Junior Eagles Overcome Eleven Point 2nd Half Deficit To Win
EDISON, NJ–What started out to be an ugly game with numerous turnovers, turned out to be quite a thriller in the end. Â After Perth Amboy had led mostly throughout the contest with the exception of a tie at the end of the first quarter including an 11 point lead late in the third quarter, and a 9 point advantage midway through the fourth, the Junior Eagles of Edison’s JV squad rallied to force overtime, and then got two free throws in the final 16.8 seconds to defeat the Junior Panthers, 63-62.
Amboy took advantage of the early sloppiness with its full court pressure, and jumped out to an 11-5 lead. Â Edison responded by scoring the final six points of the opening period for an 11-11 tie. Â The Junior Panthers then took over in the second by scoring 9 of the first 10 points of the frame, and then completed a 14-3 spurt for a 25-14 advantage. Â Edison then ended the first half with 7 of the last 12 points to make it a 30-21 PAHS lead going into the intermission. Â Edison started the second half with more energy, and for a while it showed as the Junior Eagles closed the gap to five.
EHS began the third period with a 10-6 run to pull within five at 36-31, but Amboy responded with six unanswered points to push its lead back to eleven before Edison ended the third with a score for a 42-33 Junior Panthers lead heading into the fourth. Â Perth Amboy maintained that nine point advantage midway through the fourth period before the Junior Eagles made a run to get back into the contest. Â Trailing 53-44 with under four minutes to play, Edison scored 11 of the last 13 points of regulation including a bucket at the 1:18 mark, a score down low at the 32.8 second mark, and then after an Amboy bucket on a follow with 15 seconds to play, a three pointer in the final seconds to force overtime with the score tied at 55-55.
At that point, the crowd on both sides began to get into the spirit of the contest. Â Edison’s student section began to file in for the start of the varsity game, and Amboy’s varsity players were sitting in their bleachers waiting to get on the court to warm up. Â The energy and electricity levels increased dramatically, and both teams fed off both. Â Edison jumped out to the early lead only to have Amboy tie it up at 58-58 on a three point play. Â The Junior Eagles then scored the next three points for a 61-58 edge with about a minute or so remaining in the contest as Amboy called for time. Â Following the stoppage, Amboy scored on a follow, and then forced an Edison turnover before calling another timeout with 30.7 seconds to play.
After the Junior Panthers timeout, they managed to take the lead at 62-61 by drawing a foul, and making two free throws with 19.8 seconds left.  Edison then tried to get the ball to halfcourt and call timeout, but benefited from an Amboy mental mistake as they fouled an EHS player in front of the scorers table with 16.8 seconds left.  The Junior Eagles then made one of two free throws for a 62-62 tie.  Edison then got a huge stop on defense, and drew another foul with 5.2 seconds remaining.  The Junior Eagles then again  made one of two from the charity stripe, and Amboy failed to score as time ran out for the 63-62 EHS victory.