 |
Patterson
Lifts Amboy Tech Over New Brunswick, 55-51 |
By Greg Machos
February 9, 2008PERTH AMBOY, NJ—For the second straight year, Artie Wachtel, and his Patriots of Perth Amboy Tech got themselves a victory in the 2008 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. Once again it was by virtue of a Play-In Round win over an historic power in the GMC. Last year, Amboy Tech won on the road at Perth Amboy against a Panther team that won only five games in 2006-07. This time around, the Pats garnered a come from behind win over a New Brunswick team that hadn't won a game since defeating Woodbridge at home on opening night. In a game that saw 14 lead changes and 7 ties throughout, Perth Amboy Tech scored the final six points of the game to overcome a 51-49 deficit with 45 seconds left to advance to the Preliminary round against ninth seeded Monroe with a 55-51 victory. Junior swingman, Anthony Patterson led the charge for the Pats with 5 of 12 shooting from the floor includng 3 of 6 from three point range, and made 12 of 14 from the charity stripe for a game high 25 points. Patterson also grabbed 12 rebounds for a double-double along with 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Juan James of New Brunswick did his best to keep the Zebras in the contest with a 11 of 17 shooting effort along with 1 of 2 at the line for a team high 23 points while collecting 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and an assist.
Chipping in for the winners was junior captain, Joey Castro, who made 7 of 11 shots for 14 points while pulling down 10 boards for a double-double as well. Castro also picked up 3 steals, 2 charges, and an assist. Maurice Washington contributed in a losing cause for New Brunswick by making three field goals, and 5 of 6 from the foul line for 11 points along with 7 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. For the rest of the individual statistics, go to the contest's stat page in the GMC Hoops Game Stats section. For the game, Perth Amboy Tech made only 17 of 50 shots for 34 percent including a 5 of 18 showing from beyond the arc for 27.8 percent. On the other side of the ledger, New Brunswick connected on 21 of 53 attempts for 39.6 percent including 2 of 5 from long distance for 40 percent. At the line was a big difference as the Patriots clicked on 16 of 21 foul shots for 76.2 percent while the Zebras only made 7 of 15 attempts for 46.7 percent. In other statistical areas, Amboy Tech got the edge in turnovers (22-23), rebounds (37-34), assists (11-9), and blocks (3-2). New Brunswick on the other hand, held advantages in offensive rebounds (14-13), and steals (13-10). Both teams were even in charges (3-3). Each team scored in double digits in every quarter in this contest with Amboy Tech winning two of the four periods while New Brunswick won the fourth. The two squads drew to a 11-11 draw in the second. The Zebras, playing without the services of junior forward, Josh Ford, Eric Hamm, and Jesse Lovette, fought hard throughout as neither team had a lead bigger than nine points in the contest.
In the opening quarter, both teams came out flat offensively as the Patriots made only 5 of 20 shot attempts including 0 of 5 from long range while the Zebras clicked on only 3 of 12 from the floor. At the line, the two teams were even as they each hit on 3 of 4 attempts from the charity stripe. Amboy Tech was able to create plenty of opportunities that ultimately led to its 13-10 first quarter lead by forcing New Brunswick to commit eight turnovers in the opening frame. The Pats got on the board first as Castro connected on a foul line jumper for a 2-0 lead within the first minute of play. Following a Amboy Tech turnover at the 6:42 mark, Patterson picked up his teammates by stepping to the line, and making two free throws for a 4-0 lead at the 6:29 mark. Perth Amboy Tech then made it a 6-0 start with another field goal before Simuel Williams, who played freshmen ball at Perth Amboy, got his only bucket of the contest with a drive through the middle for a layin at the 4:39 mark that made it 6-2. Washington then followed up with a one of two effort at the line the cut the deficit in half at 6-3 with 4:04 to play in the first. The Zebras then tied it on a three pointer by Navidra Nohar, and then after Anthony Rodriguez put Amboy Tech ahead with a layup, Washington got his first field goal of the contest with a score down low to knot things up again at 8-8. Anthony Vidal then gave the Patriots the lead once more as the diminutive sophomore guard sank one of two from the free throw line for a 9-8 lead at the 3:14 mark.
The lead didn't last long though as on the next New Brunswick possession, Washington netted both his free throws this time for a 10-9 Zebra edge with 3:02 to play in the first. Amboy Tech then ended the frame wth the final four points including field goals on layups by Rodriguez and Patterson for a 13-10 lead entering the second period. In the second, James, who scored all 23 of his points over the final three quarters of play, got his first points of the contest with one of two from the foul line at the 7:09 mark following a three pointer by Patterson from the right wing off an assist by Vidal for a 16-11 score. Patterson then made it a six point game with one of two more from the line for a 17-11 lead at the 6:18 mark. James then answered with a scoop shot for his first field goal of the game that made it 17-13 with 5:52 to go before the intermission. Over the next 1:24, however, the Patriots would score the next four points on a field goal by Castro and then two more free throws by Patterson to take a 21-13 lead at the 4:28 mark of the second. Thirty-four seconds after that, Patterson grabbed an offensive board, and was fouled on a putback attempt that resulted in another appearance at the line, and one of two free throws for the largest lead of the game at 22-13 in favor of Amboy Tech with 3:52 to go before the intermission. On the ropes, the Zebras showed some fortitude with 8 of the last 10 points of the half to close the gap to a single possession at 24-21 going into the locker room.
