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Chargers
Overcome Huge Early Deficit To Knock Off Knights, 56-55 |
By Greg Machos
February 11, 2008OLD BRIDGE, NJ—In a game that featured to young and exciting squads that have been playing well of late, Spotswood traveled to Old Bridge for a preliminary round game of the 2008 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. The Chargers, seeded 19th, had begun the season with losses in four of their first five games including a defeat at the hands of Bound Brook in the opening round of the 2007 Crusader Classic. Since that time though, Spotswood gradually got better winning 9 of their last 15 including a hard fought victory at Metuchen on January 18th. If it weren't for two close losses at the hands of J.F. Kennedy, the Chargers would have tied Metuchen for fourth in the GMC Blue, and received a slightly higher seed. Meanwhile, 14th seeded Old Bridge had an even worse start with losses in its first seven contests including a defeat at the hands of Toms River North in the opening round of the 2007 WOBM Christmas Classic at the Ritacco Center. However, the Knights, like Spotswood turned things around by first defeating a Carteret team that was seeded seventh in this year's tourney and then South Plainfield. Those two wins highlighted a run of 9 victories in the team's last 16 contests capped off by non-conference wins over Marlboro and Lacey of the Shore Conference, and then a suprising upset over third ranked J.P. Stevens on Senior Night in North Edison on February 4th.
Both teams have a plethora of young talent. Spotswood has several sophomores from a class that finished third in last year's Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament in addition to Cody Pace, who was already up with the varsity as a freshman while Old Bridge also has a talented group of tenth graders including the likes of Jimmy Gaffigan and Tyler Abad. Both teams also have key veteran players such as Ross Gerhart for the Chargers and Quinton Crawford of the Knights. After being projected to finish last in the pre-season, Old Bridge ended up finishing a suprising fifth with a 5-9 divisional mark while Spotswood, with still a GMC Blue game to play against hated rival, South River, ended up in sixth place with a 4-9 record to date. The game, which was actually a 4:00 PM start due to the fact that Old Bridge was hosting a sectional wrestling match in the Central Jersey Group IV State Wrestling Tournament, seemed to be the Knights for the taking as the home team connected on 5 of 8 three pointers and 7 of 13 shots overall for a 22-6 first quarter lead. Then, at the start of the second, Old Bridge scored 6 of the first 8 points to take a seemingly commanding 28-8 advantage as Spotswood head coach, Steve Mate called for time at the 6:27 mark of the second. However, following the Charger timeout, Spotswood chipped away at the lead with an 11-2 tear over a span 1:42 highlighted by two threes from Pat Dwyer, and one by Gerhart to close to within a dozen at 31-19 with 4:45 left in the half. After that, the Chargers scored 10 of the last 16 points of the first half including a layup underneath by Gerhart, another trey by Dwyer, and two foul shots at the 49 second mark by reserve James Pareti to trail, 37-29 at the break.
Spotswood, which outscored Old Bridge in each of the last three periods, held even in the third for the most part with a 14-13 edge that gave the Knights a 50-43 lead entering the fourth. Then, in the final period, after Old Bridge scored three of the first five points of the frame including a one of two effort from the line by Crawford at the 5:29 mark, Spotswood held the Knights two just two free throws in a 13-2 game ending spurt for a 56-55 upset and advanced to play in the Round of 16 against third seeded Bishop Ahr on Thursday night in North Edison. For the game, the Chargers were led by Gerhart, who connected on 8 of 15 shots including 2 of 4 from three point land, and made 5 of 8 from the foul line for a game high 23 points to go along with 3 steals, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and a rebound. Dwyer, a junior forward, chipped in with 11 points on 4 of 8 shooting including 3 of 5 from long range while also collecting 6 rebounds, an assist, and a block. Cody Pace also helped out with 12 points on three field goals including a trey, and five free throws while also picking up 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and a blocked shot. On the other side of the scorebook, Old Bridge was led by Crawford, who had a team high 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting including 2 of 6 from beyond the arc while also making 6 of 9 from the foul line. The senior guard also added 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and an assist. Abad chipped in with 9 points on 4 of 8 shooting including a 1 of 2 effort from three while also compiling 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Recently inserted into the lineup, Tyrone Jones also contributed with 8 points on a perfect 2 of 2 from the floor, and 4 of 6 at the line while picking up 4 assists, 2 steals, and a rebound. You can look at the rest of the individual statistics by going to the contest's stat page in the GMC Hoops Game Stats section.
