Junior Chiefs Hang On For Victory After Jumping Out To Early Lead
METUCHEN, NJ–In the second game of the GMC Hoops Freshmen, JV, and Varsity tripleheader on Thursday, the Junior Falcons of St. Joe’s went at it with the Junior Chiefs of Piscataway. Both of these teams have solid JV squads with Piscataway’s reaching the Final Four of the 2009 East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament while St. Joseph’s was undefeated before losing to Hillsborough in the quarterfinals of that same tourney. However, this year is a different year, and these are different teams with different players.
St. Joseph’s JV has already played a challenging schedule that included two games in the Monsignor Farrell Christmas Tournament over the holidays. Meanwhile, this was the second time this season that GMC Hoops saw Piscataway’s JV in action after the Chiefs defeated Perth Amboy in the season opener on December 18th (58-40). St. Joseph’s got out to a 6-3 start as freshmen James Ziemba (4 points) and Jimbo Long (2 points) led the way in the Junior Falcons start. However, Piscataway battled back with an 8-0 run that included an offensive rebound and follow by Devonte Smith (2 points, 8 rebounds, and a steal) off a shot block by Ziemba (8 of 16 FGs and 2 of 2 FTs for 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block), a jumper by Brian Wong (12 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, and a block), and a score by Thierno Diallo (8 points, 4 rebounds, and a steal) for an 11-6 lead after one period.
Piscataway opened the second with a 15-5 spurt over the first 5:45 including a 9-0 spurt for a 26-11 lead. Highlighting the run was a putback by Evan VanKline (7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals), a jumper by Greg Davis (3 of 4 FGs for 6 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, stela, and block) a bucket by Diallo, and a three point play by VanKline at the 4:09 mark. St. Joseph’s battled back with a 5-0 run including three points by Karim Awad (3 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist) and a score by Josh Hudson (2 points) before Davis inbounded to Cameron Hackett (2 points) for a layin that gave P-Way a 28-16 lead going into the intermission. After both teams exchanged scores to start the third, the Junior Falcons went on a 10-0 spurt over a span of just 2:20 to close the gap to two points at 30-28 with 4:30 to go in the period. Highlighting the run were threes by Greg Patton (8 points, a rebound, steal, and block) and Long as well as a layup by Ziemba and a score by Albert Myers III (4 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal).
For the rest of the quarter both teams exchanged scores as each got six points, and P-Way maintained its two point lead at 36-34 heading into the fourth. The Junior Chiefs then opened the final stanza with a 5-0 run that included a three point play by Anthony Green (6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists) for a 41-34 lead at the 5:51 mark. St. Joe’s rallied again with a 10-2 run including scores by Ziemba and Jalen Gilmore (4 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist) that tied the game at 42-42, and then after one of two from the line by Wong to put P-Way ahead, Ziemba got another layup off an assist by Awad at the 1:48 mark to take a 44-43 lead. However, Piscataway would go out in front for good as Diallo made two foul shots on the Junior Chiefs next possession at the 1:36 mark, and then VanKline forced a steal and handed out an assist on a Donovan Kirkland (4 points, 14 rebounds, a block, and an assist) layup that made the score 47-44.
The Junior Falcons moved within a point again on another Ziemba layup from Gilmore before P-Way called for time with just under a minute remaining. However, St. Joe’s couldn’t pull out the win. Diallo made two trips to the foul line that produced 1 of 2 free throws, and Wong wrapped up the five point Piscataway win with two free throws at the 1.6 second mark. Piscataway’s JV looks solid again this year with a good blend of sophomore and junior talent. The Junior Chiefs are very active on the defensive end, and it has shown on the scoreboard with an average of 43 points per game allowed in the two games covered by the site. Kirkland and Smith really get after it as well as VanKline, and Wong, Diallo, and Greene provide veteran leadership.
Ziemba and Long did impress in this game. Ziemba, a 6’7″ freshman forward from Hillsborough, has become more polished since the summer. He goes to the basket strong, and has developed a nice touch on his jumper and foul shots. Long had some struggles shooting, but showed some nice playmaking ability at times. Myers III is very active on both ends of the floor, especially on the offensive glass. With the loss, St. Joseph’s drops to .500 overall on the year at 4-4 including a 4-2 mark in division play.