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GMC Hoops Summaries--January 8, 2010
Week Three--Red Division Matchup

Hughes And Pearson Lift Barrons To First Victory, 63-52

By Greg Machos
January 8, 2010

WOODBRIDGE, NJ--This season, there are 52 sophomores contributing to teams in Middlesex County, and that is including Timothy Christian and Wardlaw, which will join the conference next season. Five of those sophomores play at Woodbridge High School including three that are averaging six points or more per game. Kyle Anderson leads the bunch with a 10.6 points per game average while Kyle Pearson has collected 8.3 points per game, and Keith Hughes adds 6.0 points per game. Not to be left out is freshman guard, Duquan Bailey, who leads all freshmen in Middlesex County in scoring with 7.6 points per game

The Barrons entered Friday's game still winless on the season after playing a schedule that has included the likes of Old Bridge, St. Joseph's, Sayreville, East Brunswick, and Piscataway. By the end of the night though, Woodbridge was winless no more as three of its five sophomores on the roster turned in solid efforts to lead it to a 63-52 victory over Perth Amboy. After defeating Piscataway on opening night, Amboy has now lost five of seven. The Barrons jumped out to a 9-3 lead only to have the Panthers respond with a 13-2 tear over a span of about 3:22 to take a 16-11 advantage.

Woodbridge then went on the decisive tear of the game with 16 unanswered points over a span of about 5:06 to take a 27-16 lead. From there, the Barrons were never threatened. Amboy got within nine points on a couple of occasions, and ten late in the fourth quarter, but couldn't overcome the Barrons as WHS came away with the 63-52 victory. It was a coming out party of sorts for sophomore forward Keith Hughes, who collected a double-double of a game high 28 points along with 10 rebounds. Hughes picked up 19 of those points over the first 10:59 as he went 8 of 15 from the field in the first half. He ended up with 10 of 18 shooting including 3 of 9 from beyond the arc, and 5 of 6 from the foul line. Oh, did I mention that he blocked three shots?

Not to be outdone was fellow sophomore, Kyle Pearson, who had a double-double of his own with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Despite missing seven straight shots at one point, Pearson made 9 of 18 from the floor, and went a perfectt 3 of 3 at the line for all his scoring. Kyle Anderson, known for his exploits on the football field as the quarterback for Woodbridge, chipped in with 10 points as he shot 4 of 8 from the floor including 2 of 4 from three point land while handing out five assists, grabbing three rebounds, and swiping three steals. The only other person to score for Woodbridge was another football standout, Anthony Nyers, who picked up 4 points on two field goals while collecting eight rebounds including five on the offensive glass.

For Perth Amboy, Victor Verdecia led the way with a team high 17 points as he went 7 of 16 from the floor including a three pointer while making both his attempts at the line. The junior also picked up 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Hamilton Capellan, a freshman, chipped in with 8 points on 4 of 9 shooting from the floor along with 3 rebounds, 2 steals, an assist, and a blocked shot. Wancel Arias had his hands full with Pearson and Hughes, but played hard to collect 6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Kearny Canela struggled from the field, but still came up with 8 points along with 2 rebounds and a steal while Yoelbin Sanchez chipped in with 6 points, a rebound and a steal.

In the game, Woodbridge shot 25 of 54 overall from the floor including 5 of 15 from long distance. The Barrons also went 8 of 11 from the line. Meanwhile, Perth Amboy shot 20 of 60 overall including 4 of 15 from downtown. The Panthers were also 8 of 11 from the charity stripe. In other statistical areas, Woodbridge flourished as well with advantages in overall rebounding (40-20), offensive rebounds (12-5), blocks (4-1), and charges (1-0). Amboy held edges in turnovers (10-20), assists (11-10), and steals (14-4). Each team outscored the other in one quarter while the third and fourth periods ended in ties. The only difference was that Woodbridge outscored Amboy 17-5 in the second.

