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GMC Hoops Summaries--January 21, 2010
Week Five--Gold Division Matchup

Guvs Overcome Foul Shooting Woes With Clutch FTs To Beat Amboy Tech

By Greg Machos
January 21, 2010

PERTH AMBOY, NJ--It wasn't pretty, but South Amboy will take it. Especially with how the game ended. In a contest that saw the Guvs go 11 of 33 from the foul line, they sank four of their last six from the charity stripe to pull out a 48-42 hard fought victory over Perth Amboy Tech. Tim Simko was the hero with his only two points of the game coming on two free throws with 43.3 seconds remaining to put the Guvs up by four at 46-42. The Patriots had rallied three times to pull within two over the final eleven minutes of the game.

However, the Pats couldn't get over the hump. After Simko's two free throws put the Guvs up by four, Mike Arway (5 points, 2 steals, an assist, and a block) drew a foul at the 17.4 second mark, and made the first free throw. The junior missed the second, but teammate Christian Geant (a point, two rebounds, and a steal) grabbed the offensive board, and drew another foul that produced a one of two showing from the line as well to wrap up the 48-42 victory. After letting Amboy Tech get off to a solid start with 7 of 9 shooting in the first period, the Guv defense took charge by limiting the Pats to just 9 of 30 the rest of the way.

Joe Charmello had a tough night shooting the basketball, but fought through it to get a game high 23 points. The senior guard, who is closing in on 1,000 points for his career, only made 8 of 20 from the floor including 3 of 12 from beyond the arc, and was just 4 of 13 from the line. However, when his shot wasn't falling, he kept shooting and going to the basket. Charmello also grabbed 8 rebounds while handing out 3 assists and 3 steals. Malcolm Batts stood out for Amboy Tech with 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor, and 4 of 6 from the line while also coming down with 8 rebounds, and swiping 4 steals.

For the game, the Guvs were 17 of 40 overall from the floor including 3 of 13 from long distance while the Patriots were just 16 of 39 from the field including 4 of 13 from downtown. Although South Amboy battled foul shooting woes, it still had more made foul shots than Perth Amboy Tech. The Pats were just 6 of 15 from the charity stripe, and 2 of 9 outside of Batts. Another statistical key to South Amboy's victory was turnovers. The Governors only made 11 in the contest while forcing Amboy Tech to commit 18. In other statistical departments, Amboy Tech ourebounded South Amboy (34-22), but the Guvs got the edge on the offensive glass (8-7). South Amboy had more assists (11-8), steals (12-5), and charges (1-0). Amboy Tech had more blocks (2-1). The Governors also outscored their rivals in two of the four periods with the third ending in a tie.

Perth Amboy Tech got out of the gate strong thanks to Batts. He sank two jumpers to give the Pats a 4-0 lead before South Amboy got on the board with a field goal at the 6:15 mark. The Guvs then tied the game up by swiping a steal that resulted in a Dustin DeVoe (4 of 5 FGs for 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist) layup at the 5:18 mark. The Patriots went back out in front when Batts, who made his first three shots of the contest, grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, and proceeded downcourt for a foul line jumper, and a 6-4 lead at the 4:33 mark. Charmello then drained a three pointer off an assist by Simko with 4:11 to go in the first for a 7-6 lead.

Over the next 3:11, Amboy Tech took over with 10 of the next 12 points. Rashad Adams (4 of 7 FGs for 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists) got going with a three pointer from the right wing at the 3:30 mark for a 9-7 edge. Then, after two missed free throws by Dan O'Connor at the 2:59 mark, Ryan Hahn (3 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist) netted one of two from the charity stripe for a 10-7 lead. The Pats then made it a 6-0 run on a layup by Adams for a 12-7 lead that prompted South Amboy to call for time with 1:53 to go in the period. Following the timeout, Perth Amboy Tech scored four of the next six points for a 16-9 lead before South Amboy finished the quarter with the final bucket to make the score 16-11 entering the second. While Amboy Tech was blazing from the floor, the Governors struggled somewhat by making 5 of 12 shots from the floor including just 1 of 5 from beyond the arc.