The late half spurt was sparked by a 6-0 rally over a span of 2:03 following a missed one and one opportunity by Amboy Tech's Rodriguez at the 2:43 mark. Highlighting the rally were layups by Nohar and Washington, and then an offensive rebound of a Shamil Davis miss, and putback by James that made the score, 22-19 with 40.1 seconds remaining until halftime. The Zebras then made it an 8-0 spurt as Davis kicked out to James for a jumper from the left wing to pull New Brunswick within one before Castro scored on a layup in the waning moments for a 24-21 Patriot lead at the intermission. Looking at the halftime scoring, James was beginning to pick things up for NBHS with a 3 of 6 effort from the floor, and a 1 of 2 showing at the free throw line for 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks while Washington chipped in with a 2 of 4 effort from the floor, and a 3 of 4 showing at the line for 7 ponts, 5 rebounds, and a steal. Nohar added 2 of 4 shooting himself including a three pointer for 5 points along with 2 steals, an offensive rebound, and a charge. The trio accounted for 19 of New Brunswick's 21 points, or 90.5 percent of the Zebra offense. On the other side of the scorebook, Patterson led all scorers with 11 points for Perth Amboy Tech on two field goals including a three ponter, and 6 of 8 at the foul line. Castro had the hotter hand shooting wise with 4 of 6 from the floor for 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and a charge. Rodriguez contributed with 2 of 3 field goals for 4 points, 2 offensive rebounds, a steal, and a block. The Patriot trio accounted for 23 of Amboy Tech's 24 points, or 95.8 percent of the scoring.
Moving on to the halftime statistics, New Brunswick was 8 of 25 overall from the floor for 32 percent while Perth Amboy Tech was 8 of 32 for 25 percent. The Zebras were 1 of 3 from long distance while the Patriots were a paltry 1 of 10. At the line, both teams did reasonably well with New Brunswick making 4 of 6 attempts for 66.7 percent, and Perth Amboy Tech making 7 of 11 shots for 63.6 percent. There were a plethora of turnovers in the first half as both teams combined for 26 miscues over the first two periods. New Brunswick had the lion's share though with 16 while Amboy Tech had 10. In the three games played by Amboy Tech this season, there have been a ton of mistakes by both teams involved. In the first game covered by the web site back in December at the NJTAC Holiday Tournament, the Patriots and Raiders of Piscataway Tech combined for 64 turnovers while in a recent non-conference battle on January 30th against Sussex Tech, there were another 61 by the two teams involved. Much of that is credit to the Patriot guards, which force a lot of turnovers, and get plenty of steals. Rebounding was close with the Pats garnering a 22-19 edge overall including a slight 10-9 advantage on the offensive glass. Assists, blocks, and charges were close with Perth Amboy Tech gaining the edge in assists (4-3), New Brunswick having more blocked shots (2-1), and charges were even (1-1). The decisive advantage came in the area of steals with the Patriots winning there by a 9-4 margin.
Returning to the action in the third quarter, New Brunswick picked up right where it left off in the first half with another patented 8-2 spurt for a 29-26 lead only to have Amboy Tech rally with a 12-4 tear over the final 3:56 of the frame to increase its lead by two to 38-33 entering the fourth and final period of action. The Zebras, which had outscored the Patriots by a 16-4 margin since trailing 22-13 midway through the second, were the first to get on the board in the second half as Williams made a nice push upcourt and then dished to James for a jumper from the left wing that made it a one point game at 24-23 with 7:10 left in the period. On a subsequent Amboy Tech possession, Williams swiped a steal, and handed out another assist on a layup by James that gave the Zebras their first lead since 10-9 late in the first quarter with a 25-24 advantage at the 6:34 mark. Urged on by their enthusiastic first year coach Antoine Allen, New Brunswick then scored four of the next six points including a jumper by James following great ball movement on offense by the Zebras capped by a nice kickout by Washington for a 27-24 lead with 5:26 left in the third. Moments later, Nohar made a nice defensive stop with a charge that compelled Amboy Tech head coach, Arite Wachtel to call for time at the 5:15 mark. Following the timeout, the Pats pulled within one as Patterson fed Castro for a layup, and a 27-26 Zebra lead at the 4:27 mark. A little over a half minute later, Angelo Mena came up with a offensive rebound and putback as he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 29-26 NBHS edge with 3:56 left in the quarter.
