Early Second Half Spurt Propels Eagles To Victory At Rahway
RAHWAY, NJ—In the finale of the GMC Hoops triple header at the 2014 Rahway Summer League on Tuesday night, it was an all Greater Middlesex Conference affair as Edison of the White Division faced off against Perth Amboy Tech from the Gold Division. The two teams went at it in another nail biter, but an early second half 9-0 spurt by the Eagles was enough to get the victory. Amboy Tech did managed to get the deficit down to a single point with just over a minute to go, but was unable to get any closer as Edison made 1 of 2 free throws on two occasions over the last 50.7 seconds to come away with the victory.
Edison, which lost a lot to recent graduation, is going with mostly players from a JV squad last year that came up with dramatic come from behind victories over Perth Amboy prior to Christmas, and at Sayreville towards the end of January. Meanwhile, Perth Amboy Tech has several key players returning including Noel Garay and Kyrie Byers. Big man Jordan Little is also expected to be back for 2014-15, but did not play in this game. The Patriots jumped out to an 8-4 lead over the first 6:53 as Byers capped the run with a three point play at the 13:07 mark. Edison would take the lead for good though with a 7-0 burst that included a basket and a foul, and then a putback on the missed free throw for an 11-8 lead with 8:30 to go in the half.
The Eagles run was extended to 9-0 when they scored on another follow at the 7:55 mark for a 13-8 lead. Amboy Tech tried to close the deficit with one of two showings from the foul line at the 4:05 and 3:43 marks, but Edison responded with a layup from the right low block for a 15-10 lead. EHS then increased its advantage to six before Garay made a nifty pass to an Amboy Tech teammate, who scored as he was fouled for a conventional three point play, and a 17-14 Eagles lead with 51.5 seconds remaining in the first half. Garay then added a score himself when he drove down the right lane for a layup to pull the Patriots within one at 17-16 with 24.5 seconds to play in the first half. Edison had a score to go into the intermission up by three or four, but missed a last second shot. The Eagles would take charge at the beginning of the second half though with a run that put them in the driver’s seat.
Over the first four minutes of the second half, Edison scored the first 9 points to go up by double digits. The ten point margin (26-16) would be the largest of the game. The Eagles capped the run with a turnaround jumper from the left side with 16:00 left in the game as Perth Amboy Tech called for time. Following the timeout, the Patriots dug in defensively, and limited EHS to just 13 points the rest of the way while outscoring the Eagles by seven (20-13). Amboy Tech would score 10 of the next 12 points over a span of 6:24 including a layup and a three pointer to pull within two again at 28-26. Edison then made two free throws to go back up by four, but Garay answered by going hard to the basket from the right side for a layup and a 30-28 Eagles lead with 7:32 left. Edison would add a free throw, but neither team would get a field goal for the next two and a half minutes before the Eagles got a three pointer from the top of the key to take a 34-28 lead with five minutes to play.
Garay pulled the Pats within four again with a score underneath at the 4:38 mark. However, after an Edison timeout with four minutes left, the Eagles went back up by six at 36-30 on a jumper in the paint at the 3:45 mark. Amboy Tech scored the next four points on a pair of free throws by Byers at the 3:19 mark, and a basket with 2:30 to go. Edison stayed in control though despite only going 3 of 8 from the foul line in the last 1:24. The Patriots made two free throws with 1:07 to play to pull within a point at 37-36, but the Eagles came away with the win thanks to 1 of 2 showings from the foul line with 50.7 and 22.7 seconds to play while Amboy Tech missed a three attempt with 4 seconds left, and after Edison missed two foul shots, had a last second heave was off the mark. Both teams will be back in action next week starting on Tuesday, July 8th.