Johnson Leads Destroyers Past Panthers At Rahway Summer League
RAHWAY, NJ–This past season was one of transition for the Dunellen Destroyers. Â A year removed from winning the GMC Gold and reaching the semifinals of the 2013 North Jersey Section 2 Group I state tournament, Dunellen lost many key players and took a bit of a hit finishing third in the Gold, and only getting to the quarterfinals of N2 Group I in 2014. Â Nevertheless, there was plenty of fighting spirit with this group led by junior Dave Johnson and supporting cast players Dan Russomanno and Al-Taron Fields.
The trio of Johnson, Russomanno, and Fields are returning for 2014-15, and look to put Dunellen back up at the top in what is now a very crowded GMC Gold field that consists of 9 teams including newcomers Piscataway Tech and Highland Park from the Blue Division. Â Dunellen was in action at the 2014 Rahway Summer League on Tuesday night against a familiar non-conference foe in Roselle Park. Â Both of these teams have played each other often over the years in regular season non-conference action. Â This contest was tightly played over the last 17 minutes of action. Â During that span, neither team had a lead bigger than 8 points. Â In the end though, the Destroyers found a way to come out on top thanks to the combination of a pressing defense late in the game, and the scoring of Johnson.
Trailing 38-36 with 4:30 to play, Dunellen finished the game on a 13-7 spurt including eight points from Johnson for the 49-45 victory. Â Roselle Park had trailed by six with a little less than 12 and a half minutes remaining, but rallied with a 10-2 tear over a span of 7:56 to take the lead. Â The Destroyers responded with Johnson being at the center of almost all of it. Â Whether it was picking up a steal on defense, pulling up for a jumper on offense, or getting to the line in crunch time, Johnson literally put Dunellen on his back. Â DHS led 26-23 with just under 17 minutes remaining when GMC Hoops picked up the action. Â Not long after that, Johnson got on the board by hitting a jumper from the left wing for a five point advantage. Â Roselle Park would pull within four though by scoring three of the next five points including a bucket at the 14:21 mark that made the score 30-26.
Over the next 1:55, Dunellen scored four of the next six including a bank shot from the right side by Johnson for a 34-28 lead with 12:26 to play in the contest. Â The Panthers then began to make their push with five unanswered points including a floater in the paint that went in to close the gap to one at 34-33 with 8:24 to play. Â Roselle Park added another free throw, and after a score by DHS, the Panthers tied the game at 36-36 on another pair of foul shots at the 5:55 mark. Â RPHS took its only lead over the last 16:56 of the game when it scored on a bucket while being fouled with 4:30 remaining. Â The Panthers were unable to make the bonus free throw, but still led 38-36. Â Dunellen answered quickly though to tie things up at 38-38 on a jumper from the left wing with 3:52 left before head coach Bernie Buniak called for time.
Emerging from the timeout, the Destroyers turned up the heat defensively, and went on the attack. Â Utilizing Dunellen’s quickness, and looking to get a spark, Buniak deployed full court pressure, and the tactic worked. Â DHS was able to force a number of turnovers including several for scores, and more importantly, disrupt the flow of Roselle Park’s offense. Â Johnson gave Dunellen the lead again with a steal that he converted into a layup at the 2:48 mark. Â The Panthers answered with a score to even things up at 40-40, but Johnson produced two more baskets, and then drew a foul for two free throws at the 1:54 mark for a 46-40 lead. Â The Destroyers added another score to go up by as many as eight, and was able to hang on for the four point win thanks to a couple of Roselle Park turnovers over the last 43.4 seconds.
Both teams as well as the rest of the squads in this league have the rest of the week of thanks to the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, but will return to action starting on Tuesday, July 8th.