The second period was dominated by trips to the foul line. Over these eight minutes, South Amboy made eight trips to the charity stripe while Amboy Tech made three. The Guvs weren't able to make the most of the situation though by only connecting on 6 of 16 free throws while the Patriots only made 1 of 6. The Guvs began the period with an 8-0 run for a 10-0 tear since the end of the first to go ahead, 19-16 with 5:04 left in the first half. Charmello got three points from the line during this stretch while Mike Arway added another. The Pats responded though with a 4-1 run that included Jesse Crespo (3 of 4 FGs including 2 of 3 from three for 8 points and a rebound) layup off an assist from Adams at the 4:06 mark, and then an offensive rebound and follow by Adams off a Crespo miss to tie the game at 20-20 with 2:12 left in the half after Arway made another one of two from the line at the 3:41 mark.

The Governors went back up by four though as Dan O'Connor (2 points, a rebound, an assist, and a charge) scored on a layup, and Charmello followed up with a steal for a layup that made the score, 24-20. Amboy Tech fought back with three straight points including a one of two showing from the line by Nelson Lopez (a point, 4 rebounds, and a block) at the 22.8 second mark for a 24-23 Guv lead. Charmello then closed the half with one of two of his own from the line for a 25-23 lead at the intermission. At the break, the Guvs shot 9 of 20 from the floor while the Patriots were 10 of 20 from the field including a combined 8 of 10 from Adams and Batts. Charmello had 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals at halftime while Adams had 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Batts chipped in with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.

South Amboy had the edge in turnovers (6-9) while Amboy Tech led in overall rebounding (17-10). Offensive rebounds were even at 3-3. The Guvs were just 6 of 18 from the line in the first half, but it still made a difference as the Patriots were only 2 of 8. Each team was just 1 of 6 from long range. In the third quarter, the Governors finished off a 25-9 surge over a span of about 14 minutes with a 9-2 spurt over the first five minutes of the third for a 34-25 lead. DeVoe started the run with a basket while being fouled for a 27-23 lead just 17 seconds into the second half. Following a full timeout by the Guvs at the 7:25 mark, Matt Regan (5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) dished to Charmello for a layup, and a 29-23 lead with over seven minutes left in the third. The same combination struck again for a Charmello layup, and a 31-23 lead at the six minute mark.

After Amboy Tech got on the board, Charmello, who had seven of his team's 9 points in the frame, launched a three pointer from the left wing for a 34-25 advantage. On the verge of falling out of contention in the contest, the Patriots responded with two free throws from Batts at the 2:34 mark, a jumper by Batts at the 1:02 mark, and then a three pointer by Crespo that beat the buzzer, and capped a 7-0 run for a 34-32 South Amboy lead heading into the fourth. The Guvs began the fourth much like they had started the third with five straight points all courtesy of Charmello, who had 14 points in the second half. Now trailing 39-32, the Patriots responded with five unanswered points of their own including another three by Crespo off an assist from Javon Bolt (2 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) to close the gap to 39-37 with six minutes left.

Again, South Amboy pushed the lead back up to seven with a 5-0 run. Luke O'Connor made one of two from the line while Charmello and Arway swiped steals for layups that made the score, 44-37 with 4:57 to go. The Guvs had chances to go up even further, but Regan misfired on the front end of a one and one at the 4:13 mark, and then after Dan O'Connor drew a charge at the 4:09 mark, Charmello missed a one and one at the 3:32 mark. Amboy Tech took advantage by again scoring five straight points including a three pointer from the left side by Anthony Pena (3 points, 5 rebounds, and a steal) at the 3:01 mark, and then two free throws by Batts at the 1:51 mark to make the score, 44-42. Moments later, the Patriots had a chance to tie, but Adams, who sat most of the second half in foul trouble, missed a one and one at the 1:43 mark.

Arway had a chance to make it a two possession game, but misfired on two free throws at the 1:29 mark. Again, the Pats couldn't take advantage as Adams was called for a double-dribble at the 1:15 mark. Following a 30 second timeout by Perth Amboy Tech, Simko made the most of his trip at the line by swishing the first, and then getting a bit of a kind bounce on the second for a 46-42 lead with 43.3 seconds remaining. The Guvs then stopped the Patriots on the next possession, and Arway was fouled with 17.4 seconds to go. The South Amboy junior made the first, but missed the second. However, Geant came to the rescue with an offensive rebound, drew a foul, and made one of two himself to seal the 48-42 victory.

With the win, South Amboy pulls to within a game of .500 at 5-6 overall while improving to 4-2 in the GMC Gold. The only two losses in division play have come at the hands of Dunellen including a 65-41 defeat earlier this week. Meanwhile, Perth Amboy Tech has now lost two straight, dropped to 4-7 overall, and 2-4 in divisional play. You can read more about this game in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere.

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