Perimeter Shooting and Defense Help Panthers Turn Slow Start Into Runaway
RAHWAY, NJ–In the second game of the GMC Hoops triplheader at Rahway High School on Tuesday night, Perth Amboy took on A.L. Johnson of Clark. Â The game started out with promise for the Crusaders from Union County as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead. Â The Panthers didn’t get on the board until the 15:35 mark of the first half. Â
However, once Amboy got going it was hard to stop. Â The combination of solid perimeter shooting and pressure defense eventually overwhelmed Johnson as the Panthers finished the first half on a 28-4 surge for an 18 point lead at the intermission en route to a 57-25 victory. Â It was only the second time that GMC Hoops saw Amboy play all summer so far, but the Panthers have played very well in those two games by outscoring their opponents by a margin of 105-41 after adding their 48-16 victory over Sayreville at the East Brunswick Team Camp on June 10th.
Perth Amboy sank eight threes in the game, and outscored the Crusaders by a margin of 24-12 from beyond the arc. Â Amboy also got a traditional three point play from forward, Nate Melendez. Â The Panthers also forced a ton of turnovers with its defense, which were converted into easy baskets at the other end. Â After giving up the first six points of the contest over the initial 3:45, Perth Amboy got going with a three pointer from the right corner at the 15:35 mark. Â The trey broke the ice as the Panthers then added another three, and two more scores in just 1:26to take the lead for good at 10-6 as A.L. Johnson called timeout at the 14:09 mark.
The timeout was unable to halt the growing momentum for Amboy. Â Instead, the GMC Red squad added another score thanks to a steal off its press for a layup at the 13:56 mark, and then Melendez got into the act by drawing a foul as he scored for a conventional three point play at the 13:16 mark for a 15-6 lead. Â The Panthers were now in overdrive as they continued their onslaught. Â Over the next eight plus minutes, Amboy scored 10 of the next 12 points including back to back threes to push the lead up to 25-8 with five minutes remaining in the first half. Â The Panthers would then finish the half by scoring three of the last five points including a jumper from the left elbow by Melendez with seconds remaining before halftime to take a 28-10 lead into the break.
Starting the second half right where it left off in the first, Perth Amboy came out blazing with 9 of the first 11 points including a three from the right side at the 17:05 mark for a 37-12 lead. Â Over the ensuing 12:11, Amboy limited Johnson to no field goals, and just one point in a 13-1 tear that included a steal for a layup at the 11:15 mark, a putback of a missed three at the 8:19 mark, and a bucket with about five minutes left for a commanding 50-13 lead. Â A.L. Johnson finished the game on a positive note with a 12-5 spurt including back to back threes at the 4:54 and 4:28 marks, a layup at the 3:57 mark, and a foul line jumper with 3:19 to play. Â Despite the Crusaders efforts to make things more respectable down the stretch, Perth Amboy was still able to win the game comfortably.
Both teams as well as the rest of the league will have the remainder of the week off thanks to the upcoming July 4th holiday, but will return to action next week starting on Tuesday, July 8th.