For the game, Spotswood clicked on 19 of 39 from the floor for 48.7 percent including 6 of 11 from three point range for 54.5 percent. In the first half, the Chargers made 5 of 6 from downtown including a perfect 3 of 3 by Dwyer, and 2 of 2 by Gerhart. At the foul line, which has been a source of peril for Spotswood, the Chargers connected on only 12 of 23 shots for 52.2 percent. Included in that charity shot effort was an 0 of 2 showing by Dwyer with eight seconds left, which gave Old Bridge life, and an opportunity to win the game. On the other side of the ledger, the Knights were only 20 of 47 from the floor for 42.6 percent including 5 of 20 from three point range for 25 percent. After hitting 62.5 percent from three point land in the first, Old Bridge missed its last 12 attempts from deep, which played a pivotal role in Spotswood's comeback. At the line, the Knights were 10 of 15 for 66.7 percent. In other statistical areas, Old Bridge held the edge in rebounding (25-23) including an 11-8 advantage on the offensive boards. The Knights also had advantages in steals (12-10) and turnovers (18-20). However, the Chargers had edges in assists (12-9), blocks (4-1), and charges (3-1). Both teams scored in double digits for three of the four periods including one twenty plus point quarter. Spotswood was able to win the game though by getting the edge in each of the final three frames. Much of that was due to the fact that the visitors from the GMC Blue limited Old Bridge to just 7 of 23 shooting in the second half while forcing 13 turnovers.
Things didn't start out all that well though for Spotswood. In the first quarter, the Chargers made 3 of 9 shots in the period while committing four turnovers. On the other hand, the Knights were "en fuego" as Dan Patrick called it back in his days at ESPN as they made 53.8 percent of their shots, and 3 of 4 at the line while only making one miscue. Over the first 5:23 of the game, Old Bridge jumped out to an 12-2 lead on three pointers by junior Nick Perez, Crawford, and Abad while senior forward Davis Obi scored on a putback. The only poits for the Chargers during this stretch was on a runner by Gerhart from the left baseline that made the score, 5-2 at the 4:30 mark. Perez got the Knights on the board first when Gaffigan grabbed an offensive rebound, and passed to the junior for a three pointer from the left side that made the score, 3-0 at the 6:17 mark. Obi then scored his putback for a 5-0 lead when Gerhart put Spotswood on the board with his runner to bring the deficit back down to three again. On the next Old Bridge possession, Crawford made one of two from the foul line for a 6-2 advantage with 4:11 to go in the period. The senior then followed that up with a trey from the right corner for an 9-2 lead as the Chargers called for time at the 3:30 mark. Following the timeout, things continued to get worse for the visitors as Abad struck from long distance on a shot from the left corner off an assist by Jones for a 12-2 lead with 2:37 to go in the first. The Knights then scored seven of the next nine points including a layup by Jones, a three pointer by Gaffigan, and then two foul shots by Crawford for a 19-4 lead with 1:25 to play in the stanza.
After scoring three of the last five points for a sixteen point first quarter lead, Old Bridge, which made 6 of 11 shots in the second, embarked on a 6-2 spurt to start the second for a twenty point lead. Capping the run was a Jones dish to Obi for a layup at the 6:27 mark that compelled the Chargers to call for another timeout. Following the stoppage, Spotswood fought back like the cornered animal that it was. Over the next 1:42, the Chargers scored 11 of 13 points including two treys by Dwyer, and a trifecta from Gerhart before Jones made one of two at the line for a 31-19 Old Bridge lead with 4:45 to go in the first half. Both teams scored three points each as Old Bridge got one of two at the line from Crawford, and then on the missed second free throw, an offensive rebound and follow attempt by Jones that drew a foul, and resulted in one of two more from the charity stripe for a 34-22 Knight lead with 3:45 to go before the intermission. For the next 1:41, Spotswood put together a 5-0 mini-run that included a layup underneath from Gerhart, and the final three of the game by Dwyer to trim the deficit down to only seven at 34-27 with 2:04 to go in the second. Neither team scored for a little over a minute before Crawford registered a conventional three point play with a layup as he was fouled for a 37-27 lead at the 58 second mark. On the subsequent Charger possession, James Pareti went to the line, and made two foul shots for a 37-29 lead, and when the Knights attemtped to get more before halftime, senior forward, Nick Olesinski, came up with a huge defensive play by drawing a charge on Crawford with eight seconds left as both teams went to their respective locker rooms with Old Bridge leading by eight.
Looking at the first half scoring, Dwyer was a pefect 4 of 4 for Spotswood including his three second quarter treys for 11 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist while Gerhart made 6 of 9 shots from the floor including his perfect 2 of 2 from downtown to lead his team with 14 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, a block, and a rebound. James Pareti rounded out the Charger scoring with one of two from the field, and 2 of 2 from the foul line for 4 points along with a rebound, and an assist. Meanwhile, for Old Bridge, Crawford led the way with 13 points on 3 of 5 shooting from the floor along with 2 of 3 from long range, and 5 of 7 at the line while also collecting 2 steals, an assist, and a rebound. Gaffigan made 2 of 5 shots including one of two from three for 5 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. Abad also had 5 points on 2 of 2 shooting including a three to go along with 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Moving on to the first half statistics, Spotswood made 11 of 20 shots from the field for 55 percent including 5 of 6 from deep for 83.3 percent. Meanwhile, Old Bridge was just as torrid by making 13 of 24 attempts for 54.2 percent including 5 of 11 from three point land for 45.5 percent. At the foul line, the Knights had many more attempts going 7 of 11 for 63.6 percent while the Chargers were a perfect 2 of 2 thanks to one of the Pareti twins. In other statistical departments, Old Bridge had edges in turnovers (5-7), rebounds (7-6), offensive boards (4-0), and steals (4-3) while Spotswood had more blocks (2-0). Both teams were even in assists (8-8) and charges (1-1). Returning to action in the third, the Knights came out blazing again to put the Chargers on the ropes only to see Spotswood rally again to close the gap to seven entering the final period of play.
