Sophomore Forward Scores 24 to Lead Eagles to Win
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| Edison players get introduced to the crowd at Frank Cangelosi Gymnasium before the start of their GMC White clash with Colonia on Tuesday night. The Eagles won 57-48 behind a game high 24 points from sophomore Christian Wantong. |
EDISON, NJ–About a year ago at this time, GMC Hoops got its first glance of Christian Wantong as a freshmen for Edison. It was during the 2016 Perth Amboy Freshmen Tournament, where the Eagles ultimately lost at the buzzer to St. Joseph’s-Green.
Then, you could see the potential he had. Fast forward to Tuesday night, and Wantong’s potential became reality. The sophomore forward scored a game high 24 points including 11 in the second quarter alone to lead the Edison Eagles to a 57-48 victory over Colonia in a GMC White Division Clash at Cangelosi Gymnasium in Edison.
Senior guard, Joe Cudakiewicz, charged up by the Senior Night Festivities at the Eagle’s Nest, scored 8 of Edison’s first 10 points including two long threes from about the same spot on the right side of the floor, and finished with 15 points while fellow senior, Justin Turner chipped in with 11 points including a three from the top of the key at the 5:45 mark of the third that helped the Eagles garner a 37-19 lead.
The trio of Edison players accounted for 50 of the Eagles’ 57 points, or 88 percent of the offense. Colonia countered with the play of juniors Kristian Chapman and Connor Bevilacqua and sophomore Luke Valeriano. Chapman and Bevilacqua led the Patriots in a losing cause with 12 points each while Valeriano added 11 points.
Trailing by 18 points after an and one score by Edison’s Wantong with 6:38 to go in the third, the Patriots battled back with a 27-14 surge over the next 13:08 including a couple threes from Bevilacqua and three treys from Valeriano to pull within five points on two occasions including a 51-46 score with 1:30 remaining.
Colonia had five different players score while Edison had six get into the scorebook. The Patriots outscored the Eagles by a margin of 21-12 from long distance, but Edison had a 36-16 advantage in points scored from within the arc. Colonia was 11 of 13 from the foul line while Edison was just 9 of 17.
The Eagles had 15 team fouls while the Patriots had only 13. Edison outscored Colonia in each of the first three periods of the contest. The Eagles got off to a fast start by scoring 10 of the first 15 points in just 2:21 as Cudakiewicz scored 8 points including two threes while Turner added a fadeaway jumper at the 5:39 mark.
Colonia, which got a three point play from Chapman at the 6:00 mark to draw within three at 8-5, sank a three pointer at the 5:20 mark for a 10-8 Edison lead, and then got two driving layups from Frank Lehman (6 points) including a scoop shot layup with 1:02 remaining in the frame to pull the Pats within two at 14-12.
Edison maintained that lead early in the second when Cudakiewicz dribbled down the left lane, and pulled-up for a short jumper from the left low block for a 16-12 Eagles lead with 6:21 remaining in the second. Cudakiewicz’s bucket sparked a 9-2 Edison spurt that was capped by a three point play by Wantong with 4:28 to go in the half for a 23-14 Eagles lead.
After Colonia got two free throws by Oliver French at the 3:20 mark for a 23-16 Edison lead, the Eagles scored the next four points including a score from the left baseline by Wantong off a pass from Joe Cudakiewicz for a 27-16 lead at the 1:59 mark. Both teams then traded threes to end the half for a 30-19 Edison advantage at the intermission.
The home team got off to another fast start to begin the second half by scoring the first seven points of the third including a three from the top of the key by Turner at the 6:49 mark, and a basket by Wantong as he was fouled for a 37-19 lead with 6:38 to play in the frame. Colonia then began to battle its way back into the contest.
Using a three from the right wing at the 5:04 mark and a jumper from the right side at the 1:53 mark from Bevilacqua, the Patriots scored 11 of 16 points to trim the deficit to a dozen. Edison then maintained that 12 point lead at 44-32 heading into the fourth period. Valeriano then took over for the Patriots.
The sophomore, and St. Joseph’s transfer, first sank a three from the right wing at the 5:45 mark for a 44-35 Edison lead. A little over a minute later, Valeriano struck again for a trey from the left wing off an inbounds pass from Lehman to narrow the deficit to six at 45-39 with 4:38 remaining.
Edison was able to keep Colonia at bay for the next two and a half minutes or so before Valeriano struck again for a three from the left wing at the two minute mark for a 50-44 Eagles lead. The Patriots then picked up another score to pull within five at 51-46 with 1:30 left, and forced a turnover to have a chance to pull within a single possession.
Unfortunately for Colonia fans, the Pats were unable to cash in on the takeaway, and Edison responded with a layin by Cudakiewicz for a 53-48 lead with exactly a minute to go. Wantong then added a putback and Turner made two free throws to close out the 57-48 victory.
With the win, Edison won its 6th game out of its last 8 since starting the season at 2-11. The Eagles are now 8-13 overall including a 4-8 mark in the GMC White. Colonia dropped to 6-14 overall including a 4-8 mark in divisional play. The two teams split the season series with Colonia defeating Edison 39-37 on January 14th.
Both teams return to action later this week with Edison traveling Spotswood for a GMC crossover on Thursday evening at 6:00 PM while Colonia hosts South Plainfield in another GMC crossover on Thursday afternoon at 4:00 PM.