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Sayreville
Surprises Colonia Behind DeLaCosta And Matagrano, 55-52 |
By Greg Machos
January 8, 2008COLONIA, NJ—After a season full of near misses, the Sayreville Bombers have gotten off to its best start since the days of Samir Sanu, Dwayne Thomas, and Bobby Brown. The Bombers have begun 2007-08 with seven wins in their first eight games. The only loss was to Monroe at home, 57-53 on December 18th. On the other hand, Colonia was coming off a huge road win on Saturday night at St. Joseph's as Brandon Hall was spectacular in the second half. Prior to that the Patriots had suffered a terrible loss on the road to neighborhood rival Woodbridge two days earlier in a game broadcasted on WCTC. Before that startling upset by the Barrons, CHS had gotten off to its best start since the GMC Hoops web site was launched in 2000 with seven straight victories including a win over Moore Catholic in the 2007 Brothers of the Sacred Heart Tournament at St. Joseph's. One key factor in Colonia's recent fortunes has been the absence of junior forward, Nnamdi Usuwa, who was suspended for disciplinary reasons back in December. Nevertheless, Colonia was still perched in the second spot in the recent GMC Hoops Top Ten while Sayreville was making its first appearance in the poll since the days of John Wojcik and Brian Miklaszewski.
If there was a time for Sayreville to prove a point, it was against its long time nemesis. For many years the Bombers have had talented teams only to get derailed by the Patriots in key GMC White showdowns. What a better way to do it than come into Colonia's gym, and register an upset. On this early January night in 2008, the Bombers did just that. Backed by their legions of fans and supporters including the Sayreville student section known as the Psycho Squad, the Bombers came away with a huge road win thanks to a strong first half, and then holding on in the end thanks to clutch plays by diminutive junior guard, Paul DeLaCosta. Standing at only 5'5", the junior used his quickness to weave his way through traffic on the basketball court for two key layups in the final 2:25 to give Sayreville the 55-52 win. DeLaCosta ended up with a team high 13 points on just 5 of 13 shooting, but made 3 of 5 shots from long range in addition to his two clutch drives while also collecting two assiss, a rebound, and a charge. Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the size spectrum, Chris Matagrano made his presence felt not just in terms of his statistical numbers in this contest, but how his mammoth 6'9" and 245 pound frame made life difficult for Colonia's post players, senior Jeff Mentzel and junior Mike Nweme. Matagrano would end up with a double-double of 12 points on 6 of 9 shooting and 14 rebounds including five on the offensive glass along with 4 blocks in the win.
Not to be left out, senior guard, Ricky Harding stepped up as well with a fine all around performance that included 6 of 12 shooting for 12 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 charges. James DeMild was perfect from the floor with a 4 of 4 shooting effort along with a free throw for 9 points and 7 rebounds. Colonia, on the other hand, was led by J.J. D'Amico, who had a game high 21 points on 8 of 18 shooting including 3 of 9 from three point range to go along with a perfect 2 of 2 at the foul line. D'Amico also added 3 assists, a block, and a rebound. Brandon Hall and Jordan Edmonds each chipped in with 8 points in the loss as Hall struggled from the floor and the line while Edmonds made three field goals including a three pointer, and a foul shot. Hall added eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals while Edmonds compiled two boards. Mike Nweme, a junior forward, only tabulated five points, but grabbed 13 rebounds including eight on the offensive glass. To view the rest of the individual statistics, please feel free to look at the contest's stat page in the GMC Hoops Game Stats section. Comparing the two teams statistically in this game, Sayreville ended up making 25 of 45 shots for a blistering 55.6 percent including 4 of 8 from three point land for a scorching 50 percent. The free throw line would be the Bombers achilles heel as they connected on only 1 of 11 foul shots for a meager 9.1 percent. Meanwhile, the Patriots were only 20 of 64 from the floor for 31.3 percent including 6 of 20 from beyond the arc for 30 percent. Colonia didn't help its fortunes either at the charity stripe by going only 6 of 13 for 46.2 percent.
