PISCATAWAY, NJ—On Thursday night, GMC Hoops completed its JV/Varsity Doubleheader with the varsity contest between 10th ranked Perth Amboy and Piscataway. Behind the first period scoring of senior guard Johnny Jones, who scored 11 of the Panthers 15 points including three treys, the inside play of senior forward Nate Melendez, and a fourth quarter three point play by Eddie Griggs as well as another three by Jones lifted Amboy to a 58-45 victory. Jones ended up with a team high 19 points including five threes while Melendez chipped in with 12. Donzell Cunningham led all scorers with 22 points including 14 in the second half for Piscataway. Below are game notes from the action.
First Quarter
6:49 left in the first quarter and PWay calls timeout after Johnny Jones scores on a layup from the right side off a steal to give Amboy a 6-0 lead.
5:43 left in the first quarter and Amboy is now up 9-2 after a three from the right side by Johnny Jones.
2:27 left in the first quarter and Amboy leads 15-7 after a three from the ring by Greg Machos by Jones, who has 13 points and three treys already.
0:00–End of first quarter and Amboy leads Piscataway 16-10 after 1 of 2 fts by Nate Melendez.
Second Quarter
3:39 left in the first half and PWay calls 30 sec timeout after Amboy opens 2nd on an 11-5 run including a layup by Carlos Done and two scores by Nate Melendez for a 26-15 lead.
15.9 secs left in the first half and Amboy calls a 30 second timeout with a 28-18 lead.
0:00–End of the first half and after Amboy’s John Wahrmann netted two fts with 4.7 seconds left, PWay’s Shamir Ahmed scored on an acrobatic putback to close the gap to 30-20 at the intermission. Piscataway first half scoring. Donzell Cunnigham leads the Chiefs with 8 points including 6 in the 2nd qtr. Perth Amboy first half scoring. Both Nate Melendez and Johnny Jones lead Amboy with 11 points.
Third Quarter
5:27 left in the third and Perth Amboy opens 2nd half with an 8-2 run including a three from the left by Ethon Diaz for a 36-22 Panthers lead.
4:00–Perth Amboy called for a technical foul. Piscataway makes two pairs of fts including two charity shots by Donzell Cunnigham for a 36-26 Panther lead.
2:05 left in the third and there is an official timeout after PWay fans came on the floor following an altercation between Amboy and Puscataway players near mid court.
0:00–End of third quarter and Amboy leads 43-28 after a jumper by Johnny Jones and 3 of 4 fts by Nate Melendez.
Fourth Quarter
5:01 left in the game and Amboy leads 50-37 after a three point play from Eddie Griggs and then a three from the left wing by Johnny Jones.
3:05 left in the game and PWay calls timeout after a transition layup from the left side by Nazir James off a nice dish by Danny Haus for a 51-40 Amboy lead.
1:03 left in the game and Amboy puts an exclamation point on this contest with a one handed slam by reserve center, Jesus Garcia for a 58-45 lead.
0:00–Game just ended with Amboy winning 58-45.