Lions Rally With 23-3 Surge Over Last 9 Minutes To Defeat Guvs
SOUTH RIVER, NJ–During the first trip to the Raritan Bay Summer League over at South River High School last week, GMC Hoops talked a bit with league co-director, Tom Reilly. Â In our conversation, Reilly declared that Calvary Christian of Old Bridge would be one of the most improved teams in the area, and a team to watch out for. Â With a veteran nucleus returning from a squad that played well, and earned victories over GMC teams such as East Brunswick Tech this past season.
The Lions were in action against South Amboy in the middle game of the Monday night tripleheader at the Raritan Bay Summer League. Â Despite the play of Sean Kudelka and Kiere Ford, which paced South Amboy to a 35-24 lead with 9 minutes left, the Guvs came up short thanks to a 23-3 surge by Calvary Christian for a 47-38 victory. Â Only a layup at the 5:54 mark, and a free throw with about five minutes remaining accounted for the only South Amboy scoring down the stretch. Â The Lions of Calvary Christian, which trailed 25-17 at the half, outscored the Guvs by a margin of 30-13 in the game’s final 20 minutes.
Calvary Christian had four threes over the last 9 minutes of the game. Â The Lions also had two threes in the final 9 minutes of the first half. Â The Guvs, on the other hand, which netted 8 threes in their 56-52 win over Bishop Ahr last Tuesday, only had three treys over the last 29:30 of the contest. Â South Amboy jumped out to a 16-9 lead over the first 10 minutes or so of the game. Â Calvary Christian responded with six of the next nine points over a span of four minutes as the Lions netted back to back threes to close the gap to 19-15 with five minutes remaining in the first half. Â The Guvs built the lead back to eight points going into the intermission thanks to a 6-2 run that included a drive to the hoop from the left side by Ford for a 25-17 lead at the break.
Both teams came out over the first seven plus minutes of the second half by playing to a 7-7 draw that helped South Amboy maintain its eight point lead at 32-24 with 12:54 remaining. Â Neither team scored for the next several minutes until Kudelka swished a three pointer from the left corner with exactly 9 minutes left in the contest for a 35-24 Guvs lead. Â Over the next 4:59, Calvary Christian put together a 14-3 spurt to tie the score at 38-38 with just over four minutes to play. Â Highlighting the rally were threes at the 6:32 and 5:43 marks and a pair of free throws at the 4:01 mark to knot the score up. Â Neither team scored over the next 2:02 as both teams exchanged turnovers and missed scoring chances.
Calvary Christian would put the game away though by scoring the last 9 points starting with a drive thru the key for a layup from the left side at the 1:59 mark for a 40-38 lead. Â The Lions then got free throws at the 1:18 and 56.4 marks after a timeout by South Amboy for a 43-38 lead. Â The Guvs tried to hit a three to close the gap to a bucket, but the shot was off the mark, and Calvary Christian got the rebound. Â After a stoppage of play, the Lions were able to break South Amboy’s fullcourt pressure for a layup, and a 45-38 lead. Â The Lions then added a pair of free throws with 23.4 seconds left for the 47-38 victory.