In other statistical departments, both teams did a splendid job of taking care of the basketball as Sayreville had a slight edge (11-12). Rebounding fell in favor of the home team as the Patriots garnered a 36-29 advantage including a huge 18-7 edge on the offensive glass. Assists would be even (12-12) while Colonia held a 7-3 edge in steals, but Sayreville had many more blocks (7-2) and charges (5-1). Each team had double figure scoring in three of the four quarters in this one with Sayreville outscoring Colonia in the first and fourth periods, and the Patriots winning the middle two periods. The Bombers made a statement right away with a strong first quarter effort for a 19-7 lead. Sayreville clicked on 9 of 14 shots from the floor including 1 of 2 from three point range, and only committed three turnovers. Meanwhile, Colonia was limited to just 3 of 18 shooting including 1 of 3 from downtown despite only turning the ball over twice. Both teams came up empty at the line as the Bombers misfired on their only attempt while the Pats missed both theirs. Sayreville opened the game with six straight points over the first two minutes as DeMild scored on a layin from the left low block at the 6:55 mark, Harding followed suit with a layup at the 6:27 mark, and then Matagrano scored on an offensive rebound and putback off his own miss for the 6-0 lead with exactly six minutes to go in the first. Colonia didn't get on the board until the 5:07 mark when D'Amico connected on a trey from just to the left of the top of the key off an assist by Hall for a 6-3 Sayreville lead.
On the next Bomber possession, Hall stepped up on the defensive end with a steal that he converted into a score by handing out an assist at the other end on a D'Amico layup for a 6-5 Sayreville lead at the 4:51 mark. With the sold out crowd at Colonia High School getting revved up to a fever pitch, DeLaCosta quieted it down with a three pointer that banked in as he was fouled. Although he would miss the bonus free throw for the rare four point play, the Bombers were back up by four at 9-5 with 4:40 to go in the period. Furthermore, the three pointer sparked a 9-0 run over a span of 2:36 that also included another DeLaCosta three, a Matagrano layup, a DeMild score, and a Harding jumper from the left side off a DeLaCosta assist for a 15-5 lead at the 2:04 mark. Following a Patriot timeout, Hall had an opportunity to get his team going again when he grabbed an offensive rebound, and tried to score on the follow when he drew a foul at the 1:27 mark. Unfortunately, the senior point guard, misfired on both free throws in a rather unusal set of events, and the Sayreville lead remained at ten. Hall would redeem himself eventually when he drove toward the basket, and dished to Nweme for a layup after a Sayreville score for a 17-7 Bomber lead with 13.5 seconds to go in the opening period. However, the visitors from Raritan Bay closed out the period with the final basket as Harding had a drive and dish of his own on a layup by junior Glenn Cannon for a 19-7 lead heading into the second. In the final period of the first half, Sayreville continued to have the hot hand by making 7 of its 10 shots in the frame while Colonia was limited to 7 of 18. However, the Pats made three treys, and a free throw to get the edge in the quarter.
Edmonds scored to open the second on a jumper from the right wing to trim the deficit to ten again at 19-9 before Harding stepped to the line for two free throw attempts at the 7:22 mark. Unfortunately for the Bombers, the senior guard misfired on both shots, and then Matagrano was called for an over the back foul on the rebound. Hall then got a three pointer to close the gap to just seven before Sayreville got a layup for a 21-12 lead at the 5:26 mark when Hall picked up his second personal foul of the contest. Matagrano then scored a layup, and then the visitors from Raritan Bay came up with a nice defensive stop as Harding drew a charge on Xavier Coleman before CHS second year head coach, Chris Chiera called for time at the 4:51 mark. Following the timeout, Nweme got the turnover back for the Pats with a steal on the inbounds, but Colonia couldn't convert as Coleman made a bad pass to Edmonds for another turnover at the 4:41 mark. Sayreville then took advantage of this latest Patriot miscue as Harding got a score for a 25-12 Bomber lead at the 4:35 mark. CHS fought back though with five straight points including a three pointer from the left side by D'Amico off a kickout by Nweme, and then a Julian Smith putback following a steal by Hall that forced Sayreville's second year head coach, Shawn Currie to call for time with the score now 25-17 in favor of his team at the 3:08 mark of the second.