Perhaps the most pivotal and tough break plays of the game would occur as Amboy Tech reeled off five of the next seven points on a three pointer from the left corner by Patterson, and then in a bizarre turn of events, the Patriots got two more on an own basket by James as he had skied for the rebound, but the ball slipped from his grasp into the air, and through the net for a 31-31 tie at the 2:30 mark. Jonathan Aquji then gave the home team the lead with one of two from the foul line for a 32-31 score with 1:51 to go in the third. The remainder of the third saw Perth Amboy Tech close with a 6-2 spurt including a three pointer from the left wing by Anthony Vidal, and then a three point bomb by Patterson from inside midcourt on the right side as time expired for the five point, 38-33 lead going into the final quarter of action. In the fourth, both teams combined for the highest single quarter output of the contest with 35 points. Although New Brunswick got the edge in the frame, 18-17, it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit it had after the three previous periods of play. However, it did appear for a while that New Brunswick was going to advance to the preliminary round as it had outscored its opponent by an 18-11 margin over much of the frame. Unfortunately for Zebra fans though, it was not to be as the Patriots rallied in the final 45 seconds to emerge victorious, and notch a GMCT victory for the second straight season.
Within the first few moments of the fourth, New Brunswick was on the board as James swiped a steal, and went in for the layup that made the score, 38-35. Moments later, Williams got a theft himself, and tried to repeat James' feat when he drew a foul at the 7:40 mark. Williams was unable to convert though as he missed both free throws, and New Brunswick still trailed by three. The Zebras would take the lead though with a 6-0 run following an Amboy Tech score for a 41-40 lead at exactly the six minute mark. James highlighted the run with two steals for layups to buoy his team in front. On the very next Perth Amboy Tech possession though, Wilson Lopez got his only points of the game with a three pointer from the left wing that made it 43-40. Moments later though, Washington drew a foul, and netted both his foul shot attempts for a 43-43 tie at the 5:46 mark. Scoring would be hard to come by over the next 2:28 as neither team scored. Defenses clamped down a bit, and possessions were becoming more precious. The Patriots had a chance to go ahead, but after moving the ball around for a while, Alex Sanz made a skip pass from the left side of the floor that sailed over the head of Patterson, and out of bounds by the Amboy Tech bench at the 3:18 mark. On the very next possession, New Brunswick cashed in somewhat on the miscue by taking the lead again on a one of two showing from the charity stripe by Davis at the 3:04 mark that made the score, 44-43.
Less than a half minute later though, Perth Amboy Tech would take the lead again as Patterson drew a foul after he received an inbounds pass, and that resulted in two free throws by the junior for a 45-44 score at the 2:36 mark. The Pats would then get a stop on the defensive end, and on the subsequent inbounds underneath, Aquiji threw a strike of a baseball pass to Castro for a layup, and a 47-44 lead as the throng of Amboy Tech fans went into a frenzy with 2:15 to go. Following a New Brunswick timeout at the 1:51 mark, Davis struck for one of his only two field goals of the game as he connected on a three pointer from the right wing off a kickout by James that tied the contest at 47-47 with exactly a minute and a half remaining in regulation. Davis then made a huge play on the defensive end by drawing a charge on Patterson seven seconds later. The Zebras then got a score to go ahead 49-47, but Perth Amboy Tech squared the game again at 49-49 on a reverse layin by Castro with 49.1 seconds left as Wachtel called for time to set things up for the stretch run. Right after the timeout, New Brunswick promptly took the lead again as James scored on a layup off an inbounds play that made the score, 51-49 with three quarters of a minute to go. However, that would be the last time, the Zebras would hold the lead in this game. Seconds after the James score, Patterson drew a foul, and netted both free throw attempts to knot the score at 51-51 with 40.3 seconds remaining.
On the next NBHS possession, Vidal came up with a clutch defensive play as he swiped a steal, and then drew a foul with 25.5 to play in regulation. The sophomore guard then clicked on both of his foul shot attempts to give the Patriots the lead for good at 53-51. New Brunswick still had a chance to either tie or get the win though. The Zebras came down, and attempted to set up for a final scoring opportunity. Amboy Tech's defense rose to the challenge and applied pressure in the form of a double team that nearly created a turnover before the Zebras called for time with 16.9 seconds left. Following the timeout, and then another one at the 6.9 second mark, New Brunswick inbounded the ball to James, who drove in for the score, but Castro came up big with a game winning stop as he drew a charge on the Zebra senior guard with 4.6 seconds left. Moments later, Patterson got the ball, and was fouled. The junior swingman then stepped to the line, and made a free throw. New Brunswick then called timeout to attempt to get Patterson out of his rhythm, but it didn't work as the Amboy Tech standout made the second free throw to seal the deal on the 55-51 victory. With the win, Perth Amboy Tech improves to 14-7 overall on the season, 7-5 in conference play, and more importantly advances to play Monroe in the Preliminary round on Monday, February 11th at 4:00 PM. New Brunswick ends its tough season at 1-17.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Perth Amboy Tech (14-7) |
13 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 55 |
New Brunswick (1-17) |
10 | 11 | 12 | 18 | 51 |
RETURN TO THE GMC HOOPS HOME PAGE
If you are finished viewing the GMC Hoops Summaries, and would like to see other parts of the website. Click below to return to the GMC Home Page.
Return to the GMC Hoops Home Page
If you have any questions about, or any suggestions for this website, please feel free to either fill out our guestbook, or contact me at gmachos@gmchoops.com.