GMC Hoops Summary–Kennedy Edges Metuchen In OT, 64-61

NOTE:  –This is an article from a game on January 8th between JFK and Metuchen.  Didn’t get a chance to post this article until today.

Mustangs Outlast Bulldogs In Wild One

ISELIN, NJ–After winning their holiday tournament in convincing fashion over Bernards in the final, the Metuchen Bulldogs got tripped up by two points (59-57) at home to division leader Carteret.  Meanwhile, Kennedy was coming off two wins in its last three games including a 63-44 win on the road at South Plainfield.  The Mustangs entered the game at 4-1 while the Bulldogs came in at 3-2.  One of the smaller schools in the GMC Blue, Metuchen, which came off a tough season in 2012-13, was showing signs early this season that it was going to be a factor in the division race.  The latest example would be the contest at J.F. Kennedy on Wednesday night.

It was a game of momentum swings.  JFK had the first run by scoring 8 of the initial 11 points.  Metuchen then roared back with a 27-12 surge for the balance of the first half to take a 30-20 lead at the intermission.  Then, after Frank McGuire sank a three pointer to give the Dawgs their biggest lead of the game at 33-20, JFK stepped up things on the defensive end, and stormed back into the contest by finishing up the third quarter with the last 17 points for a 37-33 lead.  Kennedy continued to lead 46-36 with 3:57 left when McGuire sank another trey to spark a 16-6 rally capped by a putback from Artie Flaherty Jr. with time running out to tie the score at 52-52 and force overtime.  In the extra session, Kennedy jumped out to a 60-56 lead thanks to an 8-4 run capped by a three point play by Joe Duffy with 1:23 left.  Metuchen got within two, but couldn’t get any closer as JFK won, 64-61.

Despite not scoring in the third quarter, Flaherty Jr. ended up with 20 points while teammate Evan Collier led Metuchen with a game high 25 points.  McGuire added 8 points while Brian Eustace contributed with 6 for MHS, which only had five different players score.  Stepp Oziegbe led the Mustangs with a team high 23 points while Duffy chipped in with 14, and Andrew Allen contributed with 10 points including two threes during the key third quarter surge.  Kennedy had a more balanced attack with 8 different players get into the scorebook.  Metuchen outscored J.F. Kennedy in three of the five periods, but the Mustangs had an 17-3 showing in the third, and a 12-9 effort in the overtime to get back into the game and eventually win.   The Bulldogs outscored the Mustangs by a 21-12 margin in points scored from beyond the arc as Kennedy didn’t have a three pointer until the third quarter.  Both teams struggled from the line, but the Mustangs had more success going 14 of 29 from the charity stripe while Metuchen was just 6 of 18.  JFK had a slight edge in two point field goals (19-17).

The Bulldogs trailed early as Kennedy jumped out to an 8-3 lead including a three point play by Joe Duffy.  However, Metuchen finished the quarter strong with a 9-2 spurt to take a 12-10 lead.  Artie Flaherty Jr. spearheaded the run with 5 points while sophomore Evan Collier chipped in with 4.  In the second quarter, the Bulldogs increased their lead by outscoring the Mustangs by an 18-10 margin for a 30-20 advantage at the half.  Flaherty added another five points while Collier scored 7 including a buzzer beating 35 footer for three.  It was the second game covered by GMC Hoops where Collier hit a three pointer as time ran out in the first half.  Kennedy appeared to be beleaguered at this point, and things didn’t start off great in the third for the Mustangs as McGuire fired in a three from the right side of the key for a 33-20 advantage.  Following McGuire’s three, JFK bared down on defense, stifling Metuchen.  The Bulldogs also didn’t help themselves by going 0 of 4 from the line while the Mustangs went 3 of 4.  Andrew Allen then knocked in two threes to help pull J.F. Kennedy to within four at 33-29 with 3:19 to go in the third.

Following a Metuchen timeout, the Mustangs finished off the third period to take a 37-33 lead with the last eight points including four points by Ozigebe, two points by Duffy, and a field goal by Omar Reyes for his only points of the game.  The fourth quarter began with Kennedy picking up right where it left off with a 9-3 spurt to make it a 26-6 surge for a 46-36 lead.  Highlighting the fourth quarter spurt was a floater by Ozgiebe,  a layup by Kyle Alvarez, and a three by Chris Frost.  Trailing by ten points with less than four minutes to go, the Bulldogs showed great resiliency with a 16-6 rally to end regulation.  McGuire sparked the comeback with a trey at the 3:57 mark to pull the Bulldogs within seven at 46-39.   Following a Metuchen timeout, the Bulldogs dialed things up a notch by scoring 5 of the next 7 points including a bucket by Collier prior to Kennedy calling a 30 second timeout with a 48-44 lead at the 2:35 mark  of the fourth.  MHS still continued to creep back into the contest with 4 of the next 6 points including two free throws by Collier at the 1:13 mark as JFK called time again with a now tenuous 50-48 lead.

Despite missing an opportunity to tie early in the final minute of regulation, the Bulldogs still managed to catch up to the Mustangs by scoring 4 of the 6 points of the fourth including a putback by Flaherty Jr. with time running out for a 52-52 tie going into overtime.  In the extra session though, the high scoring trio of Ozgiebe, Duffy, and Allen led Kennedy to the win by scoring 10 of the Mustangs 11 points in the overtime.  Duffy had five of those points including the conventional three point play with 1:23 left for a 60-56 lead.  Metuchen didn’t give up though as they  battled to within two, and had a chance to tie with a three in the waning moments, but were unable to score, and J.F. Kennedy won, 64-61.  The victory improved the Mustangs overall record to 5-1 heading into a key early season Blue Division contest at Spotswood while Metuchen dropped to 3-3 on the season.