Over the next 1:44, Sayreville outscored the home team by a 7-3 margin including a layup by Matagrano as he was fouled with 1:24 left in the first half. Although the Bomber big man missed the bonus free throw, his team was now up by a dozen again at 32-20. The Patriots would get a score to bring the deficit back down to ten again at 32-22, and then had an opportunity to get closer when junior reserve guard, Rob Pizzi swiped a steal off Nweme, and went in for a layup attempt that missed, Matagrano tried to slam home the follow, but was called for offensive goaltending, or basket interference, and the score stayed at 32-22 with just under a minute to play before intermission. Colonia then was forced to call timeout in order to avoid a five second violation. Hall then dialed from long distance that closed the gap to seven points again at 32-25, but Pizzi made a pivotal play that utlimately factored significantly in the outcome when he grabbed a rebound off a D'Amico miss in the waning moments of the first half, dribbled upcourt, and let fly a desperation heave from midway between center court, and the three point line for a trey as time expired in the first half with Sayreville back up by ten at 35-25. Looking at the halftime scoring, Harding was 4 of 5 from the floor for 8 points along with 3 assists, a rebound, block, and charge. Matagrano was also 4 of 5 from the field for 8 points while grabbing 8 rebounds including 3 on the offensive glass, and blocked three shots. DeLaCosta went 2 of 4 from long range for 6 points as well as 2 assists, and a rebound.
Meanwhile, for Colonia, D'Amico led the charge with 4 of 10 shooting including 2 of 4 from beyond the arc for 10 points along with an assist. Hall was just 2 of 8 from the floor, but 2 of 4 from three point range, and was 1 of 4 from the line for 7 points, but helped out in other areas with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Moving on to the halftime stats, Sayreville was a fiery 16 of 24 from the field for 66.7 percent including 3 of 6 from three point range while Colonia was just 10 of 36 from the floor for 27.8 percent including 4 of 10 from downtown for 40 percent. Both teams struggled from the line with the Bombers missing all three of their free throw attempts while the Patriots were only 1 of 4 from the charity stripe. Rebounding overall was dead even at 16-16 although Colonia enjoyed a 10-4 advantage on the offensive glass. Turnovers were also even with Sayreville getting the slight edge (6-7). Sayreville got the nod in other statistical areas including assists (8-6), blocks (5-0), and charges (3-1) while Colonia had more steals (4-2). Returning to action in the third quarter, the Pats got themselves back into the matchup by outscoring the Bombers by a 2 to 1 margin in the third to draw to within one at 44-43 heading into the fourth and final period of action. Colonia got to work right away with five of the first seven points to begin the second half including a steal and assist by Karabin on a score by D'Amico with just ten seconds gone by in the third, a steal for a layup attempt by Hall that drew a foul, and produced one of two at the line at the 7:29 mark, and then a pair of free throws by D'Amico at the 6:56 mark for a 37-30 Sayreville lead.
Colonia would get on the board again as Mentzel scored on a tap in off a Nweme miss that pulled the Pats within five at 37-32 with 5:41 left in the third. The sold out crowd at Colonia was beginning to get back in the contest for the first time in a while, and feeding off their engergy, the Patriots continued to rally as Karabin scored on a layup following a steal that trimmed the deficit to three at 37-34 with 5:25 to go in the third. Twenty seconds later, the Bombers were assessed a five second call on an inbounds for their five turnover of the young quarter. However, Colonia wasn't able to take advantage on the next possession, and later Harding drew another charge on Hall for his third personal at the 4:01 mark. A little less than a half minute later, Karabain grabbed a rebound off a block made by Mentzel on Harding and outletted the ball upcourt to Nweme for a layup that made it a one point contest at 37-36 in favor of Sayreville with 3:33 remaining in the third. Less than twenty seconds later, the Patriots had the ball again after another defensive stop, but this time Sayreville came up with another huge play as DeLaCosta drew another charge on Hall for the Colonia' senior's fourth personal foul, and he had to go to the bench. Undaunted by losing their leader for a while, Colonia knotted the game up at 39-39 as Edmonds drained a three pointer off an assist from D'Amico at the 2:30 mark to complete a 14-2 tear over the first 5:30 of the second half. Sayreville would reclaim the lead though on its next offensive sequence as Harding netted a jumper from the right wing for a 41-39 lead with 2:11 to go in the stanza.
