SPOTSWOOD, NJ–On Friday evening, GMC Hoops took a trip over to the Spotswood Athletic Center on the campus of Spotswood High School to take in the contest between the hometown Chargers and the visiting Edison Eagles in a Greater Middlesex Conference crossover clash.
The Eagles, which entered the contest with 6 wins in their last 8 games to earn a 16th seed in the GMCT earlier in the day, jumped out to an 11-6 lead by the 2:16 mark of the first period, and opened the second period with an 8-2 run for a 27-14 lead. Spotswood finished the half on a 15-13 run to close the gap to 40-29 at the half, but would not get any closer.
Edison opened the second half with 6 of the first 9 points including a floater from senior Dominic Kurtyan for a 46-32 lead at the 4:17 mark. The Eagles then scored 6 of the next 10 points after that including a three from Kurtyan for a 2:59 to go in the third. From there, Edison led by as many as 20 points on several occasions before Spotswood ended the game on a 17-9 surge for the 72-61 Edison victory.
Senior Joe Cudakiewicz, who has been on a tear as of late, led all scorers with a game high 27 points while teammate and sophomore Christian Wantong chipped in with 20. Justin Turner also contributed with 14 points. Matt Vento led Spotswood in defeat with 21 points while teammate Justin Dekovics chipped in with 13. Below are game notes from the action:
First Quarter
2:16–Arrive with Edison leading 11-6.
1:00–Spotswood gets a three point play from Solomon Tyson to end an 8-3 Edison run for a 19-12 Edison lead.
0:00–Edison leads the Spotswood 19-12 after one quarter. Joe Cudakiewicz led the Eagles with 7 points while Christian Wantong chipped in with 5. Abu Kaikai added 4 points while Justin Turner contributed with a three. Matt Fuzesi and Nate Carone have three pointers for the Chargers while Matt Vento and Solomon Tyson added traditional three point plays. Edison had 6 FGs and two threes, and made 1 of 2 FTs. Spotswood had two threes, two FGs, and made both of its FTs.
Second Quarter
6:00–Edison opens up the second with an 8-2 run including scores by Joe Cudakiewicz and Christian Wantong for a 27-14 lead.
3:39 left in the first half and Edison calls time after a Matt Vento score on a layup from the right lane closes the gap to 30-23. Spotswood on a 9-3 run since trailing 27-14.
1:02 left in 1st half and Edison leads Spotswood 38-26 after an Andrew Fuzesi trey from the left side of the key that got a kind bounce. Ended an 8-0 Edison run to break away from a 30-23 lead.
0:00–End of first half and Spotswood trails 40-29 after a Justin Dekovics three from the left wing. Edison ends half on a 10-6 run for the double digit lead.
Third Quarter
4:17 left in 3rd and Edison now leads 46-32 after a Dominic Kurtyan floater from the right baseline gets a kind bounce. Eagles open second half on a 6-3 run.
2:59 left in 3rd and Spotswood calls timeout after a Dominic Kurtyan three from the left wing gives Edison a 52-36 lead.
0:00–End of 3rd and Spotswood trails Edison 58-43 after a Nate Carone three from the left wing. Edison outscores the Chargers by a margin of 18-14 in the frame for the 15 point lead.
Fourth Quarter
5:44 left in 4th and Edison leads 64-44 after a transition layup by Joe Cudakiewicz.
5:14 left in 4th and Spotswood calls time after a three closes the gap to 66-49. Chargers on a 5-2 run.
2:39 left in 4th and Spotswood calls timeout after a Abdul Nieskens floater closes gap to 69-64
40.9 seconds left in 4th and Spotswood calls timeout after a Nate Carone trey from left corner closes gap to 72-61.
0:00–Game just ended with Edison defeating Spotswood 72-61. Spotswood ends the game on a 17-9 surge to make the score more respectable. Edison scoring for game. Joe Cudakiewicz led the Eagles with 27 pts. Christian Wantong chipped in with 20. Justin Turner added 14. Spotswood scoring for game. Matt Vento led Chargers with 21 pts while Justin Dekovics chipped in with 13. Both teams combined for 15 threes in the game with Spotswood outscoring Edison from beyond the arc by a margin of 33-12. However, the Eagles made up for that with a 48-24 showing from within the arc, and a 12 of 22 effort from the line while the Chargers were just 4 of 11.