right corner as time expired for a dramatic, 34-31 victory in the Championship Game of the 2007 Gene Haley Memorial Tournament.
After starting the contest going 2 of 9 from the field in the first quarter, the Cougars ended up going 13 of 38 for 34.2 percent meaning that they shot 11 of 29 for 37.9 percent over the final three periods while limiting Edison to just 4 of 17 from the floor for 23.5 percent. Beyond the arc both teams struggled mightily as Montgomery went just 2 of 12 for 16.7 percent while Edison was 4 of 11 for 36.4 percent. While the Eagles were on fire at the free throw line, the Cougars were frigid in comparison going just 6 of 14 for 42.9 percent. So, one wonders how Montgomery managed to pull of such a tremendous win. Simple, crashing the offensive boards, limiting their turnovers, and forcing Edison to commit more. Over the last three quarters of the contest, the Eagles coughed up the basketball 17 times as the Cougars registered a 13-18 edge in turnovers for the game. In the rebounding department, Montgomery outrebounded Edison by a slight 22-20 margin, but the Somerset County team managed to get some key offensive rebounds for putbacks. The Cougars held advantages in assists (9-7) and steals (9-2) while Edison held edges in blocks (3-1) and charges (2-1) Seniors Kevin Tarca and Connor Paladino led the way for the winners with eight points each. Tarca, a senior guard, got his eight points on just 2 of 5 shooting including a three pointer, and 3 of 6 at the foul line while also collecting 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 rebounds. Paladino, a four year varsity player, made 4 of 8 field goal attempts for his eight points while picking up 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a charge.
For the Eagles, Barry Holmes led the way in a losing effort with a game high 11 points on just 3 of 8 shooting overall including 1 of 3 from downtown while making all four of his free throw attempts. Holmes also collected 3 assists, a rebound, block, and a steal. Senior teammate, Nathan Otokiti chipped in with 8 points on 3 of 6 shooting from the floor including 1 of 3 from three point range, and 2 of 3 from the foul line to go along with 5 rebounds and a charge. For more individual statistics from this game, go to the stats page for this contest in the GMC Hoops Game Stats section. Montgomery outscored the Eagles 29-13 over the final three quarters including a 13-4 showing in the second, a 7-5 edge in the third, and a 9-4 effort in the fourth. In the opening period, Edison ran off the first seven points in the opening 3:47 of the game while Montgomery didn't get on the scoreboard until the 3:26 mark. After that, the Eagles outscored the Cougars by an 11-3 margin for a seemingly commanding 18-5 lead going into the second period. In an omen of things to come, neither team scored for almost the entire first minute of the game until Holmes drove in from the right wing, and drew a foul that resulted in two free throws at the 7:03 mark for a 2-0 lead. Nearly fifty seconds later, Holmes passed to 5'9" sophomore guard, Derrick Murray, who knocked home a three pointer for a 5-0 lead at the 6:14 mark. Neither team would score for a little more than two minutes before senior forward, Ron Lordi, gave a nice entry pass to Otokiti for a layup, and a 7-0 lead with 4:13 left in the first.
Montgomery finally got on the board with its first field goal and points of the contest a little bit beyond midway through the period as Kovacs scored on a layin to make it 7-2 before Eagle head coach, Charlie Mohr called for time at the 3:26 mark. Montgomery's defense tried to make things happen by trapping the Eagles at midcourt, and it almost worked as Edison was forced to call for a 30 second timeout at the 2:50 mark. Finally after the stoppage, Otokiti was fouled, and made one of two at the line for an 8-2 lead with 2:36 left in the frame. Nearly a minute later, Otokiti, who struck for all of his eight points in the first quarter, was back at it again as he took a kickout from Holmes for a three pointer from the right corner that made the score, 11-2 at the 1:39 mark. Thirty-eight seconds later, Holmes got his final points of the period on two free throws for a 13-2 lead at the 1:01 mark. On the very next Montgomery Cougar possession, the visitors from the Skyland Conference got first points in 2:32 as Misha Milijanic connected on one of two from the foul line for a 13-3 Eagle lead at the 53.9 second mark. Edison then closed out the quarter with five of the last seven points including a penetration a kickout by Murray to Otokiti for a jumper from the right corner, and then a three pointer at the buzzer by senior forward, Andy Hernandez off an assist from Holmes for the 18-5 lead going into the second. In the second though, Montgomery clamped down defensively, and made the Eagles earn everything they got as the GMC Red squad was limited to no field goals, and 4 of 4 from the foul line. Meanwhile, the Cougars made 5 of 12 shots in the period and 3 of 5 at the line for 13 points and a nine point edge in the frame to pull within four at the half.
