First Quarter Blitz All Rams Need To Put Away Seraphs
PLAINFIELD, NJ–Some has been said that the South River Rams may be having a rebuilding year this season now that 1,000 point scorer Tyler Harris has moved on to Centenary College, and Tim Darrar is now at Middlesex County College. Â However, the Rams still have a tremendous backcourt with Matt Martinez and Sean Darrar, and in what could be a wide open Gold Division this year, solid guard play may be all the Rams need. Â The duo was hard at work on Monday night in a non-conference game against Koinonia Academy, and their efforts made short work of the host Seraphs.
Utilizing the high octane offense by head coach, Rodney Harris, Darrar, who also starred on the football team, scored four points, and Martinez fired in a three to highlight a game opening 9-0 run that set the tone for the rest of the night.  By the end of the first quarter, South River was already up 39-17, and the Rams cruised from there into halftime with a 58-30 advantage.  Martinez ended up with 16 points in the first half including three treys  and a three point play.  Harris added 10 points on five field goals.  The duo also got help from down low.
Forwards Othniel Harris and Tyler Hill had 6 each with Harris scoring all his points in the second period. Â South River had 26 field goals including four threes in the first half while only making 2 of 3 from the foul line. Â On a pace to score well over 100 points in the contest, the Rams slowed things down a bit in the second half, and only scored 37 points, but still rolled to a 95-43 victory over Koinonia. Â Martinez ended up with a triple double of 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in the contest. Â He connected on 12 field goals including six from beyond the arc. Â Darrar ended up with 24 points and 8 rebounds as he made 11 field goals including two treys.
Harris ended up with 11 points for the game while Hill chipped in with 8.  Richie Leogrande contributed with 7 while Connor Devich, who scored two of his points during the 9-0 spurt  to open the contest, ended up with 5 points.  South River had 11 different players get into the scorebook while the Seraphs had just five.  Leading the way in a losing cause for Koinonia was John Clemente, who had 22 points in the contest on 9 field goals and 4 foul shots.  The senior, who was coming off a monster performance against Morris Tech on Friday with 30 points and 20 rebounds, scored 15 of his points in the first half on 6 field goals and 3 of 5 at the line.  Ryan McCabe chipped in with 11 points in the matchup as the Seraph duo combined to account for 72 percent of Koinonia’s scoring for the game.
For the game, South River connected on 40 field goals including 9 three pointers while also making six foul shots. Â Meanwhile, Koinonia Academy, which was coming off a 43-39 opening day win over Morris Tech on Friday, connected on 17 field goals including only one three, and made 8 foul shots. Â The Rams alone outscored the Seraphs by a margin of 27-3 from long distance, and had twice the number of two point field goals. Â South River outscored Koinonia in each period including three quarters by 10 points or more. Â The most competitive quarter of the game was the second, where the Rams only won by a 19-13 margin. Â The Rams scored right off the bat as they were off and running at the start.
Darrar got the ball off the opening tip, and drove straight down the middle for a layup, and a 2-0 lead. Â Moments later, Martinez picked up a steal, and passed ahead to Devich and Darrar, and Devich picked up the ball, and scored a layup from the left side for a 4-0 lead. A short time later, Martinez got the ball, drove in to just shy of the top of the key, and fired in a three for a 7-0 lead. Â Darrar then capped the run with another layup for a 9-0 score. Â The Seraphs tried to show some signs of life by scoring 6 of the next 11 points to close the gap to 14-6, but the Rams replied by reeling off 9 of the next 11 points for a 23-8 lead. Â South River then finished off the period with a 16-9 run for a 22 point lead.
From there, the Rams, which lost its opener to Gold Division rival, Timothy Christian, 73-71 on Friday, cruised to an easy victory. Â South River improves to 1-1, and will play next in their holiday tournament while Koinonia falls to 1-1, and will next compete in the McNair Academy Holiday Tournament in Jersey City. Â NOTE: Â Â Bob Gomulka, the head coach of the G-Force Stallions out of Union County, and father of former Bishop Ahr standout, Rob Gomulka, is the head coach at Koinonia. Â Gomulka had previously coached JV at St. Patrick’s during the 1980s. Â Koinonia, which is an independent school that is classified as a Non-Public B school, will also play three other GMC teams including Metuchen on January 13th, South Amboy on January 20th, and Perth Amboy on February 3rd.