Chargers Overcome Sluggish Third Quarter Start With Key 19-5 Run For Win
NORTH EDISON, NJ–In a classic back and forth game, where both teams shot the ball very well, Spotswood seemed to hit a snag early in the third quarter. After outscoring Bishop Ahr, 30-27 in the first half, the Chargers only scored two points over the first six minutes or so of the second half, and the Trojans took advantage with a 9-2 run to take a 36-32 lead.
Spotswood’s fortunes would change though when senior guard, Jake Dadika, connected on a three pointer and then drew a foul on another three point attempt and made three free throws to spark a decisive 19-5 tear that lasted well into the fourth quarter for a 51-41 lead. The Chargers then went on to win by the final score of 63-54. Dadika, who went over the 1,200 point plateau in this game, had a game high 32 points including 12 points in the first period, and 12 more in the final frame.
Chipping in was sophomore guard, Marlon Hart, who was on his game as he got into a groove early and ended up with 18 points. Owen McLeod led Bishop Ahr with a team high 24 points as he and Dadika, former teammates at St. Joseph’s, went at it in an old fashioned one on one shootout. McLeod had 10 points in the first half and 14 in the second half. Tom Weiler chipped in for the Trojans with 13 points including 9 in the first period alone. Spotswood had only five players score while BGA had just six get in the books.
The Trojans outscored the Chargers in two point field goals (22-14), but Spotswood had a 21-12 edge in points scored from beyond the arc, and a 14-4 edge in points from the foul line. The Chargers also outscored the Trojans in three of the four periods. The Spotswood duo of Dadika and Hart accounted for 79 percent of the Charger scoring while the Ahr duo of McLeod and Weiler made up 69 percent of the Trojan scoring. The first half was a very well played half with both teams going back and forth, having an answer for the other team, and making shots.
Spotswood opened the game on a 10-4 run over the first 2:49 as both Dadika and Hart sank threes. Following a Bishop Ahr timeout, the BGA responded with a 13-4 tear over the next four minutes or so to take a 17-14 lead late in the period. Then, the Chargers closed out the period with the final five points including a trey by Dadika for a 19-17 edge heading into the second. Both teams continued to play basketball’s version of volleyball in the second with Spotswood gaining an 11-10 edge for the three point lead at the half. Dadika got his only points of the frame on a breakaway dunk while Hart, who scored 13 of his points in the first half, had 6 in the period including a three.
Bishop Ahr countered with McLeod scoring six points while Weiler and big man Corey Webster each added buckets to keep the Trojans within scoring distance at the break. At the half, Dadika had 14 points, Hart had 13, Weiler had 11, and McLeod had 10. The third period was Ahr’s best of the game as the Trojans opened up the second half on a 9-2 run and got a 10-8 edge. McLeod had 7 of his points during the frame including three field goals and 1 of 2 from the line while Weiler got his final points of the game, and Webster added a foul shot. BGA got off to a fast start with a 5-2 run over the first 2:50 capped by a steal for a layup by McLeod to tie the game at 32-32, and force Spotswood to call timeout with a little over five minutes left in the third.
The Trojans scored the next four points including another basket by McLeod for BGA’s first lead of the second half at 34-32 with 4:23 to go in the third as Spotswood called for time again. The Chargers had been on a five minute scoring drought when Dadika gave a spark with a three pointer from the right wing with 2:05 left in the period for a 36-35 Ahr lead. Then, after a McLeod free throw gave the Trojans a two point cushion, Dadika struck again as he was fouled on a three point attempt in the waning moments of the third, and made all three foul shots for a 38-37 lead entering the fourth. Spotswood then started the fourth with 7 of the first nine points including a floater by Hart at the 6:14 mark for a 45-39 lead.
The Chargers didn’t stop there either. Over the next 1:44, Spotswood scored 6 of the next 8 points including a layin by freshman big man, Matt Ciaccio (6 points) to take a 51-41 lead with 4:30 left in the contest. Bishop Ahr tried to rally back with a 7-2 spurt over the next 1:58 as McLeod, who scored 7 more points in the period, hit a three and Kevin Krolick (6 points) added a layup to close the gap to 53-48 with a bit more than two and half minutes remaining in the contest. Ahr wouldn’t get any closer though as Spotswood scored 4 of the next 6 points for a 57-50 lead with 1:16 to play, and then finished off the win with a 6-4 edge the rest of the way for the 9 point victory. The win improved Spotswood’s overall record to 9-4 on the season including a 6-3 mark in the GMC Blue while Bishop Ahr fell to 6-5 overall and 3-4 in divisional play.