PISCATAWAY, NJ–After watching South Amboy and East Brunswick Tech play, GMC Hoops traveled North on Route 18 over to Piscataway Tech to see a great game between Timothy Christian and Piscataway Tech. The Raiders had chances to break the game open at several points, but the Tigers hung in there with a 15-4 tear to turn a 33-22 deficit into a 37-37 tie. From there, the game went back and forth with the Tigers coming out on top 49-47 thanks to a baseline jumper from sophomore Brandon Summers with 1:45 left. Below are the notes from the contest.
First Quarter
Timothy Christian surprised P-Way Tech by not only winning the opening tip, but also scoring right off it thanks to a layup by Jeff Parker for a 2-0 lead. In a start that seemed quite similar to their first meeting, the Raiders scored the next four points including a layup by Turell McClendon for a 4-2 lead before Brandon Summers tied the game with a score down low. Piscataway Tech scored the next three points including one of two from the line by Tafari Kerr for a 7-4 lead before the Tigers got another bucket from Summers at the 3:32 mark. Â
The Raiders held that lead for the next two minutes before Galen Smith netted a three pointer from the left side for a 10-6 lead at the 1:30 mark. Â With Dan Decker and Kristian Svendsen both struggling to get on the board, the Tigers had to go to Summers, who got abucket with under a minute to go, and Parker, who scored in the closing seconds for a 10-10 tie.
Second Quarter
Piscataway Tech took the lead early in the period on a score from Joyce, and preserved that tenuous edge with blocked shots by McClendon (on Decker) and Joyce (on Svendsen). Â Decker, who is 0 of 3 from three point range as of the 3:39 mark of the period, hasn’t let it go to his head by drawing a charge on Aziz Austin at the 4:23 mark. Â TCS got on the board when Zach Csorny drew a foul, and made both free throws to tie the game at 12-12. Â
Following a timeout, Â the Raiders went right back to Joyce for a layup at the 3:30 mark, and a 14-12 lead. Â Svendsen got on the board by cutting to the basket on the left side for a layup to tie the score again at 14-14 with 3:15 to go in the half. Â P-Way Tech took the lead for good with an 11-2 run to end the half. Â Smith sparked the run with another triple from the left side at the 3:08 mark. Â Joyce followed suit with a layup down low at the 2:37 mark followed by a steal for a layup at the 2:21 mark.
Decker got his first points of the game on a jumper from the left baseline with under two minutes to go in the half to close the gap to 21-16. Â The score stayed that way until the final 13 seconds of the second period when Joyce got a layup, and then Smith swiped a steal for a layup, and a 25-16 advantage at the intermission.
PVT–Joyce–14 points, Smith–8 points.
TCS–Summers–6 points, Parker 4 points, Svendsen–2 points, Decker–2 points, Csorny–2 points.
Third Quarter
The Raiders appeared to have the Tigers on the ropes for a while in the third. Â After Svendsen opened the second half scoring with a layup at the 7:18 mark. Â Turell McClendon put the Raiders back up by nine with a layup at the 6:54 mark. Â PVT then scored six of the next 10 points including a layup by Joyce off a dish from Smith, a layup by Smith himself, and then two free throws by Khair Mosley with 5:43 to go in the period.
By the three minute mark of the period, the Tigers had already surpased their point total from the first meeting when Brandon Summers made one of two from the line to close the gap to 35-26, and then Decker got on the board with his first triple of the game on a jumper from the left corner much to the delight of the TCS fans in attendance as the deficit closed two six with two and a half to go in the frame.
Zach Csorny then pulled TCS to within four points when he was fouled and made two free throws at the 1:27 mark. Â Summers closed the gap even further when he was fouled at the 52.7 second mark, and made two free throws for a 35-33 PVT lead. Â Up to this point, TCS was on an 11-2 run over a span of four minutes.
Fourth Quarter
After Joyce got a basket to end the third for a 37-33 PVT lead, TCS opened the fourth with the first four points including a layup by Summers at the 7:08 mark, and two free throws by Parker after the Tigers went into the bonus with 6:20 left. Â Mosley broke the 37-37 tie with a layup at the 6:02 mark, but Summers tied the game again at 39-39 with a score. Â The Raiders then scored four straight points including a layup by Smith at the 4:30 mark for a 43-39 lead. Â
TCS continued to hang tough as Svendsen drew a foul at the 3:56 mark, and made both free throws for a 43-41 Raiders lead. Â After Turell McClendon scored on a reverse layup at the 3:01 mark for a 45-41 lead, Kristian Svendsen got a layup while being fouled with 2:49 left. Â He missed the bonus free throw, but Summers swiped a steal, and Will Gaskin scored on a reverse layup with 2:34 left for a 45-45 tie. Â Following a P-Way Tech timeout with 2:25 remaining, the Tigers took the lead for the first time since the opening tip on a baseline jumper by Summers at the 1:45 mark. Â TCS then got the ball back by drawing a charge on the Raiders forcing PVT to call for time at the 1:29 mark.
The Tigers then ran some time off the clock before Decker was fouled at the 39.7 second mark. Â He made one of two for a 48-45 lead before Smith drove through the middle for a floater to close the gap to one as the Raiders called for time with 20.7 seconds to go. Â Parker was fouled off the inbounds with 18.8 seconds to play, and made one of two from the line for a 49-47 lead, and then the Tigers got a huge break when Gaskin swiped a steal and was fouled with 11.4 seconds to play. Â He missed both free throws and P-Way Tech called timeout again with 11.0 seconds left. Â Summers then deflected the ensuing inbounds away with 7.8 seconds to go.
Summers defensive play set the stage for McClendon’s drive to the basket in the waning moments that didn’t fall. Â The Raiders couldn’t put in the follow as Svendsen fell to the ground with the rebound as time ran out.