We've just archived the summaries on several scrimmages that we covered in the pre-season, the Freshmen and JV Games of the Week, and Freshmen and JV Roundups.

GMC Hoops Summaries--January 30, 2008
Week Seven Of Action--Non-Conference Clash

Vidal Sparks Perth Amboy Tech To Easy Victory, 78-57

By Greg Machos
January 30, 2008

PERTH AMBOY, NJ—It had been a while since we last saw the Patriots in action. Nevertheless, Amboy Tech, which has a great volunteer keeping us up to date on how the Pats are doing, qualified for the state tournament for the second season in a row. Surprisingly, the feat was accomplished in a year that was supposed to be a down one for Perth Amboy Tech. With losses to graduation such as Jose Tavares, Freddy Espinal, and Wilson Diez, it didn't seem possible for Amboy to be sitting pretty at this point with an 11-6 record. But they have after Wednesday afternoon's convincing victory over Sussex Tech. One key ingredient to the Pats success in 2007-08 is the contributions from young talent such as sophomore Anthony Vidal. Vidal, a diminutive guard, made 8 of 12 shots from the floor including 1 of 2 from three point land, and 2 of 5 from the foul line for 19 points while collecting a plethora of other statistics including 6 assists, 6 steals, and 4 rebounds. Chipping in was junior swingman, Anthony Patterson with an 8 of 17 effort from the floor, and 2 of 4 showing at the line for 18 points and 11 rebounds for another double-double while he also picked up 4 assists, 5 steals, and a block. Junior captain, Joey Castro had the hot hand as well by connecting on 7 of 10 shots including a three pointer for 15 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Alex Sanz, a junior guard, also contributed with four field goals and a perfect 2 of 2 at the line for 10 points, 5 steals, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. To view the rest of the Patriot individual statistics, visit the contest's stat page in the GMC Hoops Game Stats Section.

Perth Amboy Tech, which scored between 20 and 27 points in each of the first three periods, jumped out quickly to a 9-2 lead in just the first two minutes of play, and never really looked back in a 78-57 victory over the Mustangs from Sussex County. The visitors, which didn't win a game last season, and entered the contest with five on the year in 2007-08, Like the turnover fiesta in the Championship Game of the 2007 NJTAC Holiday Tournament against Piscataway Tech, there was a ton of miscues as both teams combined to commit 62 turnovers. Sussex Tech committed a vast majority of them with 23 in the first half, and 38 for the game while Amboy Tech had 24. In the first quarter alone, there were 25 mistakes with Sussex Tech making 15 of them including twelve that were steals by the Patriots. For the game, Amboy Tech shot 32 of 71 from the floor for 45.1 percent including 3 of 13 from beyond the arc for just 23.1 percent. Meanwhile, Sussex County Tech made 23 of 60 attempts for 38.3 percent including 3 of 8 from long range for 37.5 percent. At the line, the home team from the GMC Gold, sank 11 of 17 free throws for 64.7 percent while Sussex Tech connected on 8 of 10 from the charity stripe for 80 percent. In other statistical departments, the Patriots enjoyed advantages in rebounding (39-38), offensive rebounding (17-13), assists (23-20), and steals (28-9) while the Mustangs had a wide edge in blocks (7-3). Both teams drew a charge. While the Pats were scoring proficiently in the first three periods, Sussex Tech, hampered by turnover difficulties struggled although it did put it double digit numbers in each period of the contest, and outscored Amboy Tech in the final frame to make the game a bit more respectable.

In the opening period, Perth Amboy Tech jumped out to a 20-16 lead by making 8 of 17 field goal attempts, and 4 of 6 free throws despite double digit turnovers. On the other hand, the Mustangs were able to hang close by making 7 of 15 field goal attempts including a perfect 2 of 2 from downtown to close out the period with a 14-11 showing to pull within four after falling behind early, and appearing to be in serious trouble. The trouble began for Sussex County Tech right away was Amboy's smaller, but much quicker lineup pressured the visitors into miscues right from the get go. Forty-five seconds into the game, the Patriots were on the board as Vidal swiped a steal for a layup attempt that drew a foul for one of two free throws that, in addition to another score, gave them a 3-2 lead. Over the next 1:15, Amboy Tech would score six more points as Vidal got a steal and assist on a Sanz layup that made the score, 5-2 at the 7:06 mark. A short time later, the Pats got another turnover, and that led to a Patterson pass to Castro on the right baseline for a jumper, and a 7-2 lead at the 6:51 mark. Nearly a minute later, Sanz, got a steal himself for a layup attempt, which drew a foul, and resulted in two free throws for a 9-2 lead. Sussex Tech, which already had seven turnovers in the first three and a half minutes of the contest, would score a basket to pull within five again, but when Sanz swiped another theft, and dished to Vidal for a layup, and an 11-4 edge, the Mustangs called for time at the 4:23 mark. Following the timeout, Perth Amboy Tech began to let Sussex Tech back into the game as the visitors from Sussex County scored 7 of the next 11 points including an offensive rebound and putback for a 15-11 Patriot that coerced Amboy Tech head coach, Artie Wachtel to call for time at the 3:01 mark.

