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GMC Hoops Summaries--February 3, 2010
Week Seven--Red Division Clash

Late Second Quarter Tear Propels Chiefs To Victory, 65-52

By Greg Machos
February 3, 2010

OLD BRIDGE, NJ--The Piscataway Chiefs are definitely assured a spot in the big dance. With the state cutoff coming up on Saturday, the two time North Jersey Section 2 Group IV finalists were glad to be over .500 after Wednesday night's win over Old Bridge. However, with a new formula for the state tournament this year, there's no need to worry. The top 16 teams in each section, regardless of record, get to compete in the tournament as long as they have filed the necessary paper work. As of Tuesday, only Perth Amboy and Edison in the GMC hadn't done that in North II Group IV.

Still though, a win over Old Bridge on Wednesday night, guaranteed that the Chiefs would be over .500 prior to the cutoff, which is a nice accomplishment considering that P-Way had been struggling as of late, and going with a lot of young players this season. Meanwhile, the Knights, too, were still assured of a spot in Central Jersey Group IV, but had other things to worry about as senior forward, Tyler Abad, was out with an injury. Old Bridge, which defeated South Brunswick on Saturday, had lost eight of its last 14 prior to Wednesday's matchup with the Chiefs after a 4-0 start.

Piscataway, which defeated Old Bridge earlier this season at home (71-61), went on a 25-14 surge in the second including an 16-3 tear over the final 3:57 of the first half for a 37-27 lead, and never looked back in a 65-52 victory. Senior forward, Wayne Newsome, who got a good share of touches in this one, took advantage by making 7 of 11 shots including a dunk, and making all six of his free throw attempts for 20 points along with 11 boards for yet another double-double. Junior Thierno Diallo, who started the year at the JV level, but has recently moved up to varsity along with fellow junior Brian Wong, came up with a season high 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor including 2 of 3 from three point range while making 2 of 4 from the line. Diallo also picked up 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a charge.

Wong made 3 of 4 shots including 1 of 2 from long distance while clicking on both foul shot attempts for 9 points along with 3 assists, a rebound, and a steal. Senior reserve, Justin Kirkland came off the bench to make 3 of 5 shots from the floor, and both his attempts from the line for 8 points along with 7 rebounds, 2 steals, a block, and a charge. Meanwhile, for the Knights, senior guard, Jimmy Gaffigan led the way in a losing effort with a team high 13 points on 3 of 5 shooting including 3 of 4 from long distance while making all four of his foul shot attempts. Gaffigan also picked up three assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Sophomores Isaiah Velez and Julian Daley chipped in with 12 points apiece in the loss. Velez scored all of his points in the first half as he made 6 of 9 shots from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds before fouling out with 3:11 left in the game.

Daley had a tougher time getting his dozen. The two sport standout (also plays football) was only 3 of 13 from the floor, and was at one point one of five from the foul line before making five of his last six in the fourth quarter. While he struggled from the floor, he did make some plays as he handed out nine assists. Daley also collected two rebounds and two steals. Freshman forward, Sultan Aminu also chipped in with 10 points as he made 4 of 8 shots including a three pointer while making one of three from the line. Aminu also added six boards and four blocks. Old Bridge had four players score in double figures, but only had six different players score. Piscataway, on the other hand, had a slightly more balanced attack as seven players broke into the scoring column.

For the game, P-Way outscored Old Bridge in three of the four periods. The Chiefs were 24 of 52 from the floor for 46 percent including 3 of 14 from beyond the arc while the Knights were 18 of 41 from the floor for 44 percent including 5 of 9 from long distance. Piscataway also went 14 of 16 from the line for 88 percent while Old Bridge was just 11 of 22. In other statistical areas, P-Way had edges in total rebounds (33-19) including a 14-8 advantage on the offensive glass, steals (7-4), and charges (2-0) while Old Bridge won the battles blocks (4-3) and turnovers (15-16). Both teams had 13 assists. The first quarter saw Old Bridge jump out to an 8-2 lead before Piscataway went on a 10-2 run for a 12-10 advantage. Gaffigan then netted a three pointer at the 39 second mark for a 13-12 lead heading into the second.

