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GMC Hoops Summaries--December 21, 2011
Week One--Gold Division Clash

Smith Leads P-Way Tech Second Half Surge For Victory, 46-25

By Greg Machos
December 21, 2011

PISCATAWAY, NJ--In this early season GMC Gold Division showdown, everything had to go right for Timothy Christian against sixth ranked Piscataway Tech. The Tigers did everything it could to stop the Raiders from coming away with an easy win. However, it wasn't enough. P-Way Tech just had too much talent, size, and depth for TCS to overcome. After hanging around for a little more than three quarters with the defending Gold Division champs, the Tigers fell prey to a 14-2 tear over the final five minutes as the Raiders won 46-25.

Senior guard, Galen Smith led the way with a game high 13 points including 11 in the second half while Newark Central transfer Will Joyce chipped in with 12, and Turell McClendon added 11 for the victors. Meanwhile, Timothy Christian was led by Dan Decker, who scored 11 points including eight in the third quarter. Kristian Svendsen chipped in with 6 points and 9 rebounds. Piscataway Tech had four players get into the scoring column while TCS only had four. Although the Tigers outscored the Raiders 6-3 in points from beyond the arc, the visitors held a 16-5 edge in free throws made, and a 15-9 advantage in total field goals.

The combination of Decker and Svendsen accounted for 80 percent of the Tigers offense including 86 percent of it in the second half. Meanwhile, the trio of Smith, Joyce, and McClendon teamed up for 78 percent of the Raiders scoring in the game. Piscataway Tech did a great job shutting down the TCS duo over the final ten and a half minutes of the game. The Raiders, which didn't allow a single field goal in the fourth, held Decker and Svendsen to just one field goal and four points combined in the last 10:28 of the game. P-Way Tech had some difficulties in this game as TCS did a good job of keeping this under control for three quarters of the game.

The Tigers kept the score low and tried to keep Piscataway Tech from running. In addition, head coach, Chris Hobbs did a solid job calling timeouts at the right times to keep the Raiders from getting too far ahead. Unfortunately, the Raiders were just simply too much. After only leading 14-11 at the half, P-Way Tech outscored Timothy Christian by a 32-14 margin over the final two periods. On defense, the Raiders did a great job of anticipating the pass and getting into the passing lanes. Forcing steals, Piscataway Tech was able to do what they do best, and that is get out in transition and get easy buckets.

Opening the second half with a 15-8 run, the Raiders were able to lead by double digits on a couple of occasions. McClendon began the second half scoring with two free throws. Tafari Kerr (6 points) and Smith (5 points in third) added transition layups while Khari Mosely connected on a three pointer from the right side. Joyce also added a pair of free throws at the 5:59 mark. Decker did his part to keep his team hanging around with a trey from the right wing at the 5:15 mark, a layup at the 4:28 mark, and a conventional three point play with about two and a half minutes remaining in the third. Svendsen then ended the period scoring with a layup at the 21 second mark that closed the gap to 29-21 heading into the fourth.

The Raiders opened up the fourth with the first three points including one of two from the line by McClendon prior to a TCS timeout at the six minute mark. Mendham transfer, Zach Csorny (4 points) made a pair of free throws for the Tigers at the five minute mark. The Tigers had one sequence, where they had several chances to score, but couldn't put the ball in. Joyce made life difficult by blocking one of the shots. P-Way Tech then put the game away with 11 straight points over a 2:26 span including a three point play by Smith at the 3:43 mark, two free throws by Smith at the 3:33 mark, and two pairs of charity shots by McClendon at the 2:59 and 2:33 marks for a 43-23 lead.

Svendsen got his only points of the fourth on two free throws with 2:15 to go while Smith went one of two from the line before leaving the game at the 1:49 mark, and Aziz Austin got a late field goal to round out the scoring. With the win, Piscataway Tech improves to 3-0 both overall, and in the GMC Gold while Timothy Christian falls to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in divisional play. The Raiders will be back in action over the holidays in the NJTAC Holiday Tournament in Perth Amboy while TCS will be competing in a tourney out of state.

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