Owls Inch Closer to .500 With Win Over Guvs
HIGHLAND PARK, NJ–In a battle for fourth place in the GMC Gold, the Highland Park Owls outscored South Amboy in each quarter to post a 47-30 victory. Over the first three periods, Highland Park amassed a 28-14 lead, and never looked back.
Forward Naeem Ghee led the Owls with a game high 19 points along with 5 rebounds while Justin Simms chipped in with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and a blocked shot. The duo of Ghee and Simms accounted for 31 of Highland Park’s 47 points, or approximately 66 percent of the Owls scoring.
Sam Murphy chipped in with 6 points and 2 rebounds for the winners. Highland Park had six different players score in the contest. South Amboy was led by Kyle Gasiewski, who scored 12 points including two three pointers. Steven Pena chipped in with 8 points including two threes.
The Governors, which had five different players score in the contest, enjoyed a 12-6 edge in points scored from long distance, but Highland Park had a 34-14 advantage in points scored from within the arc, and a 7-4 edge in points scored from the foul line. As a team, Highland Park collected 19 rebounds, 14 assists, 9 steals, and 2 blocks.
With the victory, Highland Park earned a split of the season series with South Amboy. The Guvs won the first meeting on January 11th (55-35) in South Amboy. The Owls improved to 7-9 with the victory, and move into sole possession of fourth place with a 6-8 mark. Meanwhile, South Amboy, which has now lost five straight, dropped to 6-13 overall including a 5-9 record in divisional play.
South Amboy will return to action on Thursday at 5:30 PM with a non-conference game at Manville. Meanwhile, Highland Park will host Al-Ghazlay High School in another non-conference match-up on Thursday at 5:00 PM. Both teams will likely play again on Saturday in the 2017 GMCT Play-In round.