The Knights were just 5 of 15 from the floor while the Chiefs were 5 of 12. After both teams had some early issues with turnovers, Old Bridge got going as it scored eight of the first ten points. Daley handed out four assists as Velez scored three times while Joe D'Amico (2 points and 2 rebounds) got a layup for a six point lead at the 3:56 mark of the first. Newsome got Piscataway going with two free throws at the 3:31 mark for an 8-4 score, and then Jelani Jackson (2 points and an assist) got into the act with a layup at the 2:56 mark for his only points on the night, and then handed out an assist on a basket by Wong at the 2:19 mark to tie things up at 8-8. Gaffigan netted two free throws for a 10-8 Knights lead at the 2:02 mark before the Chiefs scored four more points to cap the spurt for a 12-10 lead. Gaffigan then connected on a three after getting a steal for the one point lead after one.

In the second period, P-Way made 11 of 22 shot attempts as both teams combined for the highest single quarter output of the game (39 points). The Chiefs got the lion's share though with a 25-14 showing that put them in front for good. Old Bridge was 5 of 8 from the floor in the second, but turned the ball over six times. Gaffigan began the quarter with two foul shots at the 7:50 mark for a 15-12 lead. However, the Knights, which turned the ball over four times in just the first 2:07 of the frame, fell behind as the Chiefs scored seven straight points for a 19-15 lead. Old Bridge put an end to that run as Femi Adeleye (3 points, a rebound, and an assist) passed to Velez for a layup at the 5:53 mark to close within two at 19-17. Velez's basket sparked a 9-2 Knights run as Adeleye got his only points of the game on a trey while Velez got another layup and Daley got a score for a 24-21 lead with 3:57 to go in the half.

Piscataway took over from there as the Chiefs ended the second quarter by scoring 16 of the final 19 points. Highlighting the late surge was a 12-0 spurt ignited by Newsome, who rebounded a Kirkland block of a Gaffigan shot, and went all the way for a one handed jam to tie things up at 27-27 with 2:30 to go in the second after Daley made one of two at the line for a 27-25 lead at the three minute mark. Wong and Diallo then connected on threes while Wong dished to Kirkland for a layup, and a 37-27 lead at the intermission. At the half, P-Way was 16 of 34 from the floor while Old Bridge was 10 of 23. Turnovers were virtually even with the Chiefs having a slight edge (8-9) while rebounds was dominated by Piscataway with a 20-13 advantage including a 9-5 edge on the offensive glass. Diallo led the Chiefs with 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting including a perfect 2 of 2 from three.

Diallo also picked up three rebounds and an assist while Newsome was three of five from the floor and made both his foul shots for 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. Wong was 3 of 4 from the field including a three pointer for 7 points, 3 assists, a rebound, and a block. Velez collected all 12 of his points along with four rebounds for Old Bridge while Gaffigan chipped in with 7 points on a three pointer, and a perfect 4 of 4 from the line. The Chiefs started the second half right where they left off in the first as Newsome converted a traditional three point play for a 40-27 lead before the Knights responded with six unanswered points including layups by Daley and Aminu to only trail 40-33 with 4:29 to go in the period. Newsome then got his second three point play of the period at the 4:02 mark for a 43-33 lead, and P-Way closed out the quarter with four of the last seven points to take a 47-36 lead after a last second shot went in for Daley.

The fourth period started with the Knights outscoring the Chiefs by a 6-2 margin to pull within seven. Aminu opened the period by showing some range with a trifecta from the right side that made the score, 47-39 at the 7:13 mark. After a Piscataway score, Old Bridge made the score 49-42 on a three pointer from the left wing by Gaffigan with 6:19 to play. Julius Nadarajah (4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal) netted two free throws for a 51-42 P-Way lead with 6:15 remaining. The Knights had a couple chances to draw within seven again, but Daley misfired on two free throws while Velez traveled after grabbing an offensive rebound at the 6:00 mark. A little less than a minute later, Velez got another offensive board off an Adeleye miss, but after getting fouled, he missed both foul shots.

Piscataway then got another score to go up by eleven at 53-42, but Daley drove and kicked out to Gaffigan in the left corner for a three pointer to close the gap to single digits again at 53-45 with 4:03 left. After a full timeout by OBHS at the 3:39 mark, Tajae Sharpe (6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block) put the Chiefs up by ten with a floater. Velez, who was saddled with foul trouble from the second quarter on, fouled out with a little more than three minutes to play as Wong got his final points of the contest on two free throws for a 57-45 lead. P-Way then outscored the Knights by an 8-7 margin the rest of the way for the 65-52 victory. With the win, Piscataway improves to 9-8 overall on the season including an 8-5 mark in the GMC Red while Old Bridge drops to 10-9 overall and 7-7 in divisional play. Analysis will be forthcoming in the blog.

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