Going to work right away, the Barrons got on top first as Pearson scored on a floater at the 7:31 mark for a 2-0 lead. After Sanchez made one of two from the line at the 7:13 mark, Hughes connected on a three pointer from deep on the left wing for a 5-1 lead at the 6:14 mark. The Panthers pulled within two as Arias fed Verdecia for a score that made it 5-3 with 5:54 remaining in the period. Hughes then scored on a layiin, and Pearson followed with a one handed slam for a 9-3 lead as Perth Amboy head coach, Edwin Santana called for time at the 4:52 mark. Following the timeout, Amboy got going as Capellan connected on a jumper and Sanchez took a nice dish from Verdecia for a layup that closed the gap to two again at 9-7 with 3:30 left in the half.

The Panthers then tied things up at 11-11 with four of the next six points including another field goal by Capellan and a layup by Sanchez before Arias and Jose Egner collided forcing an official timeout at the 2:27 mark. After the stoppage, Perth Amboy capped its 13-2 tear with a three from Verdecia, and a field goal by Capellan to go up by five before Hughes scored on a baseline drive, and Pearson added another flush for a 16-15 Amboy lead heading into the second. The tandem of Hughes and Pearson combined for 6 of 7 field goals in the period. In the second, Hughes took over and led Woodbridge on the decisive run of the game.

Hughes first converted a three point play at the 6:47 mark after another field goal was scored to give the Barrons a 9-0 run, and a 20-16 lead. The sophomore forward then scored again on an offensive rebound and follow at the 5:26 mark for a 22-16 lead. Hughes then closed out his sensational first half with a three pointer from the right side at the 5:01 mark for a 25-16 lead. Woodbridge then capped the 16-0 rampage on an offensive rebound and follow by Nyers at the 4;24 mark for a 27-16 lead. Each team then scored five points each to round out the first half scoring as the Barrons led at the break, 32-21.

Besides Hughes 19 points, Pearson went 3 of 7 from the floor for 6 points and 4 rebounds while Nyers had 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting and 5 rebounds. Verdecia led Amboy with 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists while Capellan was a perfect 3 of 3 from the floor for 6 points along with an assist, rebound, and steal. Sanchez made 2 of 4 shots from the field and 1 of 2 from the line for 5 points as well as a rebound and a steal. Woodbridge was 14 of 30 from the floor including 3 of 9 from long range while limiting Perth Amboy to 8 of 25 shooting including 1 of 6 from three point land. The Barrons also had a 20-11 edge on the boards including a 7-3 advantage on the offensive glass.

In the third quarter, Hughes opened the second half with a traditional three point play for a 35-21 Woodbridge lead at the 6:55 mark. Over the next 47 seconds, the Panthers responded with five unanswered points including a three pointer by Jorge Cedeno and a floater by Verdecia to close within nine at 35-26 with 6:08 remaining in the period. The next 3:03 was controlled by the Barrons with an 11-8 showing that included a three pointer and floater by Anderson, and two scores by Pearson for a 46-34 lead at the 3:05 mark. Amboy replied again with a 7-4 run over the next 2:45 including a three pointer by Canela to pull within nine once more at 50-41 before Pearson ended the third period with a score for the 52-41 lead.

The fourth period started with Woodbridge scoring four of the first six points including a basket by Pearson, and two free throws by Hughes before the Barrons called for time at the 6:17 mark with a 56-43 lead. The Panthers then scored four of the next five over a minute and a half span as Capellan got a steal for a layup, and Verdecia followed with a steal for a floater to close the gap to ten at 57-47 with 4:47 remaining. However, Amboy would not get any closer as Pearson got a conventional three point play at the 4:20 mark, and Hughes capped his night with a three pointer from the right wing off a skip pass from Anderson at the 3:06 mark to go up 63-47. Perth Amboy scored the last five points to close out the scoring.

With the victory, Woodbridge improves to 1-6 on the season overall and 1-4 in the GMC Red while Amboy fell to 3-5 overall, and 2-2 in divisional play. Read the notes on this game as well as analysis of all of Friday's games in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere.

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