Amboy Falls In Opener On The Road Despite Tremendous Rally, 69-57
UNION CITY, NJ–On Saturday, Perth Amboy journeyed out to Hudson County to take on the Hillers of Union Hill in a non-conference tilt after the Panthers opening night game with Piscataway was postponed due to inclement weather on Friday.
Union Hill is two years removed from reaching the finals of the 2007 North Jersey Section 2 Group III when it lost to Colonia, and is looking to build on last season’s Quarterfinal round loss on the road against the Patriots as well. Meanwhile, the Panthers have a new coach in Edwin Santana, and a group consisting of several veterans and some talented sophomores that is looking to improve on last year’s 6-17 campaign.
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The first quarter saw the Hillers jump out to the early lead with a 20-5 explosion. The Hudson County school then followed that up with a 23-10 showing in the second for a 43-15 advantage As a matter of fact, Amboy was down by 30 points or so for most of the game. However, after being outscored by a 15-11 margin in the third to fall behind by a 58-26 count, the Panthers rallied with a 31-11 ferocious fourth quarter comeback and brought it down to single digits with two minutes left to play. Perth Amboy ended up scoring more points in the final stanza than in the first three put together.
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It wasn’t enough though as Union Hill held on for the dozen point victory. For the winners, Abdul Ais led the way with 20 points on seven field goals including two threes. He also added 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. Junior guard, Jonathan Agurto, chipped in with 11 points on four field goals including two threes, and a foul shot. Anthony Arias added 12 points in the win on four field goals and four foul shots while also collecting 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. For Perth Amboy, senior Victor Perez lead the way in a losing cause with 12 point including ten in the fourth quarter while sophomore Kearny Canela added 11 points incluidng three treys that all came in the fourth. Sophomore Victor Verdecia and senior Alex Nemeth each chipped in with 8 points while Nemeth grabbed five boards, and Verdecia picked up four.
With the victory Union Hill starts off at 1-0 on the year while Amboy, which is scheduled to face Sayreville on December 23rd, dropped to 0-1 overall.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Hill (1-0) | 20 | 23 | 15 | 11 | 69 |
| Perth Amboy (0-1) | 5 | 10 | 11 | 31 | 57 |