Obertan, Patel, and Wells Combine for 50 Points in Loss to Cougars
| J.F. Kennedy’s Pete Obertan puts up a jumper in the second half against Cranford at the Eric LeGrand Classic. Obertan finished with 21 points in the Mustangs loss to the Cougars, 72-63. |
UNION, NJ–Following a tough start to the season with 6 losses in its first 7 games, J.F. Kennedy began to turn a corner last week with two wins after division foes, Bishop Ahr and Middlesex, and was looking to make it a three game winning streak with a victory over Cranford of the Union County Conference in the second game of the day at the 2016 Eric LeGrand Classic being held at Kean University’s Harwood Arena. The Cougars had other ideas though. Cranford scored 6 of the first 7 points of the fourth, and after JFK pulled within two at 57-55, the Cougars wrapped up the win with a 15-8 spurt over the final 2:41 for a 72-63 victory.
Hunter Remley led the way for the Cougars with 20 points while three other players scored in double figures for Cranford including Michael Smith (16 points), Ryan Bakie (15 points), and Jack Schetelich (11 points). Cranford outscored Kennedy by a 23-14 margin in the fourth. Junior forward, Pete Obertan led Kennedy with 21 points while Kobie Wells added 15 and senior Kush Patel chipped in with 14. The trio of Obertan, Wells, and Patel combined for 50 of the Mustangs points in the contest. Tamaj Coleman (9 points) and Carlton Sears (4 points) wrapped up the scoring for JFK. Cranford had 7 different players score while Kennedy only had 5.
The Cougars outscored the Mustangs by a 21-12 margin from beyond the arc and by a 17-9 margin from the charity stripe. Cranford opened the game with a 16-13 first quarter lead in a back and forth period. The Cougars then added a three pointer from the right wing at the 6:30 mark, and a conventional three point play at the 4:45 mark for a 22-13 lead. Kennedy battled back though with a 17-5 tear over the next 3:04 to take a 31-30 lead. Kush Patel hit a jumper to help spark the run, and another score at the 2:32 mark while Coleman sank a three to highlight the Mustang rally. Cranford ended the half by scoring 4 of the last 7 points including a putback just before the buzzer to tie the game at 34-34 going into the intermission.
At the half, Patel led JFK with 10 points while Obertan added 9 and Wells chipped in with 8. Coleman and Sears rounded out the Kennedy first half scoring with 5 and 2 points respectively. After Cranford scored the first basket of the second half before Obertan sank a triple for a 37-36 Kennedy lead with just 41 seconds gone by in the third. Both teams, which combined for 6 lead changes and 2 ties over the final 18:32 of the game, continued to exchange leads for a bit before Cranford embarked on a 7-0 run over a span of 1:32 for a 45-39 lead at the 4:48 mark. Kennedy remained without a score for another 1:25 before Wells sank a three to close the gap to 46-42 with 3:23 to go in the third. Cranford added another score at the 2:41 mark for a six point lead before the Mustangs scored 7 of the last 8 points including a three point play by Obertan and a jumper by Wells to tie the score at 49-49 heading into the fourth and final period.
Cranford went back in front for good right away in the fourth by scoring 6 of the first 7 points over a span of 4:17 to take a 55-50 lead. Kennedy battled back within two at 57-55 by scoring seven unanswered points including another three point play by Obertan at the 2:41 mark. Despite scores by Patel at the 1:31 mark, Coleman at the 1:12 mark, and Sears with 50.3 seconds left that kept the Mustangs within a single possession, Cranford was able to pull away for the win. The Cougars scored the last 6 points of the game including four free throws in the final 24 seconds to seal the 72-63 victory. With the win, Cranford improved to 6-3 overall on the season including a 3-1 record against non-conference opponents. Kennedy dropped to 3-7 with the loss including a 1-3 mark versus non-GMC foes. The Mustangs return to action on Tuesday with a GMC Crossover against Piscataway of the GMC Red before playing Metuchen in a GMC Blue clash on Wednesday.