PISCATAWAY, NJ–On Wednesday afternoon, GMC Hoops traveled over to Timothy Christian to watch a Tri-scrimmage between the Tigers, Perth Amboy, and J.P. Stevens. There were six quarters played in three different scrimmages. TCS held its own against two of the larger teams in the GMC while Perth Amboy also performed well. Below are some notes from the three scrimmages.
J.P. Stevens vs. Timothy Christian
First Quarter
Arrived with 1:46 left in first quarter and TCS leading 7-6. Â Three lead changes over the last 1:46. Â Stevens got a bucket with 54 seconds left for an 8-7 lead. Â Timothy Christian responded with a layup off an inbounds play with 20 seconds left for a 9-8 lead. Â JPS ended the quarter scoring with a jumper from the left wing in the waning seconds for a 10-9 edge in the period.
Second Quarter
This game was tied at 2-2 until just under three minutes of play when both teams combined for 9 points with TCS getting the Lion’s share with a 6-3 showing to win the frame 8-5. Â Jarrett Locke was the catalyst for the Tigers with 4 of the 6 points including two foul shots at the 2:56 mark, and then a bucket off a dish from Matt DiLeo with under two minutes left in the period. Â Stevens drew within a point on a three in the final minute, but Timothy Christian ended up winning the stanza thanks to a basket with 8.8 seconds left.
There were three lead changes and one tie over the final 9:46 of this scrimmage with neither team having a lead bigger than 6 points.
Perth Amboy vs. Timothy Christian
First Quarter
After Timothy Christian scored the first points of the period, Perth Amboy scored the next four points over about a two minute span for a 4-2 lead at the 5:30 mark. Â TCS then dominated the next 2:35 with a 7-0 run for a 9-4 lead before Amboy got a basket at the 2:55 mark for a 9-6 score. Â The Tigers then got another basket before the Panthers ended the frame with the last four points for an 11-10 TCS edge in the frame. Â There were two lead changes in the frame.
Second Quarter
Like its opening period with Stevens, Amboy held is opponent scoreless while scoring first some two minutes into the frame. Â The Panthers got on the board first with a steal at midcourt for a layup at the 6:14 mark. Â TCS would tie the score only to have Amboy go back out in front on a putback by Auggie’s Enriquez for a 4-2 lead. Â
Timothy Christian went back out in front with a 6-0 run for an 8-4 lead, but the Panthers rallied to go back ahead with a 6-0 run that included a steal for a layup by Marquis Irizarry at the 1:45 mark. Â Trailing 10-8 with under a minute to play, TCS tied the score on two free throws by Jarret Locke at the 38.9 second mark, and then won the frame by a 12-10 score on a steal for a layup by Zach Coyle at the 2.9 second mark.
There were three lead changes and one tie in the period. Â Five lead changes and one tie for the entire scrimmage. Â Neither team had a lead bigger than five points over the two quarters.
Perth Amboy vs. J.P. Stevens
First Quarter
Amboy dominated much of the stanza. Â Neither team scored for the first 2:25 before Amboy got on the board. Â The Panthers then scored again before Stevens called a timeout with 3:38 to go in the period. Amboy led 9-2 late in the period before JPS ended the frame with a 4-0 run including a layup by Chiebuka Chukwuneke with 14.2 seconds to play in the frame as Amboy won the period 9-6.
Second Quarter
Perth Amboy rolled in this period to a 22-8 edge. Â The Panthers jumped out to an 8-0 lead in just the first two minutes of the frame and led 11-4 before Stevens called timeout at the 4:17 mark. Â Amboy’s lead grew to 17-4 before The Hawks scored 4 of the next 7 points to make it a bit more respectable at 20-8. Â Amboy got the final couple of points to end the period and the scrimmage.
Recap
Timothy Christian  ended up winning the scrimmage overall by winning three of the four quarters it played.  Perth Amboy split its four periods, and Stevens only won one of its four quarters.  The Tigers edged the Panthers by a margin of 23-20, and edged JPS by a score of 17-15.  So TCS won its for quarters by an overall score of 40-35.  Amboy won its four periods by a score of 51-37, and Stevens lost its four frames by a margin of 48-29.