Over the first 2:31 of the third, Old Bridge went on an 8-0 spurt that included steals for layups by Abad and Crawford, an offensive rebound and putback by Perez off a missed shot by Gaffigan, and then a bank shot from the right wing by Crawford for a 45-29 advantage as Spotswood called for time at the 5:29 mark. Following the timeout though, the Chargers fought back again with an 11-5 run that included a three pointer, and one of two from the line by Pace, who began to heat up. With the score now reading, 50-40 at the 1:36 mark, Spotswood made it a 14-5 quarter ending tear as it got the final three points of the frame including one of two from the free throw line by Gerhart, and two offensive rebounds by Dwyer that set up another offensive rebound by junior Vinny Vizzi, who put it back in to make the score, 50-43 after three. The Chargers had a chance to pull closer, but Pace missed the front end of a one and one in the waning moments of the period. At the start of the fourth, Old Bridge got a score to go ahead by nine again at 52-43 before Gerhart got Spotswood going again with a pair of free throws for a 52-45 Knight lead at the 6:33 mark. Crawford then made one of two at the line a little over a minute later to put Old Bridge back up by eight at 53-45 with 5:29 remaining. It was at this point that Spotswood embarked on its decisive 11-0 tear that ultimately gave it the victory. With the Knights trying to spread the floor, and run some time off the clock, the Chargers became the aggressor, and began to rally. The comeback would be slow in getting started though as neither team scored for nearly two and a half minutes.
Finally, the Chargers began to put things together as Pace drove through the middle for a layup as he was fouled, but missed the bonus free throw for a 53-47 Old Bridge lead with 3:03 to play. On the missed foul shot, Olesinski grabbed the offensive board, and that eventually resulted in another trip to the line for Pace, who made one of two this time for a 53-48 Knight lead with 2:53 left. A little less than a minute later, Gerhart scored on a layup that closed the gap to three at 53-50 with 2:03 to go. Twenty-two seconds after that, Pace drew a foul, and netted both attempts from the charity stripe for a 53-52 Old Bridge edge with 1:38 remaining. The Chargers then got another stop, and then Olesinski, who only had four points in the entire contest, scored on a putback as he was fouled for a 54-43 lead. The senior forward had a chance to make it a two point advantage, but misfired on the bonus foul shot with 1:16 left. However, Olesinski did atone for the missed free throw with another huge defensive play as he drew a charge on Jones at the 1:08 mark, and then Gerhart made one of two from the foul line for a 55-53 lead with inside a minute left. The Knights then had a good look as Perez took a three point attempt from the left wing, but missed as Pace grabbed the rebound with 32 seconds to play. Following a Spotswood timeout at the 25 second mark, Pace drew another foul, and made one of two from the line with 19 seconds left for a 56-53 lead. Old Bridge had a chance to tie, and appeared that they would as Perez let fly a three pointer that seemed to have a better chance this time, but rolled out. Jones, alertly grabbed the offensive board, and drew a foul that resulted in two foul shots for a 56-55 Charger lead with ten seconds left.
Immediately after Jones made his second free throw, the Knights fouled immediately, and Dwyer went to the line with eight seconds to go. The junior couldn't put the game away as he missed both charity shot attempts, and a fight for the loose ball ensued. During the scramble, both teams got tied up, and a jump ball was called, which gave Old Bridge possession since it had the arrow. The Knights then called for time with five seconds remaining, and after the timeout, Jones got the ball on the inbounds, drove up the side of the court adjacent to the stands, and then turned toward the basket in the Old Bridge frontcourt. The point guard then penetrated and dished to Luciow, who rushed his shot, and it was off the mark as Spotswood emerged with a very impressive win on the road in the GMCT over a team that had been playing really well as of late. The victory helped Spotswood advance to the Round of 16 in the GMCT, where it will face a familiar foe in third seeded Bishop Ahr. The two teams played twice during the regular season with Ahr winning both times including a 63-50 win in Spotswood on February 7th. The Chargers, which will complete its division schedule on Tuesday night in South River, also improved to 11-10 overall while Old Bridge fell to 9-15.
Team |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Spotswood (11-10) |
6 | 23 | 14 | 13 | 56 |
Old Bridge (9-15) |
22 | 15 | 13 | 5 | 55 |
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