Byers Sinks Seven Threes to Lead Patriots Past Owls
| Perth Amboy Tech’s Kyrie Byers elevates to make is seventh and final three of the game against Highland Park. Byers finished with 26 points in Amboy Tech’s 57-39 victory. |
PERTH AMBOY, NJ–Despite losing three of its top players from last year’s GMC Gold championship, and Central Jersey Group I semifinalist squad, the beat has gone on for Perth Amboy Tech this season. Despite losses to pre-season division contender South Amboy and 10th ranked South River in overtime, the Patriots have put themselves in a good position to make another run at a division title. Coming into Wednesday’s GMC Gold contest against Highland Park, Amboy Tech had won three straight to stand at 8-4 overall including a 6-2 mark in divisional competition.
One of the big reasons for the Patriots success so far this season is the play of their veteran backcourt duo of Kyrie Byers and Pedro Gonzalez. Against Highland Park, Byers and Gonzalez combined to sink nine threes as the Patriots outscored the Owls by a 27-0 margin from beyond the arc en route to a 57-39 victory. Perth Amboy Tech led by as many as 30 points midway through the third quarter before Highland Park finished the game on a 24-12 surge to make the final score more respectable. Byers had 7 of Amboy Tech’s 9 threes as made five of them in the first half en route to 17 points at the intermission, and then sank two more including one in the final minute to wrap up the victory. Gonzalez chipped in with 12 points while Eric Negro added 6.
Naeem Gee led Highland Park in defeat with 11 points while Nasir Boykins chipped in with 10 and Matt Ambrosio added 8 points. Perth Amboy Tech jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the first 2:30 of the contest as Byers connected on his first two threes. Over the next 2:30, the Patriots added another three from Byers along with a layup by Gonzalez for an 11-2 advantage at the 3:00 mark. Amboy Tech continued to roll as Gonzalez sank a trey from the right corner and Byers banked in a triple from the left wing to highlight a 6-2 burst over a span of 1:19 to increase its lead to 17-4 with 1:41 remaining in the first period. Highland Park scored the next six points over the next 4:10 to narrow the deficit to seven before Gonzalez scored on a layup off a jump pass feed by Byers to put Amboy Tech up 19-10 with 5:31 remaining in the half.
The Gonzalez bucket sparked an 18-5 tear to end the first half for a commanding 35-15 lead at the intermission. Highlighting the run was another jumper by Kyrie Byers at the 3:47 mark, a nifty move for a layup by Kyle Gregory (4 points) at the 1:54 mark, and a dunk by Javon Fisher (4 points). At the break, Byers (17 points) and Gonzalez (10 points) combined to score 27 of the Patriots’ 35 points in the contest. Amboy Tech also outscored Highland Park by a 21-0 margin from beyond the arc over the first two periods. Perth Amboy Tech didn’t take its foot off the gas at the start of the second half. Instead, the Patriots opened the third quarter by scoring the first 10 points including a three by Byers at the 5:37 and a layup by Byers at the 4:00 mark for a 45-15 lead. Highland Park put together a 9-2 run over the last half of the third including a layup by Noah Pointer (6 points) for a 47-24 Amboy Tech lead heading into the fourth period.
The Owls followed up the solid ending to the third by winning the fourth quarter with a 15-10 showing. Highland Park scored 10 of the first 15 points in a 5:30 span. Boykins had several scores during the run for the Owls. Amboy Tech increased its lead to 57-35 with under a minute to play after Byers sank his final three of the contest. Highland Park then closed out the game with the final four points to shape the final margin of victory. With the win, Perth Amboy Tech improved to 9-4 overall and stayed within a game of Gold Division leading South River at 7-2. Highland Park, which won its first game of the season less than 24 hours earlier, fell to 1-10 overall on the season including a 1-7 mark in divisional play. Both teams return to action on Friday with Amboy Tech traveling to Dunellen and Highland Park hosting Piscataway Tech.