Neither team would score for over a minute and a half as the Bombers couldn't cash in on an opportunity with just under a minute to go in the frame as Matagrano continued the team's free throw shooting woes by coming up empty on two attempts. Twenty five seconds later, D'Amico tied the contest up again with a short jumper that got the benefits of a kind bounce for a 41-41 tie at the 34 second mark. Moments later though, Sayreville came up with another huge quarter ending play as DeMild registered a traditional three point conversion to put the Bombers ahead again at 44-41. Colonia would then close out the third with a jumper in the key by Karabin for a 44-43 Sayreville lead entering the final quarter. In the fourth, Sayreville would get huge plays from DeLaCosta to pull out the huge road victory as he connected on a three pointer, and score those pivotal two layups late for seven points in the period. Right away, Colonia shot themselves in the foot as Karabin turned over the basketball with just eleven seconds gone by in the period. Neither team would score for over a minute after that until Graham made a nice skip pass to DeLaCosta on the left side for a three pointer, and a 47-43 Bomber lead with 6:41 remaining. On the very next Patriot possession though, D'Amico retaliated with a three pointer of his own for a 47-46 Sayreville edge at the 6:20 mark. The junior CHS guard then gave the Pats their first lead of the night on a jumper in the lane that made the score 48-47. Harding then missed the front end of a one and one, grabbed the offensive rebound for a putback attempt, and drew a foul from Mentzel, but missed two more foul shots with 5:48 left.
A little over a minute later, Nweme attacked the glass for two offensive rebounds, and was rewarded for his work by drawing a foul, and making one of two at the line for a 49-47 lead with 4:44 to go in regulation. However, on the next Sayreville possession, Matagrano got a putback off a Harding miss to square the game again at 49-49 with 4:16 left. Nearly a minute afterward, Nweme stepped to the line with Colonia in the bonus, for a one and one, but missed, and then Sayreville took the lead some 55 seconds later as Harding made a great save from the Bomber backcourt to DeLaCosta, who darted in from the left wing for a layup, and a 51-49 lead with 2:25 to go. Thirty seconds later, the Bombers called for time, but following the timeout, it was Colonia that tied things up as D'Amico grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, and threw an outlet pass upcourt to Edmonds for a pull-up jumper to make the score 51-51 with 1:20 left. As the Patriots headed back on defense, DeLaCosta used his lightning quickness again to scamper through the CHS defenders for a coast to coast layup at the 1:15 mark for a 53-51 lead. The Bombers then got a stop on the defensive end, and eventually went up by four as Harding found DeMild for a reverse layup, and a 55-51 lead with just 33.8 remaining in the contest. Matagrano had an opportunity to made it a six point lead, but misfired on a front end of a one and one, and Edmonds got the rebound, and was fouled with 22.87 left. The junior swingman then connected on one of two at the line for a 55-52 lead with 21.27 left, and then on the second missed foul shot, he grabbed his own offensive rebound.
With still an opportunity to either tie, or at least pull within one, the Patriots got the ball down low to Mentzel, who found it quite difficult to get a good shot off as Matagrano's imposing size benefitted the Bombers as he blocked the Colonia center's shot with 15.04 remaining. Maintaining possession of the ball, the Pats then got it in the hands of Hall, who had recently returned after a span on the bench with his four fouls. Hall then went for the game tying three pointer, but the shot went in and out culminating the difficult night that the senior had. Coleman managed to get amongst the trees and pull down the offensive rebound, but missed on the follow as DeMild got the rebound and was fouled. However, the Sayreville junior missed the front end of a one and one with 3.7 seconds remaining, and the Patriots had one more chance. Colonia grabbed the rebound off the DeMild miss, and got the ball upcourt to Edmonds for a three point attempt that hit the front of the rim as time expired with Sayreville prevailing, 55-52. With the victory, the Bombers improved to 8-1 overall on the season, and 4-1 in the GMC White Division. Meanwhile, Colonia, losers of two of their last three, fell to 8-2 overall on the year, and 3-2 in divisional play.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Sayreville (8-1) |
19 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 55 |
Colonia (8-2) |
7 | 18 | 18 | 9 | 52 |
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