With still three minutes to go in the opening period, the turnovers were piling up as the two squads already combined for 17 miscues. It wouldn't stop there either, as both teams tallied eight more turnovers along with four points each before the period was over with the Pats ahead still by four, 20-16. The second quarter began with Perth Amboy Tech trying to put some distance between themselves and the Mustangs. However, Sussex Tech fought back to close within two, and force the Pats to call for time again at the midway point of the period. In the frame, Amboy Tech, which only committed six miscues in the stanza, made 9 of 20 shots with most of the makes coming at the end in a 16-4 tear over the final 4:01 of the half for a 42-28 lead. On the other hand, Sussex Tech connected on just 5 of 16 attempts while committing eight more turnovers for 23 over the opening two periods. Patterson opened the scoring with a layup at the 6:17 mark for a 22-16 lead, but then Sussex Tech rallied with eight of the next ten points over the subsequent 2:16 including a layup that capped the run, and got Wachtel to call a timeout at the 4:01 mark with a now tenuous 26-24 lead. Following the stoppage though, Amboy Tech took control of the game for good with a decisive 16-4 blitz that included a 7-0 run over a 1:41 span capped by an Anthony Rodriguez steal and assist on another Vidal layup for a 33-24 edge at the 2:20 mark. Then, the Patriots scored nine of the final 13 points for a 42-28 lead at the intermission. Looking at the first half Amboy Tech scoring, Patterson led the way with 13 points on 6 of 12 field goals, and one of two free throws while picking up 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists, and a block.

Chipping in was Vidal, who made 4 of 7 field goals including 1 of 2 from three, and 1 of 2 from the line for 10 points, 5 steals, and 2 assists. Castro added 3 of 4 from the floor including his only three pointer for 7 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, an assist, and a block. Moving on to the halftime stats, Sussex Tech was limited to just 12 of 31 shooting for 38.7 percent including 2 of 4 from three point range, and made no foul shot attempts. Meanwhile, Perth Amboy Tech connected on 17 of 37 shots for 45.9 percent including 3 of 8 from downtown for 37.5 percent, and netted 5 of 8 at the line for 62.5 percent. The Patriots held edges in turnovers (16-23), rebounds (19-18), offensive boards (8-6), and steals (17-6) while the Mustangs had advantages in assists (12-10), blocks (5-2), and charges (1-0). In the third period though, the chasm became even wider between the two teams as Perth Amboy Tech put the game away with a 27-14 showing for a commanding 69-42 lead. Over the first 3:33, the Pats scored 11 of the first 17 points of the frame including one of two at the line by Patterson for a 53-34 lead at the 4:27 mark. In the minute subsequent to that, Amboy Tech scored four of the next six points to expand the spurt to 15-8 for a 57-36 lead as Sanz made a nice feed to Rodriguez for a layup at the 3:29 mark. Then, following a thirty second timeout by Sussex Tech, the home team closed out the stanza with a 12-6 run, and the 27 point lead. The Mustangs made only seven turnovers, but still had amassed a total of 30 over the first three frames.

In the final period, the visitors from Sussex County, which were led by Stephon Blair, who had a team high 16 points on seven field goals and two free throws, and got a contribution from Matthew Wamback with 15 points on two field goals, three treys, and two foul shots, made the score of the contest more cosmetically pleasing with a 15-9 showing for the 78-57 final score. With the victory, Perth Amboy won its tenth game in its last 14 to improve to 11-6 overall, and have a 6-1 record against non-conference opponents. Sussex Tech drops to 5-12 overall.

 

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