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

Ganz And Davis Lead Team Effort To Lift Wardlaw Past South River, 52-40

By Greg Machos
December 21, 2011

NORTH EDISON, NJ--What a difference two weeks make. In a recent scrimmage against David Brearley Regional of Kenilworth, Wardlaw-Hartridge struggled to find a rhythm offensively. Fast forward to its third game of the 2011-12 regular season, and Wardlaw is playing much better. While it is still a long season, the second year member of the GMC looks to hustle and scrap their way to some wins.

Outworking its opponent, Wardlaw won round one of the Battle of the Rams on Wednesday afternoon by defeating South River in a GMC Gold matchup, 52-40. Wardlaw-Hartridge led for approximately 29:30 of the contest with the only two ties of the game coming in the first four minutes. However, South River, which had trailed 26-19 at the half, and 29-21 with 6:23 to go in the third, rallied with a 13-4 tear over a 6:55 span to take its only lead of the game at 34-33. The lead didn't last long though.

Junior forward, Justen Davis, who turned in a solid effort with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and a block, gave Wardlaw the lead for good on a hoop at the 7:21 mark, and then swiped his only steal of the game and drove in for a layup with 7:14 remaining. The two Davis baskets sparked a 19-3 tear over seven minutes to take a 52-37 lead before Thomas Drum ended the game with a three pointer for South River as Wardlaw won, 52-40. Noah Ganz led all scorers with a game high 16 points while also collecting two rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.

South River was led by junior Tyler Harris, who knocked in a team high 13 points including two threes. Drum, who also had two threes, scored in double figures as well with 10. Nick Palko came off the bench to help Wardlaw on the inside with 8 points while teammate Matt Rosado played a scrappy game with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. While South River had more points from beyond the arc (12-9), Wardlaw produced more at the foul line (7-2), and had more total field goals (21-17).

Ganz scored the first five points for Wardlaw including a three in the first minute and a layin at the five minute mark. After South River tied it on a basket with 4:27 left in the first, Wardlaw finished the period with a 6-3 burst that included two free throws by Rosado a the 4:16 mark, and a score by Davis. Meanwhile, South River was stymied by a Wardlaw defense that produced two charges . Heading into the second with an 11-8 lead, Wardlaw went up by seven thanks to two scores in the first 1:34 including a layup off a steal by Ganz with just under six and a half minutes to go in the first half.

Much to its credit, South River fought back. Led by Drum, who had a breakaway layup off a steal, and a three pointer from the right wing during a stretch of nearly three minutes, the visitors rallied with a 9-4 run to pull within two at 19-17 as Wardlaw called for time with a little more than three minutes to go in the first half. The timeout was the tonic as the North Edison school finished the half on a 7-2 spurt including a layup by Arturo Martinez (4 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) and a three from the left wing by Ganz to take a 26-19 advantage into the locker room at the intermission.

Looking to get back into the game, South River began the second half with six of the first nine points including scores by Tyler Harris and Danny Boychuck (6 points). Davis accounted for the only Wardlaw scoring during this 3:29 stretch with a three point play at the 6:23 mark for an eight point lead. South River crept closer with a layup by Harris at the 3:11 mark, and another by Erick Gomez (6 points) at the 1:50 mark, but Wardlaw still managed to hang on to a four point lead at 33-29 thanks to a layup by Rosado with 1:15 remaining in the period.

South River, which outscored Wardlaw by a 13-7 margin in the third, ended the period with a three from the left corner by Harris to pull within one at 33-32. The visitors then took their first and only lead of the game on a score with 7:28 to play. After Davis got his two baskets to put Wardlaw back in front for good, Ganz connected for another three to give the home team a 40-34 advantage with 6:04 remaining. Following a South River timeout, Wardlaw continued to pull away with 12 of the next 15 points including a three point play by Rosado at the 4:28 mark for a 45-36 lead, and baskets by Palko and John Belfer (4 points).

With the victory, Wardlaw won its second straight and improved to 2-1 overall on the season, and in GMC Gold play. South River goes into the holidays at 0-3, and will look to notch its first win when it plays in the Keansburg holiday tournament. Wardlaw will open its holiday tourney play with a matchup against the host Bound Brook at the Crusader Classic on December 27th.

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