SPOTSWOOD, NJ–It was heralded as a big showdown for not only all the marbles in the GMC Blue, but also a piece of the GMC pie later in February when the 2010 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament gets underway. Coming into this game, Bishop Ahr had won 21 straight GMC Blue Division games dating back to the 2007-08 season when they lost at home to Cardinal McCarrick.
Meanwhile, Spotswood was looking to end a streak. Coming into the matchup against Ahr, the Chargers had lost 14 straight to the Trojans going back to the 2003-04 season when they defeated the BGA. It was a game of surges, but in the end, Spotswood would end its drought against Bishop Ahr. Led by senior guard, Tyler Osofsky, who scored 25 of his game high 29 points in the second half, the Chargers moved into first place in the GMC Blue with a 55-41 victory. Spotswood jumped out to a 16-9 lead early in the second quarter before Bishop Ahr charged back with a 15-0 run to end the half for a 24-16 advantage at the intermission. Senior guard, Rob Gomulka led the charge for BGA with all eleven of his points in the game during the stretch.
In the third quarter, however, the Chargers answered with an 18-1 tear in the period for a 34-25 third quarter lead as Osofsky led the way with 11 points while fellow senior, Mike Liming chipped in with five. Liming ended up with 11 for the game. Spotswood then closed out the win with a 21-16 showing in the final period. The Chargers, which got 14 in the period from Osofsky, led by as many as 17 at one point before Ahr rallied with a 6-1 run to pull within a dozen at 48-36 with a little more than two and a half minutes remaining. The Trojans couldn’t get any closer though as Spotswood came away with the 55-41 win. Darius Griffin chipped in with 10 points for Bishop Ahr while teammate Pat Widdoss added eight.
This was a huge game for the GMC Blue. If you wanted to know how important a game this was, just take a look at who was in attendance:
- Mike New–Home News-Tribune
- John Haley–Star-Ledger
- Bo Henning–East Brunswick Head Coach
- Joe Lewis–Cardinal McCarrick Head Coach
- Dave Turco–St. Joseph’s Head Coach
- Mike Meagher–Former Edison Head Coach
The Trojans were coming off a week where they had defeated East Brunswick of the GMC Red. The Blue Division entered Monday night with a 12-1 record in crossover games this season (the only loss was a 76-40 Woodbridge victory over Highland Park on Saturday). The GMC Blue is also a combined 19-3 versus foes outside the conference. As of Monday night, there was only one team (Highland Park) that was below .500 overall. Simply put, this has been quite a year for the Blue Division.
Osofsky has been putting up big numbers as of late. This was his third game of 27 points or more in the past two weeks. The Spotswood Chargers senior scored 27 including the game winning three pointer in a victory over J.F. Kennedy on January 11th (60-57), poured in 29 in a 96-69 rout of South River last Tuesday, January 19th, and got 29 in the victory over Ahr. He also scored 17 in a 63-57 win at Metuchen this past Thursday. He can hit the perimeter jump shot while also drive to the basket. He also makes his share of free throws at the foul line.
This victory is a huge step forward for Spotswood. A big win for first place in a competitive division against an opponent that has not only dominated the recent season series, but also had been playing well as of late, and knocked off one of the top teams in the GMC. The win gives the Chargers a seat at the table come GMCT time.