A key to the comeback for Montgomery was the fact that Murray had to go to the bench with foul problems, and Holmes also picked up his second foul at the 5:15 mark of the second. In addition, the Eagles committed four turnoves in just the first 2:57 of the frame. Tarca ignited the spurt with a steal off Edison junior guard, Steve Migliore for a layup that made it 18-7, and then the senior guard followed that up with two free throws at the 6:03 mark that cut the Eagle lead in half at 18-9. Sophomore forward, James Loupous made one of two at the line after being fouled by Holmes for an 18-10 Eagle edge. Following an Edison turnover at the 5:02 mark, the Eagles made another miscue for their fifth turnover of the period with 4:15 to play in the half after Montgomery senior forward, Kevin Dougherty grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by Kovacs, and put home the follow for an 18-12 EHS lead. The Cougars continued to step up the defensive pressure as Dougherty swiped a steal, and after a fight for the loose ball, Montgomery called for a 30 second timeout at the 3:13 mark. A little more than a half minute later, the Cougars pulled to within four as Kovacs made a nice lob pass to Paladino for a layup that made the score, 18-14 with 2:42 left before intermission. Edison would finally get on the board after being held scoreless for approximately 5:31 as Lordi connected on both ends of the bonus for a 20-14 Eagle lead at the 2:29 mark. Montgomery Township then put together another mini-run with the next four points as Dougherty scored on a layup from Kovacs, and then Paladino putback a miss by Kovacs to close the gap to two at 20-18 before senior reserve guard, Quenta McDonald got his only points of the game with a pair of charity shots at the 1:40 mark to make it 22-18 at the half.
Looking at the halftime statistics, Montgomery was just 7 of 21 from the floor for 33.3 percent including a staggering 0 of 8 while Edison went 5 of 14 from the floor including 0 of 5 in the second. The Eagles managed to hang on to their lead thanks to a 3 of 8 showing from beyond the arc for 37.5 percent. The Eagles also had all ten of their foul shot attempts in the half, and made nine of them while the Cougars were just 4 of 7 for 57.1 percent. However, Edison, which made eight turnovers in the second quarter for nine in the half, would end up going just 1 of 3 from long range in the second half while making no foul shot attempts. In the third quarter, both teams found it hard to score as they combined for the lowest quarterly output of the contest with 12 points. The Eagles actually went to work right away as if the second period was some horrible nightmare. Murray drove in for a layin some twenty seconds into the second half for a 24-18 lead with 7:40 left in the third. Montgomery responded though with a field goal on a Paladino jumper from Kovacs for a 24-20 Edison lead before Murray was called for a traveling violation at the 6:39 mark. Forty-two seconds later, Milijanic was fouled by Otokiti on a drive to the hoop, and that resulted in one of two from the line at the 5:57 mark for a 24-21 Eagle lead. Another forty-two seconds pass before Montgomery came up with another huge play, and this time it was on defense as Paladino drew a charge on Murray for the sopohomore's third personal foul of the game. Montgomery then closed to within one some time later as Dougherty connected on a foul line jumper off a kickout by Paladino for a 24-23 score as Edison called a full timeout with 3:49 to go in the stanza.
Following a stoppage, Montgomery completed a 20-6 surge over a span of 13:05 when Kovacs scored a layup as he was fouled. The senior would miss the bonus free throw, but the Cougars had still captured its first lead of the game at 25-24 with 2:55 still to go in the third quarter. Nearly a minute later, Edison reclaimed the lead as Barry Holmes scored the first of the final seven points of the game by the Eagles (Holmes got all seven on a three pointer and two field goals) with a three pointer from the top of the key for a 27-25 edge at the 2:00 minute mark. Montgomery had a chance to knot the game up again at 27-27, but Tarca uncharacteristically missed both of his free throws at the 1:28 mark, and then despite an offensive rebound by Paladino, the Cougars were unable to get a score before the end of the frame as Paladino's shot went off the iron in the waning moments of the third as Edison managed to cling to its very tenuous two point, 27-25 lead entering the fourth. In the final period, neither team would score for the first 2:10 of the frame. Edison actually turned the ball over within the first eight seconds of the period, but still got on the board first as Holmes continued to single-handedly will his team to the lead with an isolation/clear-out play for a drive from the right wing for a layup that made the score, 29-25 at the 5:50 mark. A minute and eighteen seconds later, Tarca struck for a three pointer from the right wing off an assist by Loupous for his only trey of the game that pulled his team to within one at 29-28 with 4:32 left. On the next offensive possession for the Eagles, Otokiti had the ball taken away from him by Paladino, who raced down the court for a layup to give the Cougars their second lead of the game at 30-29 with 4:03 left in regulation.
After a timeout was called by Edison at the 3:54 mark, the Eagles were just not able to score. Over a minute and a half went by before the Middlesex County school was presented with a scoring opportunity with promise as Holmes attempted a three pointer that was off the mark, but rebounded by Otokiti as Edison called another timeout at the 2:11 mark. The Eagles had to burn another timeout at the 1:49 mark just to avoid a five second call on an inbounds play. Following that timeout, Murray turned the ball over on a drive with 1:36 to play, and then Tarca made one of two at the line on the next Cougar possession with 1:13 left for a 31-29 lead. Edison then called a 30 second timeout with just under a minute to go, and that set up Holmes for a baseline drive that ended with the senior making a clutch short jumper to square things up at 31-31 at the 22.5 second mark. However, Montgomery showed great poise, and came down the floor for the final shot, which wound up coming from a somewhat unlikely hero in Kovacs, who got the ball in the right corner in front of his team's bench, and fired up a long range bomb that was true as time expired much to the joy of his teammates on the floor when the play happened, and those on the bench, who saw it go through the net for the win. With the hard fought, come from behind, 34-31 victory, Montgomery improved to 4-2 overall on the young season while Edison fell to 2-3.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Montgomery (4-2) |
5 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 34 |
Edison (2-3) |
18 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 31 |
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